I found the email with the Prologue in it that I sent to a friend back in June of 2003, and I'll post it as soon as I clean it up.

But, as a gesture of good faith, I'll post a sneaky bit here for ya.

Erin's mom passed away at about 10 AM EST this morning. Erin is doing okay at this point and will be busy with arrangements for her mom over the next few days. Her brother is coming down from northern CA for the weekend.

I haven't done any writing since Mom got really sick, and me too. But I'm sitting here listening to Tom Petty, Dave Matthews, Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Randy Newman (my iPod is confused, too). Something happened, a song. Imagine this written and performed by one or more of the above guys.

When I got caught in a thunderstorm on my road bike, that six months later, the blog I was going to write and instead became a story, is still going. I hate to think how many words, pages and megabytes it occupies. It also seems to maintain its relative popularity, for reasons I don't fully understand.

nnngh, and thrice nnngh!

Ok, let's have a little 'Non-Contest' Contest.... How many different names can you all come up with using the abreviation for the National Tractor Trailer School, or NTTS as it's commonly called?

I'll be going there starting tomorrow. Yup, I'm going to be going to school to become a 'mother trucker'.... LOL

Much love.
Toni

Hello Ladies:

After a conversation with my estranged son, I have walked around for two days with tears in my eyes and finally I decided that I had to do something to pull myself out of the pity party.

Well, I have discovered Elizabethan Language. It is so waaaay cool.

So, if any of you wish to address me in Elizabethan English, I would be terribly pleased !

My mother passed away yesterday evening in the hospice. My father, my wife, and I were in attendance at the time. Her last couple of days were so hard, that it's truly a relief to see her at peace at last. Now, the focus turns to my father. We need to keep him busy, and engaged, and dealing with the outside world.

Sigh. Yes I am still alive and kicking for any and all who really gives a rats arse or have even heard of me which I don't think either of the above is likely. I am the proprietess of Beverly's Balcony, which has been around for a number of years in all it's disfunctioning and picturesque glory. I have even been registered user and silent participant of other sites including this excellent one.

I have decided to try to be of some help here at BC, so I am going to offer to proof writer's stories for them. I just want to say up front that I am NOT an English teacher, but most people tell me that I write like a professional (Doncha just love to be flattered?), so I would love to help out.

Gwen Brown

Please let me assure you that I am not suicidal. This is something I wrote when I was absolutely dismayed about the revelation that I was transgendered. I think many of you will identify with the feelings.

Once you think your goals are meet
Evil men entangle your feet
You are then beset by strife
They make a shambles of your life

You become that which you feared

Why does she have to be such a B****?

I decided to try my hand at writing a story and I have the first three chapters ready to go.My computer skills are as follows I possess the ability to go online and write a story barely on office 2007 so detailed instructions would be greatly appreciated.Thanks Amy M

Hi everyone

Fifteen stories/chapters posted yesterday! 5605 visitors yesterday and 5698 on Thursday! Over 22,000 page hits both of those days.

BC/TS is alive and ding well. :)

Thanks everyone for making this such a neat place.

Hugs,
Erin

Thanks to Bill and his incompetent wankforce I mean workforce, Microshit IE6 or whatever it's called, has just lost the whole of Episode 159.

I will now have to rewrite the whole bloody thing.
Bollocks to Bill!
Angharad.

Most everyone is aware that Sapphire recently (12/16) updated her website, and I'd given her first dibs on posting new Amazon and Ma'at chapters for the general public.

She's yet to post Ma'at chapter 5, but I've sent her chapter 6. If she posts it by Jan 2, I'll give her a couple of weeks.

If not, I'll be posting Ma'at chapter 6 here and at Stardust next Friday.

I have written a new episode of Snafu, which has gone to my proofers. It's the first one I've done in 7-8 months, so I hope I haven't lost my touch for an action story, with a difference.

I will offer it to Sapphire first, as she has posted it from the beginning. I trust she will be able to post it fairly quickly.

I hope this cheers up all you who have nagged me to write some more.

This story has many different faces, I have chosen this version for a starter.

Just wishing everyone a Wonderful Holiday Season. May Joy be abundant with everuone on this special day.

Happy Holidays

Jayme Ann

To ANYONE who was a fan of the old Jay Ward cartoon, Underdog -- the movie with Jason Lee as the voice of Shoeshine/Underdog is a must see! It has everything you want to see from the original, it has enough in-jokes to keep you giggling and enough "new" feel to it so as not to be stale! I rented it, and I will be buying a copy as soon as possible! There's even an all-new Underdog cartoon as a special feature on the DVD! Oh, and everyone's favorite henchman actor, Patrick Warburton is Cad!

As a warning, there are spoilers below this line!

At this time of year, we take time to be with the ones we love. Top Shelf, and it's predeseser(sp?), Big Closet have always seemed to be more friendly, more willing to help those in need, and just a nicer place to visit and read, post stories and just relax.

I've been posting a story for someone that is REALLY excellent. It was originally posted only on Fictionmania and as I know a lot of people don't frequent that site from here I asked him a few times if I could post it here. The story called "Dancing on Daddy's Shoes" is one of the best if not the best I've read in ages for this genre.

Believe it or not, I do have a life beyond the verbal diarrhoea I post here every night (which goes under the title of 'Easy As Falling Off A Bike). It has got in the way tonight, I have have to go out to dinner. So I can't promise an episode tonight - if I get back in time I will, but I have a busy schedule tomorrow with an early start for a sunday.

My cold has mutated into bronchitis, combined with my chronic sinusitis and now I'm having asthma attacks. I've got medication for this so I'll be okay, just miserable and a little short-tempered for a bit--one of the asthma meds is a steroid.

I've spent most of my time since Saturday in bed while Mom's situation has moved only to stable. Still no prognosis for when she might get out of ICU.

Sorry if anyone's waiting for the next chapter of 'Midnight Angels' but I am a slow worker... I've fallen into a rhythm of writing it where I think about the chapter for a week or so before even starting to write it.

Computer issues are delaying me. Hopefully sometime late tonight or early tomorrow, I'll get Sk8r Grrls 20 up on the site, and maybe the next Carlotti's Way
Edeyn

I have to shamefully admit that my story "Changed by Aliens" has some elements in it that I can only see as plagiarism. Over the years, I have read thousands of stories and I had forgotten about the story that bears striking resemblence to mine.

We have update folks!

Head on over to http://www.sapphireplace.com/new.html to check out the goodies!

I read a lot of Enid Blyton when I was a child (probably at the tail end of her greatest popularity). I had a bookcase full of the 'Famous Five', 'Secret Seven' and '...of Adventure' series, but my favourites were the school stories. I especially loved Mallory Towers, where all the girls were very grown up, level headed and well turned out (even the beastliest of girls came round in the end).

First update in more than six months, thanks Sapphire.

Hugs,
Erin

The whole... to edit or not to edit... idea. It's a funny one and as I'm a wee bit precious about my 'babies' I've sort of steered clear to now. Being somewhat of the freeform let it flow school as opposed to the sit and proof and edit and proof and edit school it's sort of interesting to try the different approach.

They sent her over from the rest home with a temp they couldn't get down but the doctors at the hospital don't seem too worried and Mom is in good spirits and actually a little less confused than she's been being. I've got a cold so I don't dare get too close and I'm running a temp myself, a mild one. They're giving her antibiotics and intravenous liquids and will keep her for at least a couple of days. I'll go over in the morning to check on her but I think she's going to be fine and back in the convalescent hospital soon.

Strange things are happening. It's not Halloween. There isn't a full moon. Nasty beasties, as far as I know are not roaming 'out there'.

But I'm puzzled and perplexed. Something is not right with the world. Things may not be as they seem.

Why?

Well, Home Alone Book 2 ~ Moving on ~ Chapter 7 has had no less than 941 hits, but and this is the strange bit, Chapter 8 has had 1001 hits!

Bahuchara Mata is a Hindu goddess. She was a daughter of a charan. She and her sister were on journey with a caravan when a marauder named Bapiya attacked their caravan. It was common practice in charan men and women if overpowered by their enemies, not to surrender but to kill themselves. Being a reason for the shading the blood of charan was considered heinous sin. When Bapiya attacked caravan, Bahuchara and her sisters announced tragu and cut their breasts. Legends tells that Bapiya was cursed and became impotent. The curse was lifted only when he worshiped Bahuchara Mata by dressing and acting like woman. Wikipedia

While I am a confirmed "head banger rock fan", I also enjoy many other kinds of music, except old Country, trancer, and electronic trash.

I was recently exposed to a live performance of Bach and found it really interesting. I have loved Handel's Messiah for years.

Has anyone had an element of their fiction make an unexpected connection with real events?

In 'Midnight Angels' Jess paints a white rose on the tail of her aeroplane... officially it would have been red but she is from Yorkshire and a red rose would never do. When it's copied to the other aircraft it makes the squadron very easy to recognise and earns them a nickname.

Lots of visitors lately, so that's why the front page sometimes changes to a simpler layout; it's a way of getting a little more speed for those on dial-up when the site is busy. Interestingly, it's not so much that more people are visiting lately as, although that's up, too, but the larger part of the traffic increase is due to more people looking at more pages each visit.

Hmm... its been a few months and I haven't written a lick of poetry...
It must be due to the fact that I haven't really had anything major go on in my life...
I feel those creative juices flowing however and I'm getting that itch to write something... Bah... I'll get around to it eventually... maybe try my hand at something bigger than poetry *wink*
Hope I put out something soon!
~Dannielle

Hello everyone! This is my first Blog ever. I'm a 30 MTF TS. Today I came out to my mom... *happy sob* S-she said "I known for years, and I love and accept you!" *cries some more* We talked and cried for almost a hour!*sniffle, happy sob* I really love her sooo much!!

Huggs,
Laura

That's what I am by the warm welcome and response to my first posts. I've a few friends who've been supportive (and probably exasperated by my insecurities) but it's so nice to be sure that 'views' isn't translating into 'read the first lines, no sex, moved on'. :)

As with everybody, a story teller has many paths he can travel. However, sometime you reach a fork in those paths where each seems as bright or dim as all the others. How can a choice be made about which to next travel?

I'm spending most of each day at the hospital or running around doing errands. Not a lot of juice left for doing stuff.

While on the way to the hospital today, I got rear-ended at a stop sign. Second time in a month.