"I was lying in a burned-out basement, with the full Moon in my eyes," said Aaron, quietly. "I was hoping my relief would arrive soon, so I could go get something to eat. Suddenly, a parachute flare lit up the entire scene."

An excerpt from The Modern Age, an unfinished novel set in the Thirties of the Masks universe:

"Wow," whispered Dutch, looking over the edge of the roof at the street far below. He glanced back at the Night Master, who was preparing to throw a grapple wrapped in rags across the gap between the buildings. "You've done this before?"

"Many times," the Night Master replied, as he sent the padded hook whistling through the air. It caught on a vent pipe projecting from the roof of the penthouse of the lower, neighboring building.

but hopefully not the Walrus, koo koo ka choo!

Can Rani save Malcolm from justice?

The Dagger of Heaven at the End of Time -10-
by SammyC
Read on Patreon

many of you may know of my love for statistics, being a maths graduate and all. Earlier today I ran the statistics for my stories again (a fairly time-consuming process but usually done in well under half an hour). What's interesting is comparing them to the last time I did the stats, which was May 13 2023.

In that time (17 months and 13 days) I've only posted 12 additional chapters (amusingly, I have sixteen in my backlog right now*) increasing from 258 to 270. However, on my existing chapters:

of a pauper writer!

“When did you start wearing make-up?”

Poison -20-
by Melanie Brown
Read on Patreon

I've just posted a (very) short piece on Patreon for those that follow me there. It's my first bit of fiction writing for months, its the intro to what could be a longer, stand alone tale.

Tschussie,
Madeline Anafrid

So, I've decided to name this pump I have to haul around twice a month Kuato, cause it's joined to me at the hip. (Bonus points if you get the reference.) So, the most serious side effect I've had so far is my blood pressure, which had gotten normal was quite elevated today. Almost to the point where they didn't want to treat. My Oncologist wants to me to schedule with my Primary care to have my Lisinopril I take daily doubled from 5mg to 10mg.

I have been told by non family members that I am super strong and it is amazing that I survived, even excelled at times. My own family has "Ghosted" me, and despite that I fire back at them that after due consideration they were not "worth" it. Nearing the end of my life at times I wish that I had done other things with it. To my children: I'd like my seed back. They have misused it.

It often wonder how the population of BCTS got so strong and how I came to be even grudgingly accepted here. I know that what I write is pure excrement...I'm trying as hard as I can.

This list was cultivated from Mandela Effect List. This was done to preserve the list in its entirety without it vanishing from the web altogether.

Updated List of Some of the Most Well Known and Some of the Less Well Known ME's for all time through 2018.

As if packing wasn't stressful enough, I think I am going to have to make time for a doctor's visit because of my right foot. I found out today I can't handle being in any kind of shoe that doesn't have some support, so my open toed sandals are a no.

Sighs . . .

If you like “slice of life” stories, you might want to take a look the series Standing Up To Life by Tiffany Shar. The first book has already earned the “----------=BigCloset Retro Classic!=----------” status.

Wanted to drop a quick note, as the draft for Book 6 Hope's Light was completed not five minutes ago! In fact I'm still processing the (rather strong) emotions from the final scene. Whee?

Mom squinted at me. “Cute outfit, but don’t you think that skirt is a bit short?”

Poison
19. Arcade
by Melanie Brown
Read on Patreon

For those who seek to sound like the gender they present. It's possible to train one's voice to be different from the voice they were born with and grew up with. Think of singers. Opera singers are some of the best when one thinks of the sounds we humans emit. Even those who do Country or Classical songs train so their records, or now days DVDs sell. Think of those who do voice for animated characters. The Simpsons, it was a female who did Bart. She does several other voice overs also.

Thanks to a recent story chapter post by Tiffany Shar I started re-reading her previous contributions and got a serious blast from the past! After re-reading Suddenly Royal from a contest in 2020 in order to establish context for the sequel that Tiffany just recently started to post here on BigCloset TopShelf.

Dear Readers and Writers,

How many pages should a novel have?

(And please don’t say when it’s finished! Unfortunately, the Wildcat tales never end.)

Oregon has this really screwy law regarding grocery bags. While I'm not totally on board with banning single use plastic grocery bags, I can see the logic and I'm willing to admit that throw-away plastic has become a global problem.

sat typing this at eight in the morning on an overcast but still warmish morning in my hometown of Sheffield

I do not know how many on here are like me. I am here to read, and say very little. I do not think I have anything worth saying. I have stories in my head, but I would never be able to put them on paper the way some of these phenomenal authors do.
My question for the authors. Other than the kudos or buying the books from Amazon, what is there that a reader can do to encourage you. I am thinking especially of times when an author is struggling to think through what to write or how to continue a story. How can I as a reader be an encouragement to the authors.

Has daring Diane updated when she is going to come out with the next cheerleader book
Charlize

Well, it's time to discuss this.

Here are two songs that I should have played to my wife many more times:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=uSrKff0w6CU&si=Cu4

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=7UDhpW0YjDw&si=m

So, here we are at Chemo Day 3. First the good news. Doctor is VERY pleased with my numbers. He's going to schedule me a PET scan after my next infusion (Chemo Day 4) instead of waiting for six months. Fingers crossed that news will be good! So far cold sensitivity has been my greatest side effect, if you don't count all the time of coming and going and hauling around the slow dose pump from now until Thursday.

Well we are back in Berlin ahead of our flight back to Blighty tomorrow it’s been warm today travelling down from Hamburg, it was 30c when we got to the capital! And it’s been very humid too so not the most comfortable of days.

We have some more time in Berlin tomorrow before a tea time departure back to Bristol.

What have we done since Sunday? Well on Monday we spent best part of 7 hours in the model railway before finishing the day with a couple of hours in the nearby Maritime Museum. A warm day but we were in air conditioned luxury for most of it.

“Zach!” I whispered into the phone. “Where the hell are you?”

Poison -16-
By Melanie Brown
Read on Patreon

Gotta take Patches (my calico) to the vet for her annual this afternoon, so I posted the third part of Masks 28 early.

Fantastic Mars returns! First new chapter in two years. Read on Patreon (Free!) this week!

Fantastic Mars
15. Visions of Mars
by Erin Halfelven
Read on Patreon

Let us all take a moment to wish our Hostess a very happy 29th birthday! A donation to BCTS would make a marvelous gift don't you all think. After I finish this blog I will donate my usual $25.00 .

Erin thank you for this site is one of the few things keeping me sane.

The last time I posted, I think I might have rubbed some people the wrong way with what I said. At that point in time I hadn’t really been thinking about the whole picture with what I had said.

Since that last post I’ve done some heavy soul searching. And I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to apologize for how I came across in my last post.

I feel like I may have rushed that post into existence.

How much can Malcolm be trusted?

The Dagger of Heaven at the End of Time
-7-
by SammyC
Read on Patreon

Or what Maddy did next

So for the last few days we have been based in Hamburg, I say based, so far we’ve not seen much of the place beyond the Hauptbahnhof! Instead we’ve been out and about exploring.

Thursday we went to Lueneberg @ an hour to the south. It was hot and sunny as we explored the old salt town founded in the 11th century and home to the oldest ‘potions’ shop in the world which dates from the 16th century.

I was hit on four times before the lunch bell!

Poison -15-
by Melanie Brown
Read on Patreon

Sorry to make my first blog post a request for help but I'm a bit lost.

I've posted two chapters for a story so far, and I can't seem to edit them or link them together.
I also don't have a way to get to them quickly, I have to go to Free Stories and scroll down the page, which I don't think is supposed to happen.

Any have an idea what I'm doing wrong?

Thank you!

But not forgotten

So on Monday we set off on our long planned trip to Berlin and Hamburg, both, as it happens, destinations that Dad loved to visit. We’ve had time in the capital and I write this from our ICE train taking us to Hamburg.

It’s been a bittersweet time, we went to Potsdam yesterday which I first visited with Dad in @ 2007 and going around Berlin I was remembering visits with both my parents in the intervening years, happy memories at least.

Okay, Okay. I finally broke out and did a bad thing. I made a Patreon account so I could post voting over there with a simple and secure system. Beats having to tally stuff by hand so hey! :) So both the October and December Contests will be using them for voting. I hope this satisfies most of my critics and makes things easier!

I was shocked to read of the attacks in Southport, UK. Three innocent lives taken, with eight more children and adults injured at a dance class celebrating the music of Taylor Swift. And the attacker's identity is being concealed because he is only 17! That's old enough to be tried as an adult here in the US! Name and shame!

Well looking for two stories think both were on fiction mania hope someone can remember
First story boy goes to London I think meets a girl who runs her grandmas adult shop finds out the mothers is a doctor and both help boy transition think he ends up dating girl
Second story boy ends up in London meets a girl that wants to help but can't stay with her unless he dresses as a girl turns out the house is a brothel
That's all I can remember from the two
Charlize

I have just posted a new story, Candice and her Pregnant Husband.

Today, sitting in a group of (Sunday) people numbering about 50 people, both male and female, and seeing the obvious genetic variations, it came to me. We Are The Aliens !!! Said group of people have made a lot of money pushing Genetic testing to the tune of around $150 per person. Other people, purportedly expert scientists, say they have spent years digging through ancient ruins.

It seems obvious to me that "we" are the Aliens. Pardon my repetition.

I feel a story coming on.

Ahabidah

Swiped from Facebook

Depending on what will happen in the USA in the next 120 days, how safe will those of our ilk be here in America. I briefly looked into fleeing to Israel, but that is not practical for me, and perhaps not safe. I was considering Tel Aviv. I was just looking at going to western or central Canada, but that just seems impractical to me.

So, perhaps it is best to just say where I am and hope for the best.

Ahabidah, Gwen Brown

I sighed. “Gene asked me out on a date.”

Checking into renewing my 16 year expired pass port and going to Israel.

If you ever look at a list of the most stressful things that can happen to you, moving is pretty high on the list.

And I should know, having moved a large number of times.

but stressful or not, I am moving again.

The only good thing is the place we are going to looks pretty darn good.

I would ask for hugs, but then I gotta pack them . . .