Welcome, one and all, to (hopefully) the first in a series of blog posts I shall do...

We regularly have readers popping on here for help finding stories they love, or finding new stories of varying kinds, and a recent small resurgence of interest in a blog post of mine from a decade ago showed me just how much people want help finding stories.

So, here's the plan:

Once every few days, I intend to post a new BCTS Recommendations blog, and ask people for recommendations of stories along a particular theme.

This is everyone's chance to get out suggestions for stories they think deserve more attention that fit that theme -- whether it be their own stories, those of a current favorite author, or classics they think new readers should give a shot.

Suggest as many stories as you want!

This is intended as a resource for readers to be able to go back to regularly, so don't hesitate to give as many suggestions as you can think of that fit the theme! Links to the stories in question would likewise be considered very helpful, though are not required.

That's... pretty much it, for now. So, without further ado, our first BCTS Recommendations prompt is....

Kelly Girl itself can no longer be read in its entirety on the site, but there are a number of themes in the story that are featured a lot, namely the age-old tale of a young person finding themselves in an unexpected way. So, that's what we're looking for:

Suggest to me stories about young people (9-14) discovering their trans identity.

A few limitations I'd like to put into place:

--No sexually explicit stories. It goes without saying that this applies to the main character, but the same goes for other characters in the story as well.

--Completed or currently-active stories are preferred, though a good incomplete that ends in a reasonable place is fine too.

--For this prompt, there is a preference for real-world-ish stories. Again, this is a preference, not a hard requirement.

So, folks... whadda we have? If I can get at least 5 interested responses on this blog (not including myself) then this will become a regular Thing.

Melanie E.

Are you ready? It's time for a second helping of...

Sometimes all it takes is one good sentence or paragraph to get you hooked on a story, and this time around, I want to see some recommendations of stories that do just that: stories that kick off with a bang, that grab you and rivet you to your seat and scream "read me!"

As with the "Kelly Girl" prompt, I have a few limitations I want to put in place:

--Stories featuring sexual content are okay this time around, but try to make recommendations that don't focus on that too much.

--Stories that are either complete or currently in-progress are preferred.

Once again, if you feel up to providing a link to the story -- or stories -- you recommend, that would be fantastic and make it easier for others to check them out. Likewise, we saw quite a few suggestions of stories not featured on the site last time -- I don't want to discourage that, but I would like to ask that if you provide links to content outside the site, you try to make sure they're safe.

Thanks again, and I'm looking forward to seeing what folks have in store!

Melanie E.

After an extended time-out for the site, how about another round 3 of...

Our lovely site is back up (thanks to several days of hard work and minimal rest from our wonderful Piper,) but any recovery requires a little bit of deep-diving to confirm things are truly working right under the hood, and what better way to do that than to ask you, dear readers, to scour the site's archives for stories to recommend?

For today's theme, I'm looking for stories featuring errors that somehow influence the trans content of the story. This can be clerical errors, computer errors, doctors' errors, anything where a mistake in records or action influences the story's plot in a major way.

As per the last two times, a couple of requests:

--Try and stick to stories that aren't too sex-heavy, so that they have a wider accessible audience

--Once again, I would prefer to see recommendations of stories that are either in-progress or complete

(I promise, we'll eventually ask for recommendations of abandoned works.)

If you are willing to provide links to the stories you recommend, it would be helpful.

Thank you everyone for your patience with everything that's going on. We can't express enough how much we appreciate your support.

Melanie E.

It's been about 5 days, so why not another round of....

Today's prompt is all about those furballs that make our lives better.

Pets are rarely the focus of stories on the site, but there are plenty of stories that feature our lovable companions in either major or minor roles. As such, I want your suggestions of stories that have excellent pups and cats in them (or even something a bit more exotic? Horses, even,) helping the protagonist on their journey.

Try to stick with stories that are either already complete or actively being worked on -- and the more time with the critter the better! And don't forget to provide links if you can.

As an extra this time around, feel free to share pictures of your own pets with your comments.

Melanie E.

Weather outside's been keeping me drowsy, but that's no excuse not to do another round of...

Whether it's rain, snow, sleet, or shine, sometimes the weather brings out the best -- or worst -- in people. So, for this time around, I'd like to see recommendations of stories where a weather event plays a major roles in the goings-on, whether that be rain soaking the protagonist and leaving them in need of dry clothing, a snow storm leaving a group of people stuck and bored, a tornado's devastation pushing an unexpected change of one's living situation, or anything else!

As usual, try to avoid stories with too much sexual content, and I would prefer to see stories that are either completed or actively being worked on.

A lot of folks have taken these posts as an opportunity to hype their own work. That's great! But a big part of these posts is meant to serve as a reading list of older stories people might enjoy, but may have missed, so if you know of a classic from another author, feel free to share it, either here or on any of the older posts!

Melanie E.

As another week nears its end, how about another edition of:

April starts next week, so what better theme to take into it than some japes and jibes? I want to see recommendations of stories that involve pranks or practical jokes gone awry!

Same as usual: try to avoid anything leaning too heavily into adult themes, and try to stick to stories that are either already complete or are actively being worked on.

I've loved seeing folks' responses to these blogs so far! Keep up the good work, and don't forget -- if you've got suggestions for an older blog, leave 'em on there! I want these to be a bit of an evergreen reference for newcomers to be able to find stories they might not have located otherwise, so the more recommendations per-blog the better.

Melanie E.

April's here, and it's time for more

I dunno about y'all, but I, for one, am a big fan of video and tabletop games. I like to incorporate them into my stories, and I often have fun when I see others do the same, so I wanna see folks' recommendations of stories that feature either video or tabletop games (or both!) in a notable way. They don't have to be central to the story's plot, per se, but they should be important to the character(s) and play into a few scenes at least.

As usual, please try and steer clear of adult-oriented content if possible, since I want these recommendations posts to be accessible to as many readers as they can be. Likewise, stick to either already-completed stories or stories that are actively being worked on.

As a final note: I've tried to avoid putting recommendations of my own on these posts out of a desire not to show favoritism to anyone's stories in particular, but would people find it helpful if I started including those?

I'm looking forward to seeing peoples' responses!

Melanie E.

It's been about a week, so how about more

It's that time of year again, at least here in the northern hemisphere, when the first gleanings of the oncoming summer are inspiring people to get up, get out, and get things taken care of they may have allowed to lapse during the winter doldrums. Sometimes, our characters are no different.

I wanna see folks come out of the gate with stories about the spring and fresh starts. Actual spring cleaning being featured is encouraged, but not required -- just general spring-y vibes.

The usual here: I'd prefer to see stories that are either actively being worked on or are already complete.

I'm gonna give in and start kicking things off myself this time:

"Bridesmaid" by Miss Jessica

There are a few chapters in here that push the "R" rating limit I like to impose on these quite a bit... but honestly, I've re-read this story quite a few times. The characters are a little self-centered, but something about it keeps me coming back, and the author is even writing a brand new story right now!

I'm looking forward to seeing your suggestions!

Melanie E.