Yesterday I read Melanie's recent great story, which is a worthy addition to her wonderful library of work. After reading it I read the comments and became incensed by remarks that seemed to condone the character's suicide decision because of the bullying she'd experienced. I've read these kinds of comments too many times on BC. Being trans is NOT a reason for suicide. What happens to you because your trans also is NOT a reason for suicide.
As usual Rasufelle has made a wonderful point. I would like to add to it without high-jacking her thread.
Although most of the writers on BC are on the distaff side, there is a right way to ask for more, as Dickens has shown us.
When an audience rises as one and asks for more at a concert, they're taking part in a dance in which they know the singer/band have held a favorite in their pocket for an encore.
Writers normally don't hold back. When they add "The End", it usually is.
For the last nearly twenty years I've been writing TG fiction. Most of my work contains one basic theme. "People know more about us than we think they do, and accept more that what we imagine."
I continue to regurgitate this theme because I hate the guilt feelings that I, and others like me have about our desires.
Sometimes I feel like I'm shouting into the wind. Other times, worse.
Why don't more BC writers support Hatbox by contributing stories to it?
I can't think of one valid reason.
It would seem logical that more people would subscribe to Hatbox if their was more quality content. Content seemingly is king. If Hatbox added a new story every week, from authors with followings, there's no doubt the number of subscriptions would skyrocket. More revenue, less doubt about the sustainability of BC. BC is NOT a given.
Hatbox subscriptions are one of the vital supportive measures for BC.
On most issues "Donald: The Voice of Reason" is an oxymoron, however. . ..
For whatever reason, cynical conservative politicians have decided to use transgender as a political football and wedge issue. Their bathroom bills have prompted bigotry to crawl out from under rocks.
I read TG stories because they affirm my belief that there are a lot of people in the world who think somewhat like I do. I feel threatened by what I see as a less than compassionate attitude expressed by many in RL. The more I believe there are millions of TG people, the less I fear my own reality.
K.T. Leone recently passed away. Coincidentally I was reading her God Bless the Child. I haven't read much that Katie write for the last ten years or more. I didn't care for some of her themes and we "spared" years ago.
I just finished God Bless the Child. If you haven't read it, you should consider allowing yourself this treat. It's graphic and not for the faint of heart. It contains some religious sentiment, but not more than what is needed to be true to the story.
Once again Rasufelle (Melanie E) has been the inspiration for a raft of new standalone stories.
While I applaud the skill and determination of the serial writers, I long for more short and intemediate stories.
Over the last few years Melanie has pushed, cajoled, and coaxed writers through contests and challenges to produce stories, mostly short stories. I shudder to think how few short stories would have been posted had she not been such a driving force.
She's my Easter bunny carrying baskets full of short stories.
1.) If we didn't have BC where would the authors post their stories? There are other sites, but none as welcoming and as author-friendly as BC.
2.) If we didn't have BC where would readers find stories? There are other sites, but none offer the quality of BC. Why? See 1.).
3.) If we didn't have BC where would bloggers post their thoughts? There are other sites, but are bloggers on other sites able to post with confidence that their thoughts will be appreciated and handled with respect.
Yesterday a blog gathered opinions about corporal punishment.
This site spends a great deal of time discussing bullies. There doesn't seem to be any argument that bullies are awful human beings. Yet, it appears the majority of those who responded to the survey support corporal punishment.
I've been working on a new story for months. I've pushed and shoved the plot and characters through several massive rewrites. Nothing seems to work. I know it will find its way out of me at some point and the effort is the joy/
Along the line I started to think about forced feminization stories. Is it possible those of us who have struggled with being transgender have tried to put a face on our compulsion through these stories? I know that my feminine compulsion has been the single most consistent driving force in my life. Nothing else comes close to matching it.
A thread about the need for a spell check before submitting stories reminded me of a learning experience.
I once read a story that was posted here and approached the author in a PM asking if she would like a private critique, to which she agreed. (What else could she say?)
I subsequently sent her five or six paragraphs of marvelous suggestions for "improving" her story.
She replied, "Or, I could sit on the beach with a glass of wine and enjoy life."
A few months ago it was announced that Harper Lee had decided to publish anther book.
I was so excited I signed up with Amazon for first day delivery, because To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all time favorites.
Before I had a chance to read the book I started to hear negatives remarks, but I was in no way prepared for the amateurish writing in Go Set a Watchman.
Either –
1.) Harper Lee was blessed with one hell of a good editor for Mockingbird, or,
2.) She didn’t write Watchman.
Last night was “one of those”. I had an unsettling nightmare that led to me tossing and turning in grim reflection of my life. At my age (67) and given the tumultuous and very public life I’ve had I had plenty to think about. After due consideration I was not surprised that each and every problem I’ve had in my life could be laid at the doorstep of my transgender nature.
Each flaw in my four children sprang from my cross-dressing.
Every set back in my business was due to me being less than 100% male.
For the many, many years I've been opening the door to this Big Closet I've been amazed at our communities ability to heap pain on one another. Maybe it's just what writers do.
My latest story just fell into the abyss (off the front page).
It was an average story for me, in that it took about two months to write with considerable research. It received what has become my normal reception, with 111 kudos, 6 comments and 2,966 hits.
I assume about half my hits are unique readers since the story ran over 15k words and isn't easily read in one casual sitting.
Last night, I read the first few chapters of J.K. Rowling's book, The Casual Vacancy. I know I'm three years late, but my stack of books to read is more ambitious than I am.
While I worked through the pages it occurred to me that the book had a LOT of characters and was written to appeal to someone who likes character-driven novels. Being character-driven restricts her audience from the majority who prefer plot-driven books.
It’s quite possible many of you are quite a bit younger than me. I’m the same age as Caitlyn Jenner and feel compelled to make a statement.
As a young athlete she was truly amazing. She was a American football player who became injured and had to switch sports. She made herself into a terrific athlete by putting in eight to tem hours a day in training. She supported herself during this time selling insurance at night.
A number of years ago Amelia R and I made the decision to donate Peaches to Erin to allow her to sell copies for the benefit of this site.
Peaches was a work of love. Both Amelia and I wanted to get out strong message of love and acceptance.
Today I noted the blog from Doppler Press regarding the top selling LGBT book on Amazon being a Doppler Book.
I went to Amazon to check out the book. As Amazon does, several other books were listed as being something I might want to buy. Much to my surprisse, one of them was Peaches.
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