Catherine Linda Michel's blog

Crystal's Storysite seems to be back up... mostly

Whilst wandering the 'net" as I am wont to do on occassion, I discovered that most of Crystal's Storysite seems to be back in operation... mostly. The old chat rooms are not functioning, and some of the other features aren't working, but the stories, the author chats, the author reviews, comments and hit counts are back and accessible.

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No more Southern Comfort Trans Con?

It came to my attention this evening that The southern Comfort Transsexual Conference is no more!

http://www.tgforum.com/wordpress/index.php/the-southern-comf...

I attended in 2009 and it was a life changing event for me.

The Con had relocated from Atlanta Ga. to Ft. Lauderdale, but apparently there were some lawsuits that have ended the Con that had been a fixture for Trans folks for 26 years!

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A Thanksgiving message of thanks.

It seems, as the years go by, that the real message of this time of the year has faded to overstuffing oneself on turkey, or whatever passes for the holiday meal and vegging out in front of the TV or computer, engaging in whatever non-activity one prefers.

To me, the true meaning of this holiday, that of being grateful for what one has received in life, has faded into self indulgence and solitude from the scary world outside one's "safe place." In this post, I shall attempt to re-affirm what is truly important to me in my life.

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All this talk about writers leaving,

because some unthinking fool has given them grief has made me very angry! I've spent years here at Top Shelf and, while not every writer is one I read, their work is nontheless important to them and their fans. Writing is a way to deal with the anxiety and even pain that comes with being Transgender and being able to get those anxieties out in writing helps each and every writer to deal with those pains and anxieties.

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It's with a grateful heart that I report,

that Grover and Understanding Spouse have arrived safely in Utah and are recovering from a trip fraught with danger. U.S. starts her new job Tuesday and Grover will be back in the groove writing as soon as they get settled into their new domicile.

They got waylaid by snow in Denver over Friday and part of Saturday and, being from much warmer climes, they didn't want to risk life and limb trying to navigate the icy roads. I can't say I blame them.

Anyway, alls well that ends well and I can breathe again, knowing that my family of the heart is safe at home.

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Okay. This might get me in some trouble, but...

No. I'm not a Nigerian prince looking to get financial help in regaining my kingdom... but I'm going into begging mode.

Not for myself, but for a dear friend and his mate. Grover and "Understanding Spouse" have run into a situation they are not able to handle. What with Grover's bout with heart surgery and continuing migraine attacks, they have run out of financial resources they desperately need right now.

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Re: Copyright infringement.

I just clicked the link Tigger provided and it appears that Amazon has taken the author's page down. Looks like the reviews and phone calls had the correct effect. Hope that story thief gets what's coming to her. Great job everyone. We caught another thief!!

Catherine Linda Michel

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Brandy DeWinter, where are you?

I know you withdrew from the active community long ago and I understand your reasons. I've tried emailing you, but they keep getting bounced back to me. Tigger tried as well with the same result. PLEASE contact me here at Top Shelf and let me know that you are okay?

Catherine Linda Michel (Cathy_t_ from Storysite.)

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We lost a four legged child tonite.

It was truly a dark and stormy night tonite. Earlier today, we rushed our beloved pekenese to the vet. She was having trouble breathing...the dog, not the vet. The vet said that it was a heart problem, which is...we found out, a common problem among pekes. He gave us some pills to help with Sugar's breathing and water retention and we brought her home.

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Well, here's another challenge.

Erin and crew need bucks to keep the doors open! It can't be any more clear than that. So c'mon everyone. Break into the piggy banks and help keep Top Shelf where it belongs. On top of the 'net and the best TG fiction site out there anywhere!

It's SO easy to send even a one time gift to help out. Use this URL and your bank credit/debit card: http://bigclosetr.us/hatbox/node/26

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This will probably seem like a small thing

to many of you, but it's a first for me. I've never been able to cross my legs while seated, the way women can. Yesterday, while watching television, I casually crossed my legs...knee over knee!!!!! It took a few seconds for the information to reach what I laughingly call a brain, but when it did I laughed and called to the the attention of my housemate who was watching tv with me. She looked at me and smiled.

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My Challenge and A Thank You to all who responded.

I want to personally thank all those who responded to my challenge to donate to help keep the site online. I also want to again thank those who donate regularly. The donations you all sent, helped take some of the pressure off Erin, Piper et all.

Again,There are several ways to donate. You can send a check or money order to the address on the front page.

Checks can be made out & sent to:
Janglewood LLC
602 Higgins Ave
Suite 1 #283
Brielle, NJ 08730
USA

You can donate through the Hatbox.

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This is a Challenge to every member of Top Shelf

Every month, Erin has to beg for money to help TopShelf running and she shouldn't have to. If each one of us sent ONE SINGLE DOLLAR, ONE TIME, it would keep the site solvent for several months.

I know that are several who regularly contribute to keep the site up, and they are to be thanked greatly, but Erin has gone deep into debt to make up what it costs to run it and that's not right. She and the others who administer the site donate their time and energy without pay, hoping to keep it going.

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Which would you prefer?

In the latest episode of MASKS a male becomes female but gains super powers as a result. It's a common theme in our genre, that of becoming female, but would it be better to become female and gain "super powers" or remain/become male(for those who are truly male) and not become super?

I'm sure that the majority of US would prefer the former, but I'm also sure that there are a lot of men, or trans-men who might prefer the latter, or become the latter.

It's an interesting thought/question, is it not?

Catherine Linda Michel

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Been a bit depressed, but tonight,

I am feeling happy, euphoric if you will. Why? Because I'm watching television and the 50th Anniversary concert of THE BEACH BOYS!

Whenever I hear those great voices and great songs, I feel young again. I grew up listening to The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, and countless others from the 60s and my memory slips back in time to a more innocent time when I wasn't so conflicted and frightened about what our world has become, when I hear The Boys.

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I'm pretty depressed today and I think I know why.

This is, I'm afraid, gonna be a long one, so if you don't wanna read it all the way through, it's okay with me. There's just some things that have been building up in me for a long time and I finally had to acknowlege them last night so I could maybe find a way to deal with them in a rational way. If you're not interested in my life or the state of what I laughingly refer to as a mind... read no farther.

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An open invitation.

With the recent interest in my Home That Love Built universe, I am re-issuing an open invitation to any writer who would like to try their hand at adding to the wonderful stories already posted in it. There have been many stories written so far in the universe and I'd love to add more. There are some very talented writers who were not members here when I first opened THTLB universe and I'd be pleased and proud to add them to the roster as well as inviting writers who have already made their wonderful additions to THTLB.

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Maybe a few helpful hints for beginning writers.

When writing a story or whatever, when one is done with the task, take some time and read it out loud back to yourself. I think it helps find errors that otherwise would have been missed, and helps eliminate misunderstandings of some phrases, sentences or words.

It helps with spelling, syntax, and punctuation as well. One big thing. Even though you might THINK you know the meaning or spelling of a word... if there is the slightest doubt, LOOK IT UP! There are dictionaries everywhere, even on the internet. GOOGLE IT!

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The MASKS series now being posted.

The series is fully written and complete up chapter 17... however, I neglected to let Stickmaker know about not posting more than one story part per day or so, so the multiple posts today are my fault, not his. Since I was the one who asked him to post here, it was my responsibility to let him know of the unwritten rules here. Mea Culpa.

I hope you all are enjoying the series.

Catherine Linda Michel

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Rodford Edmiston Smith aka Stickmaker

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Stickmaker, but he is a superb writer with a huge body of work. He generally posts his stuff as emails to the Yahoo group, I think.

His main story, MASKS is an immense work, involving very large groups of characters, supers, of course. If you're a fan of these kinds of stories, I urge you to go and read. You won't be disappointed. Of course, his main character(s) is(are) TG.

http://www.dcr.net/~stickmak/Stories/

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