I’ve been traveling this week to deal with some family issues, so I’ve been kind of quiet as the contest goes into the final stretch. I have been keeping on top of stories coming in, though. Here’s my latest set of reviews. Great reading!!!

The Promise

When we started this contest, Jill, Joanne and I guessed how many stories we would get. I’m normally the cautious one, guessing low and hoping to be pleasantly surprised. But this time I threw sense to the scirocco and guessed that we would more than double the number of entries in the last contest, hitting . . . 55. Joanne, with the sunny optimism of the Aussi girl she is, aimed higher still, thinking we might get seventy. Jill, though, is savvy in the world of sales. She said we’d get a hundred. Amazingly enough, we’re almost there, and we still have a week to go.

Good morning! It’s February – do you know where your Contest Story is? C’mon, authors! Just two weeks left!

Here are my third set of comments on the stories that have been submitted to date, selected with the assistance of a handy random number generator:

A few days ago, Jill provided some thoughts on the first fifteen entries in the contest, with the goal of getting more of our readers to check out some of the amazing stories that have been posted so far.

Well, we had a bit of a lull yesterday. Can’t have that!

The contest has drawn over sixty wonderful stories, and we’ve had new authors as well as stories from some of BC’s most beloved. But some of you haven’t jumped in yet. :(

Aria Book Two, Trials and Temptations, now available on Amazon Kindle — Please Review!

Two authors whose stories I’ve been following — one an old BC hand, and one new — seem to have vanished in the last couple months after posting industriously. I hate to see good stories unfinished, naturally, but I am more worried about the authors. I don’t know if it’s considered poor form to ask, but does anyone know whether either Domoviye or Ms. Woolly are safe?

It suddenly dawned on me that over the course of this calendar year, I’ve posted an Easter story, a Halloween story, a Thanksgiving story, a Chris

"You have not yet begun your story." The Ghostly Author's countenance fell, and the air was filled with the acrid stench of unfinished tales. "Yet chance and favor may yet be yours."

"Now, Emma!" Scrooge scoffed. “I've got all the time in the world. I can't even post an entry until New Year's Day, and Valentine's day is weeks away!"

“It’s Sunday,” the Ghostly Author replied. “Do you know where your muse is?”

“Ah. Well. Errr. About that,” Scrooge temporized.

Tomorrow many Americans will celebrate our distinctive Thanksgiving holiday. It’s a difficult time for many in the trans community, especially those who have been rejected by their families. But it’s also a time to count blessings and give thanks. I didn’t want the occasion to pass without giving the thanks I can only articulate in this space: my deep, profound, and heartfelt thanks for every member of this community. For the women and men who have read my stories and for the incredibly talented authors whose stories have touched me this past year.

A couple weeks ago I asked writers to identify which of their short stories they liked the best. But if I hadn’t limited the field, there is no doubt that An Aria for Cami is my personal favorite of all the stories I’ve written. It is being published by Doppler Press on Amazon for kindle as four books, and the first one, The Holly and the Ivy, has just been published. I hope that you will purchase, read and review it — all proceeds will go to BCTS to help support the site!

A month ago, I asked people to identify stories they loved, from authors who haven’t posted in a long while. I received some great recommendations, and I’ve been working my way through them. So, thanks!

It’s a beautiful morning, and as I was drinking my first morning coffee (no, I never stop at one!), I was thinking back to the stories that first captured my attention, and my heart, at BC. Two came to mind, each by an author that hasn’t posted here in years.

The first is Rebecca Anderson’s series Wild Horses, a heart-breaking story of love, transformation, life and loss from an author whose prose is absolutely amazing. I think I found this story through a Google search, and it brought me to BC.

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Confessional

I was a young man once; it seems
So long ago – a different place.
The landscape’s still familiar, though.
Familiar as that young man’s face.
I had a young man’s dreams, back then –
The race to run, the world to win –
But other dreams I had as well,
Because my Emma was within.