Honestly, thank you to everyone who read the story. If you commented, sent me a DM, an email, or even just followed along quietly, please know I really appreciate it. The encouragement, excitement, and thoughtful feedback you’ve shared have meant a lot to me, and I’m grateful you chose to spend your time reading this story.
I also want to say sorry if I haven’t replied to the comments yet. I’m genuinely a bit overwhelmed by how positive and generous so many of you have been throughout all the chapters. At the same time, I’m still sitting with the fact that the story is over, and that brings its own mix of feelings and questions about what comes next.
Right now, my brain is kind of in overdrive. I keep bouncing between different ideas, some I’m excited about, some I’m not sure I should touch, and sometimes I get stuck thinking about whether The Girl I Undressed has truly reached the end. Maybe it has. But maybe... just maybe... it hasn’t. I do have a few directions in mind for where it could go next, and if I’m being honest, I really want to write a follow‑up. Not just because so many of you loved this story, but because I want to go back and live in this world a little longer. At the same time, that comes with its own pressure to make sure whatever comes next feels right.
I don’t yet know when I’ll start or how long it will take to finish. I’m not even entirely sure I can do it the way I want to, but I’m going to try. And IF and WHEN the follow‑up does get finished, I really hope it’s met with the same patience, love, and support you’ve shown The Girl I Undressed.
Thank you again, all of you, for everything.
Love,
Emma
Comments
Speaking For Myself
It was my great pleasure to read your story, and however long it takes you to post another one, I will be here waiting for it.
I do hope you will continue to post on BCTS,
Hugs,
Joanne
I'll second that.
Joanne was spot on ( as usual!). It was a thoroughly enjoying story, Emma, and one into which you had clearly poured a huge amount of your heart and soul.
I look forward to reading whatever you post here next.
Just a small thought. I am, for my sins, an avid reader of what is generally referred to as "Cosy Romance", or sometimes more generously "Chicklit". One quite common device is an Epilogue set six months, a year or whatever, after the main action. It gives the reader a glimpse "into the future" as it were, and, I suspect, gives the author and reader more time to live with the characters that she has lovingly created, and that we the readers have taken to as friends. Would that work for you here?
The other common device is a second book, set in the same location as the first but not about the main characters. That way we get glimpses into Emma and Ash's life, just as we might bump into old friends whilst shopping.
Or, of course, you could go with a full on sequel.
Thank you for writing a great story.
Lucy xx
"Lately it occurs to me..
what a long strange trip its been."
Dearest Lucy
I have to admit, I never did think about an Epilogue. I guess it could work, but then would it be enough? Since I posted the first part on both BC and Fictionmania, I have been thinking about doing a follow-up. In the case of The Girl I Undressed, it's not really a sequel. It is more in the territories of Volume 2, perhaps? Don't get me wrong, an epilogue that probably shows them in the future as a happy married couple off on their honeymoon sounds fantastic, but I think partly what is pinching me to write this is the desire to show the journey from the proposal to the wedding. There are many possibilities to explore. I would just need to find that sweet spot and go from there. I did have a brainstorming session with my beta readers and one other reader I have befriended from Fictionmania, and it has given me a good reason to explore what this follow-up has in store for the characters. Everything was smooth sailing so far, with just bumps here and there. What might really make these characters grow is some kind of storm breaking out in these calm waters. That's all I can say for now.
Direction
I would say that hinges on how 'real world' any follow on would want to go.
Early on while I considered being just crossdressing to be enough, I read a lot of stories about the whole 'best of both worlds' thing.
Writers like Dee Raymond who regularly wrote for Virginia Prince's Transvestia was really good at that kind of thing. The story goes lightly on the whole padding needs and the need to cover beard, voice which is kinda traditional with this genre.
Real life ? We all know that is a whole different thing.
Male hormones will ultimately rob passability, a long time CD friend of mine has bore that out, he has stopped crossdressing pretty much in old age, I myself started seeing that even in my mid twenties. Having a crossdressing spouse may cause problem with clients or make one vulnerable to blackmail. Children may inadvertently spill the fact to friends, leading to issues. Or there is the fear of most spouses that their spouse might choose to go TS, I see that at the conventions I go to. Ashley seems bi enough that it may not be an issue but who knows.
If the story does not take a real life turn then, fine, party on.
The story was well written.. You kept the sex to the erotic level and not go full on XXX which is good. I admit I skimmed a lot of the way through as my life went full on TS nearly 40 years ago so this genre is not on my radar anymore. I am not trying to poop on the party but just offering a view on what you might consider when doing a follow on.
Edit: Thank you for taking the hard road in writing from the partner's POV. It is harder as sweating the details of motivating her to make her rationalizations seem plausible. I am not totally on board with all of her rationalizations (it is a fantasy after all) but it was at least consistent and pretty well thought out. Some would consider presumptive for a CD writing such a story to presume on the motivations of such a person so do not try to write such a story at all.
Dear Kimmie
I’m assuming that when you say “real world,” you mean the story should extend beyond just Ashley and James/Emma.
When I first started writing, I honestly thought this would be just another crossdressing story with a lot of sex, and that would be the whole shape of it. But it kept evolving and growing into something more layered than I expected. Even now, I’m still sitting with questions about what I want for James and Emma. I don’t know yet if transitioning is where Emma is headed, but I almost feel like James and Emma are two reflections of the same person.
I still feel like this story is a fantasy in a lot of ways, since I do pull from my own fantasies, but I’m trying to find my footing with it so it feels a little more real. Finding that balance is something I know I need to keep working on.
I’ve said to a few people that, at the start, this was going to be the kind of story where I was basically trying to get to the sex. But somewhere along the way, it turned into what I think erotica is supposed to be. Something about heat, yes, but also about feeling, the buildup, and the people inside it. I know everyone has their own tastes, and I get that many readers will be here for the story more than the explicit parts. Still, I really hope anyone who read those scenes found them genuinely titillating and worth the ride.
I’m trying to take this follow-up step by step. I have a few thoughts about how I want things to unfold, and maybe the only way forward is to keep pushing through and see where I end up. Yesterday wasn’t exactly inspiring, since I spent a few hours just trying to get the first page of the draft right. So we’ll see how this goes.
Finally, thank you for the kind words about how this story came together. It was not exactly easy writing from the female partner’s point of view, but I wanted to try it that way for a reason. We spend a lot of time talking about what the TG character is feeling and going through, and not nearly as much time sitting inside the partner’s head and heart. I have read a few stories that lean more into a female POV before, but they often focused more on femdom or a harsher dynamic than the kind of romance I wanted to explore here. I guess it came through better than I had hoped it would after such positive reactions from readers.
Love,
Emma
Recommendations
I help moderate a discord server of about 5800 mainly trans people. I knew that there would be a lot that would identify with the Emma character and some that would identify as Ashley. I have been recommending reading this story. I doubt that my word carries a lot of weight but who knows. Keep up the good work.
Bytebak aka Eilidh
Thank you...
Thank you so much. I am still at a loss for words when I hear such positive reactions, and that readers are recommending this story so highly to others.
Love,
Emma