Charles Schiman

Forgotten Books

Submitted by on

Just read a blog about the old Nine Princes in Amber series by Roger Zelazny and it got me to thinking about a novel that I purchased back in 1975 for my wife that Christmas. First hardcover edition of the English translation (by Derek Coltman) of Malevil by Robert Merle. Merle was also the author of the bestseller, Day of the Dolphin, some of you may remember. The only books of his, still in print, are in 50 languages--none of them English. All his English novels are out-of-print.

Blog About: 

Author: 

Geez, it's getting hard to login here lately!

Submitted by on

Last week I was locked out of BigCloset for three days, unable to login because either my username or my password was unacceptible. Could not even use the link to change the password-- because when I did, I got a message the link was bad, or backfetch had failed, or the link was no longer valid, or (really the topper) that I had already used the link before.

Same thing yesterday. Today I only got backfetched twice.

I miss this sight. I really do.

charlie

Blog About: 

Author: 

More thoughts on depicting characters in illustrating stories.

Submitted by on

When I painted that, I was thinking YA or PG stories with an emphasis on realistic portrayals of the characters. In 'End of the World' and, I suppose 'Dystopian Novels' I had figured that that female characters (and also the male characters fighting in the resistance) would be wearing cast-off clothing and gear salvaged from the enemy. I thought that clothing them in revealing clothing would not be in their nature.

Blog About: 

Author: 

Missing Without A Trace - News

Submitted by on

Wow! I just got an update notification from Smashwords. In the last two months my book, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery, has sold fourteen copies since being placed in their premium catalog.

I am thrilled and amazed!!
Thank you to any of you who purchased it. It is really appreciated!

charlie

missing without a trace - cover_0.jpg

Blog About: 

Author: 

Blast from the past...an old painting of mine.

Submitted by on

I was just sitting around looking at some photos of some of my old artwork and came across this one. It was done back in May 2005, when I could still hold a paintbrush. It's oil on canvas (25" x 20) and (as far as I know) is residing in a home in eastern Colorado. I titled it, The Meaning of Life, and the "secret" of the painting is the lettering highlighted in yellow inside the equation.

charlie

The Meaning of Life.jpg

Blog About: 

Author: 

A few thoughts on Missing Without A Trace

Submitted by on

missing without a trace - cover.jpg

I've just finished reading Maeryn Lamonte's excellent short story Georgy Girl and it made me start thinking about my own short little book, Missing Without A Trace. When I wrote my novel, the heroine, Kelly, became me...or rather, the inner me. The Charles I should have been, without the male shell that I'd been forced to construct around myself to fit in with everyone around me as I grew up.

Blog About: 

Author: 

Natalie Barrett's Tuck Everlasting

Submitted by on

I thought I would talk about Natalie Barrett's children's book, Tuck Everlasting. It is a story, written in the late nineteen-seventies. It starts in early 19th century America. A pioneering family, the Tucks, stumble upon a spring with water that gives them immortality when drunk. Although it take them another some years to realize it, they find they have to go undercover to go on living their lives. Because each time their secret is discovered, they are denounced as demons, devils, or witches.

Blog About: 

Author: 

charlie's wish list...

Submitted by on

I have been disappointed, lately, with the lack of good transgender novels to read. I will admit that I am kind of fussy about what I like to read. I like character-driven stories. Not magical, or gender-swapping types, but more down-to-earth things; like plotlines which show how we cope with the intricacies of life. The struggles to fit in; not necessarily in dramatic movie-of-the-week ways, but how to fit in with "normal" society and be whole. I like mysteries and thriller elements, too.

Blog About: 

Author: 

Avon Township candidate's victory hailed as win for transgender community

Submitted by on

Updated
4/7/2021 8:31 PM
Kristal Larson's election to township clerk in central Lake County is being celebrated by proponents of LGBTQ rights across the Chicago area and the nation.

Larson, chosen by voters Tuesday as Avon Township's next clerk, is the first openly transgender candidate to win elected office in Lake County and only the second in Illinois' history. Larson previously served as an Avon Township trustee but was not openly transgender at that time.

Blog About: 

Author: 

Second Chance? Chapter 2A

Submitted by on


Second Chance?
Capter 2A
by Charles Schiman

Later that night, after leaving Beth’s house and returning home to supper, I found my thoughts fixated on Beth’s health problem—her fate, I guess—and my own problems with what I should do to cope with my own situation. Needless to say, I wasn’t very talkative during supper and I think everyone was wondering and speculating as to what, exactly, was eating at me this evening.

Second Chance? Chapter 1

Submitted by on


Second Chance?
Chapter 1
by Charles Schiman

I sat in my bed, in my tiny apartment, wondering where it had all gone wrong. I'd been doing that a lot lately. I was halfway to heaven, a little over fifty years old, and I couldn't help but think that they were, pretty much all of them, wasted years.

New Short Story: Legends

Submitted by on

I just wanted to let everyone know that I've just posted a new short story, Legends. If you've already read it since I posted it, I have just revised it (fixed the typos, hopefully all of them, and added some extra bits to the story). I want to add that the story is a mix of mystery, a puzzle of the past, and a hodgepodge mixture of science fiction, magic, mythology, gods and the continuation of a long-standing vendetta. Creating the main character's voice and how he tells his story was hard and--in the end--very satisfying.

Blog About: 

Author: 

Missing Without A Trace 2: Repercussions. Chapter 4

Submitted by on

book cover

Missing Without A Trace 2:
Repercussions
by
Charles Schiman

Author's Note: This is a sequel to my Non-TG Novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery by Charles Schiman.
This is also a non-tg novel. However, I am a male writing the novel first-person as a female. And I created Kelly as the female person I thought I could have become--my alter ego, if you will--had I been born a girl.

The first novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery, is available for purchase online as a Nook Book at the Barnes and Noble Nook Store.


CHAPTER FOUR

Now have a book cover for Missing Without A Trace 2

Submitted by on

I have drawn/designed the new book cover that will go with Missing Without A Trace 2: Repercussions. This is a sequel to my non-tg novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery, which I am publishing here on BigCloset TopShelf, chapter-by-chapter.

Blog About: 

Author: 

Missing Without A Trace 2: Repercussions

Submitted by on

Author: 

Audience Rating: 

Organizational: 

Other Keywords: 

book cover

Author's Note: This is a sequel to my Non-TG Novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery by Charles Schiman.
This is also a non-tg novel. However, I am a male writing the novel first-person as a female. And I created Kelly as the female person I thought I could have become--my alter ego, if you will--had I been born a girl.

The first novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery, is available for purchase online as a Nook Book at the Barnes and Noble Nook Store.

Missing Without A Trace 2: Repercussions. Chapter 3

Submitted by on

book cover

Missing Without A Trace 2:
Repercussions
by
Charles Schiman

Author's Note: This is a sequel to my Non-TG Novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery by Charles Schiman.
This is also a non-tg novel. However, I am a male writing the novel first-person as a female. And I created Kelly as the female person I thought I could have become--my alter ego, if you will--had I been born a girl.

The first novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery, is available for purchase online as a Nook Book at the Barnes and Noble Nook Store.


CHAPTER THREE

Missing Without A Trace 2: Repercussions. Chapter 2

Submitted by on

book cover

Missing Without A Trace 2:
Repercussions
by
Charles Schiman

Author's Note: This is a sequel to my Non-TG Novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery by Charles Schiman.
This is also a non-tg novel. However, I am a male writing the novel first-person as a female. And I created Kelly as the female person I thought I could have become--my alter ego, if you will--had I been born a girl.

The first novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery, is available for purchase online as a Nook Book at the Barnes and Noble Nook Store.


CHAPTER TWO

Missing Without A Trace 2: Repercussions. Chapter 1

Submitted by on

book cover

Missing Without A Trace 2:
Repercussions
by
Charles Schiman

Author's Note: This is a sequel to my Non-TG Novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery by Charles Schiman.
This is also a non-tg novel. However, I am a male writing the novel first-person as a female. And I created Kelly as the female person I thought I could have become--my alter ego, if you will--had I been born a girl.

The first novel, Missing Without A Trace: A Kelly Mitchell Mystery, is available for purchase online as a Nook Book at the Barnes and Noble Nook Store.

CHAPTER ONE
Subscribe to Charles Schiman