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.

I plan to release the 10th and final chapter for "You're Only Human". I never wanted to have it be a "love connection" between an AI and the human narrator but I moved the needle into that direction and found it shoved back the other way by the AI. So, the story will end on a not so happy ending in "virtual love-land" but more of a way to have the narrator not confide so much with a program but with others in the flesh.

The writing contest will accept entries as long as it is the fourteenth somewhere.

We opened the contest on Oz time and will close on New Zealand time.

For those in the States, there is a five-hour difference between Auckland time and Minneapolis time.

Before the contest started, Emma, Jo, and I posted sample stories. They did not qualify for awards because we are the sponsors. In my opinion, all three stories were exceptional. They should have been because they were mostly group efforts.

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!

Right now, "Resolution Evaluation" has 63 kudos, and "Night Shift" has 58 "kudos. I'm curious if "Night Shift" can catch up, so I'm kind of competing with myself on the subject.

Of course, "Resolution Evaluation" has 28 comments (half of which are my replies), while "Night Shift" only has 10, so its not likely "Night Shift" can catch up in that area before the contest ends, but it looks like the kudo count will end up being close.

Hi everyone! I’m traveling, but managing— just! — to keep up with the great stories that keep coming in. Just a couple days left to get yours in, authors!

Here’s my next batch of fifteen thumbnail sketches. Great stories - have a read!

Countdown to Confidence

Despite Explicit Underage Sex stories being excluded from the contest, it seems to have thrived.

The New Year's Resolution Writing Contest has resulted in the following to date:

New stories – 110. . . 100 Contest Qualified
Hits – 121,214
Kudos - 9,851
Comments – 1,447
New authors - 6

Fifteen More Story Comments:

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.

Yeah, another one of those requests. Trying to find a story I thought I bookmarked it, but no idea where I put the bookmark.
It was a Christmas story, I believe, where the young protagonist takes all his Christmas money ($50?) and convinces his mom to let him get something by himself. He goes to a dress store where he saw a blue dress in the window he just fell in love with and had to have. He gets it and the line the little girl outside the store crying to her mom still stands out. "It's gone! The dress is gone!" (Pretty sure it was something like that). Any ideas?

I've got a story, and I need someone willing to give it a once over and tell me what it needs.

any volunteers ?

Maddy passed on Sunday dinner cooked by someone else!

Has "Sixteen the hard way" come to an end or is it on hiates?

I have had two reports of bereavement in the last few days with the funeral process tomorrow taking up most of the day. As they say, one sign of old age is going to more funerals than weddings. One is my elderly neighbour, who at 97 years old could be seen as inevitable, the other a good friend and widow of an even better friend, who died some years ago. This good lady died from a stroke, which given my own experience of a similar affliction, makes it even more poignant.

This blog's views, thoughts, and opinions belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the management of Big Closet, the Writing Contest committee, or any other group or individual.

I have long contended that there is very little correlation between the number of kudos, hits, and comments received and the quality of the story.

of 2024!

I seldom wake up rembering my dreams, but this morning I woke up from an argument with a red headed, asshole boss in an office setting. After a few minutes I realized the redhead was an adult version of the photo I used for Lucy in The Elliptical Path. Good thing I'm not planning a sequel, I will hate to see my character turn into an asshole.

That's right, folks!

Do you wanna see what happened with my original contest story idea? The one that ballooned out to over 12k words and I didn't have the heart to chop down? Well, do I have good news for you!

I just finished typing up and publishing the seventh chapter in my new series titled The Most Extreme Punishment-which, if you haven't already started reading, I suggest you check out. ;) But I was surprised to see that this chapter has over 2200 words. Which is longer than any of the other chapters I've written thus far. It's kind of funny, since the first few chapters had progressively fewer words, but now I've got the longest chapter yet. Wow!

Can anyone recommend a sci-fi story, or stories, on BCTS? I'm thinking of and have just written the first few paragraphs of something I feel has something to it, and I'm looking for the vibe of sci-fi stories on here.

Hey everyone,

It's been a journey of over thirteen years with BCTS, a journey filled with laughter, tears, and moments that left me utterly captivated. When I first stumbled upon this place, I was here for the erotica, but soon, I found myself falling deeply in love with the community and the stories it held.

I've been a bit of a lurker, gobbling up stories from many authors, sometimes sneaking in a DM or two. Watching the comings and goings of some fantastic writers, I've been the silent spectator in the corner, hand metaphorically (and sometimes literally) in my pants.

I thought I might have another entry for the the New Year's contest in me, but the story has petered out after about 400 words.

Ah, well, I should go back to some of my unfinished ideas . . .

I was just looking over "Melanie Brown's, Captive". For me, the story just yearns for another chapter or perhaps a post script or something. Here "Scotti" is at least at the end of the second year and declared an Art Major in chapter 1. Then in chapter 3 Scotti is sitting in the bathroom putting makeup on. For me, it is not surprising that after 3 years of brain washing, she would embrace being a woman. I assume that she was subjected to medically harsh doses of Estrogen, plus forced SRS.

I was thinking this morning (definitely cause for concern) and was wondering if I had anything in my arsenal that could maybe be converted to a contest entry.

Originally, I was thinking about my unposted things, but then, on review of the rules, I didn't see any prohibition on previously posted works. Turning my attention to those works, I discovered that I do in fact have a wonderful story for the contest!