Welcome to Lord Kitchener’s Kafe — I’m so glad you stopped by! The coffee here is really good. American, Italian, French, Australian, Viennese, Turkish, Moroccan— you name it, Hamza can make it, and it’s all good. I can’t speak to the quality of the tea, but by all means give it a shot if that’s your preference. Then grab a stool and let’s chat!

I’m Emma. I started writing fiction in the summer of 2022. I have a couple dozen short stories — four of them featuring this very coffee house! — as well as a few longer works.

I dabble in different genres, although all of my stories explore transgender themes. What I’m most interested in writing about, regardless of genre, are people and relationships. Some of my stories are believable and others aren’t, but it’s both my hope and my goal that the characters in every story are believable. So, here’s my attempt to put the stories in some buckets. Don't worry if stories are in more than one bucket. Life's messy that way, sometimes!

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Coming Out Stories. The experience of coming out (or being discovered) is a big moment for many in the trans community. Often, the experience is traumatic; sometimes it is uplifting. It is an important element in many of my short stories, including Wittgenstein's Illusion, its companion story, The Bridge, Virtue and Valor, Hobson's Choice, Logan's Ride, On Faith, Resolving Reese, Neva Eva, Evan, and I Love Mondays. It is also a recurring and important theme in my longest work, Aria. Doppler Press is publishing Aria as a series of four books; the first three — The Holly and the Ivy, Trials and Temptations, and Bring Down the Curtain— are now available on Amazon Kindle.

More-or-less real world, strong romantic elements (but sex, to the extent it comes up, advances the story without being central to it). For short stories, I would include Wittgenstein's Illusion, The Bridge, Virtue and Valor, Comfort and Joy, Tenebrae, Natalie Makes Breakfast, and I Love Mondays. Full Force Gayle, which I wrote for BC’s twenty-fifth anniversary contest, fits here, as do two of my novels, Aria and Always and Forever.

Real world, with a heavier dose of steam. Two more-or-less real stories where the sex is more central to the story are William's Tell (a short solo) and the novel Duets (now available on Amazon through Doppler Press), which is the prequel to Aria. When I started writing here, I thought my stories would have a lot more sex in them. My muse, as it turns out, seldom pointed me in that direction.

Real World, focused on loving relationships that are NOT romantic. These stories explore relationships with parents, siblings, friends, and others. For short stories, Hobson's Choice, Logan's Ride, Inheritances, Resolving Reese, The Feast of Stephen, Uplift, and Neva Eva, Evan belong here. The Thanksgiving-themed novelette Parables is definitely in this category; arguably Midsummer is as well, though it is not set in modern times. For novellas, include the two-part series Software Update, which is a continuation of Ricky’s classic, Reprogramming Your Life. The loving relationships explored in Software are friendships among trans authors, and it is a bit of a love letter to the BigCloset community.

Slice of life Cheyenne's Mountain is a simple story of a transwoman facing her fears about appearing in public en femme. I can't think of another category for it!

Stories dealing with difficult issues. The stories in this bucket all center on darker and more difficult issues that may be hard for some readers who have had their own share of darkness to contend with. Earthen Vessels, This Honorable Court and Sundown all address anti-trans bigotry. The Doorway and The Mulligan both look at the particular emotional struggles of closeted transwomen. The Mulligan, Sundown, and For Us, the Living all involve suicide, and The Doorway discusses it. Read the cautions posted on each of these stories with care and consider them before you read.

Fantasy, Myth, and the Supernatural. I have three short solos in this category: A mythology/transformation story (Homer's Odyssey), a high fantasy story written in an epic style (Glave of Truth), and a variation on the classic encounter with a wish-granting genie (If Wishes Were Horses). Additionally, I wrote a novelette-length ghost story for Halloween in 2023 called Nocturne. Finally, my novella Strange Manors contains a supernatural element.

Humor. My most popular work here is a 20-chapter humorous SciFi series called Maximum Warp. Strange Manors, the two-part novelette Being Beatrice, and the short story Resolving Reese are, like Maximum Warp, (mostly!) comedies. Finally, almost my shortest story, Supply and Demand is a bit of humorous seasonal fluff, with all the nutritional value of Peeps. Sometimes, like Larry the Cucumber, I feel the need to sing a silly song.

Historical Fiction.. The novelette Midsummer is set in the time of the Vikings, though no actual historical characters are in the story. Maybe think of it as more of a period piece.

FanFic. The short story Which Road to Camelot is adapted from the opening sequence of John Boorman’s cult classic Excalibur, and Glave of Truth was inspired by a scene in The Return of the King. My ten-part SciFi/Action-adventure series Decision Matrix is more of a traditional type of FanFic, being based in the universe of The Matrix movies. You don’t need to watch any of the movies, much less all of them, to follow the story. Although, you’re seriously depriving yourself if you don’t watch at least the first movie!

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Connections between stories. My stories absolutely can be read on their own. But certain characters do appear in more than one story, and knowing a bit more about the characters can sometimes add to the enjoyment of a story. Here are the story connections:

Hobson's Choice and Earthen Vessels

Tenebrae and Comfort and Joy

Wittgenstein's Illusion, The Bridge, Virtue and Valor, and Full Force Gayle.

Duets, Aria, The Feast of Stephen, This Honorable Court, Sundown, and Parables.

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By length. Another way to slice and dice is by size, and whether you have only twenty minutes, or you want to fill a rainy day at the beach, size matters. So here’s a listing by length, shortest (about 1000 words) to longest (around 210,000 words):

Short stories (7,500 words or less): Neva Eva, Evan (1002), Supply and Demand (1111), Natalie Makes Breakfast (1304), Which Road to Camelot (1331), The Feast of Stephen (1426), Wittgenstein's Illusion (1549), I Love Mondays (2282), Inheritances (2943), Comfort and Joy (3082), Cheyenne's Mountain (3122), The Bridge (3219), Tenebrae (3398), For Us, the Living (3618), Logan's Ride (3718), Resolving Reese (3823), Glave of Truth (4078), Homer's Odyssey (4103), On Faith (4158), Earthen Vessels (4201), Hobson's Choice (4241), The Doorway (4462), If Wishes Were Horses (4849), Sundown (5137), The Mulligan (5571), William's Tell (6013), Uplift (6880), and Virtue and Valor (7005).

Novelettes (7,500 - 17,500 words): Midsummer (8526), Being Beatrice (9402), Parables (10,128), This Honorable Court (11,752), Full Force Gayle (13,697), Nocturne (15,601).

Novellas (17,500 - 40,000 words): Software Update (21,437), Strange Manors (30,910).

Novels (over 40,000 words): Always and Forever (47,363), Decision Matrix (53,494), Duets (68,727), Maximum Warp (142,397), Aria (211,161).

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Note about publications: Publishing Duets and Aria on Amazon was a difficult decision, only because I strongly believe that this site is my place, and the people here are my community. However, maintaining a website with this much content costs a lot of money, and I have donated all proceeds from sale of both stories to BCTS. If you buy the stories on Amazon, it will help support continued access to all of the other stories here. Please help if you can.

I hope that you enjoy the stories!

Emma Anne Tate