C.K. Combs's Blog, page 6

Emerge 2020: What I Read – Not an Endpoint

There are a lot of popular myths about trans people, from the ridiculous to the hopeful.

There is the ‘born in the wrong body’ trope – as though our real bodies are out there somewhere waiting for us to discover them. So where are they? Are they wandering around with an equally dislocated inhabitant animating them? Are they in some mythic state, like a limbo body storage unit with inept management?  I’m not disputing the very real sense some trans and nonbinary people have about having been b...

New Story Submission

I just pushed the button on a smut story submission for Nerve Endings: Short Fiction Addressing Trans and Non-Binary Experiences of Sex, Sexuality, and Relationships. It’s the first story I’ve submitted for an anthology since the cluster of submissions I made in 2015 (all of which were published). On the one hand, I really like this story, and want to see it land in this anthology. It’s sexy and vulnerable and contains what I think of as ‘real-life erotica’ – the awkward, spontaneous messy mo...

A familiar longing

I was listening to a song and got a familiar longing. The song described a place where the singer wanted to go fishing, and watch the sun go down over the hills. Something in the combination of the music and the lyrics struck a cord in me and had me thinking of places I longed to be.

The place or feeling I’m longing for is peaceful, restful, with plenty of time to sit and watch sunsets, cuddle a sweetie and other enjoyable activities. So why did there seem to be a glitch in the happy...

Writing Retreat, at Home

What is the ‘staycation’ equivalent of having an ‘at-home writing retreat’? Whatever it’s called, that’s how I spent the weekend of 9/12-9/13. My goal was to spend those days brainstorming ideas, sorting through them to determine which were short, medium and long term projects, and then to choose some and determine goals, milestones and schedules. And, if I still had time and energy, I’d sit down to write.

During the week, I compiled a list of prep tasks to help me make the most of my time: ...

Season of Change

Since I moved on June 10, I’ve been settling into my new home. I had a friend with a house painting business paint the living and dining room with vaulted ceiling and adjoining kitchen. I’ve painted my bedroom and recently finished painting my office. Once the office was painted, I was able to move the bookshelves in and anchor them to the wall. Then I was ready for a moment I’ve been looking forward to since I started packing away my books around the first of the year – unpacking and shelvi...

Saying Goodbye to Corey Alexander

It’s hard to even write those words. I found out yesterday that Corey aka Xan West, had died over the weekend. I’m grateful to have received word via my sweetheart, who saw a post online and knew I’d be hit hard by this loss. Only a few days ago, I’d been sharing at length how much I enjoyed one of Corey’s recent works and how much I appreciated them as a writer and a person. A person who made the world a better place by their kindness, their compassion and thoughtfulness, their bravery in w...

A Daydream

I’m daydreaming about sitting with you, looking out a window at the spray of waves crashing against the jetty rocks and seagulls wheeling endlessly overhead.

We’re in a warm, comfortable silence, each with our own thoughts, far away, but close. Around us the genial hum of conversation, the clink of soup spoons against chowder bowls.

I live for these moments with you. The simple pleasure of your company and distance from our never ending responsibilities.

You reach across the table, your...

My Gender

my gender is open to my interpretation

my gender is shy and eager

it is strength and tenderness

There is an ocean of depth and shores to wash up on

my gender is a horizon unattained

and also the culmination of a journey

my gender unfolds, splits, combines and expands

my gender is wise and naive

my gender doesn’t need your approval

doesn’t need a name you can hold on your tongue

my gender doesn’t need to be seen to exist

my gender welcomes and invades

it holds and expels

my gender seeks...

My 2019 Books

I took the Goodreads reading challenge last year and put my goal at 50 books. I got to 41. A mix of fiction and non-fiction. Fiction was mostly speculative, fantasy and scifi genres. Much of my non-fiction reading was motivated by a desire to learn about whiteness and systemic racism and included works of history, autobiography, politics/economics, and psychology. I read twelve works by/including people of color, five by trans/nonbinary authors, 16 by women. I read most on paper and listened...

Update on WiP – Real Life Erotica

I sat down and wrote out the story I drafted the other day. This is erotica based on real events. For adult readers only; and only adults that want to read erotica. Check it out on my other blog: Puzzle Pieces.