tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Thanks for joining me this weekend for the celebration! I hope you had fun! It’s been great getting your messages, comments, and emails about your TOS memories. Everything from the site being your first exposure to the sneezie fetish (I’m honored) to enjoying my wavs (I almost always used the pointed tissue method to induce, FYI) to helping you figure yourself out (you and me both!) to reading Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon fanfic (my first slash pairing). I’m thrilled the site could be that place to go to indulge or reaffirm for so many of you. And I’m happy it was a place so many felt comfortable contributing to as well. It wouldn’t have been so great without the community’s support.

I hope to see you on my blog in the future or you can drop me an email at [email protected]. And, if you’re into stories, check out tarotgal’s Realm if you haven’t done so lately; there’s a lot up there.

Also, thank you to those of you who have already purchased a copy of Still Around and Still Writing. I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together over the past year.

Here’s one last thing I just found when I was digging through my folders. It’s an animation I made to celebrate the TOS’s very first anniversary! Ha! It’s pretty terrible, but graphics programs in 1998 weren’t what they are today.

tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Time for the drawing! For a while there, I was nervous because no one was entering. What was I going to do with this extra copy I already bought? But then the entries came rolling in and I could relax a little.

Good luck to everyone who threw their name in. Entries have been assigned a number, and I’m using random.org to generate one.

Drum roll please! *bah-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da*

And the winner is…

Masking



Congratulations!

Oh, but then, I thought: that was awfully quick. Just one press of a button and a number popped up and it was over and decided in an instant. Why not do it again and give away a second signed copy for free? I can't afford to mail out 20 copies, but 2 (one for each decade) seemed more appropriate and twice the fun!

So here’s another drum roll *bah-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da* and another press of the random number generator button.

The second winner is…

smokeycat_430



Congratulations to you as well!

As a Hufflepuff, I’m sorry not everyone could win, but I whole-heartedly appreciate you ALL stopping by and entering. I hope you’ve enjoyed all the posts this weekend.


UPDATE: Winners, I've sent you emails. But please contact me at [email protected] if you didn't get my message.
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
One of the TOS’s minor arcanas was male stories. Here’s something that just popped into my head on Friday. It can be read as a standalone, but it involves Lucas and David from ”That One Regret”, which I wrote in 2016. A slightly edited version of that story is available in the collection as is its exclusive sequel, “That One Day.” But here’s a little bit more with them, coincidentally. I love writing about David and his care-giving fetish. He’s just so… hands-on about it.

Steam )




Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Were you around for the short-lived appearance of the Tarot of Tissues? Organized like TOS and created due to popular demand, TOT focused instead on tissues, handkerchiefs, and nose blowing. The site was only updated from January 8, 2000 through April 8, 2000 (a short lifetime even for a website).






Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
TOS went through a few changes over the years. Which is the first one you remember? Find out more about the site’s changes over time on the History of Tarot of Sneezing page.

 

 









Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Card 2 in the TOS’s redesigned major arcana was fanfiction. Did you know I have more than 890 stories on my realm’s fanfiction page? Did you know I run a comment meme on my journal every year in April? I’m definitely a multi-fandom fangirl at heart.

I wasn’t able to put any fanfiction into the collection because of the legalities. But I can certainly share some with you now! Unfortunately, I don’t have any finished. But here are parts of my latest two projects:

Supernatural )




BBC Sherlock )




Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Did you know more than 85 different people contributed content to The Tarot of Sneezing? The number is probably much higher, considering a many people contributed anonymously. Anon or not, thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who sent in photos, videos, wavs, stories, and more! And thank you to everyone who, back in the day, took the time to drop me an email telling me how much the site meant to them. I’m glad it could be there for you and help you figure yourself out a little more. It definitely did the same for me.

It was a hoot going through the TOS archive this week, looking at all the familiar contributor names. Some people I remember from just the contribution. Others I knew from email conversations or that good ol’ chat on SNEEZING GIRLS in the days before the forum.

It’s really been incredible watching the community grow over the years. It’s had plenty of drama, as all communities do, and the members have certainly changed as well. But it’s a pleasure to see it still going strong after all this time.




Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
The title of my collection comes from a comment people keep making when they run into me online. “You’re still around?” they ask. It confuses me, because I never left! I’ve been right here, posting challenges, updating my website, and sharing my writing this whole time. So I decided to own the comment and use it as a title.

It’s been more than twenty years since I posted my very first sneezing story to a Usenet group online, back before there were any websites. I posted “The Honeymoon” anonymously because I was terrified and nervous. Once I powered through those emotions, I discovered it was fun to share the stories I liked to write, because there were other people who liked them as much as I did! It didn’t take me long to decide I had to put together my own website. It took a few weeks of designing, collecting, and coding, then I launched The Tarot of Sneezing, and the rest is history. But I’m still around. And I’m still writing. And I still love appreciating sneezing as much as I always have. Thanks for stopping by to appreciate it with me!




Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Good morning! Are you feeling lucky today? Here’s a photo of the copy of the book I’m giving away later today at 20:00 (eastern). Enter the drawing now and you’ve got a great chance to win this free copy. Bet you can’t guess what pen I’m going to use to when signing!

tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Though I didn’t go through and count (and, therefore, have no quantitative data to back me up), I suspect that the majority of my stories end with one or more characters falling asleep. Ever since I realized this, years ago, I’ve made a concerted effort to end my stories differently. And, yet, sometimes that’s just how a story ends. For one, it’s an inevitable part of being sick; often, you just can’t beat resting to help you get better. For another, it’s pretty final; it’s hard to carry on the plot of a story when your characters are all unconscious.

If someone wants to count the more than 1,000 stories on my realm and let me know how many end with characters falling asleep, you’re more than welcome to. Meanwhile, I’ll be asleep for the night. Sweet dreams, everyone! See you in the morning for more fun! I've really appreciated all the nice emails and notes you've sent me thus far.




Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Card 5 in the TOS’s major arcanas was comics. So here are a few of my favorites that made it to my LJ but never made it to TOS:












Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
I just came across some interesting notes I made about the world I created for one of the stories I included in the collection. The story was originally written for my 132 Moods Challenge, for which [profile] wig_powder has written a considerable number of fills. The story I wrote as a fill for Nervous involves a young man in a fantastic realm as he and his brothers stand watch against a dragon attack. Here are some of the notes I made about the world. I presume I had thought one day I might expand this story into something much bigger. I wish I’d found this document a year ago when I was putting commentary and extras into the collection. But here it is now as some bonus material for the 10th story in my Still Around and Still Writing collection:

Appearance-
Asian-like, black hair, black eyes
Pointy ears
Wings (white & black)- were obtained generations ago by magic in order to help combat the dragons

Culture-
Abandonment of the arts, due to preservation of life and survival, though there are underground movements countering that
The fight against the dragons seems to be in the forefront
Watchmen are highly regarded and duty-bound
Men=warriors- their strength is admired
Women=thinkers- their cunning and logic is admired
Both genders wear their emotions rather openly
The leaders are always a man and a woman, together, for balance though usually they are not married or related

Dragons-
The people moved into the area and built their castle there
Dragons did not begin attacking until the people were seen as a threat
The people discovered that they could use the dragons’ own weapon (fire) against them

Aaryn-
Sneezes when he’s nervous
Was a wood boy for many years, but his whole family are watchmen and he wants to be one as well.
He’s got excellent skills and quick reflexes
Has a few older brothers (Harmon and Roland)

Possible plot points-
Aaryn finds/takes in a young girl he finds naked and shivering. She wants to train with him but it’s not a woman’s place to fight. He manages to get her on wood duty, however, and he worries about her during each attack.




Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Here’s the sneezing dragon animation that used to be on the front page of the Tarot of Sneezing:


That sure brings back a lot of memories.

I’ve never written a sneezy dragon story, but I’ve read some excellent ones, and cartoons are full of them. I remember a time in 2001 (I think) I wanted to redesign TOS with a sneezing alligator character to lead visitors through to the major sections. I had it all sketched out in my head, with flaring nostrils and speech bubbles and everything. Then when I went to draw it… I couldn’t make it look anywhere as good as my mental image. I really admire people able to pair artistic vision with skill.

I’m so grateful that Charlotte of http://confetishcake.tumblr.com agreed to take my commission for the cover art for this collection. Her piece turned out to be more perfect than I could have imagined!




Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
One of the TOS’s minor arcanas was female stories. So here’s a little brand new, little piece. Sorry that it’s a bit dark in places. I came across the item mentioned in the story a few days ago when I was going through a box of things my sister gave me when she moved across country, and it inspired me to write… but I just let the story tell itself and this is where it went.

Retaliation )




Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
There were a number of factors that went into choosing my username, tarotgal. First, I had already decided to organize my sneezing website using a tarot card deck scheme, so I wanted a username that would reference that and tie me to my website. Second, the only other two websites with sneezing content were run by gentlemen, so I wanted something that would make me instantly recognizable as different. Third, my first, middle, and last names all contain 8 letters IRL, so I wanted a username that would also be 8 letters long.

I also prefer my username to be all lower-cased whenever possible. I don’t really know why; it just looks and feels more like me that way.

I am still happy with my choice of usernames, even though I much prefer to call myself (and have others call me) tg. I identify with this strongly, and would definitely answer to it IRL. This presented me with an identity crisis a few years back when I had a coworker whose initials were TG, and she used them to post updates and sign emails. For a while, it felt like I was emailing myself!




Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Sooooooo I had big plans to post more regularly today, but my phone died and the place I ended up in DC for 6 hours today had zero WiFi. I was all ready and everything. Best laid plans! Anyway, here's the post I meant to post much earlier...


Did you know that around November every year I take story requests? I write 12 stories for different individuals and post them during the holiday season. I’ve really enjoyed being able to give my blog followers these presents every year. You can see all the stories I’ve written for this project at the top of my Gifts page: http://tgsrealm.tarotgal.net/gifts.html

Want me to write a story for you? Keep your eye on my journal!




Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
One of the TOS’s minor arcanas was female sounds. So here’s a little brand new piece from yours truly:

http://tgsrealm.tarotgal.net/wavs/tg20Wav.zip


It’s been so long since I last made a wav, and my setup is so different now. It took me two different computers and two different programs to put this together. The voice recording program I used kept timing out on me and missing some of my best sneezes. I had also forgot a lot of tricks along the way! I sneezed quite quickly once and sprayed my tablet, so I had to stop and quickly clean that. I forgot to mute both computers, and alerts kept popping up. And once I even sneezed so hard I dropped the tablet while it was recording. So enjoy that last attempt as a blooper wav:

http://tgsrealm.tarotgal.net/wavs/tg20WavBlooper.zip






Still Around and Still Writing is available for purchase! Its 448 pages are packed full of sneezes from some of my favorite stories to excerpts from unfinished pieces to drabbles to my own personal thoughts about each piece.

Want to win a free, signed copy from tarotgal? If you’re at least 18 years old, feel free to enter the drawing. The drawing closes on September 24, 2017 at 20:00 Eastern.

Thanks for celebrating the 20th Anniversary of TOS with me!
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
Let’s start off with the drawing, shall we? All you need to do is comment on this post on my Dreamwidth journal with your username and an email address I’ll use to contact you if you win. All comments on this post are screened, so no one will see the info but me. On Sunday (September 24, 2017) at 20:00 Eastern I’ll use a randomizer program on all the entries and then announce the winner of one free, signed copy of Still Around and Still Writing: Twenty Years with tarotgal.

Rules:
1. You must be 18 years or older to participate in the drawing. By entering, you are promising you are an adult as legally defined in the US (where I live and from where I am sending the book).
2. Only one entry per person (Dreamwidth does log and display IP addresses to me).
3. The winner must agree to send me a mailing address, so that I know where to send the book.
4. Because the books are sold print on demand from Lulu, I am unable to refund you if you win and already purchased a book. (You’ll just have to deal with having two; one pretty one and one that tarotgal has ruined with a signature, heehee).
5. In the unlikely event that the winner does not reply to my email within two weeks, I will run a second drawing using the existing entries and not open the drawing up for new entries at the time.

Feeling lucky? Enter by posting a reply!


UPDATE: Drawing closed on September 24 at 20:00 eastern. Winners announced here.
tarotgal: (Still Around & Still Writing)
It’s finally here (at least in my time zone): September 23! Exactly 20 years ago, I pressed the publish button to launch the Tarot of Sneezing website. At that time, I only had a handful of stories and wavs and lots of good intentions.

And now the publish button is back in use as I unveil this collection of 20 stories and much more. You can read more about it on my website and buy it now!

Stay tuned throughout the weekend for more celebratory posts with facts, content, and a chance to win your very own signed copy!

About

Contents of this journal include: sneeze fetish references and lots of hurt/comfort, short fics and/or WIPS, everything from gen and het to slash and femslash, everything from G to NC-17, random ramblings about my life and fandom obsessions.

June 2023

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