It comes as no surprise to me I learned this week that my main staple for sweet escape is officially dead. Why such a crushing blow like I've lost my best friend? Well, the decline of activity overall and neglect were considerable clues to the beginning of the end.
Booksiesilk was where I had written all sorts of erotic romance short stories, flash fiction, poems, and books since 2016. For the last seven years, it has been the proving ground to create stories and provide them to an audience. Ideas were born through creation and interaction, and skills were shared and polished. The Powers That Be, though, elected not to fix the latest crash to the redheaded stepchild website that occurred over a month ago. There were no backups, so if the writer of the site failed to back up their own content, it's gone into the ether. This is heartbreaking for many of my friends I met on the site.
Some glimmer of hope in the message left behind that they were trying to resurrect the erotic writing site was short-lived. Those frequent fliers of the site, those dedicated troops who loved the site as much for the kindred spirits found there as for the writing itself, believed it might come back. Nope. Bubble busted.
Inquiry about Silk on the parent site revealed there would be no coming back from the latest crash. Only Booksie will realize the fruits of Silk's ashes in preventing a similar demise. The world is run on money, even for a "free" writing website. I get it, but admittedly, I feel a bit like a very jealous and jilted lover. Erotic writers like me used the site for free for years before we began contributing for premium membership over the last two years with few perks. It meant more in the long-run to help keep things running. That's what I get for assuming. The site still did not turn enough of a profit to maintain Silk like the parent site. One less thing for the Powers to worry about while disenfranchising those who did use their site they cared so little about. Still, I remember what my mom would always say: you make time for the things you care about, and the grass may be green on the other side, yet yours can be just as green if you water it. If they engaged in the same effort expended on the parent site, Silk could have done better to cater to its niche audience and grow it.
Perhaps it is all for the best. Lessons were learned. Growth might be had in a new spot for my erotic musings. What? Why not just shift to the parent site, Booksie, and stop being bitter? I'm just not feeling the same love there or vibe. Never had, but I never made much of an effort either. Is the pot calling the kettle black? Hee, hee, you bet! Two can play that game!
Deep down, I recognize my writings do not suit Booksie. Why bother? What little writing I do conjure that does fit is there and will remain, but I do not foresee my activity changing. Frankly, if I write something else that would work, I probably won't continue to post there. Am I in my feelings? Don't you know it! Will I get over it? Yeah, but Booksie burned a bridge with me. I didn't burn the sucker down to begin with, you know. You can be damn sure it won't be rebuilt from my end. No, thank you... next.
Booksie and I shared seven good years that will be cherished always, and now it's over. Call it a day. It's time to let go. I prefer to spend my energy finding my happy medium on a writing platform that accepts all my offerings regardless of what it is. Okay... also if my Silk friends gravitate back to Booksie, I will find them there, at least for a chat.
When I found Booksiesilk, I was in a kind of transition personally and with my writing. I sought an outlet, and it suited a need. The spark for writing had been renewed after being dormant. Embers burn hot, showing me they are not ready to sleep again. Such things must be nurtured, for I am most myself when writing. I have my site, at least, and other areas to pursue to explore the deep ocean of creativity of other storytellers out there without restriction. Is it Facebook? Wattpad? Inkitt? Eroterite with my kindred Sam? Or some new writing site I find that is similar to Silk? I begin the search and hope for the best.
Booksiesilk is dead, but I am not. I still have my stories of old and the new ones that still simmer inside, ready for release. The possibilities are endless in the way my stories may be expressed. Perhaps this is an excellent opportunity for me to flourish with the next best thing on a new journey of discovery.
