Relativity

Bear with me here, this is going to be a very circuitous trip, but it is related to my writing. Weird is relative. Sometimes weird is your relatives. In my hometown of Philadelphia, we don’t think it’s weird at all that our old Football stadium had to have a courtroom in it to deal with fan ‘exuberance’ or hooliganism, depending on the point of view. Many wondered why it took so long. This is the same city that ran Mitch Williams out of town under threat of death (though I blame the General Manager for putting him in that last world series game). And our weirdness is not just sports related. There is the Mummers Parade where straight, largely blue collar men dress in ostrich feathers and parade for 12 hours (not kidding) on News Year’s Day. In all of that weirdness, I was considered weird there because I wanted to write novels and make films for a living. It’s relative. New York and Los Angeles are advanced level in their weirdness. Even Paris can be quite weird. We are convinced that tourists are assigned an accordion player while in customs at Charles de Gaulle Airport. That is the only explanation I have for the one I swear was on every Metro train car we used during our visits. And then there was the weather ‘general’ in full uniform with ribbons on VE day. We’re not sure he was a General. He sure should be if he isn’t. He looked very impressive in that uniform doing the weather. I’d love to have an imgae of him, but I couldn’t find one. On a side note, save for the metal painted statue performers we’ve seen in Paris and Cannes, we’ve never seen a classic, white faced mime. That’s weird. And in Columbus and Dayton Ohio, the term gay can be applied not just to those who are attracted to the same sex, but to those who have lived in any big city like New York or LA or anyone who still has long hair (I believe that pro-wrestlers and Bill Ray Cyrus are exempt). That is weird.

My point, aside from I see a lot of weirdness, is that the condition is relative to the surrounding community. I could get into actual relatives who are weird, but that’s for my therapist.

The same can be said for possessiveness. Whether or not such an element in a relationship is wildly romantic or frightening and abusive is relative from couple to couple. I bring this up because it has been brought up that most of the relationships in my erotic fiction involve highly possessive lovers. It surprises those very close to me, because I abhor possessiveness and jealousy in my relationships. However, I argue that my fictional couples are clear that they consent to having that kind of attention. The consent is explicit and reaffirmed throughout my novels or short stories. Nikulainen is so possessive of Sarianna in The Gift of Surrender that as soon as he is able, no one but he touches her – not even her own maid – unless it is absolutely necessary. She does not mind and that is clear.

In A Soldier’s Choice and even more so in A Soldier’s Fate, both Rik and Vincent are extremely possessive of each other. They freely admit it. Rik often says he hates sharing Vincent with anyone – even his brother. And Vincent can admits he hates smelling someone else’s scent on Rik even though he knows the situation couldn’t be helped. Each character accepts that in the other. It’s part of the passion of their relationships. It’s also clear that this degree of possessiveness does not prevent them from having close friendships that are independent of each other. In the Surrender books and the Soldier books, the lovers have extended families that include an odd assortment of friends. Their relationships are neither insular nor unhealthy for them. I have seen some very scary possessive relationships in books where if those characters were real, I recommend the police should be called and retraining orders obtained post haste. It’s more common than not that the relationships I’ve read about in other books are unhealthy. It’s similar to how bdsm relationships are badly written. There is almost never real consent from the submissive partner (the protagonists do a whole lot of assuming about what the lover wants or needs). I’ve been appalled to see such relationships begin with the submissive under the influence of drugs or a head injury. Oh yeah, you can get consent when someone is unconscious. Geez.

So enjoy my possessive guys and gals guilt free. And appreciate the weirdness around you.

New Book Trailer

Technically, it's the film trailer for Demon Under Glass, but it works for the book as well. And since there will be a new anthology of Demon Under Glass stories, we thought this would be a good kick off. It's best viewed on the smaller screen setting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLBWyv5EnS0

No Zombie!
Spoiler alert!

I was so disappointed with the storied return of Speedle on CSI: Miami. He was a hallucination of Delko who is inexplicably back on the job after being shot in the head. Yep, that’s who I want handling evidence and giving testimony, a guy freshly back from having a bullet in his brain. It’s still in his brain. Thus, hallucination Speedle. I’m not sure if that will be his only appearance.