Thursday, August 01, 2013

I am apparently full of hate

A diatribe greeted me this morning. I am humbled that someone took the time to attempt to set me straight. I appreciate the effort, but I'm just fine with my soul exactly as it is.

Oh, and honey, if you're reading this: I don't have an anti-Christian bias. (By all accounts, Jesus was a cool dude and the victim of some seriously bad parenting.) I have an anti-Christianity bias. There's a difference, and you've illustrated it beautifully. There's also a difference between "bias" and "hate," but I don't expect you to see it with those blinders on.

Dear Ms. Brio,

I was excited when I saw the one-line description of your By the Book anthology on duotrope. Finally, someone who gets Biblical erotica! But then, crushing disappointment to read the ignorant knee-jerk reaction that "inspired" (misuse of a beautiful word) the project.

Anti-Christian bias is just so... ew...

What you wrote: "Preachers who profess to know how their Lord wants us all to behave" - yes, indeed, Christianity is the revelation of God. And yes, God's revelation is for all people. Shouldn't it be? "By citing a couple isolated lines from Leviticus" - nope, there's a lot more than that, but anyhow Scripture doesn't work by adding up the frequency or the size to tell if something is important. (Gee, your **** is awful small, don't you want me to fondle your back?)

Furthermore, Christianity doesn't depend upon citing lines of Scripture. (Could you be a better lover to someone by carefully analyzing her emails, or by getting to know her in person over a long time? And if I tell my husband just once, "I don't like it when you do that," I expect him to listen. I shouldn't have to yell about it.) So the Christian Church has been in a married relationship with God over 2000 years, and before that at least 6000 years of engagement when it was called Judaism. That's a lot of tradition to back up the claims of the preachers, whether they are anti-anybody or not.

You can perhaps forgive the preachers for freaking out when they notice how quickly society has changed in their lifetime. It's like global warming in that way - a big, worldwide change that has snuck up on everybody but is probably somehow our own fault for being too quiet and passive. Except that nobody is celebrating global warming. Imagine how mad you'd be if you were a climate scientist and the ignorant folk were not only denying it and hating you but also celebrating the downfall of old traditions that limited how hot we can make our planet. Freedom to pollute as much as we want! Yay!

Am I getting through to you at all? Or are the erotic and environmental analogies too confusing? The woman's body is the land itself; she is Paradise; she is lovely and ancient as Earth...

Look, aren't you really touched that so many people think what you do really matters? And will tell you even when you don't want to hear it? That we are all connected? That God cares? And this God who cares is less like a force and is actually a Person with personal preferences about what happens to God's stuff (our planet, our selves). Maybe it is worth yelling about. And you know, not everybody is going to be good at explaining it or agree to be nice. (Just like some environmental activists are borderline terrorists and some are plain misanthropes, but that doesn't mean they don't have a point.)

I wanted to let you know all this because I care. And because I'm saddened that I won't be sending any of my other writing to you. I hope you can work through your problems and learn to write about love without bringing in hate.

It's good to be open. Now you've got to go in deeper, honey.

Friday, January 25, 2013

The Next Big Thing

I’ve been tagged by Nobilis Reed to participate in The Next Big Thing, which is something like a blog post chain letter…

1) What is the working title of your book?

Which one? I have several glaring at me from my desk. I'm doing a fine job of ignoring them all.

2) Where did the idea for the book originate?

One (Snatch) originated with the Terry Schiavo debacle.  Another (Zane) originated with an intriguing gap in a genealogy database. Yet another (Succorae) as a twist on the legend of succubi.  Those are the novel-length works in progress. The short stories are legion. I'll spare you the details.

3) Under what genre does it fall?

Snatch is mainstream adult fiction. Zane is mainstream historical fiction. Succorae is paranormal erotic fiction.

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

The only character who is truly patterned after another fictional character is Gianna from Succorae. She looks much like Gigi Edgley's portrayal of Chiana from "Farscape." Naturally, I'd be thrilled with that casting.

Snatch would require casting of several characters in their youth and as mature adults, which would present a challenge. One character, however, I've always thought of as resembling model Melodie Monrose. The others are more fluid.

5) What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Snatch: Epic life-and-death, mother-daughter angst, vicious rapist, soul-searing drama.

Zane: Revolutionary War frontier love triangle with taboo and interracial twists.

Succorae: Gianna wants love to live, but needs hate to survive.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Totally self-published. I'm far too independent to hitch my wagon to someone else's cart.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?

Well, Zane was started in November 2005. Snatch in 2006. Succorae in 2007. None have a completed first draft. I have creative ADD, and other shiny things have drawn my attention.

8) To what other books would you compare this story within your genre?

I really wouldn't compare. I don't think any of them would lend themselves to a "If you liked..." promo.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

See #2.

10) What else about your book might pique the readers' interest?

No matter the genre, my work will always have strong erotic elements.

Here are the folks I’m tagging to be the next Next Big Thing authors:

I'd really rather not tag anyone else. That said, I invite any authors reading this post to take it and run with it if they are so inspired. :)

peace & passion,

~ Alessia