A reflective erotic romance novel.
It raised my mother’s, partner’s, and daughter’s eyebrows, so hopefully, it is an evocative and provocative read for you.
It is a work of fiction. However, the harrowing events characters are traumatically caught in are actual. The facts are honoured as part of a novel to enhance compassion and empathy. The numerous famous artworks referenced have a role in resonating emotions. Places in Australia and the world are real-to-ground characters. The dates are provided to ease the reader backwards and forwards through memories from the 1960s to the 2010s.
The story's history: the original text was written here in 2015. It started as a sexual introspection memory journey under a different title. [ Our Lives as Genitalia] In 2020, the novel was expanded to flesh out the main character's background stories. In 2021-2022 with the support and feedback of a terrific beta reader and editor, the clarity and flow improved dramatically. The story was released from wads of introspection that slowed its pacing and transitions. In general, the memory recall changes are smoother. Overall, it is presented as my flagship polished piece of lush adult writing.
[ The story's faults always remain mine.]
The theme has remained constant: memory tattoos our yearnings under our skin, and they will ripple back.
The erotica sizzles in context. [If you are curious about a sample, read my short story- Ruby in Paris- but it would also be a part spoiler.]
Dedication: For anyone who gifts a second chance
Epigraph: “all those kids” It is attributed to H.S.Truman, by Henry A. Wallace, diary entry of 10 August 1945.
Acknowledgements:
To all the women who shaped my contemplative life.
To all the women, I owe contrition.
To my wife, who frames the frame of my life.
To my daughters, who asked me the perennially unanswerable questions about love and relationships, which triggered me to write the story.
To Nikki, who sparked the novel’s ripples through time.
To Jennifer, who drew out of me the heart of the story.
To Sonder, coined in 2012 by John Koenig, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.
To dandelion pappus; blown free of yearnings.
