Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Lighting the Way to Your Holidays

"...the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely and think of [other] people...as if they really were fellow-travellers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."
--Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.  

There was an erotic, holiday story writing contest and I wanted to win.

...I didn't win. I came very close to winning, but tales of naughty, toy-making elves and lusty Santas tend to have the upper hand in such contests. So I wasn't all that surprised when my old fashioned, holiday-spirit romance lost out to such a story. Nor did I regret for a minute writing it. I only mention the contest to explain why this particular stocking is so stuffed with holiday elements: from wreaths to chestnuts to colored lights.

I even made the story multicultural and interfaith to cover all the holiday bases. While this aspect of the story started out as part of my über-holiday trappings, however, it didn't stay that way. In fact, it turned out to be the story's shining star. You see, to me, the most important aspect of this time of year is sharing. Yet so many people get proprietary about the holidays, insisting that this or that celebration or tradition is theirs and theirs alone. No one outside it should be allowed to enjoy it.

That seems pretty contrary to the "good-will-toward-all" message of the season.

Thus, as I began to explore different seasonal traditions my goal changed from winning the contest to illuminating that shared center. The holiday spirit, if you like, which doesn't focus on what gifts are offered, or how they're wrapped, but on the wonderful wish we all have to give of ourselves.

I ended up with a fable, of sorts, a romance between a odd woman and a desperate man both looking for love, yet fearing themselves too strange or unworthy to give or receive it. It's a story about those lonely times we all go though--sometimes short, sometimes long--when we feel like outsiders. This is most keenly experienced during the holidays when everyone is gathering together; and it doesn't help if our relatives, country or culture has told us that we must be something that we're not if we want to belong.

As in this story, however, there are people out there who refuse to focus on our differences. They don't care if our appearance or faith or background isn't the same as theirs; their hearts are open, and when they look on us, they see a kindred spirit, someone to be invited in and given a place by the fire. Which is why we should never lose hope of finding a people, a neighborhood, a family...and someone to love. There is a lantern out there to guide us all home. And once we arrive there, we should make sure it stays lit to guide others home as well.

That is what this time of year is all about.

I did not win the contest with this story, but as often happens, I got something that mattered a great deal more to me. Which is why I'd want to wish everyone reading this blog a very happy holiday season. My thanks for the gift of your readership. Whatever my stories might mean to you, that you enjoy them means to world to me.

Have faith in each other, fellow travelers. We've more in common then you think.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Economic Theory


Now this is an odd one.

A fan of mine, PirotX, asked me to write another Romeo and Juliet tale. As you can probably tell, I've a soft spot for opposites-attract stories, so I had no problem with the thought of writing another. Pirot, however, was after a full-on "warring houses" R&J tale with the families or friends opposed to the romance. That made me scratch my head a bit because the current  cultural and religious differences that would create such a forbidden romance didn't interest or excite me. So what else was there?

I brooded on this for a while, and then it occurred to me that warring tribes, when not created by differences in culture or religion, were usually the result of economics. Rich and poor are always good Romeo and Juliet material, but there had to be more to this tale than that. Okay. How about opposing philosophies on the distribution of wealth and other such socio-political issues?

Hmmmm. Now there was crazy idea. An erotic romance centered around economic theory. What a daft idea! Even with research how could I make that work? I couldn't. No way, no how, no....And then it hit me. A single image, a scene, an enticing situation...Ohmygod! It could be done. (Stunned silence here.) Economics. Yes. There was a way to make it interesting. Opposite philosophies, different types of wealth and poverty, families at budgetary poles driving at least one side to....

Whoa. This might be fun.

It wasn't, of course, that easy. First, I had to bone up on economics both history and theory (ack!). And then it turned out that the scene that had gotten this ball rolling, which I thought would start the story wasn't working out, not until I realized it had to be the (sic) balcony scene for my Romeo and Juliet. And when the story finally came together it still remained in limbo while I spent days digging through Karl Marx in hopes of finding a title (kids, don't try this at home! It takes years of training to know how to search for creative inspiration in the writings of a revolutionary socialist).

It all paid off in the end, but it was hard going.

Done at last, I began to doubt myself. Was anyone going to even want to read this romance outside of economic/poly-sci students?

To my utter amazement, those who read it loved it. In fact, they were downright enthusiastic and PirotX, the instigator, waxed rhapsodic. He thought it my best story yet. Even so, when Jayha requested it for BT I did a double take. The story where Romeo and Juliet fall for each other while discussing economics? She wanted that one? Really? Talk about risky publishing. But fans have been peppering me with messages, wanting to know when it'll be out so they can have it.

Sometimes the wildest, weirdest ideas pay off. This one, among the strangest I've ever had, is proving to be of inestimable value.