Serenity

Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity. -Tao Te Ching ch. 8-9

Writers

"Writers aren't exactly people...  They're a whole bunch of people trying to be one person."   F. Scott Fitzgerald

On Writing

It seems to me that writing, of all the arts, has the broadest playing field, the greatest scope, and the best opportunity to portray life, realistically or not, in a manner which will provide insights and provoke thoughts. 

 

The painter or visual artist captures a moment.   The photographer even more so.   The sculptor cannot adequately describe the passage of time.   The musician is hemmed in by the ranges of tone available from the instrument or voice, the finite limits of melody, rhythm, and tone.   Lyrics are actually writing, a form of poetry, so I will include them in my impression.  

 

The writer can describe anything and everything, the living or inanimate, the temperature, the texture, the colors, the atmosphere or environment, the mood.   Effective writing spans time, condenses action, dares imagination that shatters all boundaries.   It can be incredibly beautiful, or ugly as sin.   Writing encompasses the love letter, pornography, filth and fantasy.   It resonates within us, once in a while, shedding light upon the universal aspects of life.   Other writings anger and divide the readers, creating emotions all the while.  The writer can soothe, invite compassion, cultivate understanding, or confuse and conflict, for words on a page have no conscience.   Perhaps that’s why it is so taxing to attempt to be a writer.   The promise is so important, almost sacred at any level; while the perils can be utterly desperate.   It is a lonely craft, tedious and gut-wrenching.   The only reason any of us do it, I suppose, is because it is necessary.   Writing is the art form of good, clear, responsive observation and thinking, the recording of worthwhile thoughts so they might be shared with others.   No other human endeavor is so frustrating and rewarding except, perhaps, golf.

Malaysian Flight 370

Does it bother anyone else that we are told our satellites can read a license plate from space, but it took about ten years to find Osama Bin Laden, and now we can't find a jumbo jet?   We are nearly bankrupt, spending more for "military" which includes intelligence, than the next 15 biggest spending countries in the world combined, and we never seem to get results or any positive return on our investment!  The "defense contractor" corporations get richer and richer, and a lot of brave young people get killed or maimed, but there is never any success.  

An Excerpt

An excerpt from KATY IN CONTROL, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Blushing Books, Kobo, and All Romance E-books.   KATY IN CONTROL is the first new book by author Grant Antrews in 14 years.

I watched his buttocks ripple and heave in response to the cuts.   I was shaking, quivering at the edge of an enormous orgasmic abyss, barely able to stand.   Toward the end he strained against his bonds, clearly seeking any molecule of relief that might be available, and there was none.   Mistress was punishing him now.   The foreplay had been fun, but this was something far more serious.   At the twenty-seventh cut of the rattan cane we heard him whine slightly and I was about to intervene, but then the magic of S & M washed over him.  You could see it!   Mistress Mary whispered, “He’s transcending.”

"Tagged" by Rollin Hand

I was recently "Tagged" by Rollin Hand, and I'm flattered and grateful for all the help he has offered.  

What am I working on?    

At any given time, I have a variety of projects under way.   At present there are five mainstream novels, one mainstream non-fiction book, and a sequel to KATY IN CONTROL that will probably be titled KATY IN TRANSITION.   If all goes as planned, Katy will be called upon to deal with her professional career, the legal plight of her dear friend Maria, a baby on the way, and a husband who needs to be kept strictly in hand.  

How does my work differ from others in the genre? 

I have done M/f, but I enjoy writing F/m.   Oh, I know that's contrary to the current flood of work by and about young ladies desperately wanting to be dominated and/or spanked, but I look at all those ads from Dominatrices all over the world on sites like MaxFisch.com, and I know that many, many men are searching for a strong, dominant woman to take them in hand.  My books are romantic.   I stunned the world of erotic books  with MY DARLING DOMINATRIX, when the two lead characters got married!   What a concept, huh?   I enjoy creating love scenes as much as disciplines, and exploring relationships in a plausible, real world arena.   If I'm successful, the result is a story.   In the case of KATY IN CONTROL, the story requires a second book to be told completely.   I ran out of pages with too many questions left unanswered. 

Why do I write what I do?

A lot of people are asking that question at the moment, and there's no easy answer.   I enjoy the genre, and have been very successful.   I don't sit down with the intention of writing erotica at the beginning, but the stories come to me and I love the big, bold sensations of formal disciplines as an insight into human behavior.   I love to create scenarios where common folks find BDSM, try it, and find it enhances their lives and relationships.   Is that wishful thinking?   Well, yes, in my case, but I am very aware of a great number of people who have successfully incorporated kink into their life styles, and I love to celebrate that accomplishment!   And yes, I try to touch upon social topics in my books.   Nothing preachy, but I like to encourage people to be respectful of other people.  I worry about the state of America and the world, and sometimes I have to say something about it.   At the same time, I realize that I am creating entertainment, and if a person chooses to sit down and read my book, they are forsaking all the other entertainment that's available to them today.   My books had better be good!

What is my writing process?

I write at my desk, usually with smooth jazz playing softly in the background.   Keiko Matsui's music is wonderful for writing, (and everything else!), and I listen to a lot of Jeff Golub, Brian Hughes, Bob James, Drew Davidsen, Chuck Loeb, and Grady Nichols.  I like soft folk too, Simon & Garfunkel or Peter, Paul & Mary.   I usually have a cup of coffee on the desk.   The stories come from who-knows-where, and they evolve as I am writing them.   I jot down a lot of notes, sometimes even in the middle of the night, and I think the sticky note is one of America's great inventions!    I write chapters, not always in order, but as an outpouring of what's affecting me at the moment.   I have a story structure that goes from start to finish, but one day I can focus on this chapter, and the next day another facet of the story needs to be explored because my head is in that space right now.   I become very wrapped up in my characters, and sometimes laugh or cry as I describe their adventures.   Then, one day, the story is told and I have to say farewell and ship it off to be published, and when it is done I can't go back and have any influence any more.  The book comes out and I try to read it as a story, and I discover a misspelled word!   How do they sneak through the process?  

I hope these comments give a little better insight into where my stories come from.   It really is a mysterious process.   I've just stumbled upon Erica Jong's description of the "silence and despair of a writer's life."   So true!   Now I am going to test my knowledge of Facebook, or lack of it, and try to "tag" Ms. Cara Bristol.   

On Writing

These are dark days.   I am alone with my thoughts, cut off from people I love because they don't want to know, and I can't make them understand.   Today I found solace in a passage from Erica Jong's SEDUCING THE DEMON, a book about the craft of writing.   I think it is important, so I will share it here.  
"Telling how 'that book' went on and on and on so it almost obliterated everything else I did; how I became a mother (once), a stepmother (once), a grandmother (twice so far), and a wife (four times) and still went on trying to tell the truth as I saw it.   I'm not planning to cover up my stumbles along the way nor my many mistakes nor all the times I made an absolute fool of myself.   Writing a book in your twenties that becomes a worldwide phenomenon hardly prepares you for the silence and despair of a writer's life.   My life was not typical.   But no writer's life is typical.   By its very nature, writing is unique to every writer.   Practicing writing is like practicing freedom.   You are always on your way, never there.  People are constantly asking, 'How did you do it?'   After a while you start to ask yourself."   
I am a complete, blown-away Erica Jong fan.   I've met her, touched her hand, and marveled at the sparkle in her eyes.   I admire her writing, and her truth.   But her stories are not my stories, and her truths are not the same as mine.   I admire her because it seems she can access the depths of her being and describe what she finds there in a manner that sheds light on all of modern day existence.  My family dismisses Erica Jong, just as they dismiss me.   She writes about sex, erotic themes, seduction, nudity, the "zipless fuck" and so much more.   Sometimes it isn't polite, but it is true, and she describes it with an artist's passion and insight.   I try to do the same.   On good days I am able to access my own depths, and express what I find there.   I labor to explain, to help the reader understand.   This morning I received a note from a fan saying that my words are valid and appreciated.   Sometimes the words erupt from me and I am amazed at what I have written.   If you are a writer, you know what I am describing.   Most people will never know.   My heartfelt truth comes when it is ready, and goes where it goes of its own accord.  Sometimes, some people will be offended.   That does not make me evil.   I dare the reader to think, to feel, to understand.   If they cannot, well, I am only practicing freedom.   On my way, never there.   I ask myself many questions, and the answers sometimes come from my depths.   The silence and despair of the writer's life, whether the result is a best-seller or a non-seller, is necessary.