Monday, July 7, 2014

Serenity

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

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Writers

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

Friday, April 11, 2014

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.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

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.  

Saturday, March 22, 2014

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.”

Monday, March 17, 2014

"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.   

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

When will I stumble across the threat?

“Everyone knows” that S & M is evil, a distasteful and perverted practice. When will I stumble across the obvious truth that almost “everyone” sees so clearly? I’ve been playing in this park a long, long time, and always carefully. The great boogie man must be stalking me, coming to get me, but he hasn’t shown his face.
I only know “The Scene” as a community where people are understanding, where they accept others openly. Like all the other dichotomies of pain / pleasure play, kinky folks seem to be kinder than the great mass of humanity! They are usually honest and dependable, often well-educated and erudite. Without exception, they are artistic, creative people, curious about their worlds, their minds and their bodies, and they don’t accept the opinions of others without investigating. They are a sensual lot, connoisseurs of the sense of touch.
I guess our society discourages non-conformists. Kink is fun in a Madonna video, but threatening when it happens in a suburban bedroom. It’s okay to be working at your computer screen 16 hours a day, but threatening to be doing nothing in tight bondage for an hour. Well, I’ll take the risk. Sometimes, conformity seems scary, too!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

"Vortex" the new "in" word!

Lately I've been finding the word "vortex" everywhere.   New Age / spiritual types experience a "moment", inspiration or message from the gods, whatever it may be, and label the site a "vortex".   Serious shoppers walk down the aisle at Wal-Mart and discover an irresistible treasure, and sure enough, it's a "vortex".   The one that intrigues me most is this year's winter phenomenon, the "polar vortex".   Excuse me, but didn't we used to call that a "Canadian air mass"?  

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

An excerpt from KATY IN CONTROL

David and his wife Katy are having dinner with Maria, a beautiful and vivacious Austrian-born beauty, university professor, botanist, author, dancer, and dominatrix.   Maria has described BDSM as a sport, and David, formerly a professional football player, asks her to elaborate.

“I deal with very powerful people, David,” she continued. “They are responsible for the welfare of others, the upholding of centuries-old traditions, the creation of new technologies and communications that will lead our civilization into the future. Most exist in arenas of great pressure, David. They are often threatened, always challenged. They come to me to be tested, to have their masculinity challenged. They must show courage, endurance, and heart. They must yield for a time and accept that they are not really all-knowing nor all-powerful. They recognize their human failings, and they come to me to deal with those misdeeds because they take their responsibilities seriously. They take down their trousers and remove their underpants, and they present their naked flesh to me. I have many implements, you see. Tools that I can take from my toolbox and cut through their reluctance, their willfulness or hang-ups. Some of their misdeeds merit a spanking, and others merit harsher punishments, the paddle or strap, the cane, or even the whip. Sometimes, in order to shed their power and influence they need to restrained, fastened, even chained to become vulnerable. They are not vulnerable in their daily lives, you see, and yet they recognize that vulnerability is basic and essential to human existence. They need someone to bridge the gap, to require them to be naked and fragile, even helpless, because those conditions are a part of life. We try to avoid them, but they are inescapable. So they come to me, and I give them permission to think taboo thoughts, to feel inexcusable physical and emotional sensations. We deal with their misdeeds, and a brief application of pain carefully applied wipes all thought from their mind. It is a small vacation, David. You will see. And then they pull up their trousers and fasten their tie, and they leave my office and go back to their real-life struggles feeling confident. They have confronted adversity in a very intimate manner and overcome it. The episode was private and discreet. A brief interlude, a game. Not really a vacation, but more like a sport, David. More vivid and demanding than golf or tennis, and far more personal. It’s more like mountain climbing, I suppose, or running a marathon. The discomfort is key to the process. Do you understand at all?”

I hesitated to answer a question with a question. “But surely, Mistress, a professional session with you in your office is far different from what you experience in sex play with your husband, or what Katy and I will experience in our bedroom?”

She smiled. “A very good question, David. Yes, of course, but only in degree. If you learn to submit, David, and if Katherine learns to dominate you, you will take away all that I have just described and more. To share the insights and the sensations with a lover is a very different degree, but the escape will be therapeutic, and the awareness, the communication, will be similar and equally rewarding. What I do in the studio is not physically sexual, David. It is mentally sexual, and you will experience that in the bedroom—and far more because you can make the sex physical. That will only add to the intensity of the sensations and of the sharing.”

Facebook

Recently, the TV news media indicated that Facebook usage is falling off.   Supposedly, younger enthusiasts are turning more and more to other sites.  

I am new to Facebook.   I have resisted it all these years, as I had no need for it.   Far too many things make demands on my time, and so I tried to protect my privacy.   If  someone wanted to share something with me, there's a telephone in every room, and I have a cell phone.

Ahhhh, but now I am publishing a new erotic novel, and the need to be discreet seems to require that I use Facebook to publicize my latest work.   I have found a large and very wonderful community of fellow authors who have been willing to offer advice and guidance to a newcomer.   I am very grateful.   That's the good news!   I have made every effort.   In a rare display of commitment, I purchased FACEBOOK FOR DUMMIES, a compact little book with a bold trademark on the cover: "Making Everything Easier!"   Not even close!

Fellow authors were quick to tell me my presence on Facebook was not enough; I need a "page".   My trusty manual tells me how to Like a page, but does not contain sentence one about what a page is, why it is needed, nor how to create one!  

I also see an assortment of blogs on Facebook, and a new form of entertainment called a "blog crawl".   I am attracted to a couple of them, but how to access them?   I have this site, where you are (presumably) reading this.   But the myriad of erotic authors on Facebook have their blogs readily available alongside their profiles and their pages.   A casual reader can spend hours exploring the various layers of hype and excerpts to discover all the many facets of a favorite author's personality!   But again, I am a newcomer, and rather skeptical of modern technology at the best.   How do I enter into this modern arena?   Where is the instruction sheet, the tutorial that will offer me access?   Clearly, many of my peers have found the secret and created a vast network of self-congratulatory eroticism and marketing.   They speak the language fluently, and offer tidbits of advice, but always with the expectation that I am as familiar with this technological landscape as they appear to be.   HELP!   Is there a book I have missed, lurking on the shelf at Barnes & Noble?   A "how to" site someplace on Facebook I haven't discovered yet?   I am feeling frustrated, a dinosaur wandering into the 21st century.   I've always heard that leprechauns keep a pot of gold at the end of rainbows.   Where do I find the basic Facebook how-to?  

Thursday, February 20, 2014

A couple years ago, I noticed that my "mainstream" literary agency was advertising that it wanted to represent erotica.   I had an erotic manuscript about ready to go, so I asked my agent if she would be willing to take a look at it.   I was shocked when she replied, "No.   Today's erotica market is strictly women writing for women."   It was the first time in my life that I had encountered discrimination, and I was very taken aback.   Would they have refused to look at a manuscript from D.H. Lawrence?   Or, on a more modern playing field, Paul Little?   Titian Beresford?    My personal favorite, P.N. Dedeaux?  

I know a number of today's successful female erotica authors, and they are warm, witty, friendly people with whom I have enjoyed wonderful conversations and e-mail exchanges.   I certainly recognize that things are changing, and women are finally being welcomed into more positions of responsibility in all areas of society and commerce.   I celebrate that.  (Especially as I try to create Femdom fiction that is plausible, believable, and relevant.)   But sometimes it seems the old "battle of the sexes" still exists, and on some battlefields the ladies may be... well, dominant.   Careful what you wish for!  

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

50 Shades of Progress

I recently read that the 50 Shades of Grey series accounted for a full 20% of all books sold around the planet in the first half of 2013!   I've also read many readers' opinions, and it's clear that when you're on top you are a target.   Some say Ms. James' writing is soft.   Like millions of people around the globe, I found myself turning pages.   No, it's not Shakespeare, just as all those TV sitcoms aren't Hamlet.   the 50 Shades of Grey books are entertainment, and they are very entertaining.  

Not long ago, my wife needed something from a Target store.   While she shopped for bathroom and kitchen accessories, I checked out the Book department where I was shocked to find 34 BDSM erotic romance titles!   That's the 50 Shades books plus 31 more.  Now, I don't know what your literary agent has been telling you, but mine insists that people aren't reading much any more.   The shrinking market has resulted in fewer books being published, and shrinking advances.   It seems to me, we all owe E.L. James a huge and enthusiastic "Thank you!" for knocking that old wives' tale right off its moorings.   People are reading, both e-books and print books!   But we also have to recognize the huge amount of entertainment that's available now, from social media to computer sites, sports, TV and video, bicycles and jet skis, snowmobiles and rock climbing, boats and planes and electric trains.   You name it!   Competing with all of that, Ms. James captured about 20% of the world's imaginations, and I think she deserves complete and sincere congratulations!   Well Done!

I'll also say that I've read a number of the resulting flood of BDSM erotic romance books that have come along since, and some are excellent, and some aren't.   

Of course, the other criticisms leveled at the 50 Shades books has been from the BDSM community, and generally indicates that Christian and Anastasia's play is somehow flawed, unrealistic, and even patently wrong.   This from a segment of society that constantly espouses freedom, and especially freedom of expression in the bedroom, playroom, or dungeon.   The stores that sell sex toys are not complaining.   Sales of blindfolds, handcuffs, butt plugs and riding crops have created nationwide shortages!  Memberships in local BDSM clubs has increased significantly.   How cruel some enthusiasts have been, describing the newcomers as "inexperienced" or misguided, instead of welcoming them.   There's a certain segment of society that would complain if it rained champagne!

People are talking about erotic BDSM on Main Streets around the world.   They are sitting down gingerly in restaurants or behind their desks at work, their bottoms red and sore from last night's romantic adventure.   These are good times for the community, and we all owe E.L. James, and the adventuresome folks who put her work out there on the mainstream book store shelves, a great big "Thank you!"   Here's mine.   As my rather domineering mother used to say, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."  

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Welcome to Corner Time
A blog written by Grant Antrews