Artists have statements. The paragraph or two on the little sign next to their work in the gallery. What they believe. What their art means. Why they do it.
Authors don’t have that little sign. You, dear reader, must discern our intentions and message from the stories we tell; listening for the mind of the author in the narration and dialogue, the story serving as the medium through which we can express what we believe.
Here on the web we get to do things differently so I’m going to start this adventure with a statement.
Frankly, it helps me clarify why I’m doing this, but it also provides you with the means to determine if you’re interested in the thoughts I hope to share.
My mission is to tell stories and share thoughts related to the stage in life I call the ‘silvering years’. I don’t define a specific timeframe or situation, nor do I define specific personal characteristics or attitudes, but the focus is on what it means to be older instead of younger, intentional instead of complacent, thoughtful instead of indifferent… and sensual instead of chaste.
I think that, pretty much, stories are never just stories. They’re allegories, parables, statements of beliefs, whether deliberate or unintended, because they’re the creation of a mind. The best of fictional writing reaches out to touch your heart. The best of practical writing reaches out to touch your mind. Or is it the other way around? I never know…
Most of what I write about here on the site will be practical. Beginning with philosophy to lay a foundation and then addressing particular topics of interest to me… and you, hopefully. These essays arise from my fictional writing. Their purpose is to reflect on the philosophical, psychological, physiological, and social context for the stories I create, as well as other stray thoughts which may intrude.
But, you see, while my stories involve characters in their silvering years, I’ve chosen to set them in the genre of erotic romance.
My primary reason for doing this was because I love a good erotic romance, and there were none I could find with characters like me. But also, I wanted to show there’s a lot of life to celebrate in the silvering years, and swimming in a pool of sensuality is such a wonderful way to do it!
Even though these essays find their origin in my stories, it’s my objective for you to be able to gain from these essays without reading the stories. Also, I suspect that by now ‘most everyone is younger than I, but I believe there’s a universal quality to these thoughts. With a bit of luck and prudence, you’ll get here some day.
Bon voyage!