Athalia: Blog

Well, I've bowed to pressure. Here's the final installment of "Jessie, Michael, and Claire." I'd held off submitting it because it's from a man's point of view, and I'm never confident that I really know what's going on inside a man's head as he thinks and talks about sex. Well, you be the judge, readers.

I've now posted the fourth chapter of the story, going up to the initiation of the teenager into penis-in-vagina sex. But it's not the ending. In the next installment, I'll be introducing incest, as the teenager is introduced to her parents' bed. After that, there'll be another chapter or two on the special delights of the faculty residence, another initiation ceremony for the Order, and finally a follow-up on some students after they graduate. So if you've read this far, I think you'll find something to please your tastes!

This story is purely the product of my lurid imagination. It in no way portrays the Roman Catholic Church or its educational system as it is; in fact, it runs counter to many of the teachings of that church. According to the Church's present teachings, extramarital sex and masturbation are frowned on, and are seen as a sin against God and against the partner, according to Saint Paul.

But in this other universe, set in the future, Saint Paul's teaching is disregarded. Instead, the Church tolerates an education system where children are taught to control their sexual lusts in a life-affirming, practical way. Rather than suppressing those lusts entirely, a space and context is created for them to learn about it, and apply their learning to an active sex life on their own or, later on, with partners. No consensual sex act is considered a sin, and orgasms are seen as a manifestation of God's love for us. Each major progression is marked with a sex ceremony as the child becomes an adult, or as the adult becomes a teacher.

I was raised a Jew, but converted to Christianity in my thirties. The story line came out of my research into Christian monastic orders, particularly those who are devoted to teaching, which have no equivalents in the Jewish religion. Of course, none of these orders practice the things that the story portrays. But in some sort of ideal world, religious orders might exist that incorporate sex into their instruction. I got to thinking about how that order might be structured, and what would be taught, and at what levels children would be introduced to the various components of an active sex life: masturbation, sex play with members first of the same sex and then of the opposite sex, and finally coitus. What would these students take away from that education, and how would they apply it to their adult lives?

As Jehoram's editor, I've worked with him on the "New Arcadia" series and the "Family's Little Secret" series. In both of those, sex instruction is not left to chance, but is carefully woven into the child's life by relatives or instructors. I touched on that in my own series "Mrs. Swinson's Summer Camp" but that was only for the girls. As some reader pointed out, there should be a camp for boys as well. In "The Dorm Mother," the main character is taking on a sort of sexual instruction for the boys in her dorm, but that all was happening after the boys reached maturity. What would happen if, as in Jehoram's stories, the child were exposed to good sex earlier, learning as they go and having experience with straight sex and gay sex before their sexual identities were fixed?

This story is the result.

Here's the second chapter of "Jessie, Michael, and Claire." I hope you like it. It was fun to write. As the end note says, the third (and probably the last) chapter will be from Claire's point of view, and her previous history as a libertine before she met Jessie and Michael.

The third chapter is mostly done, but still needs a little polishing, so please be patient.

UPDATE: The third chapter was indeed posted, but it turned out not to be the last. A few readers felt that the story was incomplete until I told it from Michael's point of view as well. I've never felt comfortable about writing from a man's viewpoint, although I've done it a few times, like the "Wendy" series and a couple of the Saint Valentine stories. But I thought I'd give it a try, anyway.

This is the story I promised you earlier. It's about a woman who has a date with a former co-worker that turns very serious, very suddenly. You don't really meet Claire, the third character, in the first chapter, but her presence is always in the background. In chapter two, she'll be part of the action, and chapter three is her chance to tell her part of the story, in her own words.

I've used this technique before in the Wendy series of stories, and it seemed to work here. Claire is really the most complex and interesting character in the story, and deserved a chapter of her own.

But the first part of the story is definitely about Jessie's journey from leading a conventional but unsatisfying sex life to finding fulfillment in a relationship she'd never even considered. That's really the core of the story, and I love to tell about people who discover their paths to happiness, as unconventional as those paths might be. That's really what she has in common with most of my other characters.

As usual, your comments and criticisms are always welcome!