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I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has responded so warmly to "Occasions of Sin."
Yesterday, however, I received feedback from a reader who was not so receptive. In fact, he was offended by what he saw as my insensitivity toward victims of sexual abuse by priests. He said he gave the story a low rating, and ended with a plea: "Please consider employing other methods of writing that doesn't offend a particular group or
religion."
I'm not quite sure just what the reader found so insensitive: the fact that I was writing about abuse, or the fact that, in the story, the victim manages to enjoy herself. If the former, then I would say that any topic is legitimate grist for a story, and it is part of a writer's job to shine a spotlight on the darker corners of our existence. If the latter, then I would say that perhaps not all victims regard themselves as such, and this is, after all, erotica. I have always believed sex should be fun, if only for the girl. For this reason, I have never written about an unequivocal instance of rape.
All writers mine their pasts, and a rich vein of my past is the experience of Catholic school. "Occasions of Sin," like much of my other work at SOL, refashions my memories with an erotic twist -- and if that means depicting members of my former faith as sexual beings, even as sexual predators, then so be it. It's the best I can do.
I also can't be the only writer in the world who thinks girls in school uniforms are hot.
To paraphrase Scott Fitzgerald, my material might not be to your liking, but, my God!, it is my material, and all I have to deal with.
Chapter 3 of Occasions of Sin has been posted. So far, Cindy has only had herself to play with. Now she finds a partner--or, more accurately, he finds her. This is as far as I've gotten with this story. Chapter 4 is only in the imaging stage, so it might be a while.
Response so far has been positive, and I've received more comments than usual. Thanks to all everyone who has sent feedback.
And by the way, after enabling comments for a short time, at a reader's suggestion, I've decided to go back to my old policy of not allowing them. Sorry, but I don't like people scribbling on my prose, and that's what it feels like to have comments appear in the body of a story.
Chapter 2 of "Occasions of Sin" is posted. There's a dumb typo in the third graph that's being corrected. Pretend it's not there.
I have begun posting a multi-chapter story titled Occasions of Sin. For this one, I've gone back to my Catholic school days in the 1960s. As you can guess, there are a lot of memories buried in the text -- and some right on top. I do hope you like it.
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