Firstly, many thanks to the people who have sent kind messages. They are all much appreciated.
They have also raised a couple of points and I want to try and address them in the next few blog posts.
One question which has come up is the theme of the ATWB. I think this is a fair question - ‘Woodchopper’ is a little different from most adult fiction and with only two chapters posted, readers may still be wondering what it is supposed to be.
I think once you get past the setting and language, the central theme of ATWB isn’t that different from a lot of other well-known long-form erotic stories. I call these ‘youthful sexual exploration’ - I think ‘Summer Camp’* by Nick Scipio is probably the most well-known example, but there are many others like it.
*At least the first couple of books before the MC went to college.
The scenario that most appeals to me is one where a young protagonist is either introduced to or stumbles on sexual shenanigans they didn’t know were going on around them. But I also want there to be a romantic relationship at the heart of the whole thing and not just a free for all sex-fest — not that there is anything wrong with having a good few of those also.
I don’t particularly like the term “coming of age” for this kind of story. It brings to mind something like a ‘bildungsroman’ where the author tries to examine the psychological growth of the character through to adulthood. It also implies that the narrative has to follow the protagonist through a long enough period for this growth and development to occur.
The description, ‘youthful sexual exploration’ doesn’t burden you with this and leaves the author free to concentrate on a shorter period. I think that perhaps many long-form adult authors have come unstuck because they (and readers who encouraged them) didn’t know when to stop.