1. Taking shots at celebrities
I like to poke fun at celebrities and politicians and will occasionally use real-world events in my stories. An example is my story, A Hollywood Story. Gennifer Planter and her lifestyle blog Spluge! is of course a thinly veiled swipe at Gwyneth Paltrow and her Goop blog. Goop is notorious for selling products such as vagina-scented candles and advocating for vagina steaming. Gennifer’s daughter is named Mango and her ex-husband is the leader of the British band HotRox.
Gwyneth's ex-husband is Chris Martin of the British band Coldplay. Gennifer’s daughter is Mango, and Gwyneth’s daughter is named Apple.
The Millionaire Murderer mini-series in the story is based on the T. Cullen Davis murder trial. Fort Worth millionaire Davis was tried for killing his ex-wife’s twelve-year-old daughter and the -ex’s boyfriend, TCU basketball standout, Stan Farr. Cullen’s attorney was Richard “Racehorse” Haynes. After a change of venue, an Amarillo jury found Davis not guilty. No other suspect was pursued because the Fort Worth police knew that Davis was the killer. As of the writing of this story, Davis is still alive and living in Fort Worth, Texas. After losing most of his fortune, he became a "born-again" Christian.
The 1995 mini-series “Texas Justice” starred actors Peter Strauss as Davis and Heather Locklear as Davis’ ex-wife Patricia.
The story "The Politician's Husband is even more blatant. I did get comments over on Literotica reminding me that not every reader is from the USA and is interested in American politics. That's true and for my next story, I may very well take on the royal family. My wife is an Anglophile while I am a fan of Cherie Blair's attitude towards the monarchy. I hate to use the word republican because of what that connotes in the USA.
2. BTB's
It had been pointed out to me, that The Teacher's Husband has a particularly nasty main character. Yes, it does. I would even go so far as to call him a real dick. I think all my stories have so far had a BTB element, but that was the worst. That's why it may surprise people to learn that I actually prefer a good reconciliation story more than a BTB story.
The problem is, that most recon (I don't like the term RAAC) stories don't work. IMO, a successful recon story has remorse, contrition, and a redemptive act. You very seldom (if ever) see all three of those in either real life or fiction.
There may be regret; regret at getting caught or regret for cheating, but actual remorse? No. Because remorse requires putting the healing needs of your spouse above your own needs. Cheating by its nature is an abusive, narcissistic action. The kind of person that is capable of doing that to someone they love is generally not the kind of person to be remorseful. They are most likely not going to place the needs of their spouse above their own. So, if this most basic requirement cannot be met, how can the other two requirements be met?
If there is no remorse, how can there be contrition?
If remote and contrition are not evident, then you can forget about a redemptive act. Not going to happen.
That's why there is so little true reconciliation in real life. There's rug sweeping. There's the betrayed partner learning to white-knuckle through life. There's the betrayed partner learning to eat their feelings and swallow their anger.
But true reconciliation? It exists, but it's rare. I am working on a reconciliation story that I hope to finish in the next couple of months. It features remorse and contrition. And a redemptive act? Oh boy, does it ever. I feel bad about what I am putting that poor woman through.