Explanation

Explanatory Notes for the 'Eros Collection'

I believe it is unfortunate that words of explanation are probably necessary before the average person can even begin to understand the motivation behind my 'hobby' - which many would describe as, 'weird', or perhaps even 'perverted'. But as they probably are, here goes...

Since a teen-ager one of the various human traits that has always both annoyed and deeply disturbed me has been hypocrisy. I sincerely believe it should have been included in the list of the very worst of sins.

This is not the place to go into the many guises it takes in the everyday activities of politics, religion, or indeed so many other areas of our various societies - nor how it overtly or covertly undermines so very many aspects of our individual lives. However, the anger and frustration I have always felt about those and many other effects was undoubtedly one of the early motivations behind the start of the creation of this work.

Think about it - most societies not merely tolerate, but revel in blood and death. Battles, and its 'heroes' are honoured long, long after - which in itself may not be really too terrible, but - every single day our media both stokes and satisfies the probably underlying blood-lust with graphic stories and images of other dramatic, and no less gory acts of violence or misfortune. And, as if all that were not enough, even our producers of purely fictional stories are encouraged to seek ever more 'realistic' ways of satisfying this apparent craving.

Now, whilst it is not to my taste, I don't object to it being somebody else's. But, given the ever-increasing flood of violence and death, I do - and always have done - strongly object to, and have always been bewildered by, the self-same society frowning on the use of similar techniques with sex...

If, as seems the case, homo sapiens is driven by what appear to be the inherently basic characteristics of aggression and greed, it is also driven by the other life forces - the need to survive, the need to reproduce. So we eat, we drink - and we have sex.

A graphic description of people maiming or killing each other is O.K. A graphic description of people eating and drinking is too. But a graphic description of people having sex, is pornography - and, even in supposedly enlightened societies, should be banned, or if not that, then at the very least, constrained or censored. If from time to time and place to place none of those, then at the very least such material should be considered 'not nice', 'not for those with more refined tastes'.

As a somewhat infamous lady in this country once said - 'Please explain!'.

So, the work - that I think of as the 'Eros Collection' - is both a protest against the hypocrisy of the all too blatantly prevailing double-standards, and my small contribution to what I hope will, maybe, one day become a quite acceptable art-form.

Whereas some people use the euphemism 'Erotica' when describing this genre of writing - I much prefer to call a spade a spade, and think of my work as being 'Romantic Pornography'.

The stories have plots, some of them quite creatively intricate, all of them hopefully reasonably rational. There is occasional humour, sometimes just a small touch of sadness. And there is love, many of my characters actually 'live happily ever after' - after all they are works of fiction!

But there is lots, and lots, and lots of sex. And in great detail!

Whilst some of this may appear at first glance to be purely gratuitous, just there to provide yet more masturbatory opportunities for the reader - and after all exactly what is so wrong about that? - there is some 'serious' intent.

What effects may our societies themselves have had in shaping an individual's proclivities as to what and how they each like to do the various things they do?

What previous experiences motivates an individual's particular desires or preferences? What events in our childhood, youth, or even adulthood shape and mould our reactions and responses to various types of stimulae?

What images are conjured up when anticipating making love to somebody? What memories - or even dreams - of previous encounters come back to mind?

What flashes of thought might go through the mind whilst a person is having sex? Are they always thinking of the one they are with, or perhaps those thoughts are in reality sometimes about another?

What actual memories are recalled later? Just how vividly is anyone able to recall the actions and sensations experienced when having sex?

I have tried to use some of my character to explore these and several other related questions.

However, I should make it clear that the entire body of work is pure fiction, there are absolutely no autobiographical details in it whatsoever.

That is not to say that some of my own traits, attitudes and feelings do not show through, they would be impossible to bury completely. So it is all very 'straight' sex. An occasional touch of bondage is included, but nothing that could be considered even close to S & M. There is a little female to female, but no male to male sex. And there are not even any of the more bizarre, though none the less relatively harmless sexual activities.

So for many it would be considered extremely 'mild', and perhaps, even boring.

However, it is graphic, 'hard-core', and is so on purpose, for the reasons above.