The Story Behind THE STORY OF Q
To her left, in one of the small vestibules between two of the columns, a naked couple was fucking. The young woman was on the stone floor, on hands and knees, on a thick pad, like a yoga mat, and the man behind her was thrusting his cock into her with great intensity as though he was just to the point of climaxing. The woman was moaning, her legs and arms shaking violently, which made her breasts swing from side to side. She was already well past the point of orgasmic release.
She is probably a sex slave, and he is her master. In just a bit, that will be me too.
From THE STORY OF O, available October 23rd exclusively on Amazon
When I decided to write erotic mysteries, I also decided to steep myself in the genre’s history. Which characters from the world of erotica have had the most lasting impact? Who were the most influential authors in the genre? What contributions did these early volumes have on the contemporary relevance of erotica? I wanted to become familiar with the stories that paved the way for writers like me and others contributing to the field today.
So I got to reading.
I read Ann Rice’s THE CLAIMING OF SLEEPING BEAUTY as well as the three volumes that followed. I read Emmanuelle Arsan’s EMMANUELLE and EMMANUELLE 2. And I read THE STORY OF O and THE STORY OF O: RETURN TO THE CHATEAU by Pauline Reage. There are many more, but I was particularly impressed with Reage’s story of a young woman who found herself so in love with a man that she allowed herself to become a pleasure slave at a French chateau at his request. I found the sex scintillating. I found the whippings abhorrent. Just not my style. But one of the things that impressed me most with the story was its own backstory.
THE STORY OF O immediately won a French literary award when it was published in 1955. The French authorities, however, found the story so offensive that an obscenity ban was placed on the book for over a decade. The story remained an underground classic until its official publication in 1965. The sequel followed a few years later. Even then, the author chose to continue her anonymity, using first one pen name and then another. It wasn’t until just before her death in 1998 that Pauline Reage disclosed her true identity and revealed that the story was really a series of letters to her lover. I love every part of the story’s history. It just makes THE STORY OF O even more erotic, more forbidding, more lusty.
When I began putting together the first few Laci Kicklighter erotic mysteries, I knew I wanted to do a pastiche that recognized this formidable contribution to the cannon of erotica. My story would also take place in a chateau, albeit one in San Francisco. But unlike Reage’s story, mine would turn the basic premise of THE STORY OF O upside down. You’ll have to read both to know what I meant. In addition, I would add an element of mystery to the story as well. It is, after all, a Laci Kicklighter mystery. Thus was born THE STORY OF Q.
It was quite fun world-building THE STORY OF Q. The chateau, the life, the rules, the way of living. For sure, Chateau de Chrysalis is the kind of place I would love to visit! I could so live there. I love to be naked.
As the story unfolded before me, I thought deeply about the characters, particularly Lady DuBois, and X and T and F and V. What would happen to these characters once the story was over? Would Laci and Capri see any of them again? As a matter of fact, they will. I already have the first stages of a new story beginning to form that takes our two sexy partners in crime to another chateau of Domina. Look for the sequel to THE STORY OF Q in October of 2024. I’m already quite excited about this new Domina installment.
THE STORY OF Q releases October 23rd on Amazon only. I hope you enjoy it. I had a ton of fun writing it.
The best-kept secrets are always shared. THE STORY OF Q releases October 23rd on Amazon.
