Greetings Simone! I've been out of circulation for a while so I'm playing catch-up. Thrilled to see the launch of another addition to your opera omnia with this new serial effort. Obviously, my review is de novo, and I just finished a second run-through of this Prologue. As with all of my commentaries, I'll react to each new piece as you publish them, to keep things discrete.
This opener has all of the markers of classic "Franciscan" works, as you've explored writing erotica within different thematic contexts. You've taken your classic (and, as I'll never fail to point out, incredible classy and stylish) treatments of unconventional sexuality, BDSM, and explorations of the frontiers of erotic fantasy, and expanded your repertoire into a richer realm, by folding in the legendary, mythical, and preternatural. No other eroticist, to my knowledge, has produced steamy accounts of succubi cruising truck stops for truckers to rape and soul-suck in the cabs of their vehicles, nor hot vignettes about shriveled up, clerical hypocrites being given their comeuppance by a demonic femme fatale in a confessional ("Confession" is one of my favorites of yours, and where I coined "Satanic Vigilante," which is an awesome name for a band, or something which can be emblazoned on a line of Simone Francis merch, custom fragrance, or even as risque range of high-end lingerie--just a thought). In "Painted Stripes," which is my favorite series to date, you delved very deeply into the interrelationship between fantasy, reality, self-discovery, the forbidden, and the secret, among other themes, among which was a confrontation with one's true sexuality, one's true nature, the abandonment of repression in favor of agency and personal autonomy--the difficulty one experiences by keeping a lid on who you really are, and the problems repression causes.
I sense you're up to something with "At the Edge of Dreams." This was a very rich, very explicit Prologue. Kate's got a very sensual dream life--being sexually fulfilled by these powerful beings--no orifice left unused, even her hands employed in pleasure--then the eerie dream of submission and bondage to this "shadow man with substance." You've left a lot open to interpretation, and rightly so. We don't know much about Kate, other than that she's a prominent, powerful businesswoman, "hiding out in Yorkshire." Why she's hiding, we don't know. Is this property hers, or something she's renting? Unknown. Judging by the intensity of her dreams, and her enjoyment of the deep depravity she's subjected to in them--plus the anonymity of her "partners," I'd venture that she's an uptight figure--very wrapped up in her work, and highly stressed. Perhaps on the verge of a crackup--maybe intimidating or distant, such that others fear her, or find her cold and unapproachable, or incapable of love. Very lonely, yet really very passionate and sensual--a woman whose lack of romance, lack of contact consumes her, but her work is so important she has to push it deep down so far to appear tough-as-nails that it can only emerge when she's asleep--fully free of inhibition, in her dreams, where the unconscious cannot be overruled, and truth is sovereign, though it's veiled under an ornately embroidered shroud of symbols. I could be wrong, but the intense eroticism of these dreams is sending me in this direction.
I'm very intrigued with this one, since you're delving into the unconscious and dreams--two realms with which I'm deeply fascinated with, along with the whole idea of the "double life." These entities also evoke some sort of preternatural entities in both appearance and behavior, which, when tossed in with the setting, lend an eerie, quasi-Gothic tint to the work. Maybe Kate is a strait-laced woman all the way, but this location is consecrated to some ancient, chthonic or gnostic power or cult, whose rituals involved ecstatic sexual rites. Perhaps the site has an influence on her, or some sort of "wee folk" are resident in the area, whose powers for good and ill are well-known to folklore.
So there's my preliminary read on "At the Edge of Dreams." I have to read your first Episode, to see where the story is headed. But I love what I see already!
I’m not sure (when I read you early episodes on Medium) whether this prologue hit my radar but I love it!
It promises much & explains nothing- just right for hooking a reader (this reader!)
You maintain the dreamy quality of the scene perfectly, and from Kate’s pleasure & eager responses to everything that happens, leave us in no doubt that she’s a sensual woman who is in touch with her sexuality & her libido.
I love the sketchy nature of her partner- is he real or conjured from her arousal? Is he benevolent or malevolent? Is she entering into a submissive contract with him or is he feeding off her energy in some way?
Of course the reader is curious about what has sparked this type of dream, and how deeply embroiled Kate will become in this plane of nebulous encounters with carnal pleasure as their focus. But I am sure I’m not the only one keen to read more.
Thank you Posy. I have written a lot of supernatural sex stories which verge on the horror genre and wanted to tell a story that was based more on faeries and folklore. The original, that I am rewriting, took some inspiration from A Midsummer Night's Dream but I think this is going to be darker (and, being a Simone Francis story, include more sex).
Thank you. This was originally a short story which then became the prologue to a book. My publisher at the time liked the book but I didn't. Now I am re-writing the book as a serial here. Such is the joy of writing.
Greetings Simone! I've been out of circulation for a while so I'm playing catch-up. Thrilled to see the launch of another addition to your opera omnia with this new serial effort. Obviously, my review is de novo, and I just finished a second run-through of this Prologue. As with all of my commentaries, I'll react to each new piece as you publish them, to keep things discrete.
This opener has all of the markers of classic "Franciscan" works, as you've explored writing erotica within different thematic contexts. You've taken your classic (and, as I'll never fail to point out, incredible classy and stylish) treatments of unconventional sexuality, BDSM, and explorations of the frontiers of erotic fantasy, and expanded your repertoire into a richer realm, by folding in the legendary, mythical, and preternatural. No other eroticist, to my knowledge, has produced steamy accounts of succubi cruising truck stops for truckers to rape and soul-suck in the cabs of their vehicles, nor hot vignettes about shriveled up, clerical hypocrites being given their comeuppance by a demonic femme fatale in a confessional ("Confession" is one of my favorites of yours, and where I coined "Satanic Vigilante," which is an awesome name for a band, or something which can be emblazoned on a line of Simone Francis merch, custom fragrance, or even as risque range of high-end lingerie--just a thought). In "Painted Stripes," which is my favorite series to date, you delved very deeply into the interrelationship between fantasy, reality, self-discovery, the forbidden, and the secret, among other themes, among which was a confrontation with one's true sexuality, one's true nature, the abandonment of repression in favor of agency and personal autonomy--the difficulty one experiences by keeping a lid on who you really are, and the problems repression causes.
I sense you're up to something with "At the Edge of Dreams." This was a very rich, very explicit Prologue. Kate's got a very sensual dream life--being sexually fulfilled by these powerful beings--no orifice left unused, even her hands employed in pleasure--then the eerie dream of submission and bondage to this "shadow man with substance." You've left a lot open to interpretation, and rightly so. We don't know much about Kate, other than that she's a prominent, powerful businesswoman, "hiding out in Yorkshire." Why she's hiding, we don't know. Is this property hers, or something she's renting? Unknown. Judging by the intensity of her dreams, and her enjoyment of the deep depravity she's subjected to in them--plus the anonymity of her "partners," I'd venture that she's an uptight figure--very wrapped up in her work, and highly stressed. Perhaps on the verge of a crackup--maybe intimidating or distant, such that others fear her, or find her cold and unapproachable, or incapable of love. Very lonely, yet really very passionate and sensual--a woman whose lack of romance, lack of contact consumes her, but her work is so important she has to push it deep down so far to appear tough-as-nails that it can only emerge when she's asleep--fully free of inhibition, in her dreams, where the unconscious cannot be overruled, and truth is sovereign, though it's veiled under an ornately embroidered shroud of symbols. I could be wrong, but the intense eroticism of these dreams is sending me in this direction.
I'm very intrigued with this one, since you're delving into the unconscious and dreams--two realms with which I'm deeply fascinated with, along with the whole idea of the "double life." These entities also evoke some sort of preternatural entities in both appearance and behavior, which, when tossed in with the setting, lend an eerie, quasi-Gothic tint to the work. Maybe Kate is a strait-laced woman all the way, but this location is consecrated to some ancient, chthonic or gnostic power or cult, whose rituals involved ecstatic sexual rites. Perhaps the site has an influence on her, or some sort of "wee folk" are resident in the area, whose powers for good and ill are well-known to folklore.
So there's my preliminary read on "At the Edge of Dreams." I have to read your first Episode, to see where the story is headed. But I love what I see already!
Simone - wow!
I’m not sure (when I read you early episodes on Medium) whether this prologue hit my radar but I love it!
It promises much & explains nothing- just right for hooking a reader (this reader!)
You maintain the dreamy quality of the scene perfectly, and from Kate’s pleasure & eager responses to everything that happens, leave us in no doubt that she’s a sensual woman who is in touch with her sexuality & her libido.
I love the sketchy nature of her partner- is he real or conjured from her arousal? Is he benevolent or malevolent? Is she entering into a submissive contract with him or is he feeding off her energy in some way?
Of course the reader is curious about what has sparked this type of dream, and how deeply embroiled Kate will become in this plane of nebulous encounters with carnal pleasure as their focus. But I am sure I’m not the only one keen to read more.
Thank you Posy. I have written a lot of supernatural sex stories which verge on the horror genre and wanted to tell a story that was based more on faeries and folklore. The original, that I am rewriting, took some inspiration from A Midsummer Night's Dream but I think this is going to be darker (and, being a Simone Francis story, include more sex).
Fabulous news- I’m buckling in for the long haul! 🍿🥤💺
Love the build-up and use of imagery.
Thank you. This was originally a short story which then became the prologue to a book. My publisher at the time liked the book but I didn't. Now I am re-writing the book as a serial here. Such is the joy of writing.