The Contours of Desire
An erotic reconciliation
This is another entry in my ongoing “My Filthy Hobby” series, in which I offer some thoughts on the stories I’ve published. This week, a look at The Contours of Desire, the conclusion to the first arc of the Mapping the Boundaries of Love series.
Also - don’t forget to cast your vote in the Golden Pigtail finals! I’ve got two stories in the running: Crammed at the Christmas Craft Fair and Crossing Swords With the Fencing Club. Voting ends February 29, so act now!
The Contours of Desire was a challenging book to write. What had started as a fun and sexy little camping story with A Dip in the Lake had turned surprisingly dark by the time Casey’s Story was done. Most of the characters — especially Petra — had been through the wringer and had some erotic trauma to deal with. I knew I wanted to bring Jessie back, and I knew I wanted Petra to find some peace, but I wasn’t sure how to accomplish it.
Going back to the “scene of the crime,” as it were, was the solution. The lakes near Wasconaway keep turning up in my stories: The Night of the Storm, A Dip in the Lake, and Dido Reclaimed all have important scenes on their shores, and they get mentioned in many more. Since the series started by the water, having this first arc end by the water made sense.
But a lot had changed since the start, so even if the characters went back to the same lakes, there needed to be something different about them. I love the real lakes inspired Makanogin and Nakanawidah in all seasons, so visiting them in the winter would be a useful way to show not only the passage of time but also the significant changes that have happened to Petra, Phil, and Jessie since the start of the series. The resort where this story is set is very much like one that I’ve visited a few times myself, in all seasons, and I hope I’ve done it justice.
One of the fun things about working on this book was getting back in touch with Jessie. We meet her in “A Dip in the Lake,” but because the next three books are about Petra’s circle of friends, she disappears from view. It turns out that she’s been on a journey of her own, but a very different one from Petra’s. Her retreat to the woods and embrace of the lakes represents just the kind of healing Petra needs. (It’s also probably the most directly I’ve expressed my own desires in one of my stories: a little cabin in the woods is very much my kink …)
Like Casey in Casey’s Story, Jessie turned out to be a rather bossy character. She revealed herself slowly, dropping hints of a back story that I found more than a little surprising, and she resisted some of my initial ideas for resolving the inevitable tension between her and Petra. Poor Phil, I feel, gets cut out a bit: the two love stories here are between Jessie and the lake, and Jessie and Petra, and Phil is largely incidental. (Don’t feel bad for him, though — I’m quite sure Phil had a really good time …)
I thought “Contours of Desire” would be the end of this particular series, but I feel like there are still some stories to tell about these characters. For one thing, I really want to explore Jessie’s past: she’s an interesting character, and I want to learn more about how she ended up on this particular path. I also think there are some things to explore about Casey and Madeline’s relationship, which is hinted at in their books as well as this one. And then there’s Martin and Cynthia: there’s a lot more to their story. My project schedule for the spring is full of shorter stories, but this summer I think I’ll be getting back to these characters with another series of books exploring the strange paths our hearts follow when they go looking for love in wild places.
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