Mari's Mistake - Ruby Dixon Page 0,101
the khui (an easy out, really), losing your sexuality (or having a lack of one) is a very valid and real thing. T’chai suggests options to Mari but leaves them up to her, and they both have to come to terms with the fact that things may never be ‘like they were’ between them again. That doesn’t make it bad. It just makes it different.
A lot of the time in romance novels, we have heroines that just come at the drop of a hat and heroes with enormous schlongs. I mean, it’s fantasy. I’ll probably never write a hero with a tiny pecker because this IS a fantasy, but I also like to play with different levels of how people deal with different levels of sexuality. For some people, it’s just not good sex (Bridget and A’tam) no matter how equipped the dude. Sometimes it’s downright awkward (like when Haeden and Josie first get together, or Rukh and Harlow). I try to show a variety of things in writing because they all interest me as character aspects.
And of course my heroines are going to take charge of their sexuality and have many wonderful orgasms with their mates because we’re still in fantasy-land. But I do think it needs to be brought up now and then, because perfect people are great, but not that interesting to me as characters. I like playing with the messy bits, and I like them figuring themselves out.
Speaking of! There is a wonderful book called Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski, PhD. It discusses all kinds of sexuality and sexual responses of women - from lack of desire to too much desire and everything in between. It’s a fantastic read and very conversational. I glaze over when someone ‘sciences’ at me for too long, but this book was really useful for understanding the thinking of “I love my partner but I’m not into sex” and why that might be. The answer: CONTEXT. Check it out - if you’re curious about how women respond, I think it’s such an interesting book (and the good news is that most libraries probably have it, too!).
Let’s talk about TIA. Our darling, sweet little seventeen year old flirt. I wanted to have a younger human woman on the island in addition to older, just to span age ranges (Flor is the oldest at 32, and Tia is the youngest at 17, with everyone else falling in between). Of course, that presents a problem when matching everyone up, because seventeen is awful, awful young to hook up with a forever mate and start making babies. Most seventeen year olds want to have a good time, and so Tia’s been flirting her little heart out. Of course, our guys don’t understand what the fuck ‘dating’ is. They think of things in two ways: Mine and Not Mine. I figured this would cause problems in the tribe, and then I tried to think of the best way to solve it.
Answer: There is no ‘best way’ to solve it.
I tried to think about the most practical way to solve it. Do you get rid of all the problem men who don’t know how to handle a young, teasing girl? Or do you take the girl out of the equation? I tried to think of it in a hunter-gatherer sort of way. All the guys that bring in food are worth more than Tia, who mostly hangs around camp and talks. So I made the decision that Tia would be brought over to Croatoan, where she can grow up without causing chaos. She’ll be back, but she’s going to be out of commission for a bit. Is it the best answer? No. But is it the best answer for now? Probably!
Also…I brought in a new character! It feels like a big deal to me, but you guys were probably expecting it. Or maybe you weren’t! It occurred to me a few books ago that we had even numbers (which makes sense, of course) and that, in turn, made everything a little predictable. I decided I didn’t like predictable and what could I do to change that up? To add a little bit of uneasiness in our bachelors and bachelorettes. Do I kill someone off and mess up the numbers?
(No. The answer is always no. I get too attached and can’t kill anyone. Shh.)
So then I thought about introducing someone. The seeds were kinda planted in