A Roll In the Hay? Hmmm…
In love at last!
“So, in this next book, are they going to take a roll in the hay?”
An old and dear friend pulled me aside the other day and asked me this question, referring to Luke and Christine. I was evasive in answering. He, (yes, it was a he) didn’t like this.
“It’s a yes or no question,” he said, with a little friendly bluntness.
But I didn’t give him a yes or no answer. “What do you think should happen between them?”
“I’m not the one writing the book.”
“But what if you were? It’s 2015. What level of intimacy should be happening between two consenting, in love adults?”
“That’s hard to say,” was his response.
“Why?” I asked him.
“Because Watervalley is different.”
At the time I didn’t press him to explain what he meant by this, but I wish I had. In the moment, I assumed I knew what he was thinking. But looking back, it would have been good to hear his thoughts.
The interesting part of this conversation was that it spoke to the vivid reality about sexual tension in a story. It’s a big deal. It bubbles beneath the words, the thoughts, the actions of the characters. And it should. In real life, when two people fall in love, physical attraction is a perfectly normal part of the mix. It’s in our DNA. So, for a work of fiction to reflect real life, the desire for physical intimacy cannot be ignored, nor should it. And I certainly didn’t ignore it in book three.
But here’s the issue. What does that look like?
The truth is, my friend zeroed in on one of my greatest deliberations regarding book three in the Watervalley series, “The Splendor of Ordinary Days.” On the one hand, if they do consummate their relationship, some may see it as a betrayal of the tone of the series. If they don’t, others will think the work juvenile and pathetically impracticable to do.
So, question? I’m terribly (and I mean terribly) curious as to what Watervalley readers think on the matter.
So…please, please speak up. Leave your thoughts here in the comment section or just e-mail me at jeff@watervalleybooks.com.
I would LOVE to have your advice.
Thanks!
Jeff
