A Peek Beneath the Duct Tape: "Union, Reunion"

First of all, as many of you noticed, Allie is very much me. Yes, all of my protagonists are more or less me; but Allie is me to a larger extent than any of the others because a lot of this story is based on fact. More than you might think.

I really did belong to a sorority in college, and I really have had a few reunions with some of my former sisters. I came out to a couple of them before the first get-together because they were the two I knew would accept me, and I came out to the whole group at our final gathering. I didn't know then that it would be the final gathering; but for some reason, after it was all over, we agreed that we were beginning to feel awkward with each other and didn't care to meet again. To this day, I have no idea how much of that awkwardness was due my revelation; but it really hurts to think that might have played a part. I'm sure you can see that hurt, and that anger, playing out in my story.

Dianne was based on two different sisters, only one of whom came to the real reunions - and that one was totally supportive of me, I hasten to add. I made story-Dianne's reactions ambiguous just to heighten the drama. I don't know how my readers interpreted the things she said and did, but to me, they were ambiguous. I like the women she's based on far too much to make Dianne a "bad guy." I wanted her to be someone whose opinion really would matter to Allie, someone you could root for to escape.

The idea of Dianne's escaping, by the way, occurred to me well after I'd begun the story. I think it's a much better ending than the one I'd originally planned, which was the one you would all have guessed ahead of time. ;-) I hope I gave you a pleasant surprise when Allie let her go.

Of the other characters, only Tonya is based on a real person: someone I hope really did mellow later in life. Shannon and Mary Katherine represent different parts of myself, as I'm sure some of you realized. After all, I've explained many times how my fetish ties in with my growing up as the "good little girl" and wanting both a way out of that trap and a way deeper in.

Speaking of good little girls, some of my readers will have noticed that "Union, Reunion" might as well have been titled "Raging Id." This story gave me every chance I could have asked for to let my darkest passions fly free, and they really enjoyed it.

And now it's Easter egg time again. Looking at the artwork that accompanies this blog entry, I'm sure you can see where I got the idea for the vines around the cabin...but do you recognize the artist? I've blogged about him a couple of times before: Zdzisław Beksiński. There's a reason that road sign in the first chapter was missing a letter. ;-)

Of course, I've dropped a few other Easter eggs into the story, too; but I'll let you find those on your own. ;-P