Kenn Ghannon: Blog

An anonymous e-mailer asked me "How is nudging someone into having sex with you by using mind control not rape? It is not a free choice if you push them for it."

My first answer is -- this is a story and that point of view was within Jess' perspective. What my characters say and do are not necessarily (or even usually -- if I had a Ring of Control I don't think I'd be strong enough NOT to use it to have sex with everyone within the sound of my voice, etc.) what I would say or do.

That's kind of the short answer. The longer one is that we ALL do things to get others into bed with us. From the moment we go out on that first date, we are trying very hard to end the night in bed. It usually takes some persuasion. It usually takes some acting. We're not really trying to be deceitful -- we're just trying to ease someone into our shell, to see the real person underneath in bits and pieces instead of all at once because we think, rightly or wrongly, that subjecting someone to all of ourselves at once will cause them to run screaming into the night -- and we're usually right. So, is that rape? I mean, we're bedding someone without being truthful with them so...

Andy just has a different and more powerful means to enact that persuasion that we all use. Is it rape? Ah, that's a trick question. He changes their mind to *THINK* it isn't rape -- and perception is reality. To them, then, it isn't. However, to an outsider it most certainly is. Semantics, I know...but viewpoints are going to differ.

Anyway, I just had to answer the question the way *I* think it should be answered. Other people may disagree. :) That's what's so great about being human -- our penchant to disagree and discourse about why we think we're right.

I know it's been a few weeks since I've posted anything; don't worry, I'm still writing but the holidays are for family so I've been spending quite some time with mine. I did, however, want to give you some news on my efforts.

I'm a mercurial writer -- it means I write things as I feel them. Even when I don't really care for what I'm writing, I still write -- I wonder, sometimes, if I don't suffer from some strange form of OCD since there are times I don't WANT to write and I just can't help myself.

"Ring of Command" -- I started writing this 2 years ago. I wrote 11.5 chapters before I put it aside. I finished up chapter 12 and started posting it (proof-reading one final time before sending it over the ether to SOL) a chapter at a time. When I finished chapter 12, I was elated and thought I'd really start writing this again in my spare time -- and I haven't. I will, however. It's just a matter of finding the time. Meanwhile, I'll likely post another chapter very soon (maybe today!) and then start stretching that out a bit until I write the next chapter. I don't want to run out of buffer...

"Mirror" -- I'm about half way through chapter 13 (and my editors are beginning to fear I've abandoned it) and I've run into some conceptual issues that caused me to re-think some of what I'm doing. Luckily, I've come up with some solutions using two characters that were meant to be more-or-less throwaway characters and I'm implementing that now -- it doesn't require ANY re-write (thankfully) but it does mean I have to adjust my chapter plans a bit.

"Beautiful 2" -- When I posted 'Beautiful' I received a very large number of e-mails that were disappointed that I hadn't carried David's character to a happy ending. I never intended to actually write a 'sequel' but some of the e-mails got me thinking and before I knew it the sequel had invaded my mind. I'm about 11 pages into it, writing piecemeal which is never good, but remarkably it IS coming along. Even more remarkable, I was able to pick David's character up after a long hiatus -- something I didn't think I'd be able to do. So, expect this when it's finished (no timetable).

"Not Enough" sequel -- I've got the basic outline but...Marc's character is very difficult for me to write. I really need to be in a dark place to do it and, at the moment, I've actually been quite content for my life. You wouldn't think Marc was a dark character but there is a certain ruthlessness and drive to him that I just don't share. I need to invade his mind and I haven't been able to do that. THERE WILL be a sequel...it's just going to take a little while.

There are other stories in my hopper in all manner of states from outlined to partially written. Some will never see the light of day and others are just waiting their turn. Hopefully, I can share them with you soon.

For now, though, I hope that all of you have a very happy and prosperous New Year.

I'm a little amazed at all of the feedback I received for Chapter 1 of 'Ring of Command'. It wasn't all positive but the negative was all constructive -- and none of it contained the death threats I'm so used to receiving (I kid!).

My plan was to post a chapter every 2-4 weeks depending on the amount of time I had but...I'm going to strike while the iron is hot. So, I hope you enjoy the second chapter...

No, I don't have ADHD -- at least, I don't think I do. However, when I'm writing a longer story occasionally I'll find a chapter or two in the middle which are basically "housekeeping" chapters -- chapters where the story is moving the plot forward by working through background stuff. It's not very exciting in an of itself but its necessary to get from point A to point B. When I get to such a chapter (or two) I start to "lose interest" -- meaning, I stop writing it for a bit to better coalesce the chapters in my head and to try to find a way to make them more exciting. I've come to that in my Mirrors story -- a place that is absolutely necessary but not really exciting. I've been stuck on it for about 2 months now (I'm sure my editors, bless their hearts, have pretty much given up on me -- but I have made some headway!!) and I'm still not entirely sure how to best increase the pace of this chapter. Sometimes, I hate writing...but I have to write, so...

That leads us into what I do when I get to that point. Sometimes, I just don't write. Others, I'll start going through some stories in my queue and either flesh them out or start writing them. That happened to me last year, actually -- and I started writing a story that I'd been meaning to work on for a while. I've added a chapter lately and I think I'm going to post it -- BEFORE ITS FINISHED -- and then just post more when I feel like it.

I hit a point last year where I was interested in mind control stories. I've read some really good ones but most in that genre are just...horrible. Unbelievable to the point that I couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough to get into the story. I decided to try my hand at it -- try to make it to the point where it wasn't completely unbelievable. Did I succeed? I kind of doubt it but I'll let you be the judge.

...and with that disclaimer (sort of), may I humbly present Chapter 1 of "Ring of Command"...

So, I only received two responses to my previous post (and they were votes for two different stories!) so I've decided that I'm just not going to post any of them. I keep riding between the two extremes of not wanting to post incomplete works and being so excited about some of the things I'm writing (they're all good in my head, anyway) that I want to share it with everyone even before it's complete.

Now lately, the 'wait until it's done' has been winning because I've had some severe writer's block (as well as a few too many things outstanding on the 'honey do' list) and haven't written ANYTHING. I asked a friend of mine (who's a professional columnist for a technical magazine who writes an article EVERY month) what he does for writer's block. His answer surprised me...he told me he writes CONSTANTLY. He sets aside so many hours of his day and writes -- doesn't matter if its good or bad, he forces himself to write and then comes back and edits it until he can stand it.

So...that's the mode I'm in now...wish me luck.