by Ed Bemand
Thusly I shall retire from further exposition, stepping down from my position as humble narrator and guide and returning to my more traditionally habituated state, free from the burdens that have been placed upon me for this adventure.
I can but wish those that have offered this much forbearance my best wishes for that which they themselves may choose to embark upon and await the results of their own adventures with interest. This tale may have ended, but I have no doubt that words of all others will reach me in the fullness of time.
Afterword by the author
I would like to express my gratitude to our narrator for taking the time to share such an interesting catalogue of experiences with me and courteously remind him of the precise nature of our agreement and the severity of its enforcement. Such freedoms as were granted for the duration of the month were strictly temporary and all further arrangements are in no way deemed in prejudice of that which has been concluded. I, in turn, will maintain and respect my side of them. I am sure that we can both agree that equanimity in these matters is of supreme importance.
Those of us that commit the time to explore our world using more occult means can gain much from them. That there is danger inherent in these undertakings is clear and only the foolish allow anything to exploit the situation to travel back into it with them. We take our sojourns into the night in order that we may educate ourselves and bring the learning we gain from them into the light. The denizens of the night are devious and must be treated with great caution lest they find ways to take advantage of us to their own ends.
As long as the contact is confined only to looking then I personally choose to believe that we can benefit in knowledge with only minimal risk. Such choices as others may deem fit to make in these matters are for their own conscience.
In addition, I should of course take the time to offer thanks to those who were of more mundane assistance and support around the creation of this work. In brief and incomplete form, I should first mention those other participants in NaNoWriMo in Cardiff and the staff and patrons of Shot In The Dark who showed considerable forbearance during our conversations of some of the more lurid aspects of this tract, and of course my girlfriend, Sioned, without whose tolerance I wouldn’t have been able to dedicate enough of my time during November and the months that have followed into the production of this volume to have been able to complete it. It would also be remiss of me to not mention Ben, without whose support and occasional interruption it is highly unlikely this work could have been created.
Scienta ex periculosus.
E.B.
30/11/2010
Discedete, amici fideles. Absit invidia. Sicut volo sic erit.
Table of Contents
Foreword by the author
Prologue by the narrator
One: Bob Horsley and how his daughter Sally found fame but his son Steve didn't
Two: How Juliette found out what she liked
Three: The sinful confessions of Luke
Four: What happened when Robert fell in love
Five: How Antoine found his muse
Six: What John and Beatrice found they really wanted
Seven: The early adventures of Melinda with boys
Eight: What Jamie said to Cassie
Nine: When Jack tried to get what he wanted
Ten: How Svetlana found work in the city
Eleven: The betrayals of Alan and Susan
Twelve: How Melinda learned to give men what they wanted
Thirteen: Svetlana learns more about men
Fourteen: The happy relationship between Rachel and Lawrence
Fifteen: A dialogue between two lesbians
Sixteen: What Roger got up to in the dairy
Seventeen: Michael finds his true love in Isabelle
Eighteen: When Svetlana tried to settle down with one man
Epilogue by the narrator
Afterword by the author