Secrets

I thought about doing a Thanksgiving theme...even though I'm Canadian and our Thanksgiving was in the sensible month of October. ;-)....but then I thought EVERYBODY does a Thanksgiving theme at this time of year. So maybe I should do something different...

A little while ago I posted a story about an incident that occurred to me with a Shuttle-Bus driver. How my candid approach to discussing my writing...was misinterpreted and got me into trouble. But...there is a flip side to that.

There's the innate trust that seems to come along with the knowledge that I write about things like m/m sex, anal toys and threesomes. It seems that along with that knowledge comes that assumption that they are talking to someone who is open to...just about anything. Who won't judge. Who will listen without prejudice or condemnation. Perhaps that's a big assumption to make, but in my case...for the most part...it's true! And thanks to that I have been trusted with some very privileged and deeply intimate information. For the most part I am honored by that trust, and I do my best to do it justice.

In the last few years I've been entrusted with secrets ranging from tales of childhood sexual abuse, to dabbling in the BDSM scene, to a young man's struggle with his own leanings toward homosexuality. It always amazes--and thrills--me how candid the conversation can become, and how people are so eager to share their deepest secrets. When they know it's safe to do so.

I don't take that responsibility lightly. I keep their secrets, and I'm as understanding and supportive as my own experience allows me to be. I've made some wonderful friends because of it. And I hope to make many more.

I'm curious if other erotica authors have had similar experiences...and how YOU feel about it?