Black-Leather Starlet, by Farrell Squire

[JesusA (imported)]

Farrell Squire contributes relatively few stories to the Archive, but each is a masterpiece. Interview With a Black-Leather Starlet continues his tradition of excellence. What I especially appreciate is Farrell's skill in producing dialogue that seems real and natural. His stories are always close enough to reality that you can imagine them actually happening in the not-too-distant future.

I especially recommend this story to all aspiring Archive authors. Just over a year ago, Farrell posted the basic story idea, asking other authors to consider his plot. By looking at the original sketchy plot outline and then carefully reading the story, you can see how a fine author's mind works. There is a lesson here in creativity.

Here's the original proposal as Farrell wrote it:

Farrell_Squire

Senior Member

Registered: Nov 1999

Location: South Central US

Posts: 126

Sexy Celebrity Wants Eunuch(s)

How about this one:

A sexy female celebrity (rock star, actress, or whatever) surfs into the on-line castration clubs and the Eunuch Archive. After a few weeks of lurking, reading stories and posts (making her panties quite wet), she publicly announces she wants a couple of live-in eunuch servants. Naturally, men line up for the privilege. She picks two lucky guys, takes them to Thailand, and has them nullified. The tabloids follow every detail.

It creates a sensation in the mainstream press. She and her new eunuchs appear on the Tonight Show, Letterman, etc. It becomes a fad in Hollywood and in the music industry. Every starlet now has one or more personal eunuch attendants. Even several male celebrities are opting for the eunuch lifestyle.

Tens of thousands of screaming fans are demanding the establishment of legal castration/nullification clinics in the U.S. and Europe so they can emulate the lifestyles of their celebrity idols. Lawmakers bend to the pressure, making castration safe, cheap, and readily available. Not much more hassle than getting a tattoo!

Farrell

01-08-2002 07:26 PM

You can see how these few words developed into full plot line. I'm just disappointed that Farrell didn't take my suggestions and develop it into a full length novel:

Jesus

agent provocateur

Registered: Feb 2001

Location: Somewhere out west

Posts: 171

It looks like Farrell Squire has provided us with the plot kernel for his next novel. There are only a handful of authors on the Archive with the skill to pull off the story that he describes. Farrell has contributed some of the best straight stories to date and he has shown that he can sustain both plot and characters through a long story.

Maybe we just need to encourage him. I would also suggest that some of us provide ideas for him to consider toward his plot. Of course, he wouldn't need to use any of them, but they might stimulate him in other interesting directions that we cannot foresee.

For example: I can foresee A-1 providing useful plot details and local color to give verisimilitude for a wild beach party in Cancun with a flock of eunuchs attending a pride of movie stars. [Footnote 1]

I would suggest opting for the movie star as central figure. The opening chapter could be the movie set where she is starring in a period film set in classical Rome (or possibly the ancient Near East - Babylonia or Assyria). In the plot she is continually surrounded by "eunuch" attendants. For the casting they would be either young and androgynous or old and wizened actors. Some of them are continually hitting on her and she begins to wonder what "eunuchs" are all about. Why would ANY woman want "eunuchs" as intimate attendants? (No one should ever expect an actress to be intelligent enough to know about eunuchs!) This would lead logically into the search for information where Farrell began his plot summary. It also opens the way for a brief exploration of eunuchs in history as our starlet discovers it. [Footnote 2]

When the lucky young men are taken off to Thailand, Farrell might appreciate some information on the clinics. Kelly comes to mind; though I'm sure there are others as well.

Should some eunuch attendants to the stars be nullified and some simply loose their testicles? They can certainly be put to different uses. Remember that wealthy Roman matrons sometimes had handsome slave boys castrated so that they could provide intercourse on demand with no chance of pregnancy. [Footnote 3]

Some suggestions on male movie stars with eunuch attendants would be useful. What might be their PUBLIC purposes? The plot can also explore their non-public purposes, should Farrell so desire.

The way would be open for a eunuch movie star to become the "next big thing." Maybe even for one of those annoying "boy groups" of post-adolescent, out-of-tune singers to be made up entirely of eunuchs. They could then be surrounded by pre-adolescent groupies whose parents don't mind the objects of their daughters' crushes.

Maybe we're looking at Farrell's first trilogy....

_____________

Footnote 1 - Since I was a small kid I've been fascinated by the counters we use in English for groups of animals: a covey of quail, a gaggle of geese, a caucus of crows, etc. What are the proper counters for eunuchs and for movie stars?

Footnote 2 - There's a selfish reason for adding this plot suggestion. My interest and expertise is historical, though mostly East Asian. Pueros has the Mediterranean world information that would be useful.

Footnote 3 - There is the famous epigram of Martial: "You ask, Pannychus, while your Celia has so many eunuchs? Celia wants to have sex without appearing to." (Latin: "Cur tantum eunuchos habeat tua Caelia quaeritis, Pannyche? Futui velut Caelia nec parere." Martial VI 67) Juvenal also alluded to the practice in his Satires: "There are women who like the ineffective eunuchs because their kisses are always soft and they don't have beards and because abortives are not necessary." (Latin: "Sunt quas eunuchi inbelles ac mollia semper oscula delectent et desperatio barbae et quod abortivo non est opus." Satires VI 366-380)

01-12-2002 08:31 PM

Maybe Farrell will use this first story as a stepping-stone to the full-blown novel. I can only hope....