A FAMILY AFFAIRA heart-warming, intimate story of two women and their children." A Family Affair ", uninvited and unwanted, found a fertile place in my mind which was, and still is, seeking for answers. Whether it’s Irving Stone’s epic “The Agony and the Ecstasy” saga of Michelangelo, or Henry James’s “The Bostonians" , or even contemporary Sarah Waters’s “Tipping the Velvet” , serious writers have not been shy to enter the forbidden domain. Of course, Oscar Wilde, one of the most memorable of writers, was convicted and imprisoned for his “Unmanly Manhood” , and remains today the epitome of homosexuality. And it would be a shame to miss out on the delights of this roman-fleuve as long-winter-night reading: there's a thrill in buying three volumes to read one after the other. Actually, volume one is free." THE CHURCHThe Bible makes reference to men who give up natural relations for the unnatural, certainly eluding to homosexuality. Yet, in perhaps the greatest of paradoxes that homosexuality has spawned, the Church, by forbidding priests and nuns since the twelfth century to marry, unknowingly and unwittingly has contributed to the great unnatural within its very bosom. The issue remains painfully unresolved, both within and without the Church. Anglicans too, my own denomination, struggle with homosexuality not only amongst the laity but also amongst its ordained bishops. "A Family Affair" has taken 5 years from conception, to the completion of the first draft. Then it sat on the back burner whilst I completed STONES IN MY CLOG, certainly my last book of Chiropractic anecdotes, set in Holland. A FAMILY AFFAIR is a difficult book, the story of family abuse, of
AT LAST...Many, many thanks to you, the thousands of readers who have read the free copy of A Family Affair, Book 1, and have been waiting patiently for Book 2. At last it's complete and available at Our Store for only $.99.
Our STORE You can either pay with Paypal, the world's favourite and safest way of buying anything on line, or your credit card. I've been using Paypal for five years now without drama... fear not! Book 2Janet and Santie manage to seduce Peter into siring four children, without him being any the wiser. Imagine his confusion when he discovers he has four teenage children!Book 2 is all about June Twycross, Peter's first child, conceived actually when Janet rapes him use a date-rape drug. It's Janet again who goes out shopping for another child, and comes home with two sons: Trek Twycross and Carlo Veenstra. Figure that one out! Storm Twycross is the baby, taking after Peter's mother, Sandra Thomas. Imagine the Thomas senior's delight at finding that in fact they have four grandchildren, Storm in particular a carbon copy of her colourful grandmother. A quiverful of them... until they discover the circumstances in which the children were conceived. You WILL enjoy the book, or your money back! All for .99c. A plea: you could in fact forward this book to ten friends. Will you purjure your soul for .99cents? You will love this book, but your friends can purchase their own copies. Book 3 will be available in a month or six. It's complete but needs a major edit. But first read Book 1, available a few lines down line for free....
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“All art is a media of questions. It raises questions and gets people to think. Evangelicals typically want to tell people what to believe: ‘bumper sticker Christianity’ reduced to a few words. The truth is that life is about ambiguity. Good fiction accepts the world we live in and enables us to grapple with it.”
- Nick Page
- Charlotte Bronte
Such has been this book. The subject matter, sexual abuse and lesbianism, are not issues close to my heart, but this book was written whilst searching for answers to a tragic event I once witnessed.
"The characters I have the least in common with are the ones I have the greatest success with. The further a role is from my own experience, the more I try to deepen it."
Paul Newman Ultimately, against all odds, Santie is elected to the highest court in the land. Many trials and tribulations await her, and a beautiful affair with her best friend.
SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTIONProfessor Santie Veenstra speaks powerfully on the subject of an independent, enshrined South African constitution. In the light of the South African election on April 27, 2009 I decided to release this chapter, even though it belongs much later in book 3.Enjoy.
Read more: Professor Veenstra's inauguration … SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTION "Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It's one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period." - Nicholas Sparks, author. "Whilst the last page of the first draft may be the most enjoyable moment in writing, the editing phase which follows hard on its heels is sheer hell! Period! Nevertheless, a very necessary part of the process." - Bernard Preston. The last page is complete! A FAMILY AFFAIR, Preston's first true novel is currently being editored. Sheer hell. As a tidbit, to whet your appetite so to speak, the first of three books will be made available free of charge. Chapters will be added periodically. Are you too struggling with the question,
Is Homosexuality Wrong ?
TESTING THE WATERSIt goes out without saying that before embarking on anything major in life, it's worth stopping and pondering. This is true for any of us, but particularly for the Christian. Is this book from the heart of God, or the seat of the Devil? You, dear reader, must be the judge.When this book arrived, uninvited and undesired into my psyche, I confess to being shocked. It was not a subject of my choosing. So, I wrote a synopsis and sent it to four Christian women whose judgement I value and trust, expecting a thumbs down from all four. They come from the same conservative Christian tradition that do I. All four said: WRITE IT! And so it is, after five years of tribulation, you have A FAMILY AFFAIR . I hope and pray that this story stirs and brings you as much pleasure and discomfort, in equal measure, as I have had in writing it. I promise you no soothing of conscience or easing of spirit. Some of it you will find shocking. E-bookA FAMILY AFFAIR IS a long book, the equivalent of three ordinary novels.BOOK ONE: This is available for free, and can be found below, chapters being added periodically. BOOKS TWO and THREE: These will be available as E-books once the editing phase is complete. UPDATE: Book 2 will be available before the end of November 2011 for only $.99. What's more, the first twenty purchasers will get a free copy of Book 3. BOOK FOUR: I'm ruminating! Here's a short exerpt, it takes you far into the future, perhaps giving you a taste to go back and read the rest of the book.
The whole truth ... A Plea...Chapter One, Jan Jansen is deliberately shocking. On the basis of this first chapter, some readers have decided this book is not to their taste. But Jan Jansen is a minor character in the book, though it is he who shapes the future for many people. His son, Klein-Jan, conceived by rape, the lad's mother Janet Twycross, a junior staff member at Jansen, Thomas and Hansen; his blind mother Ouma Jansen from whom he kidnaps KJ. Only Santie is left to benefit, as Janet develops a deep mistrust of mankind.If you are going to read Chapter One, please at least read Chapter Two before putting the book aside. There are so many excellent books, I too read no more than twenty pages before deciding whether to read on. A FAMILY AFFAIR is certainly not everybody's cup of tea.
BOOK ONEA. A FAMILY MAN
A FEW INTERESTING NOTES FROM THE EDITORI attach Book 3 with my revisions. It’s a good section of your book. It nicely unfolds the story of Janet and Santie’s growing relationship and explains a lot. What I get is that Santie is emotionally and maybe sexually drawn to Janet but that Janet is blissfully hetero-sexual…………is that correct? That she clings to Santie because she can’t trust men…………It will be interesting to see if their relationship ever becomes physically intimate, whether Santie reveals her true feelings for Janet, or whether (quiet poignantly I would think)she never does but they live together because on the surface, neither can trust men. Although in Book 1 you talk about Santie being the ‘father’ as though it’s an accepted lesbian family thing, but maybe it could be stated just in a practical way in these terms because there is no male father in the family? I guess I will find out how come they end up with 4 kids and who the fathers are and how that all happens. Do they share the birth of these children or does Janet do all the ‘hard labour’? Seems like they ought to share that burden!I think you do a decent job of the rape scene………….see, here is an example of where you choose not to be explicit and yet everyone knows what happened. So why do you have to talk about menstrual cycles and pimples? By the way, on the subject of ‘racy’ topics, you’ve asked and so I respond - teasing about boyfriends would be common. The thing about that part of the conversation is that it would depend on the family dynamics and whether talking about ‘having sex, or sleeping with’ a boyfriend/girlfriend, had been a common topic in a family unashamed about talking about such matters. By June’s blush and a later comment from Trek that he knew she wouldn’t be one to sleep with her boyfriend, one feels that it perhaps would have been not a usual way to talk in front of parents anyway………… it’s all about context and the reader needs to feel that the conversation is along the vein of many, not suddenly different in subject and tone than many previous Sunday breakfast conversations.
- Christianity, November 2008 USEFUL LINKSFrom A FAMILY AFFAIR to Chapter One: Jan Jansen Go from A FAMILY AFFAIR to BERNARD PRESTON home page … MONTHLY NEWSLETTER - sign up here:
Chiropractic-Help.com and Bernard-Preston.com send out a joint monthly newsletter. It covers an overview of a health topic (June 2010 issue #15 Tietzes Syndrome. Breastbone pain., always a nutritional corner (such as Cholesterol /Statins and aching legs), and a piece from Bernard Preston. |
