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There is one main reason why I do write erotic fiction and will continue to do so. I have made many women realize that they are not alone. A lot of women grow up believing that men should be the sexual aggressors, that men should be the experimental ones, and that women should just settle and be satisfied with the luck of the draw. I wa
nt women to know that it is more than okay—it is essential—that we speak up and express our sexual needs, wants, and desires. Men are not psychic. Only a woman can tell what turns her on or off. Men do it all the time and ask for specific sexual acts. It is time for the tides to turn and if I can aid in making it happen, then I’m game.
Q: You seem to be a strong advocate for psychiatric care and counseling. Do you feel that these services are not as available or as widely sought as they should be?
A: I believe they are available but that they are not sought out enough—particularly in the African-American community. I actually know three black female psychiatrists personally and there was a convention for black psychiatrists at the D.C. Convention Center some years back. That means they are plentiful. However, needing help with mental issues has often been considered a stigma, a sign of weakness, because we are supposed to be beyond that. Everyone is the same inside and we all bleed the same, so to make the assumption that other races can be mentally off balance but we can’t is absurd. Women of other races often leave luncheon dates announcing that they are running late for an appointment with their therapist, but you would be hard-pressed to find a sister openly admitting to it. It is sad, really, because so many choose to suffer—sometimes for an entire lifetime—instead of seeking help.
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. What is your first impression of Jonquinette? Is she friendly, responsible, reserved, assertive? Does Jonquinette surprise you at any point in the novel, or do anything that seems unlike herself? Do you think she surprises Jude? Although the integration of her personalities gives Jon the greatest control over her life, her character develops in more subtle ways over the course of the novel. How does she change, and how does her development make the integration possible?
2. How would you characterize the dynamic between Jonquinette and Jude? Sometimes it seems like Jude sees herself as Jon’s protector. Do you think that is always the case? Jude acts like she knows what’s good for Jon. When she’s in control, she disparages Jon’s diet, her glasses, and her clothing choices. How are Jude’s choices determined by her own biases? How much does she take care of Jon, and how much does she take care of herself?
3. What do you think of the way Jude handles Mrs. Greer’s dog, Shadow, and the girls in her gym class? Jude is much more assertive that Jon, but she is also much more violent. Why does Jude make such dramatic and destructive gestures? How does her approach to these situations foreshadow her later approach to sex?
4. As soon as it looks like Jonquinette has taken an interest in Mason Copeland, Jude becomes fearful that he and Jon might form a serious relationship. She says, “No serious relationships. Just sex and I was the only one entitled to that” (page 45). At first it seems like Jude goes on sexcapades because Jon is repressed, and Jude expresses her inhibited sexuality. But here, Jude reveals that she prefers to have Jon be chaste so that she can control their love life. Why do you think Jude wants to control this aspect of their life?
5. Similarly, why is Jude so opposed to the idea of meaningful sex? In the beginning, it seems reasonable that she might not want to form attachments, since her lovers might discuss her adventures with Jonquinette. But since she’s well aware that Jon knows, vaguely, what she does with their body, this can’t be the only reason. What other reasons does she have for maintaining her anonymity?
6. What part does Flower play in this story? Jonquinette quickly becomes attached to the child. She says, “All those years, Jude and Jetta existed to protect me. Now it is my time to protect Flower” (page 281). How does her relationship with Flower allow her to come into her own? How does her protective stance toward Flower show how she has grown?
7. After Jonquinette becomes aware that her dad molested her as a child, she has a tough decision to make. She says, “I decided not to press charges. There was nothing to be gained by that because Daddy has an illness. He’s not a criminal” (page 282). Do you agree with Jon’s decision? Do you think Henry is a criminal? Jon has the responsibility of making this decision for herself as an adult. Do you think her mom would have made a similar decision if she had learned about the abuse when Jon was young?
8. Jonquinette’s mother, Meredith, is unwilling to get psychiatric care for her daughter, even after it’s clear that she needs assistance. After Marcella Spencer helps Jon figure out how her disorder is affecting her life, Jon decides to ask her mom to participate in her therapy. She asks her mom, “Momma, did you never figure it out or did you just choose to ignore it?” (page 203). How do Meredith’s responses to her daughter’s condition indicate that she didn’t want to believe her daughter was ill? Is there reason to believe she just didn’t know? Why is Jon herself so nervous about getting help? Why does she finally decide to make an appointment with Marcella Spencer?
9. What do you think of Jon’s decision to reopen communication with her dad? Knowing that Jude often acts as Jonquinette’s protector, and forced Henry out of Jon’s home, how do you feel when Jon goes to visit Henry despite Jude’s displeasure? Do you think their reunion is a necessary step in Jonquinette’s recovery?
10. Although Jonquinette meets a number of unpleasant people in her life, sometimes it seems as though the most difficult personality she encounters is Jude, her own alter ego. Although Jude is the fighter, Jon wins the battle for their body. What does she have to do to convince Jude to let her control her own life?
11. In some ways, the battle between Jonquinette and Jude is one-sided. While Jude is aware of Jon’s life, Jon knows nothing about Jude, her life, or her desires. How does this affect their conflict? What does it say about Jude that she manipulates and controls Jonquinette?
12. Jude accuses Meredith of many awful things. She calls her selfish, a gold digger, and a whore. Why does Jude hate Meredith so much? Jonquinette seems to love her mother despite her flaws, and she certainly treats her with respect. What do you think of Meredith? Do you think either Jon or Jude has an accurate impression of their mother? How do their opinions about her reflect on their own personalities?
13. Was it wise of Jonquinette to hook up with Mason before her integration? His involvement in her life provoked Jude into creating quite a scene at the wedding. Still, do you think Jon could have convinced Jude to let her keep control without Mason’s love and support? What role, if any, did Mason play in her recovery? Might his presence in her life actually have jeopardized her healing process?
*Excerpted from The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth (Pocket Books, 2002).
Read on for a look at Zane's highly-anticpated new novel, set in the world of Addicted and Nervous
VENGEANCE
Available from Atria on May 24, 2016 wherever books are sold
Prologue
Saturday, September 18, 1993
10:18 p.m.
The Black Screw
Los Angeles, California
Ladonna, get your little fast ass over here!”
Hannah was drunk as all get-out as she rubbed her hands up and down the chest of a dude who called himself Minister of Seduction. He was about six three and built like a truck. Not to mention the thirteen-to-fourteen-inch dick hanging in between his chiseled thighs. He was bouncing his dick up and down her behind as “Whoot, There It Is” by 95 South pumped through the speakers.
I was returning from the bar with two blow jobs—apparently the drink special of the night because a lot of the ladies were drinking them from shot glasses. I wasn’t a fan of the taste of coffee but was willing to give the concoction of Baileys Irish Cream and Kahlúa, amaretto, and whipped cream a try. It was my twenty-first birthday and I had been waiting for the chance to do two things: drink some liquor legally, and drink it at a club. Hannah had made both dreams come true, albeit, it was not quite the kind of club that I had in mind.
