Inspiration is a funny thing. At the time I got the "flash" that resulted in The Velderet, several ideas were rattling around in my head. Among the recurring thoughts of those days: how do you write an erotic novel in which the sex stays interesting in every chapter? why is SM fiction always about a perfect encounter, and almost never about a comical or awkward one? and, gee, wouldn't it be fun to write something where the perverts save the world?

I was on the phone to Deena Moore, who was taking over Taste of Latex magazine and looking for a regular fiction contribution, when the idea came to me. She said two words, "cybersex" and "serial," and pretty much the whole story came to me at once. Hmm, I thought, by writing it as a serial and not as a novel, I can put my characters through a series of escalating erotic adventures that relate to a larger plot, there will be plenty of sex in each chapter, and I'll have ample opportunity to inject some humor and poke occasional fun at my own SM lifestyle. She wanted something appealing and easy to read, with lots of sex and a futuristic twist. Fetish and high tech together. Hmm, I thought, I can do that...

The main challenge, which I hope I have met, was in making each chapter stand alone in the magazine, while still keeping up an ongoing story. In science fiction, a novel-length story almost always brings the fate of an entire planet or people into question. It's very rarely just about the personal growth of the characters. An erotic short story, however, is typically just the opposite, where the change takes place internal to the characters, and very rarely is there any impact on the world at large or the survival of the human race. It was great fun to blend these two genres from opposite ends of the fiction palette.

For a while, I wasn't sure that the story would ever be completed. I had planned it to run twelve episodes, but the magazine, Taste of Latex, ceased publication after only six of the were completed, and the manuscript lay dormant for a while. Masquerade Books then expressed interest in publishing the completed text, but they, too, ceased publishing. In the end, I finished writing the final chapters because I wanted to find out exactly what was going to happen myself! And sometimes doing it yourself is the only way to get something done, hence the Circlet Press edition of the finished book, now in your hands. I hope you found it worth the effort.

I'm sure the Kylar will appear in my fiction again, as they've already figured in many of my short stories. You can keep apprised of their, and my, developments at www.ceciliatan.com. Thanks for taking the ride.

Cecilia Tan

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