I Think I'm Turning Japanese

Once an Idol is a very interesting project for me because it gets at the heart of the challenge of writing for commission: Can you successfully take someone else's fantasy and infuse enough of yourself into it to make it a good read? I've only been to Japan once and not long enough for the trip to leave an indelible impression that I can come back to – way different from Bangkok, where I went to school in the 90s. Lacking this, a lot of research goes into "Idol" to make it at least approach feeling grounded in some authenticity and realism.

An unlikely source of inspiration and reference is one of my close friends, (Let's call him A) who was an actual exchange student in Tokyo. A didn't hook up with his host mother during a homestay, but he did have a highly sexual relationship with a very horny 30-something Japanese woman named Kumi-kun. A far cry from a fictional fallen ex-idol, Kumi was a divorced butcher with a 10-year-old kid who was desperate to get fucked by A's white dick. I'm not sure how she and my friend met and I don't think it matters, either. What stood out to me was the age difference and Kumi's aching loneliness; her unleashed wantonness with this white college kid, as well as many of the mannerisms and speech patterns — all helped to make Hanako more believable. It's amusing that I gave A shit about the semi-possible prospect of him impregnating Kumi before he left Japan and having a kid he didn't know about back in Tokyo.

For me, creating this world and introducing scenes that I think are erotic all comes together when I'm reading and writing it and I'm suddenly like, 'Oh. Hey, that's pretty hot. Great. Now how can I keep this going? How can I improve it? How does this advance the relationship/plot?' In that vein, Maddie's an addition that has made the story much more interesting. How will Hanako take what's happened? Will Maddie get pregnant and complicate Nathan's life even further? Who will end up with who? 

I think my favorite part about Chapter 2 is the theme of both the women in Nathan's life being predators in one way or another – Hanako, mature and highly calculating to get what she wants, and Maddie, a patient, immature opportunist. It's a more refreshing play, in my mind, on the somewhat tired trope of the alpha male. The fallout and resultant triangle and competition that comes out of this is going to be hot and a lot of fun to write when I revisit Idol in the future. 

-D