Foreword
I invite you to experience the beautiful world and people of Alegria with me, and to hear Catherine’s story, her song. If this story becomes ‘our’ adventure, if you feel a little ‘warm’ at times, or you’re inspired to seek new experiences, my highest goal in writing this book has been achieved.
Reading a book should offer you the chance to escape from the everyday and mundane world. Personally, I dislike pages filled with approval-seeking technical drivel, and will not infect our story with needless detail and trivia. So that we can get on with our adventure, let us now distinguish fact from fantasy.
All locations, the plot, the characters and their histories are entirely fictitious; however, the social issues that are [lightly] touched upon are quite real. The volcanic geology of Alegria is quite plausible, with several precedents in existence around the world.
The specific scientific and engineering references, training, personal abilities, psychological profiles, methodology and the described experiences of the characters generally conform to real-world parameters and/or accepted consensus within their relevant fields or experiences.
The only un-real technical aspect of the story is the new invention, although its principles are already in use in real-world, low-technology applications.
Given the characters and references in our adventure, and out of respect for those in uniform, I [author] feel the need to state for the record that I have not served in any military service.
Alegria is a place of beauty. At no time in our adventure will you find scenes of gratuitous violence, suffering, gore, or animal cruelty. I include swearing and violence only where it is appropriate. I contextualise ‘appropriate’ as something that would seem out of place or character if not included.
A special note for those unfamiliar with the Spanish language, the word, ‘Amiga’ may cause some confusion when it appears in our story. Amiga is the feminine word for friend, and amigo is the masculine expression. (Plurals – amigas is an all-female group of friends, but amigos may describe either an all-male, or a mixed gender group of friends.)
To my American readers, for simplicity, a metre is roughly a yard (10:11), and there are roughly 4 litres to a gallon. A US English and US Imperial measure edition will be forthcoming soon.
Some passages in Catherine’s Story are necessarily ‘earthy’, but I choose to minimise metaphorical or literal narrative as much as is reasonable, not because of sensitivities, but because there are only so many ways to describe a few physical specifics. For example, when it comes to sex, none of us want to read thirty different metaphors and similes for a ‘breast’ or a ‘cock’. If I am doing my job as a writer, you will know, “her sweat formed beads upon her heaving chest as she gasped his name…” without needing me to say it. [Yes, that was painful to write.]
The sexual experiences of the characters in our adventure represent genuine experiences and real-world intent, technique and responses. Any caring couple possessing imagination, patience, common sense and good communication should be able to replicate the described experiences. I hope that you may even be inspired to explore your own desires and pleasures after sharing our adventure.
I invite you to share in the magic of Alegria and enjoy Catherine’s Story, her song.
C.G.Berry – 2014
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