The Outsider
Copyright 2009 by EC
EC's Erotic Art & Fiction - http://www.ecgraphicarts.com/
EC's deviantART collection - http://caligula20171.deviantart.com/ 

(warnings: language, adult themes, public nudity, sex between adults)

Introduction

The Outsider is my sixth novel and follows the lives of two protagonists, Mike 
Sinclair and Ruthie Burns. Mike Sinclair appeared briefly in the beginning 
chapters of The Freshman as Lisa Campbells original boyfriend, but I had Lisa 
break up with him and banished him to California when I felt that his presence in 
the novel was slowing down the plot. Mike continued to stay in the back of my 
mind as a possible future protagonist however, assuming that I ever wanted to 
write a story that takes place in California.

Ruthie is a totally new character, but elements of her appear in the characters of 
previous novels: most notably Kathleen from The Pledge Mistress and Wendy 
Li from The Wanderings of Amy. I created Ruthie because I am interested in 
using her to explore serious topics such as non-verbal communication disorder, 
depression, suicidal fantasies, the impact of religion, struggles with sexuality, and 
class resentment. From the beginning the reader will know that Ruthie is at odds 
with early 21st Century U.S. society. She is an outcast, and in the story serves as a 
metaphor of a society that created her and then rejected her. Mike finds himself in 
a similar situation, although not to the extreme that Ruthie does.

I am fully aware that my newest novel is not for everyone who visits this website. 
It might disappoint some of the readers of my previous novels, because the world 
of erotic fantasy that I have created in the previous works of fiction is not part of 
the setting in which Mike and Ruthie must make their way through life. Some of 
the places and characters of my previous novels (most notably Lisa Campbell 
from The Freshman) are mentioned in passing, but are not central to the 
development of The Outsider. 

The Outsider was my most deliberate attempt to write a serious novel instead of 
a story concentrating on sexual fantasy and alternate reality. There is not much 
action or adventure, because the novel deals with the story of a friendship and the 
exploration of two lives against the backdrop of a decaying society. I did include 
some sexual scenes in the story, but purpose of the scenes was to further the plot. 
I commented to a reader that my previous novels were erotic stories with some 
political perspective and social commentary included as part of the backdrop, 
while The Outsider is a novel focusing on social issues and political commentary 
with some eroticism mixed in.

The project strives to examine the decline of the United States from the 
perspectives of Mike and Ruthie, and by extension their families. This is another 
difference between The Outsider and my previous novels: in my previous 
projects my characters all have families, but usually family members are not 
central to the main plot. In The Outsider the parents of Mike and Ruthie are 
much more important for what happens to my two protagonists, so I examine their 
lives and thoughts more thoroughly. I also go into more detailed descriptions of 
my protagonists jobs, especially Mikes job, for reasons that will be clear at the 
end of the story.

In the novel my characters make some personal choices that some readers will 
find disturbing. I tried to neither justify my characters nor criticize them, but I do 
try to explain the circumstances that surrounded their decisions. I leave it up to 
the reader to determine whether the actions taken by Mike, Ruthie, and their 
parents were good or bad.

I tried not to judge my characters and their actions, but I make no apologies for 
judging what is going on in the United States. I am horrified by the impact that 
globalization, commercialized evangelical Christianity, and the rise of mega-
corporations such as Walmart have had on US society. I am just old enough to 
have seen how the US was before globalization and very strongly feel that 
nothing in the US has changed for the better since 1980. I feel that the changes in 
the US have destroyed the lives of the most worth-while and productive people in 
our country, and that old values such as the work ethic are no longer relevant. 
These opinions are reflected throughout the narrative of my sixth novel.

My fictional corporation Mega-Town Associates makes an important appearance 
as part of the storys backdrop. Mega-Town Associates is loosely based on the 
real-life corporation Walmart, but it also is a representation of the anything goes 
as long as it is profitable philosophy. I have been accused by some readers of 
being against capitalism. I am not, but I am against the amoral capitalism 
practiced by predatory corporations such as Walmart.

Another difference that readers will notice between The Outsider and previous 
novels is my treatment of religion. In my Danubia novels I am creating a world of 
alternate reality, of which the Danubian Church is a component of that fantasy. 
Because Danubia is a world that I created, I decided to create a state religion that 
makes sense for that society and populate it with well-meaning clerics that 
attempt to act in the best interests of their followers. I even leave open the 
possibility that the supernatural world can communicate with the realm of the 
living. 

In The Outsider I am not kind to religion. Ruthie and Mike come from different 
Christian denominations, but I make it clear that I do not feel that religion has 
been a positive influence in either of their lives. I am fully aware that my views 
on religion will bother some readers. However, I am drawing from my own 
experiences when I talk about both Mikes church and Ruthies church.

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All places mentioned in the novel, with the exception of Davenport State 
University and a very brief mention of Danubia, exist in real life and are locations 
that I have actually lived in or visited. (Even Davenport, California is a real place; 
its just that in real life there is no university there). Davenport State University is 
loosely based on the real one in Santa Cruz, but it is fictionalized because I dont 
want to deal with UCSC alumni telling me that this or that detail about their 
university is inaccurate. With everything else I attempted to keep the details of the 
storys setting in Central California as close to real life as possible.  

