William Louis Harvey – How Sex Became Part of My Courtroom Suspense Novel @sexandlawnovel

How Sex Became Part of My Courtroom Suspense Novel

While the characters in my book, Malpractice the Novel, did seem to “write themselves”, claiming that it was that alone is a cop-out. The characters, of course, come from the unconscious and conscious mind of the writer, who is thusly responsible for them. So, why then did I, a senior citizen, add explicit sexual descriptions to my medical-legal drama?

I have had the opportunity to observe the changes in the public’s tolerance for display of sexual activity, from the censorship of Hollywood by the Hayes office in the 20’s and 30’s (kissing only) to modern cable television and mainstream movies in which sexual acts are often displayed. But, what about mainstream fiction?

On January 20, 2010 in a New York Times Book Review, Katie Roiphe published an essay entitled “The Naked and the Confused: Sex and the American Male Novelist”. She writes that the previous generation of male novelists do not even mention sex in their writings. Some time later, Erica Jong was reported to have said that female novelists were also not writing about sex. This seemed strange, in view of the visual media’s sexual depiction. This got me thinking.

Finally, I noted a widespread recognition that women were basically as sexually aggressive as men. A fact that had long been hidden in polite society, and is still hidden forcefully in some societies and religions.

All of this made me want to return sex to the American novel. This might be grandiose and pretentious for any writer, but especially the a first time male writer. But, so be it. The primary way readers follow the characters in Malpractice the Novel is through their sexual history.. in explicit detail.

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Genre – Steamy Courtroom Drama

Rating – R

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