THIS BEING A LITTLE FOREWORD
Before we begin Only Consenting Adults, it might be useful to have an introduction to the Wonderland universe. If you don't need the background, please skip forward to the opening chapter.
It seemed unlikely that the simple act of Henry keeping up with Jen as they ran up the hill in the city in their lunchbreak all that time ago would set in motion a chain of events that would touch so many lives in their city, spreading ripples of cause and effect that they couldn't possibly have foreseen. From that start, many stories later we've reached the point where everything comes together, and then everything ends. To date, the combined stories have been read over two million times, which is very humbling when considering what small thing was planned originally when Henry walked into Jen's hotel room on the morning of her wedding, the first words that were written.
The exercise was to see what could be written in a single year at the keyboard in snippets of an hour here and an hour there, as inspiration struck. From a vignette about a chastity belt and a wedding day, the story expanded rapidly and is finally coming to a conclusion after nine books, three story series and three quarters of a million words. There remain stories that haven't been completed, and others that will reach their conclusion here because this is the end. However, there will also be questions left unanswered, threads left dangling, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? The what-if, the other path, the might-have-been.
What conversation did Kiko have in the Lost and Found in that booth with her husband? Who was the man in aisle six when Cam and Mina purchased the safe in Harbingers? Where had Yves travelled from to end up in the stories at all?
And what will happen to the other characters in the future? Does Lily find love in the end? Will Cam honour his commitment to release Mina from chastity for the wedding? What will Cassie's twins make of their errant father when they grow up? Is Henry doomed to a life of girl-talk with less and less chance of getting a word in edgeways? Will Tom open up a franchise on the West Coast with Hayley and continue their speciality services? Does Tia's husband talk her into having another child? What does Victoria decide about her marriage?
Does Quinn finally make his peace with Alena's memory?
Thank you for reading and letting me know how it all made you feel. I realise I haven't pleased all the people all the time, but I hope it still meant something to you. If you have read and enjoyed these stories, then please write a comment, or give a rating, or tell other people. If there are topics here that you have wrestled with yourself, then maybe write about them; from experience, it might help. Even if you don't think you have the knack, just give it a go anyway. You may surprise yourself, and it gets easier with every line.
If you want to take anything you found of interest in these stories to use as a springboard or a seed for your own ideas, then please do, within reasonable bounds. There are characters here who I have no doubt would be more than willing to go around again, just maybe put a back-reference in your preface for context.
Only Consenting Adults is a story about the differences that exist between us all, the vast multiplicity of life experiences, from those of us who are reading this story on a weekday afternoon before school pick up, to the ones who are living in a world veiled from the lives of their neighbours, in that secret realm behind the curtain. This is a story about how, though we are all different, we are also the same, how the resilience of a society stems not from its homogeneity but from its diversity.
This is a story about love. It is concerned with the things that we say in the dark.
So, if you're seated comfortably, then let us begin. There is a plane landing; there is a new mother at a table; there is blossoming love and a broken heart; there will be sorrow; there will be restitution; and while I'm now done here, maybe the stories aren't.
Because as some things end, new things begin.
- Oneagainst, 12th October 2022.
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WONDERLAND STORY MAIN SEQUENCE AND NOTATION
This is an introduction to the characters and the stories, with the books in timeline chronological order. Going forward, chapter back-references to a specific book will use the capital letter notation of the book title and the chapter number, for example The Devil and the Sea chapter 1 will have the notation DS01. This will hopefully keep each chapter opening paragraph brief while still providing context links for readers who appreciate such things.
The Monogamists
tells the story of Henry, moving to a new city and taking up a new job. He meets Jen and becomes besotted with her. Jen, however harbours a secret, a desire that no man can satisfy. Can Henry share Jen with Anya, the sultry Executive Assistant to Jen's boss? Can Jen have the best of both worlds? Why does Jen's father, the ambitious politician Gerard Staunton, shun her wedding to Anya? They have to battle their own fears, the expectations and judgements of their friends, the attentions of Damian and Lily trying to break them up, to carve out their own place in the world.
In
The Devil and the Sea
, the three lovers strive to make it work, setting out on a new life together: the Happy Tuple. But Jen's desires and her troubled past catch up with her, pushing her towards a place that her lovers fear losing her.
Oxygen Games
is the cautionary tale of Aidan and Rosa, a young, gorgeous married couple: gym owners and social media stars, for whom the world seems to be laid at their feet. But, there's a cloud on the horizon as they try for children, engaging in increasingly outlandish sex games as they struggle to conceive. Caught in the powerful riptide, can their marriage stay afloat?
Aidan's journey continues in
A Place Beyond The Horizon
, wandering listlessly after the events of Oxygen Games, trying to find a new place for himself. He embarks on a journey of self-exploration, meeting Kat and then the Hollywood A-Lister Mara Fey. But, he still struggles with what Rosa did, unable to come to terms with the consequences for his marriage. As Mara's life descends into mayhem, he has to make a choice about his own future.
What We Say in the Dark
reveals Damian's home life, his devoted wife Cassie, and the shocking truth she has to face as Damian strays from their marriage.
In
When One Day We Are Gone
, Cassie's plight deepens as she loses control of her marriage and her husband. Reeling, she finds consolation in a new friend, Cynthia, and is introduced to new people and a whole new world of sexual exploration in a nightclub where Cynthia transforms into Madame Syn, the mistress of the Lost And Found. Will Cassie repair her frayed marriage to Damian, or will she follow where Syn is tempting her, towards an extraordinary new life?
Alena's Game
recounts widower Quinn's relationship with his departed wife, looking back in a series of counselling sessions with Cassie at his journey into a female-led relationship where Quinn was stripped piece-by-piece of his role as the dominant husband and bread-winner, turning into Alena's willing slave.
Cameron and Mina delve into the world of denial and domination in
All Under Control
, using trance and suggestion to keep Mina chaste even as she surrenders further to her boyfriend's control.
High Life
recounts the spiralling descent into blackmail and deviancy that Alice and James find themselves embroiled in. But, even as they are trapped within Jodie's nefarious web of deceit, they meet incredible people and form alliances and friendships that will see them through.
Adam and Eve,
Influencers
and game players in the Lost and Found nightclub, embark on a series of adventures, playing with others but inexorably drawn together. Can two drifting souls really find happiness in the least expected place: with each other?
Click And Collect
charts the evolution of Tom's side-business while working as a manager at Harbinger's Home and Garden superstore. He enlists the help of Hayley, offering an unusual service to special customers. If they ask for 'click and collect' they are liable to find themselves turned into any manner of household furniture.
The Light Between the Trees
introduces Chloe, a woman traumatised by the experience of being taken hostage in a café siege. She finds an enigmatic stranger online and is enticed to succumb to his fantasies.
These stories all weave together into Only Consenting Adults. Finally, how will it all end?
WONDERLAND TIMELINE, DETAILED
An Equal Division
Alena's Game Ch. 01 - 13 [flashbacks] *
Taking Instruction
Alena's Game Ch. 14 - 17 [flashbacks] *
