The Moral Line by Vanessa Bogenholm
The Moral Line, a romantic work of Women’s Fiction by Vanessa Bogenholm, opens readers’ eyes to the world of high-end escorts and the men who frequent them.
Vanessa describes the intense and sometimes deeply saddening process she went through in order to achieve the greatest possible accuracy: “I underwent extensive research while writing The Moral Line in order to fully understand the motivations and feelings of the people who participate in the high-end escort business. I interviewed the escorts themselves, pimps, and the men who commission these services. For the last set of interviews I even went so far as to meet men who wanted to pay me for sex and then would tell them the truth of why I was meeting them. Some were mad, some were fascinated, and all were lonely just like me.”
[Synopsis]
After being rejected and left alone, Alexandria finds herself going down a moral line. Slightly desperate for money, she takes a one-time ‘job’ as a paid for companion by a not so attractive but very nice wealthy man. Is getting paid to be in the company of men really such a bad thing if it feels good? She falls into a world of clients that are wealthy, powerful, successful men with fancy cars and country club lifestyles. But she sees the fragility in all of these men, the loneliness and need for acceptance that is the human condition.
Alexandria becomes ‘Catherine’, a high-end escort with a beautiful laugh who finds the goodness and attractiveness in all men, falling in love with all of her clients just a little. By accepting these men and seeing the goodness in them, she pleases these men in many ways. Is it possible by pleasing others maybe Alexandria can find her true self and find happiness?
[The Story Behind The Moral Line]
Most of my friends, after the book came out, were more fascinated with the back story then the book itself. In the eight or so months I was writing the book, I became a hermit, or so they thought. I wasn’t meeting my friends for drinks, was not dating, and just seemed to be living a very lonely life at home with my dogs. Well, that was true, kind of…
I was going out more in the evenings and meeting more people then I had in years. These were just different kinds of people then had been in my life before and I was fascinated. I made friends with two men, young business start-up kind of guys. These two men had created a network. This network included girls on the phones, websites, and over 80 women who worked for them around the country. I told them I was writing a book and they showed me how the modern day world of internet escorting worked. I learned how the money was taken care of, in call, out call, how hotels worked, the most efficient advertising, the business aspect. Because I had befriended these two business men, the women working with them as escorts were more then happy to talk about how their hour spent with a client and what really went down in that hour.
Most of the women were perfectly normal, educated, attractive women. The most successful women were over 32 years old and had college degrees. These were women billed at $200 or more per hour. They were well read and happy, the most important characteristic. The women looked at what they did as a service job, not as sex work. In fact, most women said the actual sexual activity was about 7 minutes per hour. Their ‘job’, was to make the man feel like a woman wanted him, like he was a man and attractive, it wasn’t so much about the sexual release, it was the build up and having the man feel he was taken care of. The men would put out wine and chocolates, wanted to be dressed nice, like a real date. The men were always not just financially, but emotionally, thankful for the attention the escorts gave them. None of them, and I met over 50 escorts, had ever had a man physically be abusive, they had a few be a little rough, but nothing that was out of control. This was due to the screening process done by the two business men. Most of the women loved their jobs, but didn’t love having to be secretive about what they did.
All high end escorts, $200 an hour and above, use some kind of screening service. The two business men would get the phone number or email of whomever was contacting the girl and see who it really was, i.e. his real name, what he owned, etc. using the same software that journalists and police departments use. The guy would have to be honest about who he was, not have a criminal record, or complaints from other escorts. It is a tight community. The women would go out and the guys knew where the woman was going and for how long. There was a check in system so the woman always felt safe.
I met over 40 men. They were nice polite and just looking for attention and acceptance. When my research was over, I missed my meetings with these men and women. This world had become my social outlet and I liked the people in it, I got them and they got me.
– Author Vanessa Bogenholm
[About Vanessa Bogenholm]
Vanessa Bogenholm has been writing Romance/Women’s Fiction, reviews and short stories for numerous websites and magazines for years. Her debut novel – The Moral Line – was published in March 2014 by AuthorHouse. It is available in eBook, paperback, and hardback formats from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, AuthorHouse, and many other websites.
Vanessa lives in Los Gatos, California with her three dogs, and teaches tennis.
Readers can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
[Praise for The Moral Line]
“Words to describe this book are Emotional, Sexy, Inspirational, and well written in a memorable fashion that will engulf the mind well after you are finished reading. The story line is also original and the plot was extremely entertaining.” – Lazaro
“I went in expecting some titillating erotica, but what I got was an emotional depth that blew me away.” – Kitty Smith
“Well written, delightfully sensual, and exciting in more ways than one.” – Hawk
“If you are looking for an engaging and emotionally fulfilling read, Vanessa Bogenholm has nailed it with The Moral Line.” – Red City Review
Do you like the sound of The Moral Line? If you’ve read it let me know what you think- it’s one I’ve got on my To Read list!