Can human trafficking victims rebuild their lives after twenty years of slavery?
The first in a trilogy, the debut novel, BEING STILL AGAIN, takes psychological domestic suspense to a whole new vista, when two sex slaves escape sinister bondage, only to discover the journey to freedom is as threatening as it is allegorical.
The runaways, both raised and exploited by the same monstrous trafficker, are intent on attaining independence.
The problem...the "Master" wants them back and he is used to controlling everyone, including his evil doppelgängers.
Seeking refuge, the stunning "Golden Girl," aka Little Dove, sojourns across Brazil, changing gender and identity, until a shamanic vision dubs her "Ariel Black," and guides her toward the forested crossroads near the Nevada-California Stateline. There she finds gender-spectrum support and pursues employment as a mannequin model; a job that she hopes will enable her to buy a home and begin living her true identity. When she learns, her only love, Lily, the slave teacher known as China Dawl, has escaped the master's lair, and is living a stolen life nearby, she hopes they can be together again.
Historical mystery, impassioned true crime, and medicinal eco-psychology are melded for an edgy voyeuristic ride-along with a band of eclectic characters who display undeniable resiliency. This contemporary thriller, similar to Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, illustrates diverse approaches for overcoming victimization while delivering a darkened Broke Back Mountain gut punch.
Readers beware, besides the artful double-bind dilemmas, and epic mind games, this story contains some violent and sexually explicit content; some may find the material upsetting and triggering.
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Being Still Again is plot driven, but the narrative features several multifaceted LGBTQA characters, each with backstory and conflict, along with the potential for personal transformation. Characters find the mystifying spiritual connection between nature and humanity, at times harsh, and medicinal for emotional wounds.
The story has an intentional feminist bend to it, but it is decidedly eclectic, with multiple kinds of psychological conflict. Although the focus is on survival, this story is emotional and heart wrenching, a true psychodrama. It cannot be reduced to a horror tale, nor simplified to a battle between good and bad love. With 120,000 words, this book is plagued with ineffable truths, and geographic perspective, where ghost-like memories tell secrets of a greater mystery to be realized.
Riveting female protagonists move from present to past, displaying their present-day conflicts, hooking readers with complex morals, hidden motives, and survival instincts, that beg to be debated and digested.
The plot will have thriller enthusiasts thinking about spying on suburban strangers, staring wide-eyed at vehicles with darkly tinted windows, and pondering the possibilities of underground corridors with blood-stained secrets.
This progressive narrative ultimately reveals the human resolve to survive horrific events, highlighting self-care, modern relationships, and an unyielding obduracy in overcoming victimization. The intersectionality is evident in style and voice, resulting in a smart and compelling read that will have you gasping, laughing, and crying, with empathy and keen interest from beginning to end.
