My latest work is a contemporary or realistic fiction book inspired by true life events. This book was deliberately crafted to blur the lines between reality and fiction.
It begins in the southern US, in North Carolina, and travels from the 1960s until now.
The main character grows up in a society still greatly influenced by the former Civil War. Yet the book begins during the political and societal unrest of the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Hippie Movement.
This was a time when society was very resistant to change. It was a repressive southern society with deep, dark secrets.
On the surface, this appeared to be a sleepy, conservative, unassuming, and uninspiring farming community.
But under that cloak of disguise, this society still clung to a past governed by strict adherence to culture, religious intolerance, and extreme racism.
The main character comes from an incredibly dysfunctional family that oddly, to the casual observer, goes to great lengths to appear publicly as the model family.
Yet, in private, this miserable home was where children were taught not to question things. Instead, they were to blindly obey, not to speak until spoken to, and to be seen but not heard. This was a home where religion was used to justify every aspect of life, especially harsh discipline.
The main character, unfortunately, is a man who was horribly sexually abused as a boy. And he has lived his life, until now, hiding and running from the past.
My story is centered around his life: a life that is a journey from early childhood sexual abuse and its effects, his struggles to overcome, his unwavering determination to survive, and his dogged determination to succeed and make something out of himself.
My story remains untitled, a title that continues to evolve as I apply the finishing touches.
I expect this book to be published in the next few months.