Today I’m happy to have Nephylim return to talk about something she’s doing that has her excited. I could tell you about it, but she’s can do it better in her own words.
Christmas in July
On July 1st I will be pleased to present a Special Edition incorporating Book I and II of the Enigma series. The Special Edition will be available for one month only and will contain original artwork as well as a brand new short story Silver’s First Christmas
Silver is a total enigma, even to me. Snatched of the street at twelve years old he was stripped of him memories and personality and re-invented as a sex slave. Renowned for his beauty and skills as an erotic dancer, he takes the underground world he inhabits by storm. Until he falls in love.
In the shady world of white slavery, love between slaves is strictly forbidden; so strictly Silver had to watch his lover beaten to death before he suffers a similar beating that leaves him close to death on the side of a motorway.
Silver is nursed back to health by a care assistant in the care home to which he is sent, but it’s not all plain sailing.
Some people have said to me that what happened to Silver just wouldn’t happen in real life. I beg to differ.
The white slave trade and sex trafficking are still a big problem throughout the world. People disappear off the streets of the UK and US every day. Organisations such as Amnesty International and anti-slavery international are fighting for greater awareness and support for victims.
Modern trafficking is a crime that often goes undetected and under reported because of its covert nature.
In the US the relevant law is contained in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. It defines the ‘most serious’ acts of trafficking as
- Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age OR
- The recruitment, harbouring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for labor or services , through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery
Trafficking is not limited to one sector of society and can be rich or poor, black or white, male or female. Traffickers range from single opportunists, to small family businesses to large, multi-national concerns.
Home Office statistics state that, worldwide more than 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked every year. 77% are women and 87% are sexually exploited. Annual profits are estimated at $36 billion
In the UK the fight against trafficking is co ordinated by SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency) and the UK Human Trafficking Centre.
Make no mistake there are people out there who have been through experiences similar to Silver if not as extreme. Victims of trafficking are subject to horrendous treatment and often suffer just as much when rescued and released back into a society that doesn’t understand and, in some circumstances, doesn’t want to help. It’s a dirty crime to be swept under the carpet and the victims are often stigmatized for their involvement in sexual activities.
Fortunately there are many organisations, and individuals out there fight for the victims, people like River and Sam.
Excerpt
It’s dark now; dark and cold. I think I must have left the window open, because there’s a deep chill in the room and the smell of snow. Snow?
Sliding carefully out from under Silver’s arm I cross to the window and open the curtains. A cold but very bright moon shines through and lights up the room. I stare in wonder. Impulsively, I slip out of the room and, without even putting my shoes on, I open the back door and step out into the moonlight and the swirling white flakes that land on me, catching in my hair and eyelashes.
It’s beautiful. Everything’s clean and fresh and new and…I look around quickly, taking in the garden, the street beyond. It was all the same, but so different. The blanket of snow made everything different. The whole world is magical, beautiful, enhanced. It hits me like a brick. This is Silver. He’s different—on the outside he’s different. The way he dresses, the way he looks, even the way he thinks…but that’s just snow. Underneath, everything’s just the same as it always was.
The rose bushes are beautiful, glittering with crystals, white and sparkling like diamond. But they’re not as beautiful as when they’re blushing pink, their petals swollen by the attention of bees. The lawn is an expanse of soft whiteness, but when we walk across it there’ll be holes and, in a few days it will melt and disappear…but the grass will always be there and the snow could never smell like cut grass on a warm day. It was different but it was all…still…there.
“What is it?”
Silver is always so silent. As usual, I jump. If I’d been holding a coffee cup I’d have dropped it. He wraps his arms around me and I lean back into him, with a sigh.
“It’s snowing.”
“It’s beautiful. Have I seen snow before?” He asks thoughtfully.
“I don’t know. I expect so.”
“I don’t remember. I like it.”
“It’s water, frozen mist.”
Silver holds out his hand and watches the fat white snowflakes land on his palm. He laughs and the sound of that laugh, that sweet, unrestrained laugh melts the very last of the ice around my heart. In this moment I’m happy, as happy as I’ve ever been. I’m his and he’s mine and there’s nothing…nothing else that matters. Well almost….
I smile at the sound of heavy footsteps, running down the stairs behind us.
“River. Silver. It’s snowing. Have you seen the snow?”
“Yes, come and see it,” Silver calls. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?”
“I love it, I love it, I love it.” Ben sings, and we both wrap him in our arms, clinging together to keep warm.
Suddenly Silver laughs, as if he’s been trying to hold something inside that won’t be held any longer and then…then he dances. Under the cold blue moon, with the swirling snowflakes and air so cold it crystallises our breath, he dances. Like a snow angel, red and black with wings on his feet, he dances. My Silver…dances.
Links
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/redhaircrow
http://theredhairedcrow.wordpress.com/
nephylim-author.blogspot.co.uk
In each of the five blogs that will be helping me spread the word I have asked a question. If anyone answers all five questions I will put you in a draw and the winner will get a free copy of the special edition and a signed poster of my darling Silver.
The question for this blog is: What’s the UK Home Office’s estimate of the number of men women and children subject to human trafficking each year?
You can find all the question by clicking the links below and reading Nephy’s posts on these other sites:
3/6 Cia http://ciasstories.blogspot.com/
Question: What’s Silver’s favourite sensation?
4/6 MA Church http://machurch00.blogspot.com/
Question: How did River’s parents die?
7/6 Talismania http://talismania-brilliantdisguise.blogspot.co.uk/
Question: What’s Silver’s favourite scent?
8/6 Christ T Kat http://t.co/h6Kn4uYhRV
Question: What River’s brother’s name?
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