Title:
Saving
Rain
Author:
Karen-Anne
Stewart
Release
date: January 31st, 2013
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Tour:
Irresistible
Reads Book Tours
Book
Description:
Raina has tried to forget her past,
forget the pain, but when she finds herself staring straight into the fury
blazing in her ex-boyfriend's eyes, her dark past comes rushing back. Furious
with herself for actually having chosen someone like her father, she uses that
anger to her advantage and fights for her life...and for her future that she
prays will involve the man she can't seem to get out of her head. Kas is a
natural leader, a fierce fighter, the type of man you send in when you need to
get the job done. He is a courageous hero who is used to risking his own life
to save others, but can he save the one who has captured his heart from her
horrific past and the men who are hell-bent on destroying her? As Kas and Raina
try to navigate through the twists and turns of a deviously intelligent human
trafficking group, they find solace in each other's arms. Can they infiltrate
the trafficker's tight ring, saving the innocent lives from imminent danger
before it's too late?
Saving Rain is intended for readers 18 and older.
Guest
Post - Human Trafficking: It’s in Your
Backyard
This topic is not easy for me, in fact, it invokes a myriad of emotions
that leaves me beyond furious and drained.
When I first began writing Saving Rain, I was horrified with the
staggering information that I found researching sex slavery. Human Trafficking is not limited to this form
of slavery, but it is a large part of the depraving crime that is growing at an
alarming rate.
I wanted to write a love story, a sweet romance where the man sweeps the
woman off her feet, and they live happily ever after. I mean, come on, isn’t that what everyone
really wants…a love that transcends time?
But, the more I saw and read about trafficking and the handlers who
commit the monstrosities, I just couldn’t turn my back on the subject, so the
idea for Saving Rain: The First Novel in The Rain Trilogy was born.
Instead of the traditional love story, I delved into the darkness to
write the beginning of this poignant story of domestic abuse, human trafficking, and a beautiful, redeeming
love. It was equally important for me to
show hope along with the dark issues, to show real fears, but also to show real
strength and courage. I was reduced to
tears on numerous occasions throughout writing The Rain Trilogy, but, through
my tears, I hope I helped to shed some light.
I highly recommend you do your own research on this subject, but be
forewarned, it will change you. The fact
that people, actual living, breathing human beings made of the same flesh,
blood, and tissue as you and I, are making a lucrative income from renting out
and/or selling other human beings sickens and saddens me. If you think that this happens in places that
will never touch you, you are wrong; it is quite literally in many people’s
backyards, right here in the United States.
The FBI governmental statistics shows that human sex trafficking is the
most rapidly advancing business for organized crime. This practice is not limited to adults;
children are also beaten, starved, and forced into unimaginable
atrocities. I fully realize that this is
not something you want to be reading about right now, trust me, it’s not
something I want to be writing about right now, either. In fact, I have probably already lost some
readers by this point. It’s easier for
us to turn our heads, or turn the channel, when this subject is breached, and
that’s understandable, it’s part of our self-preservation. We don’t want to wrap our delicate psyches
around something as ugly as this. I know
I certainly don’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that ugly exists, that it’s
reach is way too close to my world, my neighborhood, my family!
According to the SCTNow and research from the U.S. Department of Justice
and the U.S. State Department, the tender age of 12 is the average age for a
child to be entered into sex slavery.
Nearly 80% of the victims involved in human trafficking are female, and
almost 50% of them are children. In the
United States, 300,000 minors are in danger of being subjected to this modern
day sex slavery for monetary gain.
The Rain Trilogy is my way of bringing such a sensitive subject to the
hearts and awareness of as many readers as possible. With that said, I did make the trilogy about
hope, love, and thriving survival as well.
Raina has suffered a terrible childhood.
Kas finds the abducted and fights against the ever growing traffickers. Together, they form a bond, create a healing
love, and join forces to track the largest human trafficking ring in modern
history.
Although I tried to be very sensitive with the subject, not including
any explicit rape scenes, I would not recommend this novel for anyone under the
age of 18. There are scenes of violence and dark issues that are not suitable
for children. It sounds like I’m trying
to talk you out of reading my book, doesn’t it?
On the contrary, I hope you read it, not only for awareness, but for the
sweet love that develops between Kas and Raina.
I hope you read it, and the rest of The Rain Trilogy due to be released
soon, to see the light that can come from the darkness.
I am happy to announce that the Human Trafficking Hotline will be in the
back of the second and third novels of The Rain Trilogy. My website, www.karen-annestewart.com, has a
link to the Polaris Project, which provides education and resources dealing
with human trafficking. I encourage you
to check it out. Together we can help
stop human trafficking.
Speaking of my website, you can also read the first chapter of Saving
Rain. Thank you.
Itara
Thank you for hosting this guest post.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very important topic that's not always talked about.
Thanks!
It's wonderful that this author is using her writing to bring attention to this terrible thing that is happening in our country today. I think we imagine trafficking as something that happens in exotic locations or a long time ago, but that's just not true.
ReplyDelete