I do NOT LIKE forewards in novels. Honestly, I usually bolt straight ahead of them, and never look back. So why a foreward to my novel Celeste, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch?
One of the first rules in writing is "Write what you know!" So it was with great surprise that I found myself writing a novel about a girl from France (I've never been there), whose Father was a Master Vintner (I don't drink alcohol of any type), who is trapped into sexual slavery (I wish to be as blissfully ignorant of this subject as possible).
Imagine my surprise and horror when a mere week after I wrote the first part of Celeste I watched a documentary about sexual slavery in the world today. One of the statistics was that sexual slavery is at an all time high, not in the 19th century, but right now, today. Another fact was that many sexual slavers routinely send workers out to troll up and down the streets of America looking for small children that are unattended by an adult. They also look for the disabled. People who have the innocence and naivety of a child, with the body of an adult.
It was at this point that I felt like my novel was intended to sound a warning bell. Oh you may say how is a novel dealing with sexual slavery in the 19th century pertinent to the 21st century? Simple answer, because this practice has continued since people existed. It doesn't matter whether it's a book from 1500 about sexual slavery or a book focusing on the 21st century....this evil practice was wrong, IS wrong, and will ALWAYS be wrong!
Remember that all of my books in the series Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch are tales of redemption. I made the first chapters of this book ugly on purpose. What happened to Celeste is ugly...and if we see the ugliness clearly then maybe some good can come. I believe that education is a great way to prevent our lives from being ruled by fear. We need to know how to protect ourselves and ESPECIALLY our precious vulnerable children.
If even one person is rescued from this particularly pernicious practice think of the lives they would then touch. Also if one family could be reunited with their child....one parent who either finds their missing child, or prevents their child from becoming a statistic. I am NOT saying that parents are always culpable for the loss of a child. It simply takes a single unprotected second for a child to be kidnapped. (We all are guilty of distraction on an occasional basis). On the other hand we must be wise and vigilant to protect our precious children the best that we can.
Thanks for reading my foreward. You will find a list of numbers for those trapped in sexual slavery to call for help. There will also be numbers that parents can call to gain help in finding their missing loved one. I hope that you find my books entertaining as well as thought provoking.
Vivian Varlowe
