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Using Fiction for Social Justice -- with Giveaway

B.D. Lawrence • Mar 21, 2022

Today we welcome author B.D. Lawrence as he shares about a topic close to many of our hearts -- the abolition of sex trafficking -- and also offers you the opportunity to leave a comment to enter a random drawing for an ebook copy of An Angel and a One-Armed Man. Don't forget to check out his book at the link below where you can read 7 chapters for free!


Take it away, Brian.


When you think of prostitution, what comes to mind? If you’re a baby boomer, is it Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts? Or if you’re older, maybe Miss Kitty, from Gunsmoke? She was a madame. Hollywood has and continues to glamorize prostitution. It’s just another occupation a woman chooses.


Reality is far from this fantasy. Fortunately, authors are starting to get it right. I’ve read books by Brian Shea, Terry Toler, and Charles Martin, whose books show the true nature of prostitution, or human trafficking or sexual slavery. Yes, slavery. Exactly what it is.


The average age of a girl trafficked is thirteen. In Phoenix where I live over 60% of human traffic victims come from the child services system. However, this percentage is declining, which means more and more are coming from “normal” homes. One of every four trafficked children were part of a special education program.


I worked in a church youth group for eleven years. I had the privilege of knowing many amazing teenagers. One day when contemplating my next novel, I started thinking about human trafficking and how angry I'd feel if any of my youth became victims. I decided that was a topic I wanted to focus on with some of my stories. And out came An Angel and a One-Armed Man.


I wanted to portray human trafficking as it really is. Not a glamorous profession, but a trap that lures young victims, brainwashes them, hooks them on drugs, and potentially destroys their lives. And that idea spawned my private detective, Lefty Bruder. A former St. Louis County police detective, he had a high school friend who became a victim of human trafficking and disappeared. Lefty (who then went by George) ran into her later while working a case and they renewed their friendship. He tried for years to get her out of the life, but she never could leave it. Holly Day, Lefty’s friend, gave him the right perspective, that the girls on the street were victims, not perps. The ones using them and abusing them are the real criminals. You can read about how George Bruder became Lefty Bruder in the free novella, A Vigilante and a Two-Armed Man. And you can read about Holly Day and Lefty’s first private eye case in The Finger Snatcher and a One-Armed Man. In this story, his former lieutenant, a Christian, unlike Lefty, believes God’s purpose for Lefty is helping those who are victims of human trafficking.


And since Lefty in the printed word was helping the fictional victims, I decided I as the creator of Lefty, should also help the real victims of human trafficking through my writing. Like Shea, Toler, and Martin, I want to show what human trafficking truly is. Also, I’m donating half of what I make on every book sale to an organization that helps these victims.

Therefore, you, as a reader, can also help victims of sexual slavery.


  

Author/Book spotlight

What do you enjoy doing for relaxation? Writing is actually relaxing for me. I still have a full-time job that isn’t writing, so writing helps me unwind. I also like playing golf, which, most of the time, is relaxing.


What can your readers expect from you next? I am just about to send my second novel to my editor. It’s about one of the top mob hitmen who falls in love with a Christian woman. He falls so heavy he questions whether he should keep doing what he’s done. Then, I’ll start working on my second Lefty Bruder novel, A Coyote and a One-Armed Man. Lefty comes to Phoenix to look for a girl who has disappeared and finds himself embroiled in cross-border sex-trafficking and the cartels of Mexico.


What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful? In the first question, I said writing is relaxing for me. Marketing my book, however, is a major stressor. What can readers do? Tell other readers. Tell people who may not even like crime fiction or private detective novels, that by buying the book, they can help victims of human trafficking.

Please leave a comment for a chance to win a free Kindle version of An Angel and a One-Armed Man.


Preview the first 7 chapters of the book: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B09ML56N1F&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_CY3DRZX4BC8B0W4E8CYG&tag=bdlawrencewebsite-20



B.D. Lawrence has dabbled in several genres, but now focuses on stories of justice, vengeance, and redemption. He hopes his Lefty Bruder series will both entertain and help raise awareness of sex trafficking. He wants his books to bring hope to readers who may not know Jesus as Lord. His novels are be written from a Christian world view and present the Gospel in some form.

Links:

https://www.bdlawrence.com

https://www.facebook.com/bdlawrencewriter

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