Why I Write About Young Girls Trafficked Into Prostitution

As an indie-hybrid author (writing both for a publisher and on my own) I have the freedom to write whatever stories speak to me, switching genres if need be, and going with my gut. That's what happened to me with my new continuing saga, There Was a House, which is being published by Beau Coup Publishing.
I was just finishing up The Gastien Series and was seriously doubting anything would inspire me as much as the world of Gastien and his family did.

My husband and I were driving down the highway, talking about why I hadn't read 50 Shades of Grey when, out of nowhere, the words "house of pleasure, house of pain" came to me. I looked at Dave and said, "I know what my next series is going to be about. I know the names of the first two books, too." And I did. I was excited about the possibility of telling a story about human trafficking—the horror of many teen-age girls who decide to run away and become unwilling victims of prostitution.

Yes, I was going to write about a teen-age girl named Phoenix, who much like the bird named Phoenix, rises from the ashes. I was going to tell the fictional story, but it would nonetheless drive home the fact that, while men may see houses of ill repute as houses of pleasure, brothels are really houses built out of pain. The pain of the girls who work there. That pain may come both from their past and also from their present situation. But make no mistake, behind the facade there is raw, keening pain.

The first book, House of Pleasure, is about the abduction of the girls and the house being opened, along with some of the men who see it as a pleasure palace. Phoenix vows from the start that somehow, some way she is going to ruin Antoine, the man who bought her, his whorehouse, and some of the men who use young girls for their sick pleasure. This book is available now here: http://amzn.com/B00HJF7R5U .

The next book will be House of Pain. In this one the girls' backgrounds will be revealed, along with another character that arrives at the end of the first book. That character will share main character status with Phoenix going forward. This will be followed by House of Trickery, where the opportunity for revenge finally presents itself and things get put into place to make it happen. Then comes House of Shame, which will be the take-down and destruction of everything Phoenix vowed to destroy.

There may be more books based on the two main characters after that. If so, they may be titled House of Hope, A House Divided, and House of Peace. We will see.

As soon as I knew this was my next series doubt swept in. It's not wise to switch genres. Still, I have to hope that fans of my writing style follow me from one genre to another. After all, one reason I became indie in the beginning was the freedom to make my own decisions. Besides, although this series is not historical fiction like Gastien was, both series are drama. So, the tie-in is there. People who like dark, angsty, raw stories where people aren't always decent and life isn't always pretty should be cool with following me.

At any rate I hope so. The ugly reality of teen-age girls being forcing into prostitution is very real. It happens every single day in our country. It's not just someone else's problem. Believe me, I know this saga gives my characters a much better life in a much better situation than 99.9% of the girls forced into this life. Still, I had to find a way to make people take a look at what's happening before our very eyes. Even in a glamorous environment of fiction, the ugliness is still very brutal. If it's brutal in a fiction setting, how much worse do you think it is in reality for these girls? When are we going to do something about it as a country, as a planet?

Here is part of the "Author's Notes" in the first book, House of Pleasure. I think they give me a good ending to my blog today. I hope you think so, too.

Author’s Note

According to the FBI, hundreds of thousands of children are at risk for being trafficked or exploited for sex. Many people think only poor, hungry immigrants—desperate for a home or food— are forced into prostitution. The facts tell a different story. Of the sex trafficking cases confirmed during the period of January 2008 through June 2010, about eighty-three percent of victims were American citizens. Additionally, 40 percent were children. Most were female, and the average age of these girls was twelve to fourteen years old. 

The bottom line is this: child sex slave trafficking is alive and well in the United States of America. It isn’t just a problem of “other” countries. Additionally, the children who end up in this lifestyle in the United States are seen as whores instead of victims.

I realize the story I am telling has little chance of coming true for any of the real victims of these crimes. Regardless, the fact that underage girls are for sale in my country angers me, making me wish the victims could have a mighty form of revenge. With this in mind, I created There Was a House, where at least in fiction, somebody pays for their sins. 

I in no way take the pain and abuse countless girls have suffered after being trafficked lightly. No one really ends up at a “Rêve” nor would they find the owner of such a house as easy to manipulate or as lax as my character Antoine Chevalier. 

Regardless, fiction gives us a chance to hope. My hope is for our country to start acting much more aggressively toward traffickers. Until then, we have to open our eyes and realize this is happening here, every day. The girl may not end up in a limo on the way to New Orleans, but somewhere out there, maybe right now, a young girl is being taken. She won’t become a prostitute because she enjoys it, is stupid, or has no morals. She will become a prostitute because she has no choice. Many are runaways, who saw running as their only option. Unfortunately, they end up simply trading one form of hell for another.

Once we all wake up and realize the value of these girls, things will change. Until then, I dream. Until then, I pretend by writing this saga. Until then, the vast majority of the time these girls only revenge will be—unfortunately— fiction.

Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.

To find out about her novels visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005FW8BZE

Sign up for New Release Newsletter by Email: http://eepurl.com/rfjaX

Gastien Fanpage: www.facebook.com/Gastien.Beauchamp

Author Blog: www.caddyrowlandblog.blogspot.com

Author Email: caddyauthor@yahoo.com

Twitter: @caddyorpims

Best Way to Be Informed of New Release by Caddy Rowland

I wish I could say I was going to make sure and blog more often. I can't promise that, though. I do a lot of guest posts on other blogs and I'm in the middle of writing a new saga. Those things take priority.

Facebook has made it difficult for people who "like" a fanpage to even see the notifications sent from those pages liked. Unless you manually go to each page you like, your chances of seeing announcements are minimal.

The notification button you can select on Amazon to be informed when an author released doesn't work 99 percent of the time. You may have used this button, thinking you would get a notice on several of your favorite authors, but guess what? It's doubtful. Who knows when this will be fixed? It's been months.

Therefore, the only way to ensure that you will know when a favorite author has a new book out is to sign up for their new release email. Some do newsletters. I don't. I ONLY send a notice to the email you provide when I have a new release. I assume you're as busy as me and don't need chatty newsletter crowding your inbox! I DO NOT SPAM OR SHARE the email address either.

If you want to know when my new books come out, please sign up: http://eepurl.com/rfjaX

A new book from me will be released in the next month or so! Get signed up for the email today and you won't be in the dark when it comes out.

Thank you!

Don't Faint! I'm Cooking! (Pumpkin Soup)

I married wisely. Some might say I didn't, as we don't have a lot of money. But they're wrong. Not only did I marry a man who is loyal, faithful, unafraid to let me do my thing, respectful, and romantic, I also married a chef.

 

Yeah. A chef. You see, while I do enjoy baking (but seldom do because my husband doesn't eat much of it) and cooking if it's "fancy" stuff, I absolutely HATE the routine of daily dinner-making. Yawn. I just can't get excited about making sure everything gets done at once when it doesn't involve either fresh herbs, sauces from scratch, eye catching displays, or all of the previously mentioned. I guess it's because I'm an artist, so I'm very visual, plus I like getting my hands dirty.

And, lets face it: most days everyone is too busy for that kind of cooking. So, I married a chef, a man who can throw together a regular meal and make it taste wonderful. Best of all, he doesn't mind doing it!

Then an author friend of mine from Belgium happened to mention he had just make pumpkin soup. Now, I've only had pumpkin soup once, and I liked it. It was one of those things I filed in the back of my mind to make—someday.

We are invited to a relatives home for Thanksgiving and I wanted to bring something that would be different, yet fit the mood. It also needed to be something that wouldn't leave a huge gap in the meal should we decide not to come because of inclement weather.

When Andrew mentioned his soup, bells rang in my head. Perfect! He was gracious enough to give me his recipe. Or, rather, kind of a recipe. He changes it around, but after several emails back and forth I got the drift. The test batch is cooking right now.

If it turns out, my Thanksgiving dilemma is solved! If it turns out okay, but needs adjusting, I can do that and have it down pat by the holiday. Dave (my husband) and I will be the test rats.

By the way, if you haven't read Andrew Ashling's work, I highly recommend it—if you are open minded. It's a combination of several genres and I have to say he's the best storyteller I've ever read. Some of the themes might upset you.  Tough. Get over it and read on. You'll be glad you did. I would have never guessed I would enjoy knights and swords. If fact, just the opposite. Now I find myself enthralled with Ashling's world.

Here is a link to his blog, where you will find all of his books. Seriously, take a chance and branch out. Start with his Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse Series (Bonds of Hate: The Invisible Chains #1)
http://www.ximerion.com/

I'm impatiently waiting for the next book in the series. In the meantime, Dave and I will be eating pumpkin soup. At least, I hope we can eat it...

Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.

To find out about her novels (including The Gastien Series, a story that begins with a bohemian artist in France) visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005FW8BZE
Sign up for New Release Newsletter by Email: http://eepurl.com/rfjaX
Gastien Fanpage: www.facebook.com/Gastien.Beauchamp
Author Blog: www.caddyrowlandblog.blogspot.com
Author Email: caddyauthor@yahoo.com
Twitter: @caddyorpims

Those Crazy Bohemians (Suzanne Valadon)

One doesn't hear much about the women artists who painted during the heyday of Montmartre. Life was rough for those bohemians, and the lifestyle didn't bode well for females. Still the same, there were a few. In fact, one of them, Berthe Morisot, is considered one of the original impressionists and part of the inner circle of those great artists. That will be a later post.

For now, I want to tell you about another, named Suzanne Valadon. Although she was far from perfect,Valadon was a person that I admire. She came from nothing, struggled her whole life, refused to be put in her place sexually, socially, or in regard to her painting career. She didn't just color outside the lines, she refused to acknowledge any lines existed!

Suzanne was born Marie Clementine Valadon in 1865 to an unmarried French laundress. It is unknown who her father was. By age 11 she was working in a milliners workshop. She had many jobs from then on, including making funeral wreaths, selling vegetables, and waitressing. Life was anything but easy for an unwed mother and her illegitimate daughter.

As a teenager she made friends with some of the artists in Montmartre. They in turn helped her get a position as an acrobat in the circus. When she fell from a trapeze and hurt her back, that career ended. She recovered, but couldn't work as an acrobat anymore.

Next she became an artist's model. It was Pierre Puvis de Chavannes who first painted her. Later, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and other artists did the same. Everyone assumed she also had sex with the artists who painted her, as it was common knowledge that the artists believed they had the right to make love to their models. Their assumption in regard to Suzanne was most often true. It was widely known that she had affairs with de Chavannes, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and others. I've seen photos of Suzanne and she was a beauty. It isn't hard to understand why men sought her attention.

She also became notorious for her daring stunts. It was not unusual for her to come home in the early hours of the morning, drunk and screaming obscenities. On occasion she washed clothes outside while topless, and one time she slid down a staircase banister completely nude except for a mask at a popular club! She also frequented Au Lapin Agile and Chat Noir.

At eighteen she was pregnant and gave birth to a son: Maurice (who would become a famous painter himself). Unsure who the father was, many speculated it was Miguel Utrillo, Renoir, Puvis, or another artist named Boissy. Utrillo later on gave Maurice his name, but no one knew if he was really the father—including Suzanne. She turned her son over to her mother to raise, and she continued her bohemian lifestyle. When she did take care of Maurice, she would give him whiskey in his bottle to get him to go to sleep. Later on she did become a better mother, but motherhood was not her strong suit. That is not a part of her that I admire.

What made her different from most sleep-arounds during that time? Well, she dared to dream. During this whole time she was studying the techniques of the artists she posed for and she began painting. In 1890 she became friends with Degas, who admired her budding talent and worked with her, teaching her how to hone her painting skills, buying several of her paintings, and getting her career started. Because of him, she became the first woman to ever show in the prestigious Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts.

Her work before Degas was all in pastel or pencil. In the 1890's she began using oils.One of her portraits was of Eric Satie, a famous composer. They had a brief, but very intense affair, and he asked her to marry him. She turned him down. Next she became even more heavily involved with a stockbroker named Paul Mousis. They married, and that gave her the financial freedom to paint and draw full-time.

Her style was frank, raw, and full of energy. Because she had no formal training, Suzanne was unfettered when it came to style or technique. However, they left the city and she struggled to find balance between being a proper wife and being a painter. Her painting suffered even more when her son began to develop an alcohol problem, along with mental illness.

In 1906 she met a friend of her son named Andre Utter. They began a torrid affair. She was 44 and he was 23. Utter encouraged her to paint more, and her career took off. Her painting titled "Adam and Eve" was a portrait of herself and Utter. It was the first painting to show a fully nude male and female together done by a woman. Suzanne wasn't careful about the affair and Mousis found out. He divorced her in 1910.

Suzanne continued to paint, living with Utter and her son, Maurice. She did have some shows. However, she was becoming less noticed than her son, and some other artists in the area, like Picasso. When Utter went off to war in 1914 he married Suzanne so that she could get an allowance from the military. When Utter got injured in the war, she left to be closer to him. When the war ended, they returned to Paris, where Utter marketed him own, Suzanne's, and Maurice's work. Maurice's work sold the most.

Suzanne had several showings at different galleries and always received positive critical acclaim, but only moderate sales. Finally, in 1924 she signed a contract with an art gallery. She had enough now to live comfortably and buy a country estate. She spent a lot of time there. However, things were getting ugly between the three of them. Mostly it was because Maurice was overshadowing them professionally. Utter began drinking and womanizing.She continued to paint and had two major retrospectives of her work shown.

Her health declined throughout the thirties. In 1935 Maurice married and moved out, and her husband also left. He and Suzanne never divorced. During the next few years her life remained filled with friends and with doing art. One day in 1938 she was painting at her easel when she had a stroke. She died only hours later at age 72.

Although there was an increased appreciation for women artists during the later twentieth century, it has always been the men that took center stage. Yes, those men were great—and, yes, they deserve recognition even now. Yes, I admire them greatly.

Still, I can't help but feel as a women myself that part of the reason Suzanne wasn't (and isn't) talked about as much was because she dared to live life as fully as a man during a time when that was deeply frowned upon, even in Montmartre.  It was one thing to "let loose" once in awhile, but living full-time like a bohemian was highly suspect! When Valadon is brought up, more about her sexual life with artists is mentioned than her almost 500 paintings (not counting those destroyed or lost). In fact, none of the females that painted during that time are ever discussed as much as their male counterparts and that's unfortunate. Suzanne, and others who dared to "paint with the boys" were important contributors to the bohemian art era.

Today I say "Thank-you, Marie Clementine Valadon aka Suzanne aka simply Marie. You had balls, girl. I'm proud of you. And, by the way, your work ROCKS. One of my dreams is to someday do a historical fiction novel featuring you. It will take a lot of research, but perhaps in the future I'll have luxury of taking that amount of time to create your story. May you rest in peace and live on in "the color".

Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.

To find out about her novels (including The Gastien Series, a story that begins with a bohemian artist in France) visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005FW8BZE

Sign up for New Release Newsletter by Email: http://eepurl.com/rfjaX

Gastien Fanpage: www.facebook.com/Gastien.Beauchamp

Author Blog: www.caddyrowlandblog.blogspot.com

Author Email: caddyauthor@yahoo.com

Twitter: @caddyorpims

Those Crazy Bohemians (The Moulin Rouge)

As we've discussed on previous Crazy Bohemian posts, Montmartre during the late 1800's and early 1900's was a hotbed of not only cutting edge artists, but of both common and nefarious entertainment. The circus people headquartered there, there were many places where one could buy drugs, a woman, a young boy, or indulge in drinking and dancing. The two places most often frequented by artists (Chat Noir and Au Lapin Agile) have already had posts of their own.

Another cabaret opened during this time that most people are still familiar with today. The Moulin Rouge is now very touristy, much different than the Moulin Rouge of the 1800's. Opening in 1889, the Moulin Rouge was technically in Pigalle, another district of Paris, but it shares the 18th arrondissement with Montmartre. The boundaries blurred and most people think of the Moulin Rouge as part of Montmartre, since the place sits at the foot of Montmartre hill.

It sported a huge red windmill on its roof, along with electric lights! Joseph Oller was its creator, and he designed it as a place for the very rich to come and "slum" for an evening in Montmartre, which was by now very trendy and happening. Workers, artists, foreigners, elegant women, middle class, the extremely wealthy all mingled here. There was a huge, fake elephant in the courtyard, which was reserved for men only. Inside, they could partake in opium, booze, and women.

Back in the beginning, the place was ribald and, although its decor was upscale and extremely glamorous, the activities that went on there were anything but mainstream. Legend has it that the can-can dance started there, although in reality that dance was first done earlier by young boys on the streets in lines, who were sometimes arrested for kicking up their legs in public! Then it moved to the dance floors and was done by couples, who were also encouraged to refrain from doing it.

The Moulin Rouge soon got the nickname "The First Palace of Women" for good reason. The dancers were mostly courtesans who danced their dances to advertise their "wares". Usually they had on lacy, revealng underthings that showed when they kicked up their legs. However, sometimes they tended to forego the underthings, allowing the patrons full view of their most prized items for sale. I often wonder, as a friend of mine pointed out, was that children's rhyme, "There's a place in France, where the ladies wear no pants..." based originally on this cabaret?

It was considered a tawdry, decadent place; a place where people with morals didn't frequent. At least, in theory. In reality, many people visited once the evening came.  As time progressed, it became a legitimate place of entertainment, with much less emphasis on prostitution and the focus on world class performers gracing its stage. Many famous singers and musicians played there over the years.

The Moulin Rouge looked fun and exciting on the surface, but many men were financially ruined because of the drugs and women. Some even took their lives. In 1903 the place was renovated and reopened and that was when the more famous, legitimate acts started performing. In fact, the Moulin Rouge regularly featured the operetta. The bawdy, raw Moulin Rouge of old was no more. It was now not only socially acceptable, it was a must to be seen at.

In 1915 the Moulin Rouge was completely destroyed in a fire. It reopened in 1921 and still stands today. The dancers still do the can-can, but they have on underwear, drugs aren't for sale, and the women aren't hawking their bodies. At least, not that I know of. All in all, its now a very showy, tourist driven place that has lots of appeal to visitors but none of the energy that was part of the original. It may be a much better place morally, but Moulin Rouge is only a shadow of what it once was.

Time does change everything. Even though many of the changes were for the good regarding the Moulin Rouge, a part of me wishes we could go back in time; see what it was really like when it first opened and anything one wished for could be had. What an interesting evening that would be!

Of course, we would only be spectators.

Of course.

Look for more "Those Crazy Bohemian posts here in the future!

Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.

To find out about her novels (including The Gastien Series, a story that begins with a bohemian artist in France) visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005FW8BZE

Sign up for New Release Newsletter by Email: http://eepurl.com/rfjaX

Gastien Fanpage: www.facebook.com/Gastien.Beauchamp

Author Blog: www.caddyrowlandblog.blogspot.com

Author Email: caddyauthor@yahoo.com

Twitter: @caddyorpims

And Then He Was Two (Toddler Magic Replaces Baby Magic)

Gideon and Grandpa Dave (My Husband)

On Monday, our Grandson by love turned two. How in the world did that happen? It seems like only a month ago that I held him in my arms at seven weeks. Now, here he is, running, galloping, talking...and the baby is no more.

Oh, there are still hints of baby in his face and in his mannerisms. But every day, the boy takes over more and more. What a beautiful, magical child he has turned out to be. Is there anything more curious than a toddler? If so, I haven't seen it. He has a lust for life that can't be quenched and a memory that surprises me more every time I see him.

Mom and Dad threw a small party for him. There were eight of us. Maternal grandparents, parents, us, Aunt Kiki, and Gideon. It was so obvious that he knew the whole event was about him. You could see the glow in his face. Everything he did, he did with a secret smile. Look at that, he seemed to be thinking, every single person here is totally focused on just me. I must be pretty special.

The theme was Thomas the Train, as Gideon is absolutely crazy for trains. He plays with his train table at home at lot. There were posters, streamers with the different Thomas characters on them, a Thomas train in the center of the table, and all of the dishes and napkins were Thomas, too. Gideon kept thinking it was Thomas the Train's birthday!

We still have his birthday gifts wrapped and ready for him, as they will be things to keep over here. At this age, anything you buy is exciting to them. God help us when he's older and everything he wants costs a lot more money! One of his presents from Mom and Dad was a slinky. It was green and right away he cried, "Bracelet! Pretty bracelet!" and held out his arm. Grandpa Dave put it on him and he wore it proudly. There was a lot of fun with that simple toy. Grandpa Dave could make it do wonderful things that brought a loud belly laugh out of Gideon.

The cake was a big hit with him, too, this year. Last year he seemed a little overwhelmed and unsure of what to do with a cake. This year? Um, no problem. As you can see by the photo below.

This summer has been so much fun, taking him to the water park, watching him run and play in the back yard. He loves to mow our lawn with his mower. What do you think the chances are that will last into his teenage years? :)

Whatever the next year brings for new developments, I know Gideon will be driving, giving us front row seats to watch his race toward adulthood. I just hope the speed limit is 5 mph. I don't want his childhood to go too fast.

Thanks for taking time to allow me to share Gideon's special day. I'll be back soon...probably with more "Those Crazy Bohemian" posts...but one never knows what will get into my head between now and my next visit with you!

Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.

To find out about her novels (including The Gastien Series, a story that begins with a bohemian artist in France) visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005FW8BZE
Sign up for New Release Newsletter by Email: http://eepurl.com/rfjaX
Gastien Fanpage: www.facebook.com/Gastien.Beauchamp
Author Blog: www.caddyrowlandblog.blogspot.com
Author Email: caddyauthor@yahoo.com
Twitter: @caddyorpims