Debut Novel
" It’s strange that I was often referred to as the love child. This term became derogatory for me because it was used to describe me when I was hated, for being something I couldn’t help.
Of course love child means what it means. A child born out of wedlock. A child conceived through unholy means. A child born out adultery. A child born out of an affair. A forbidden affair. A love child can be conceived through any of these methods, but what I have come to question is the name love child. Why is this term used to describe these children? Children conceived this way are not often loved. Most are not even conceived in love. There is a reason the term unholy union is used to describe these conceptions. And lord only knows how many of these children, have ended in some orphanage unloved and unwanted because their existence began in such a forbidden way. Years have passed, and I cringe at the term. Love is the opposite of hate, and hate is what I came to know more than anything for a very long time. I still feel the hate directed at me. It makes me ill at ease. No one I know was hated so much except maybe a celebrity, but a celebrity thrives on love and hate. So love child doesn’t make sense does it?"
This is an excerpt or the prologue of my debut novel of my Child Series Love Child. The story is being told from the point of view of protagonist Tommy Hulette who ends up becoming the sole guardian and protector of his younger sister Greta Hulette when their mother Sandra commits suicide after surrendering to depression. Tommy is devastated, and his world is shattered. However, he has been watching over his sister Greta, and he has been dreaming of becoming a professional baseball baseball player one day. Before these events he also meets the beautiful and interesting Stephanie Mandan who lives across town but doesn't look down on his poverty.
Little does Tommy know, but his world will come crashing down even more when his father confesses some secret to him, and then admits that he can no longer take care of two children. He sends Tommy and Greta to live with relatives despite Tommy's pleas and protests. Tommy realizes its hopeless. After Thanksgiving which he and Greta spend with Stephanie they are sent away. A man who Tommy meets at the dinner reveals to Tommy that he is Tommy's brother, and things go downhill from there. He goes to make Tommy's life a living hell so Tommy will have to find a way to survive..
This novel took me many years to write. It covers many topics from bullying, depression, suicide, abandonment, and survival. Some of these themes were based on some of my own real life struggles like depression and bullying for example. I hoped to bring some attention to these issues by writing a novel like this. Tommy experiences a great deal, but he shows the kind of strength I wish I could show more, or perhaps I should say I have like inner strength. But he is more assertive in a way I wish I was. His mother is more like me. She's the one who allowed depression to control her life to the point it destroyed her.
Thankfully that hasn't happened to me, but it can happen to anyone. Its still something I struggle with, and I will write more about depression and how misunderstood it can be. This novel though fiction will show the repercussions one's actions can have on the people left behind.
Love Child is the beginning of a series and it's available on Amazon