Author and Attorney Pamela Samuels Young Takes on the Horrific World of Child Sex Trafficking!
Aptly described by one reviewer as “John Grisham with a sister’s twist,” Pamela has a knack for creating nail-biting suspense. According to bestselling author Scott Pratt, “If you haven't read her work, you've missed out on a powerful voice, an advocate for women, and an advocate for justice.”
In her gripping legal thriller, ANYBODY’S DAUGHTER, Pamela Samuels Young addresses a barely discussed truth in the African-American community, there is a new slavery robbing our communities of our young girls and boys. Approximately 100,000 children are at risk of being commercial sexually exploited annually. According to the U.S. Justice Department, 40% of those sex trafficking victims are African-American girls and the average age a girl gets involved in prostitution is 13. Increasingly, boys between 11 and 13 are also trafficked as well.
There are very high numbers of African-American and Latino children who are trafficked, but that's not to exclude other races that are victimized as well. The $39 billion sex trafficking industry has taken hundreds of thousands of young American girls of all races – it could be anybody's daughters, sisters, and nieces – and forced them into prostitution. The growing number of African American women and children being sold into sex trafficking made it imperative for Pamela to spread awareness about this growing epidemic in her novel, ANYBODY’S DAUGHTER.
Introduction for Anybody's Daughter
Is Anybody's Daughter Ever Safe?
Based on the real-life horrors faced by thousands of girls, award-winning author Pamela Samuels Young takes readers deep inside the disturbing world of child sex trafficking in a fast-paced thriller that educates as much as it entertains.
Thirteen-year-old Brianna Walker is ecstatic. She's about to sneak off to meet her first real boyfriend—a boyfriend she met on Facebook. But Brianna is in for a horrifying surprise because her boyfriend doesn't exist. Instead, Brianna unwittingly becomes the captive of a ring of drug dealers- turned-human traffickers who prey on lonely girls from dysfunctional homes. But they’ve made a big mistake in targeting Brianna because she doesn’t meet either of those criteria.
Brianna’s Uncle Dre, a man with his own criminal past, is determined to find the niece who is more like a daughter to him. Rather than sit back and rely on police to bring Brianna home, Dre scours the dark corners of Los Angeles looking for her. He is stunned to learn that the trafficking of children isn’t just happening in other countries. It’s occurring at epidemic levels right in his own backyard.
Dre is not alone in his desperate search. Loretha Johnson knows this world well. A social worker who previously lived “the life,” Loretha now dedicates her time to saving as many young girls as she can find. She turns out to be an invaluable resource for Dre, who ultimately gets a lead on The Shepherd, a mastermind in the trafficking world whose every move is fueled by ego and greed. Dre vows to bring The Shepherd's reign of terror to an end, even if he has to break the law to do it.
While Brianna makes a futile effort to thwart her captors, Dre is getting closer and closer to finding her. The woman he loves, attorney Angela Evans, knows the dangers faced by sexually exploited children because she represents them in juvenile court. Angela lends her moral support and, eventually, an important clue to Brianna’s whereabouts.
As he races against the clock, Dre ultimately comes up with a daring plan—one that puts many lives in danger, including his own. But will he find Brianna before it's too late?
Purchase Anybody's Daughter (Angela Evans Series No. 2)
Amazon Link: http://amzn.com/B00GC7UI8E
ANYBODY’S DAUGHTER CAMPAIGN GOALS
The following are just a few important areas ANYBODY’S DAUGHTER will bring to the reader’s attention while taking this harrowing look at sex trafficking of minors.
Sex Trafficking Awareness and Prevention: Cyber-sex trafficking and residential brothels are discussed in ANYBODY’S DAUGHTER, so that readers can open your mind the real world of sex slaves. To open their eyes to the violence and control sex traffickers exercise over their victims, who are mostly girls and young women. In the book the Pimps prey on young girls by finding their weakness and then exploiting them. By the time the children become adults, they are so broken. The book encourages readers to see the characters as victims of sexual exploitation rather than criminals. Readers are introduced to attorneys, judges and women leaders who are taking action to rescue the victims and to mentor them, as they fight to prevent and end sex trafficking in the U.S.
Americans trafficked by Americans: This is not something that happens only in other countries. It's here; it now! Pamela encourages parents to pay attention to their kid’s use of smartphones and their access to the Internet. The Internet is one of the biggest lures for young people getting caught up in human trafficking! Traffickers sell sex online everyday through their own cloaked websites and through social media networks. They pose as other kids, model search representatives and so many other triggers for teens. The Internet has been identified as the number one gateway into this form of domestic sexual slavery, as readers will see in ANYBODY’S DAUGHTER.
Social Service Donations and Funding: There is help out there for the victims and survivors. Social services do exist for victims of trafficking, however there remains insufficient services and funding to meet the needs of the thousands of teens caught up in the legal system and the department of social services. More media attention needs to focus on the rescue groups and safe harbors for the abused children, so that the public can offer help in the way of donations and other resources.
They are Victims not Criminals: Minor victims of sex trafficking are often arrested and criminalized despite their status as victims under federal law, but the “johns” are given a slap on the wrist. Sex traffickers frequently target vulnerable minors with histories of abuse and then use violence, threats, lies, false promises, emotional bondage, or other forms of control and manipulation to keep victims involved in the sex industry. When the victims are treated as criminals they are afraid to reach out to the police or the legal system for much needed assistance. They are too afraid to leave a trafficking situation, even when they are in life threatening peril. This is demonstrated several times through out the pages of ANYBODY’S DAUGHTER.
Mental Control of Abusers: There is a serious need for more research and media coverage of this invisible epidemic. The entertainment industry and pop culture have glamorized the horrors. No matter how a child entered the trade, the truth is children lack the emotional and psychological development to engage in sexual relationships with adults. Victims of sex trafficking may not readily identify as victims due to the psychological abuses inflicted by their trafficker forcing them into submission. The availability of statistics on the emotional breakdown is limited due to the crime’s hidden nature, cyber trafficking, limited awareness with our communities about sex trafficking.
Purchase Anybody's Daughter by Pamela Samuels Young
Available Nationwide November 5, 2013
Publisher: Goldman House Publishing
Genre: Women's Fiction; Mystery; Thriller and Suspense
Released in Trade Paperback; Available for eReaders
About the Author
Pamela Samuels Young is a practicing attorney and Essence bestselling author of the legal thrillers: Every Reasonable Doubt, In Firm Pursuit, Murder on the Down Low, Buying Time, Attorney-Client Privilege, and Anybody's Daughter. She is also a natural hair enthusiast and the author of Kinky Coily: A Natural Hair Resource Guide.
In addition to writing legal thrillers and working as an in-house employment attorney for a major corporation in Southern California, Pamela formerly served on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is a diehard member of Sisters in Crime-L.A., an organization dedicated to the advancement of women mystery writers. The former journalist and Compton native is a graduate of USC, Northwestern University and UC Berkeley's School of Law. She is married and lives in the Los Angeles area.
A popular motivational speaker, Pamela also speaks on the topics of writing, diversity, discrimination law and pursuing your passion. Pamela is married and lives in the Los Angeles area, where she attends Hope in Christ Community Church in Compton.
To schedule Pamela for a speaking engagement or book club meeting via speakerphone, Skype, FaceTime or in person, visit her website at: www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com. There is also a multitude of ways to connect with her.
Contact Pamela Samuels Young
EMAIL: pamelasamuelsyoung@gmail.com
WEBSITE: www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/pamsamuelsyoung
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pamelasamuelsyoung
