"Ruin and Redemption"

Prologue

"Ruin and Redemption" is a sequel to my debut wattpad novel, "Reckless Lives---A Tale of the Old South", a coming of age novel set in the Old South, 15-25 years before the Civil War. http://www.wattpad.com/story/1224738-reckless-lives-a-tale-of-the-old-south. It is the story of childhood friendships which develop into something more. It is also the story of first love across the lines of race and class. Michael and Lizzie come together under unique and unusual circumstances. Michael is purchased for Lizzie at the Charleston slave market when her father grants his only child's request, depite his better judgement. Michael quickly learns as much as possible about his new society, including the forbidden knowledge of reading, in order to craft a successful escape. The main obstacles Michael faces in following through with his escape plans are his growing affection for Lizzie and his desire to rescue her from the clutches of a racist, elitist society, where she will become a slaveholder and a lady. Lizzie's two best friends, Derrick LaPoint, heir to Rose Hedge plantation and Josiah Walsh, son of a poor sharecropper with seven younger siblings vye for Lizzie's affections alongside Michael. A set of unusual circumstances, including Lizzie's  unusually naive and flirtatious nature and over-romanticized notions of love; Michael's pride and bluntness; and a severe shortage of eligible females in Horry County, SC creates a particularly fierce competition among the three young men. When Michael follows Lizzie's escape route, the resulting incident proves that the life of a "favored" slave on even the most "ideal" plantation is fraught with danger.

This story, "Ruin and Redemption" picks up immediately after "Reckless Lives" ends. To better understand this work, it would be advisable to read "Reckless Lives" first!

Both "Reckless Lives" and "Ruin and Redemption" are set during the time of slavery. As such, they are not politically correct. The characters in both books sometimes use derogatory terms to refer to African-Americans. This is offensive, but it is more historically accurate and true to the times and worlds of the characters. To narrow the focus of the second book, and preserve my sanity, I have chosen to focus my writing mainly on Derrick and Lizzie, and have perhaps not been fair to the other characters, who certainly have stories just as intresting as these two.

In this fairly adult story, we see many of the same characters, Michael, the African chief's son who becomes Lizzie's reluctant slave and eager companion; Lizzie, a free-spirited, naive and overly honest only child; Derrick, a bookish and charming planter's son; Josiah, the hard-working older brother of seven younger siblings who protects them by taking the beatings of a drunken father,  Scarlett, the headstrong, ambitious, and beautiful mulatto who winds up a fieldhand after a childhood fight with Lizzie; Patsy, the well-educated, and schrewd houseslave who serves as Mr. Henderson's confidante and professional adviser, and Mr. Henderson, the overly indulgent father who destroys his life's work for the sake of his beloved daughter, Lizzie. Although the characters are constrained by their race, class, sex and other circumstances, all are agents in their own lives and have the opportunity to make choices, no matter how limited. In this book, "Ruin and Redemption", we see how each character's choices not only affect themselves, but everyone they are connected to.

We see choices leading to ruin, and also those leading to redemption. "Ruin and Redemption" begins about eighteen years prior to the start of the Civil War and goes through the period of Southern history known as Reconstruction. During Reconstruction, sharecroppers, slaveowners and slaves must choose to align with one another to build a stronger, more just social order, or continue to foster division among racial fault lines.

In "Ruin and Redemption", several other supporting characters join the main cast, including CiCi/Celia, a young houseslave who develops a crush on her white master with devastating consequences; Suzanne, a houseslave who gets sold far away, yet captures the heart of the man sent to bring her home; Mindy, a hopeful and passionate fieldhand whose fate may change for the better when she is sold to a new master;  and Rebecca, a pragmatic and kindhearted sex worker, devoted to her clients, her profession, and her only child, a daughter. You will also get to know Becky and Michael David, Scarlett's two children by Michael, as they endure confinement in their room in order to receive a basic education, and later are responsible for a vegetable garden supplying the Big House and supplementing the slaves rations.

This story depicts real life and real thoughts, which include violence and sexuality. Be warned that real events in human lives will be presented in a realistic way, not sugarcoated, white washed or prettied up. In cases of sexual intercourse, events are only described up to a certain point, where the discerning reader may fill in the blanks for him or herself. Please read chapter notes at the beginning of each chapter if you would like to be forewarned of questionable contents, so that you may skip them.

A warning to history buffs, the events depicted are primarily those of a personal nature and those historical events which directly affect the lives of the characters including their emotions and mental processes. Historically relevant facts are only included when they impact directly on the lives of the characters who are at the heart of "Ruin and Redemption". Although the Civil War was happening during parts of this book, it is discussed only insofar as it directly impacts the lives of the main characters! This book is not meant to educate in the same way as a history text would. It is meant to be a work of literary merit, entertain at least part of the time, and explore themes related to choice, sexuality, freedom, karma, race, and female empowerment. It also explores how people change and what it takes to work out redemption for those times when we fall prey to temptation or demonic influences.

Again, if you would like to know the events which precede the first chapter of "Ruin and Redemption", please proceed to "Reckless Lives" first, and begin reading there! Be warned, they are written in quite different styles, as in "Reckless Lives" the main characters are quite young and have a different way of viewing the world, whereas "Ruin and Redemption" finds them on the cusp of adulthod and follows them through middle age.

Thank you so much for your interest in my work. I hope you are entertained and inspired. If so, please leave comments. I appreciate all my readers; However, those who leave me comments are the ones most likely to receive dedications on that chapter and/or readings of their own work(s) by me.

In the future, I plan to adapt both "Reckless Lives" and "Ruin and Redemption" into a 3 act play, and look forward to posting that on wattpad as well. These works will be available free for your reading pleasure until at least October 2014, at which point they may be removed for editing and sent to literary agents. I hope you enjoy them while they are here; Please feel free to be inspired by this work in creating your own unique characters and scenarios. However, please make acknowledgement of any direct quotes or character references from this work, and refer back to the source--- giving credit where it it due. If you use my work for nspiration, please dedicate the relevant chapter(s) to me and/or provide your readers with a link to one of my works. 

Sincerely,

KatherineElizabeth, Author: August, 2014

http://www.wattpad.com/story/1224738-reckless-lives-a-tale-of-the-old-south "Reckless Lives", the prequel to the work you are about to read.

http://www.facebook.com/StellaSingsJazz  Music

http://www.facebook.com/FlowerPowerArrangements Flower Essences and Arrangements

http://www.reverbnation.com/KatherineEstelleRobertsStella Music --professionally recorded covers