Six Sunday: Savannah's Torture (Masters at Arms)

WARNING: This scene includes a description of an incest victim's torture. 


This week's Six Sunday blog is much darker than my previous ones, because I am immersed right now in writing Nobody's Perfect, which will finally bring healing and justice for my most broken character, Savannah Gentry, from Masters at Arms. (See below for a link to a free copy if you haven't read it. I also will post a link for survivors seeking healing of their own.) 


A 19-year-old incest victim in this scene, by the time she reappears eight years later in the series in a scene in Nobody's Hero, she will have become Savi Baker and learned to cope and heal many parts of her abusive past.  

But there is one abuse session that has been burned into her memory and is something she hasn't been able to share with her therapist or anyone. As I prepare to write the scenes where Damián will discover what she refers to as "her shame," I went back to reread the scene in Section Two of Masters at Arms. It's written as backstory even in the prequel, because it's so horrific, but it's necessary to see where she has been in order to appreciate how far she has come--and to take her the rest of the way home to healing her psyche and her body, merging them again so that she can have the life she deserves. Here's Savannah at nineteen. The readers on my author page on Facebook are helping me find a model/image to age her to the 27/28 she will be in Nobody's Perfect.

Setup: She is sitting in a restaurant with her father's business partner and henchman, who is reminding her of her place, her shame, as they wait for two potential clients who will be allowed to use her body in a torture scene that night to help cement a business relationship. I've stopped short of the most graphic memories, because you may not have come here expecting that from me. The speaker is Lyle.

"...They’re going to love finding your secret. They love shit like that.”

When Lyle’s words registered, bile rose in her throat. If she’d eaten today, she’d have vomited. Last month, Lyle had restrained her face down on her father’s desk in the home that should have been her haven. Her legs had been spread open and secured, while her father’s weight held her down so she would remain still enough. 

The good news is that a retired Marine has given me a scenario for Nobody's Perfect that will include a justice scene for Savi. There's nothing like a little Marine justice--but throw in a sadist and it really will be very satisfying, if long overdue.

For those seeking help to heal their own abusive pasts, please go to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network for resources). 

Thanks for stopping by to read my sad Six this week. Each week, the new listing of Six Sentence Sunday (SSS) blogs go live at 9 a.m. EDT Sunday. This is a great way to find new authors to follow or read or to get exposure for your own writing! For a list of this week's participants in the SSS blog tour, go to http://www.sixsunday.com/. Search #sixsunday on Twitter, as well!

Today after 12 noon Eastern I will be drawing for the winner of the great prize package in the Small Press Treasures Giveaway Blog Hop entry.  You also can get a free copy of Masters at Arms there with a coupon code at Smashwords.