While there is a tremendous amount of information available regarding slavery in the Southern United States, slavery in the Northeastern U.S. is seldom discussed. Nevertheless slavery and indentured servitude were prevalent in the Northeast, especially in New York City. CNN has featured the subject on CNNInteractive, and a recent article on the Untapped Cities website neatly summarized the history of three of the largest slave burial grounds discovered in New York City. However little has been known about the day to day lives of slaves and indentured servants who lived in the Northeastern U.S. during that time period. Until now.
Author Wayne Clark has announced the release of his latest historical novel, 'That Woman'.
Illness suddenly deprives 17-year-old Sarah Da Silva and her older brother Jacob of a mother. Before Sarah has come to terms with that loss, her merchant father grows frail and increasingly desperate in the face of impending bankruptcy. On a rainy night while their father scours the docks of Bordeaux, France, to make his final bid to save his family, his children are kidnapped and forced onto a ship bound for New York City where they'll be separated and sold to the highest bidder as indentured labor.
Purchased by a grotesque merchant whose wealth, backed by a team of henchmen, allows him to dominate the chaotic East River docks, Sarah strikes back the only way she can. Vowing to never allow him to put his hands on her again, she presses a knife to his fat neck. She demands her freedom, a roof over her head and the means to start a business. Her leverage? Knowledge obtained on the voyage that would bring the big man to his knees forever. He yields to her demands but privately swears to become her worst nightmare.
“The main idea in writing the book,” Clark stated, “was to tell a tale of a young woman’s survival against all odds in the raw man’s world of New York City’s East River waterfront. As I researched the history of the city in the Colonial era it soon became apparent that racism and slavery were an inseparable part of the city’s history. Slaves were bought and sold daily at the foot of Wall Street.
“On top of that, the immigrants who populated the city, and who were the ones to eventually build the country, were often little more than slaves themselves when tethered to multi-year contracts of indentureship. I married the two situations in the deep friendship between Sarah, the protagonist, and Noah, a free black who came to her aid.”
Wayne Clark is also the author of 'he & She'. 'he & She' was named as one of the best self-published books for 2015 by IndieReader. 'he & She' is an in-depth, fictional exploration of the subject of male midlife crisis.'he & She' took a 5-Star Silver Medal in the Readers' Favorite International Awards. In addition, Clark was chosen as a Finalist in the 2015 IAN Book of the Year Awards for general fiction, and was named a winner in both the 2015 and 2016 Great Writers You Should Be Reading Awards.
'That Woman' has received high praise from reviewers and readers alike. Kirkus Reviews called it a "... meticulously crafted ... engrossing story". Reviewer Grady Harp said Clark, "invites us into dark places but keep the focus on the frailty and durability of our humanity. There is much to be learned here and in the quality of fine prose and drama Wayne Clark offers another solid novel."
Wayne Clark is currently featured on The Authors Show and is available for media interviews. He can be reached using the information below or by email at mtl1642@videotron.ca. Both novels are available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions and in all other digital versions at all major online retailers. More information is available at his website at http://www.wayne-clark.com.
About Wayne Clark:
Award-winning author Wayne Clark was born in 1946 in Ottawa, Ont., but has called Montreal home since 1968. Woven through that time frame in no particular order have been interludes in Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver, Germany, Holland and Mexico.
By far the biggest slice in a pie chart of his career would be labeled journalism, including newspapers and magazines, as a reporter, editor and freelance writer. The other, smaller slices of the pie would also represent words in one form or another, in advertising as a copywriter and as a freelance translator. However, unquantifiable in a pie chart would be the slivers and shreds of time stolen over the years to write fiction.
Contact:
Wayne Clark
http://www.wayne-clark.com
mtl1642@videotron.ca
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