The story was born from meeting girls who were even poorer than my main character, who were abused by their parents, and kicked out of their homes for the simple reason that there was not enough food to feed them. When given the choice between selling their bodies for money or selling the image of their bodies online, many chose the online version and rationalized that it was an "elevated" form of prostitution.
Things worse than what my book describes have happened to millions of girls, and still do every day. I feel their stories are important lessons in resilience and hope. I’ve made friends with some of these girls, and I wrote this because I made a promise to them that I would.
The Main Character
Lia is about 23 years old, she lives with her mother, and has recently graduated college. Her father was a political prisoner of the communist regime. Hence, the long-lasting effects mentioned above, because the entire family suffered the consequences of the father’s actions. Their home, including the father’s half of everything they possessed, was taken away when Lia was about 7 years old. From having everything she could possibly have as a child, she went to the opposite extreme, where the apartment was decorated with her dolls for lack of furniture.
Lia is raised strictly by her mother, who is religious about rules and curfew. She doesn’t rebel as a teenager, simply because she doesn’t have a good enough reason to do it. However, while in college, Lia comes to the realization that she is bisexual, and begins exploring this, although she’s well aware of her mother’s religious view on it. The fact that homosexuality was illegal in Romania at that time, and still is now, makes things even more difficult. Inevitably, Lia falls in love with a girl she sees all the time in her favorite cheap hang-out place. Also inevitably, this relationship doesn’t last, although Lia will always love this girl. She is marked forever by a blunt rejection, which only confirms her own beliefs that she’s no good. Her dream of leaving it all behind becomes even more important.
She starts by going to Bucharest, in search of a good job. The job market is flooded with recent graduates, however, and Lia has a hard time finding something appropriate, especially after being kicked out of a relative’s home where she had been promised a room until she got on her feet. She finds herself alone, in the streets, with no money, with no desire to go back home with "the tail between her legs", and with one single idea of where she could find a room. While she does find a room, this comes with a possibility of a money-making job as well.
Through an analysis of pro’s and con’s, and taking emotions out of the equation (including her love, who rejects her again), Lia takes the job. She tries to make the most of it. Eventually, a chance appears when she least expects it. A chance to leave the country, just like she’d always wanted. It’s supposed to be love, but is it really? Will she take it? And will it turn out to be what she thought?
With the funds raised, I will professionally edit a second draft, in which the bisexual theme and relationship are explored a bit more. I’m working on that right now, and I will be posting the chapters as they’re done. Whatever doesn’t go to editing will go to marketing, because without marketing my book really has a zero chance of reaching people. Also, I’m not good at asking people to buy my book. Being on this website is difficult enough for me.