Welcome back! It’s the 18th week of First Sentence Friday and Free Book Friday! We are a little over fifty percent of the way through the book!
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About Women of a Promiscuous Nature
Accused of “promiscuity” in 1940s North Carolina, a young woman unjustly incarcerated and subjected to involuntary medical treatment at The State Industrial Farm Colony for Women decides to fight back in this powerful, shockingly timely novel based on the long-buried history of the American Plan, the government program designed to regulate women’s bodies and sexuality throughout the first half of the 20th century.
The day Ruth Foster’s life changes begins the same way as many others—with a walk through her North Carolina hometown toward the diner where she works. But on this day, Ruth is stopped by the local sheriff, who insists that she accompany him to a health clinic. Women like Ruth—young, unmarried, living alone—must undergo testing in order to preserve decency and prevent the spread of sexual disease.
Though Ruth has never shared more than a chaste kiss with a man, by day’s end she is one of dozens of women held at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. Some, like 15-year-old Stella Temple, are brought in at their family’s request. For Stella, even the Colony’s hardships seem like a respite from her nightmarish home life.
Superintendent Dorothy Baker, convinced that she’s transforming degenerate souls into upstanding members of society, oversees the women’s medical treatment and “training” until they’re deemed ready for parole. Sooner or later, everyone at the Colony learns to abide by Mrs. Baker’s rule book or face the consequences—solitary confinement, grueling work assignments, and worse.
But some refuse to be cowed. Against Mrs. Baker’s dogged efforts and the punishing weight of authority, Ruth and other inmates find ways to fight back, resolved to regain their freedom at any cost . . .
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First Sentence Friday Thoughts
Lucille (Lucy) Griffin is the resident prostitute at the Colony and Stella is tasked with helping her in the laundry room as part of her “reform.” Lucy was truly a fun character to write. She’s one of those who came to mind as I thought about the types of women targeted, and, well, of course! A prostitute would have been put there most likely before any of them. These individuals would’ve been the first, however, and as explained in previous posts, that didn’t make it right without due process.
It was intentional to have Lucy working in the laundry. It’s related to a theme that got stuck in my head, and I think it works well in representing clean vs. soiled, or, I saw this as representative of virtuous and moral against besmirched or immoral.
Here you have a particular woman society might look down on as dirty, or tainted. It seems fitting that she spends her days at the Colony washing garments until they’re pristine. This doesn’t bother Lucy. She’s picky about the wash and how it gets done. She’s good at getting stains out of clothing, so items, once they’ve been put into her hands, become unblemished.
I chose to send Stella to work in the laundry in order to showcase Lucy because while I could’ve made the prostitute a main character, I also knew I could reveal her just as well through Stella, who despite her own traumas, still views her world through somewhat naive eyes.
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Chapter 18
Stella
Stella enters the laundry room where Lucy, cigarette dangling from her lips, feeds just washed linens through the rollers of the washing machine.
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Question of the week!
My question for this week is: are themes for the books you read obvious to you as a reader, or do you try to look for them? Can you think of any that stick out in books you’ve read lately?
There was one in the book I mentioned last week, and it dealt with the fact that the MC’s mother called her “Sparrow,” and she was curious as to why. Then she figured it out, and it ties into what happens to her.
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Free Read! SIGNED Advance Reader Copy!
The winner is announced here Monday a.m.
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PRE-ORDER Information
Pre-orders gauge the interest and signal to the publisher readers are eager for an author’s next work. If you’re holding out because you might win an ARC or a finished copy from First Sentence Friday, remember you can always give away the extra as a gift to a reader friend. 😉
Pre-order links for your convenience:
- Bookshop.org
- Kensington Publishing Corporation
- Barnes & Noble
- Books-A-Million
- Amazon
- Hudson Booksellers
- Target
- Walmart
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Social Media
Last, but not least, don’t forget to:
- Add Women of a Promiscuous Nature to your Goodreads “To Read” shelf
- Share this post with your reader friends
- Follow me on Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Bookbub, or my blog!
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I always look for themes in books. It gives me insight into the author’s intentions as they’re writing the book.
It interesting b/c I’ve had readers who point out a particular theme to me that I didn’t even know existed in my own books! The one with Lucy WAS intentional, but it’s not always the case.
The theme or themes of a book I’m reading don’t usually jump out at me. And that’s okay. I’m usually so engrossed in the reading, I don’t think about it until I have finished the book. I finished reading ‘Heartwood’ recently. When she realized why her mother called her Sparrow, I had inkling it would come into play as her story played out. One of the best books I’ve read this year so far.
It’s my top pick of the year so far! I can’t imagine another cone coming along in the final three months that will beat it. Remember to identify who you are – you came through as anonymous. 😉
don’t look for them
bn100
Two wonderful books that I recently finished had time jumps (Call of the Camino, and What the Wind Knows). I’m not sure that these are considered themes, but both books revealed how little human nature has changed. We want to love and be loved, and, for the most part, humans are kind and caring.
Call of the Camino – that sent me on a bit of a goose chase. 😂 There’s a book by that title by Robert Mullens, and it has to do with the pilgrims, etc. and I was like wow – a time jump in this book? How WEIRD. Then I found the one by Suzanne Redfearn. 😉
What the Wind Knows has a familiar vibe (from the bit I read about it) as a book I read decades ago, but has always stuck with me called The Mirror. It has to do with a granddaughter who’s transported back int time via an old mirror and she finds herself waking up, still in her grandmother’s house, but in her grandmother’s body. It was really good!
I look for themes and they often confound me because I’m usually thinking of something else and not the obvious. I’m too analytical and critical not to come up with themes and not to notice them. I’m reading and have been for a while because it’s a dense book “Figuring” by Maria Popova. Talk about themes, its overwhelming. Women in history that have been overlooked and under-credited, down to the details of their discreet counterpart lovers and inspirations. It’s a feminism-forward book but on a lighter scale and captures how Thoreau, Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Hawthorne, Rachel Carson, Emily Dickinson, Marie Curie, etc. are all fascinatingly entwined. It’s poetic and rewarding. Did you know that Emily Dickinson loved pink lady slippers (the orchid). She actually had one placed on her chest in her coffin to be buried with her. The things we learn and the idiosyncrasies of “humans” fascinates me because we could all have those tendencies and leanings if we had that pathway and made those choices in that time period.
I logged in and it’s still Anonymous. I’m so sorry. This is Angela Gaskell. I logged in with WordPress and still. I don’t know why it’s so difficult to post my comment sometimes with my name and sometimes not. Sometimes it asks for my name and other times it doesn’t prompt me at all.