Welcome to First Sentence Friday/Free Book Friday!

*********************************************************

About the Book – In Case You Missed It 

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 . . .

*********************************************************

First Sentence Friday Thoughts

This week you get to meet the third main character, twenty-four-year old Ruth Foster, who lives in a small town called La Grange in North Carolina. She’s decided to live independently for a while rather than get married and start raising a family. She’s renting a small apartment and has a job at a local diner. Her “unusual” choice came from being influenced by a book called Live Alone and Like It, by Marjorie Hills, published in 1936. (the book is real)

I can imagine this book was the sort of ground-breaking read like others that wrote about topics outside the parameters of what society expected of women, where discussions about what women might really want, or what they think, is best kept among themselves. Books like The Feminine Mystique, or Our Bodies, Our Selves, that led the way to more independent-minded thinking.

Ruth’s story, like Stella Temple’s, begins in early 1941. At this time, the government is intent on watching what’s going on overseas. It’s also a time when certain social issues are brought to light once again, given what took place in WWI and caused a national security threat. What were those issues? Venereal diseases, or as they’re called today, sexually transmitted infections/STIs. During WWI, hundreds of thousands of men became infected, and couldn’t fight. I believe the statistic was something like eighteen per cent of the armed forces was affected. As things heated up in Europe, Roosevelt declared a “limited” emergency, which allowed the government to begin to closely monitor and act upon any issues that would create a similar situation. At first, the targets were the usual places where men and women might congregate, pool halls, bars, dance halls, and prostitutes. It wasn’t long before this oversight expanded into communities where local law enforcement was engaged, and local health officials were installed and tasked with making sure the public was kept safe and protected. This is when women, those who might be questionable as to their behaviors or habits would come under scrutiny.

Women who might appear to be acting in a manner that was outside of what was expected. They might have been eating along in a restaurant (true story). They might have been walking to a post office. (true story) Maybe they were simply suspicious looking in some way, too pretty, or looked like they were having too much fun. Who knows? Maybe they were immoral, or lewd, or . . . promiscuous.

*********************************************************

Chapter 3
Ruth

La Grange, North Carolina
1941
On a brisk morning in February, twenty-four-year-old Ruth Foster walks to work, when the local sheriff, Luther Wright, materializes from out of nowhere and approaches her.

***********************************************************

Question of the Week!

Do you remember The Feminine Mystique or Our Bodies, Our Selves? I remember seeing the latter in my mother’s bedroom when I was about twelve years old. I used to take sneak peeks at it. I was shocked! (innocent, that I was) Did any of you ever read these books, or were there others you heard about that might have stirred up some controversy?

***********************************************************

Free Read!

I’ll choose one individual who answers the question to win one of the backlist books. Again, it’s reader’s choice of one of my backlist books, either, The Road to Bittersweet, The Moonshiner’s Daughter, The Saints of Swallow Hill, or When the Jessamine Grows.

The winner is selected by Monday a.m. by another post sharing who’s the lucky reader. 

**************************************************************

PRE-ORDER – Because It Really Matters!

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

***************************************************************

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!

**************************************************************