The MODEL PRISONER
​
Unpublished - manuscript completed, and the first round of editing is complete
​
The Model Prisoner is written in a completely different style from my other works. It's written in first-person, from a young woman's point of view. I had to mentally become a woman and imagine challenges through her eyes. I conceived this story line while brainstorming with my youngest child who had expressed a desire to become a writer. This was supposed to be their novel. They pooh-poohed it because they wanted magical creatures. I thought for a long time about how I could change the characters to be druids or fairies or whatnot. But my brain doesn't work that way, and they didn't express much interest in taking the story and changing the characters themself. The story stayed in my head for several years, before I finally sat down behind my computer and let it out. This was my first novel and convinced me that writing is fun. I just let the story unfold without worrying about grammar and spelling. Of course, that made editing more of a challenge, but back then I had no desire to actually publish my work.
My protagonist, Hannah, is released from prison at the tender young age of twenty after serving almost seven years for killing her father. She has no family or friends to turn to, and no money, job or place to live. Her situation is desperate, but she is armed with one weapon - a promise that she made to her dying mom. She had promised to be the best person that she could possibly be. That promise had driven her to get a GED while in prison and to even take some college prep classes. She had used her time behind bars effectively to read everything in the library, even the newspapers, and to get fit in the gym.
Starting out living in a shelter and fending off the street thugs, Hannah eventually finds a job working half-time, then a few months later, adds a second job working sixty hours per week. She saves her money, and one day she has her own home, albeit a dusty little apartment. Having a home of her own is massive milestone in her life. She is finally independent, sort of. But she still has significant hurdles to overcome. Her parole officer takes an unwanted interest in her life, which gradually morphs into pure harassment. He leaves his wife and son for her. And there is very little she can do about it.
And then she meets Rita and her life changes. Rita deploys her army of friends to protect Hannah from her stalker. Rita is a successful model and convinces Hannah that she should give it a try. But Hannah has never worn makeup, shaved her legs, or worn feminine clothes and knows nothing about style. Leaving her secure job that is at least paying her rent for the unknown world of modeling is terrifying. But Rita assures Hannah that this is her path out of poverty, so she agrees.
Modeling turns out to be a natural talent for Hannah, and she does finally succeed. But her parole officer is fixated on her, and the situation has become dangerous. Maybe even more dangerous than Rita's army can protect her from. But Hannah is determined to beat him and adds a lawyer to her army. The battle is on!