Laura Aranda’s new novel, her first, is a Christian thriller that shines a light of awareness on a dark issue: human trafficking.
In “Pushing Back the Darkness,” main character Claire Sullivan has recurring nightmares about a girl she does not know.
When she sees the girl in her dreams featured on a television newscast and learns the girl is a runaway, Claire sets out to find her. She hits the streets of Houston looking for her.
In her pursuit, Claire finds herself in danger as she confronts an underground world foreign to her — one where human trafficking is a real thing.
Aranda wrote the book, she said, to open the eyes of the public to human trafficking. It took her three years to complete.
She first become aware of human trafficking through a Houston organization called Elijah Rising, a group whose aim is to end sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, she said.
Aranda rode on one of Elijah Rising’s free van tours through high-probability trafficking areas in Houston. The two-hour-long tour, which has been called a rolling Human Trafficking 101 class, opened her eyes to the problem.
Elijah Rising has also opened the nation’s only museum dedicated to exposing the realities of sexual slavery and exploitation. The Museum of Modern-Day Slavery is housed in a former brothel at 5818 Southwest Freeway in Houston.
In writing “Pushing Back the Darkness,” Aranda also connected with a local group, SWLA Abolitionists, which is also working to end trafficking. Some of the proceeds from “Pushing Back the Darkness” will be given to SWLA Abolitionists to assist in the group’s mission.
The SWLA Abolitionists has set up a local hotline for trafficking victims. If residents see or think they see trafficking in Southwest Louisiana, they may call or text 337-570-9505, Aranda said. If outside the area, they can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.
“Human trafficking is part of a dark and sinister side of society that most choose not to acknowledge or even know about. I hope people take the time to read this fiction book but know that the storyline can be pulled from the headlines in the news,” said Aranda.
Aranda who grew up in Starks, attended Jackson College of Ministries, majoring in missions. She attends First United Pentecostal Church of Orange, Texas.
“Pushing Back the Darkness,” is available at AuthorLauraAranda.com for $20.
It will be available on Amazon.com and in e-book form later in the year.
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Contact Laura Aranda at
LauraAranda@owlofhope.com.
Learn more about Elijah Rising at www.elijahrising.org. Learn more about SWLA Abolitionists at http://ift.tt/2nwMiVW.
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