Giveaway and Guest Post with author Sherri Hayes and her book Slave (Finding Anna Book 1)

Happy Monday Everyone!!  Today I have with me author Sherri Hayes.  She is going to give us an in depth look into the creation of Brianna, or Anna for short. Then we will take a look at the book itself as a whole.  It was quite a unique read.  Take it away Sherri:

The Creation of Anna

For your blog followers who are not familiar with my Finding Anna series, Brianna, or Anna as she used to be called, is the female protagonist. In the first book, Slave, we find a broken shell of a young woman. She has been held captive as a slave for the last ten months and no longer has any identity except that of being someone else’s property.

Given the emotional subject matter, you may be wondering where the character Anna came from. The first ideas for this series began with news coverage of the Jaycee Dugard story. The young woman, now in her late twenties, had been held by a man for the last 18 years of her life before she escaped. It was a powerful story and a reminder that this type of thing can really happen to anyone. Shortly after that, news outlets began diving into the world of human trafficking. It seemed like every time I turned the news on they were talking about it.

With all this coverage, the wheels in my head began to turn. I wanted to create a character who’d been through this type of situation. From there, I had to figure how she would get out? Who would rescue her? How would she be both physically and mentally? How would she act? Talk? Be around people? Every detail of her backstory would shape the person she was both at the start of the series and going forward. I had to know everything that lead up to her being a slave, as well as what happened during. All of our experiences make us who we are today. Characters are no different.

The big twist in this tale is the BDSM element. I didn’t want to explore a traditional means of helping Brianna find herself again. I wanted something different.

Slave, Finding Anna Book 1, introduces the readers to Brianna and Stephan. Given the subject matter, this is not a traditional romance book. It is one that will pull on your heartstrings and make you want to hug Brianna and assure her everything will be okay. The series will follow Stephan and Brianna through her journey of healing and finding love. It will not be easy, but the things worth fighting for rarely are.

Let's take a look at the book itself.  I personally throughly enjoyed it.  My review is here: http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-slave-finding-anna-book-1-by.html

 Stephan has lived the lifestyle of a Dominant for five years. After several rebellious teenage years, it gave him the stability and control he had been seeking after his parent’s death.

As president of a not-for-profit foundation, he knows what his future holds and what he wants out of life. All that changes when a simple lunch with his college friend and Mentor, Darren, leads him to buying a slave.

Thrust into a situation he never thought he’d be in, Stephan can’t walk away. He is compelled to help this girl in the only way he knows how.

Brianna knows only one thing, she is a slave. She has nothing. She is nothing.

Can Stephan help Brianna realize that she is much more than just a Slave?

A big thank you to Sherri for coming on today!!  For chance to win a copy, just fill out the rafflecopter!!

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