October Novel Essential Information

Novel Title: Escape

Time Setting: 2016

Genre: Thriller

Minimum Word Goal: 120,000

Timespan: September–November

Locations: Peace River, Alberta; Atlanta, Georgia; the 48 contiguous US states

Main Characters: Trace O'Hannigain, Dallis Riebel

Background Information:

Born the only son in his parents' tempestuous union — whose storminess and demise were caused by his mother being a radical environmentalist and his father working for Big Oil — Trace had an unsurprisingly tumultuous childhood.

Shortly after his parents' divorce his mother got a boyfriend, with whom she eventually would have a further five daughters. Due to his father's work he and his sisters were in his mother's custody more often than not, which led to trouble.

It wasn't that his mother's boyfriend didn't like the daughters he was fathering, it was merely that he wanted a son for himself, and when a son wasn't showing up with each subsequent birth, he got upset and began to take his jealousy and frustration out on Trace, who began craving the time with his father.

When he was twelve his father remarried and mounted a case for increased custody of his children, but thanks to forged evidence provided by Trace's mother's boyfriend, he ended up losing all custody of his children.

In an effort to escape the abuse he was suffering, at fifteen Trace absconded with his mother's boyfriend's truck, driving to where his dad lived and showing his dad convincing proof of the abuse he'd suffered, leading his father to mount another custody case which he won.

Unfortunately, after his father won custody his caring for his children dropped significantly and Trace's stepmother became insufferably overbearing, which has led Trace to distance himself from his family, aided by his occupation of choice: long-haul trucking.

Born the daughter of a whore — thus it's no surprise she has no idea who her father is — Dallis' life is best described as being a wretched experience, so far.

With other daughters of the other whores Dallis has been raised with the express purpose — as far as the gangsters in charge are concerned — of becoming a whore herself, and she thus hasn't had that much freedom at all in her life.

However, being as her mother is an addled, deluded, and almost zombie-like person that Dallis sees as almost inhuman, she has no intent whatsoever of capitulating to the gangsters' plans and desires for her life.

So far, she's had success in resisting the gangsters' efforts to make her like her mother — especially thanks to the gang's extensive library of self-defence books — but being as she hasn't escaped their clutches, she's running out of time, as the gangsters are growing impatient with her lack of submission and are threatening her life.

When she was eleven she'd vowed she would find a way to escape the gangsters, and in the years since she has looked for opportunities, but none of them were suitable enough. Now she's going to have to take the first opportunity she finds, as it's only a matter of time before the threats become action.

Novel begins on October 3.