Soul Traffic: My New Novel. Coming soon!

The characters in my upcoming novel Soul Traffic have been living in my head for a few years now. From time to time, I would write a chapter or jot down an idea, but mostly I just thought about them.

These children haunted me. They told me their stories. Over time, they developed into fully formed characters that rarely left my mind.

Leyla was sex trafficked to the UK as a child. She has no documents, no knowledge of her country of origin, nationality, culture or ethnicity. All she has is her name.

The boy doesn’t even have a name. The unwanted child of an abusive father and an alcoholic, mentally ill mother, his birth was never registered, and he grew up neglected, abandoned and abused.

After escaping their abusers, the children are placed in the same foster family where they form an immediate and unique bond. Leyla names the boy ‘Dazzle,’ meaning ‘something so bright, you have to look away,’ which she decides is the perfect epithet for him.

In the book, I wanted to explore the meaning of identity. So much of who we are is defined by factors outside our control, such as where we were born, our nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.

But what if we had no identity?

What if those labels were stripped away and only the soul remained?

Is identity fixed or is it fluid?

Can we change our identity? Create a new one? Have multiple identities? Or is there a part of you that is always you?

The story also explores human connection through the lens of platonic love. The invisible bonds that transcend race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, even death. The bonds that are both our biggest weakness and our greatest strength. That give us courage and at the same time make us deathly afraid. That ultimately make us human.

The novel is about a platonic love affair between these two characters. Children with no identity. Children who fell through the cracks. Children who technically don’t exist.

Alone in the world, Leyla and Dazzle only have each other. They become each other’s person. Each other’s reflection in the mirror. Two sides of the same coin.

Soulmates.

For updates on the release of Soul Traffic, as well as behind-the-scenes content, character introductions, previews and excerpts, please subscribe to my newsletter (subscribe button below).