Last October another author, Teresa Keefer, and I (Tina Susedik) were discussing what we could do about human trafficking. We went back and forth and came up with the idea of doing an anthology with the proceeds to go to Operation Underground Railroad. I contacted Teresa Russ at Poised Pen Productions, who agreed to help. She contacted an editor and formatter, while I talked with the person who does the covers of my books. All agreed to donate their time and resources to this project.
Hope Harbor began. Six authors, some award-winning and some debut authors were given three things that their stories had to have – a lighthouse, a ring, and a pirate (or a descendent of the pirate). They could write in any time period and any genre.
A history of Hope Harbor was created:
In 1699, Samuel Hopewell arrived with his wife, Faith, and three young children, Jonathan, Temperance, and Charlotte. On this spot, he built a house and barn. He began farming and fishing, taking his goods to small towns further inland.
In 1701, he was joined by his brother, Thomas and his family who opened a store and tavern. Hearing of the rich land and abundance of whales, others joined them until in 1716, the population grew to sixty-five souls.
Samuel’s homestead, located here on this village green, is long gone, but his and his family’s legacy lives on. Over the years, when whaling grew, sloops ventured further into the Atlantic Ocean. Heading back to southern towns, more and more ships crashed and sank on the Hopewell Shoals. Residents of Hopewell, tired of trying to rescue crews during treacherous storms, requested government funds to erect a lighthouse to warn ships of the massive rocks hidden in the water.
In 1716, the lighthouse northeast of the green was completed, with Samuel as the first lighthouse keeper, or wickie (named for having to keep the lantern wicks trimmed.) Samuel moved his wife and eight children to a house near the lighthouse. His sons, and even daughters, learned the art of being a wickie.
In 1774, with the threat of colonists going against the King George III, the English created a harbor for their ships to dock. At that time, the town’s name was changed to Hope Harbor.
As with small villages everywhere, legends abound, the most prominent being a pirate who landed in 1719, bringing with him a ring said to bring riches to the bearer. Married to Samuel’s eldest daughter, the legend lives on as the ring was passed from generation to generation.
Today, through the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, Samuel and Faith’s children stayed, married, and kept up the tradition of Hopewell’s Lighthouse.
Information on Operation Underground Railroad:
Children do not just disappear. Across the world, approximately eight million children go missing each year. Per a report from the United States Department of Justice, an estimated 800,000 children will come up missing each year in the United States alone. In some underdeveloped countries—third world countries—missing children are not even counted. Missing children has become a major global issue and has been brought to the forefront in recent years.
The trafficking of humans, especially children, has become a multi-billion-dollar business with some of the most rich and famous being exposed for their participation in modern day slavery and exploitation of young children.
Several organizations have joined the fight against child abduction and exploitation, one of them being Operation Underground Railroad which was founded in December 2013 by a group of highly trained CIA, law enforcement and skilled operatives to comprehensively tackle the problem worldwide. Not only do they find and extract the victims, but they also provide justice for them against their perpetrators as well as rehabilitative services to help them once they are rescued.
After considerable research, we found that Operation Underground Railroad provided the most comprehensive programs from investigation to rescue to rehabilitation. Therefore, we will be donating all profits from the sale of Hope Harbor to O.U.R. as our contribution to fighting trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. Additionally, we hope that by sharing this information, others will follow suit. We can fight this battle together so that these children do not have to suffer alone.
God bless you for purchasing the Hope Harbor anthology and a huge thank you from all the contributing authors.