Submission Synopsis

The Red Earth
by Julie Gwin

Book Opening

Length:
70,000 Words

Genre:
Chick Lit

Women's
Psychological Drama

Author Julie Gwin

Sentence:
Sidney and Gwen, two friends in a small Southern town, kill Gwen's abusive husband after he and his friends rape her, and the town sheriff must choose whether he believes in justice or the law.

Blurb/Logline:
Gwen Johnson is trapped in a marriage to a violent man, a man even the sheriff is afraid to confront.  Her only comfort--Sidney--has just moved to town and is determined to help Gwen escape her marriage.  One night, her husband and his friends assault her in such a horrifying way that she finally takes matters into her own hands and murders him.  Sidney helps her cover up the crime, but her boyfriend, the sheriff, is responsible for finding the killer.  He struggles, knowing that he shouldn’t allow his hatred of the man or his love for Sidney to keep him from enforcing the law.  But he can't help feeling that justice has been done.

Synopsis:

Watching a misplaced cornstalk struggle to survive out the window of her New York apartment, Sidney Weaver decides to leave the city and her failed marriage. She seeks solitude in the small Southern town of Pecan Mountain, but is shunned when the town discovers she makes her living writing erotica. Alone, she finds comfort in the woods behind her house, where one day she finds a badly battered woman weeping. In shock, the women realize they were classmates in high school, until Gwen, the beaten woman, was date-raped and ran away from home.

Gwen had been a happy, popular teenager, but after the rape, she fell in with more and more violent men, until she finally moved to Pecan Mountain and married Jake Johnson, the town bully. Sidney discovers that Gwen tolerates Jake’s abuse because she believes Jake would never rape her like her high school boyfriend had. Her only power is to choose physical abuse over sexual abuse. Determined to help, Sidney enlists the aid of Sheriff John Michaels, but the sheriff is unable to help, both because Gwen refuses to cooperate and because he has feared Jake ever since Jake attacked John’s younger sister when they were teenagers.

Then, one horrifying night, a drunken Jake allows his best friends to rape Gwen. She runs to Sidney and they plan her escape from Pecan Mountain, but Jake follows Gwen to Sidney’s house. Terrified, Sidney grabs a knife, and the women flee into the woods. He chases them, and in a terrifying moment, Gwen plunges the knife into his chest. Believing the law would not consider this self-defense, the women bury his body, covering it with lime, and Jake is reported missing.

Sidney and John’s budding relationship is nearly destroyed as he suspects she and Gwen killed Jake. As the townspeople become hostile toward Gwen for bringing negative attention to their town, John searches for Jake. He drags the river, searches the town dump, and releases hunting dogs into the woods, all to no avail. Finally free, Gwen decides she wants to leave Pecan Mountain and start a new life, but she cannot until the search is over. Sidney must convince John, who is torn between not wanting to find a man he knows deserved to die and needing to know he is a good sheriff, to give up the search.

After weeks of searching, Sidney and John walk to the woods. He is tormented by the feeling that he has not done enough to find Jake and the fear that he is in love with a murderess. Sidney takes him to the edge of the woods, where they see Gwen, a woman who has spent years beaten and afraid, standing proudly on her own, watching the sunset.

As they watch Gwen finally enjoying a moment of freedom, John decides to end the search for Jake. He realizes that sometimes pursuing the law is not the best means to bring a man to justice.
 

Bio:
Julie Gwin is the managing editor of a research journal published by a nonprofit association. She has edited several novels and nonfiction works, including a magazine for military spouses. She earned an MBA from California Lutheran University and a BA in linguistics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband.

Film:
It is very visually appealing, with a beautiful setting; also, the theme of domestic violence is a popular film subject currently.

Additional:
The author has had four years of fiction and nonfiction editing; she is currently managing editor of research journal and a book editor.

NOTE: All material is copyright protected.  No portion of this material may be copied or reproduced, either electronically,  mechanically, or by any other means, for resale or distribution without the written consent of the author.  All copy has been dated and registered with the American Society of Authors and Writers.  Copyright 2007 by The Swetky Agency