C.L. Mason
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How do you embrace your father after he cursed you the very moment you were born? How do you embrace the father who abandoned you and your mother, forcing you to grow up in one of the deadliest projects in Balitmore? How do you embrace your father when he returns after you have overcome all odds and reached the pinnacle of success? His work was cut out for him from the moment he was born, saddled with a name spitefully chosen by his misguided father who was determined to temper his infant son for the world that defeated him. Nefarious Trotter’s grooming, by all accounts, should have culminated in a lead role in the underbelly of society. Blessed by a combination of striking good looks, a sculpted body, and disarming charm--while burdened by a hair-trigger temper--he seems bound for a brutal life and a tragic end. But his path is redirected by his unconditional love for his mother and by a surprising series of events that send him suddenly shooting to the top tier of basketball superstardom. With the world at his feet, enjoying dazzling riches and fame, he still faces his own self-destructive patterns, until a life-changing experience leads him to redemption. Nefarious Trotter’s story is a moving one that will rob you of your preconcieved notions and leave you with the optimism that even in the most neglected and violent sections of our society, an unpolished diamond can still find the proper lighting to reflect its true brilliance.
My name is C. L. Mason, and I present to you my second offering. My first book was a self-help publication entitled, Uncommon Sense: An Honest Perspective on Relationships Gone Bad. It can be purchased online at any major book website, but if you’re looking to save a few dollars, your best deal is at www.authorhouse.com. That project was a personal bet I made with myself that I would not allow anything to stop me from my goal of publishing a book. It is gritty, brazen and a fountain of knowledge for anyone looking for rock-solid advice in a relationship they sense may be headed in the wrong direction.
This book, Honor Thy Mother, is my first novel. Having watched them work their magic as a boy, I have always had a deep respect for single mothers living in urban jungles amongst the most violent and incorrigible mongrels on the planet. They are not unlike any other mothers in the world—they want the best for their children in terms of health, education and, if not too much to ask, the luxury of resting their heads at night knowing their family is safe and sound.
Without getting into anything social or political as to their arrival to those circumstances, it is my honest opinion that it takes a special woman to handle the complex challenges that arise in an atmosphere deeply rooted in ignorance and violence. In this subculture there are rules of survival that many in society will never understand, but these special women acclimate, endure--and proclaim, in the face of financial uncertainty and oftentimes despair, that no one will stop them from raising their children the right way. Some succeed and some fail, but I take my hat off to any of them who give it an honest shot.
Nefarious Trotter was born shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve. He was the sixth child born that day at St. Edmondson’s Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and at fourteen pounds, thirteen ounces, was the record-setting baby for St. Edmondson’s. Two days later he was taken to what was slowly becoming a dysfunctional, but still loving, home located in the modest middle-class neighborhood of Oxxon Hill.
Even as the newborn was learning how to smile, his parents’ tumultuous marriage was being tested to the extreme. The latest blow had come in the form of his father’s recent termination from his job as foreman at a local brewery, for allegedly engaging in a sexual act on the job with a male co-worker. With everything happening in the Trotter household, there was no reason for optimism about the family’s future.
John Trotter denied the incident to the end, dismissing it as the white man’s conspiracy to rid the company of all black men on the job who held a position of power. Even with his persistent denial, it was still a hard pill for Mary Trotter to swallow.
The young couple’s excessive lifestyle had resulted in a mountain of bills that seemed insurmountable, even before John’s alleged antics cost him his handsome salary. It seemed the only thing holding the family together was the strength of Mary Trotter.
A natural beauty, Mary had an elegant face and a figure that could have easily landed her on the cover of Centerfold magazine. But with no apparent job skills, plus the embarrassment of the entire neighborhood knowing about the circumstances behind her husband’s firing, and no defense against the local rumor mill except John’s obfuscate explanation, her will was understandably shaken. Add to that combustible mix an infant son whose record-setting arrival size and appetite had seemed cause for celebration for the delivery room staff--but left Mary in no mood for celebration.
Her husband had already established a history of ineptitude when facing critical situations, so Mary knew she had her work cut out for her. If you had to have this burden placed on any woman’s shoulders, you could not have found a more capable candidate.
Mary had already endured a lifetime of unwelcomed antics from every lascivious-minded male she ran across from the moment her ripening body began to separate her from her peers. Blessed with a voluptuous figure and an exceptional innocence, she had the potential to capture the imagination of kings with one simple glance at her.
-As Mary turned thirteen, her mother, Marilyn Thomas, watched her daughter transform from an awkward teenager into a beautiful young temptress. Marilyn understood the critical timeline she faced in order to prepare her naive daughter for the uninvited attention that would be her burden for life--especially in the tough, low-income neighborhood of Green Mount Avenue.
Marilyn delicately explained to a young Mary the true intentions of the disingenuous predators who would approach her, armed with smiles, compliments and monetary offerings in an attempt to penetrate her defense and exploit her innocence. This heavy mental weight was boxed up and presented to the young girl with the unromantic explanation: “It simply comes with the territory.”
A year later the fourteen-year-old be<
