B.G. Arnold is the pen name of an octagenarian mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who starting writing her debut novel, Bone Deep Bonds, in 2002 but picked it back up again during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reason for her pseudonymous name follows on from her life's work; although the characters in Bone Deep Bonds are fictitious, they are based on the author's thirty-five years as a licensed professional clinical counselor, where she worked with families of incest and other sexual abusers and victims. There is also a more personal connection, too—the author's own adopted father, a church elder, abused her until she left home at age eighteen.
In Bone Deep Bonds, upon coming home from work, a father learns that his twelve-year-old son hasn't returned from his routine jog on a country road nearby. The only clue is an unknown BMW that a neighbor noticed passing by, hours earlier. With family and the local police discouraging him, the father believes in his own intuition and the Spirit who guides him. As he sets out on a journey to combat the forces of evil, he's startled to discover some buried secrets from his own youth.
Arnold stopped by In Reference to Murder to talk a little bit more about the book:
Although the plot and characters of Bone Deep Bonds are all fictional, they are drawn from an in-depth interview from an expert on the symptomatology, diagnosis and treatment of subjects on 'The Wheel of Sexual Abuse.' That's me.
Emerging from a history of childhood incest, I instinctively followed an educational path in Clinical Psychology. That path allowed me to ‘step away’ from the emotional swamp that often floods survivors, drowning them in their own psychic pain and anxiety, that far too often results in their continuing on a path of self-destruction, expressed in their own deviant behavior, and/or suicidal chemical addictions.
It was not difficult for me to portray the five major characters as males, as I've had extensive experience in their actual clinical treatment, both as victims and perpetrators. Childhood victims frequently emerged as adult abusers, be they male or female. Female offenders (misandrists) are far less likely to be identified as a sexual abuser, since most often their victims are males, and those victims go with the predominant characterization that allows them to believe that their own male sexuality is the lure that attracts their abusers.
When I began writing my novel, it began in the mind of a wealthy male pedophile who kidnaps a twelve-year-old male, drugging him into an oblivious state, and drives the victim back to his hidden underground apartment, where he 'grooms' him. From that point forward, the characters led me, and the story somehow developed in an organic fashion, much like the human body follows structural patterns.
An example of this character-determined 'organicity' is that the villain drives his chosen boy from his search ending in southern Ohio back to his home in Baltimore, Maryland. I had never been to Baltimore, and tried to 'get out of there,' but my characters wouldn't allow me to leave, so Maryland it was. This called for some research as to city landmarks, but on the advice of my overseeing editor from Atmosphere Press, I soon saw that too much research for actual places deadened the tone of the writing. So I made up the names of many of the streets, suburbs, restaurants, bars. I imagine that Baltimore residents, if they read it, will be offended by my inaccuracies. Or perhaps they'll delight in exposing all my 'mistakes.'
The murders that enter into the plot happen because their perpetrators feel completely justified in their actions, seeing the consequences that would otherwise arise as keeping them from reaching their goals. They’re the ultimate illustrations of self-absolving characters. So...I didn't start out with murder in my mind, but it evolved from the characters that grew out of my clinical background and knowledge of characters on 'The Wheel of Sexual Abuse' that keeps spinning round and round until its momentum is stopped. And that can be stopped only through teaching others how to identify, report, and stop sexual victimization, along with social rehabilitation programs for the victims, abusers and conjoined family members.
This is of prime importance in our modern world where the breakdown of social order begins with the failure to build strong, healthy family units, leading to healthier communities and, eventually, nations. Stopping human abuse of the weak and vulnerable, the cornerstone of a firm foundation, will go a long way toward leading us out of the worldwide chaos, which now prevails.
You can find Bone Deep Bonds in both digital and paperback formats from most booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
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