Keith Hoare is giving 10 per cent of all profits made from “Unit T Special Forces “ and “The People Trafficker” – stories based around the abduction of people – to STOP UK.

According to the charity, people trafficking is a “modern-day form of slavery” and the UK has been a destination country for victims for many years.

Writer Keith, from Accrington, found out about the “disgusting” trade after watching a TV documentary. He has been actively raising awareness of trafficking ever since.

He said: “As the title suggests, “The People Trafficker” is set in the terrifying world of human trafficking – a crime that seems to fall under the radar of public consciousness.

“My spin-off novel “Unit T” takes the reader into another side of trafficking – the kidnap and enslaving of children.

“I have had to do a lot of research in the course of writing my novels and what happens makes me so angry. Stop UK is one of the few organisations actively supporting people caught up in this disgusting trade and I was keen to help it in any way I could.”

In his day job, Keith is a property manager for a local company, but for the last decade he has also carved a successful second career as an action adventure novelist.

To date he has written nine books for late teenage and adult audiences, all released through Ragged Cover Publishing.

“The People Trafficker” is the sequel to “The People Traders”, released in 2008. It picks up the story of Karen Marshall, who was abducted  in the first novel only to fight her way to freedom.

Realising how much money is to be made from selling people on the black market, the traffickers abduct five young girls.

Police from the Special Branch are called in and they enlist the help of Karen to track them down –  putting her back in the sights of those she escaped, and who desperately want her back.

“Unit T”, meanwhile, features Karen with many of the same characters and centres on the abduction of two children from a Spanish resort.

“Karen is a strong female figure,” said Keith, 55. “She is a martial artist and can look out for herself  but is still risking her safety to bring back the abductees to safety.

“She was a pleasure to bring to life and has certainly struck a chord with readers, who regularly contact me to say how much they have appreciated the stories and the underlying messages behind them.”

Keith says his biggest market is in America, something he puts down to the “Hollywood tradition of fast-paced action films”.

Even so, he points out that he isn’t influenced by action movies or thriller writers – preferring to keep his writing “free of influence”.

He said: “I don’t read other author’s books precisely because I  want to write in a style that is solely my own.

“If you are a fantasy writer, say, and read a “Harry Potter” book then there’s no escaping the fact that to some degree your writing will be touched by the work of JK Rowling.

“I don’t want that to happen and so stay free of influence.”

Though the “Trafficker”  novels are firmly for the mature reader, Keith is currently half way through the “Dreamstalker” series – aimed at the teenage market.

The books are about a young girl who enters another, magical world – Plagarma – where she gains undreamed powers, becoming a Dreamstalker.

With power comes responsibility and in the “turbo-charged” second novel, “The Silver Moon”  – which comes out in July – the Dreamstalker must intervene to stop a war that could spill across countless worlds, including Earth.

Keith said: “I wanted to create a world that children could believe in – somewhere the modern girl could still have their mobile, computer and fashion as well as magical powers like being able to fly.

“Like all my novels it’s an action-packed rollercoaster ride to adventure. I don’t subscribe to pages and pages of description – that’s boring.”

Stop UK supports victims of human trafficking, including operating a dedicated helpline, and also campaigns to secure convictions against the traffickers and those associated with them.

A spokesperson for STOP UK thanked Keith for his support and said:

“STOP UK is grateful to Keith Hoare for kindly donating 10 per cent proceeds from the sale of his latest books to the charity.

“We wish these book every success. STOP UK is pleased that the issues which surround human trafficking are being highlighted through these novels.“

* “The People Trafficker”, “Unit T Special Forces” and “The Silver Moon” are available now, priced £6.99, X and £8.99 respectively. Visit www.raggedcover.com.
* Stop UK can be found at www.stop-uk.org. If you would like to speak with someone in confidence, call 0844 800 3314.

Tags: Keith Hoare, The People Trafficker, Unit T Special Forces