Rene did not care what they had told her.
She did not care what she had been taught.

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They told her men were beasts. That they were brutal and unfeeling. That they had no intellect beyond baser instinct, and that they would only thoughtlessly harm her and all other women if given the chance. They told her they were an unfortunate necessity for the propagation of the human race, and nothing else.

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She was brought to one of the many wilderness reservations where they were confined. She hunted and captured one to use at her own pleasure. She was told to use him and cast him back into the wild, but she could not bring herself to stay away.

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Ignoring the rules of her society, she kept returning to him, hoping to change him and prove to her peers at home that he was different. She named him Ben, and gave him better means to defend himself and survive in his harsh world. He gave her a relationship that did not leave her feeling ostracized. They taught each other many things, and together could escape their respective worlds and live somewhere beyond the harsh division of the genders.

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But she could not foresee how her actions would destroy both her budding career and most valued friendship with her old mentor. Neither could she imagine how deep her relationship with Ben would delve her into his brutal world. She had no way of telling how helping and loving one lonely man would alter her life, her perceptions, and ultimately the course of history.

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For however much this one man loved her, there were thousands more who remained savage and resentful, and most women were still prejudiced and fearful. As a terrifying war of the genders loomed over them all, their quest to escape such a stark schism and be left alone could only send both their lives hurtling towards a brutally tragic end.

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With a fast-paced and action-packed plot, this story is full of memorable characters, intrigue, horror, battles, adventure, and suspense that will engage the reader to the very end.

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If anyone has ever felt caught or trapped between the genders, or simply wished both were able to better get along despite everything, this story is for you.

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Click here, or leave us a comment below, to obtain a review copy of Mother of Men

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Excerpt

‘Good work,’ said the Minister, ‘report to me in here.’

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Two of the soldiers entered Rene’s cell five minutes later and removed their helmets out of respect to the Minister.

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‘Take her out of here,’ ordered the Minister, ‘bring her to the psychiatric ward upstairs. If necessary, restrain her using whatever means you deem suitable.’

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‘Yes, Minister,’ the soldiers both saluted as she left the cell.

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The chair's steel cuffs removed themselves from Rene's waist, wrists, and ankles. Diane stepped aside as the soldiers heaved her up and followed them as they led her protégé out on feet too weak to properly tread the tiled floor.

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‘Don't worry, Rene,’ she urged, ‘I'll come see you every day, I promise. We'll get past this. You can still work for me. I won't give up on you, Rene.’

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‘I can walk just fine on my own,’ Rene told the soldiers, who released her arms and walked alongside her. She did not appear the least bit threatening to them as they led her into the hall outside. The Minister stood in their path talking on her phone, unaware that she was in the way.

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‘Do you have the kid there now?’ she said on the phone.

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‘It's not the end of the world, Rene,’ said Diane. ‘I’ll help you get through this.’

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‘Kill it,’ the Minister ordered. ‘That's right, kill the kid.’

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Rene had not paid attention to anything her former mentor had said, lost in her thoughtless mind, but when she heard the Minister speak those words into her phone something inside changed. Some kind of pure instinct gripped her focus, sent an almost superhuman strength surging through her limbs, and forced her hand into danger.

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One of the soldiers awkwardly tapped on the Minister's shoulder to make her move. Rene took instant advantage, simultaneously snatching their boss’ blonde hair and drawing the soldier's pistol from its holster. In one lightning-swift movement she placed the shorter woman between her and the soldiers. They had no time to raise their own weapons as she dug the barrel into their boss’ temple.

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‘If my child dies,’ she hissed into the Minister's ear, ‘you die as well.’

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Click here, or leave us a comment below, to obtain a review copy of Mother of Men

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About the Author

Clare Faustin is the pen name of an easy-going British-American bartender and line cook who enjoys drinking, smoking, playing fantasy football, travelling to different countries, dancing, joking around with friends, reading, more drinking, and sometimes writing.

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Clare has completed one novel, Mother of Men, a dystopian about a world run entirely by women. Next is Roger, a first-person narrative about a man claiming to have been admitted into heaven on merit after secretly causing the human apocalypse.

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A laidback and generally unconcerned person, Clare likes writing as a way to let off some steam and relax, but is happier drinking and cracking crude jokes with good friends, dancing to good music, reading or watching good comedy, and hanging out at the coolest bar in the world, Taco Dan's of Granville. Splitting time between Wales and Ohio, Clare enjoys meeting and getting to know different sorts of people from all walks of life, but is also more than content to relax at home with old friends and family.

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Clare plans on writing at least three more novels, if it fits somewhere in between working, fantasy football, and drinking with friends, but can foresee writing many more in the future regardless of success or failure, and hopes many more people will read and be entertained by them.