A Damaged Girl - by Travis Hunter (Paperback)

About the Book

"Zola Zaire never had a chance to choose her man. Raped at fourteen, her mother threw her out at sixteen, and she was forced to live with a man three times her age. Abuse was all she'd known, and she has gotten comfortable as a bottom dweller--until her son is taken from her. That's when she decides to become the predator instead of the prey"--

Book Synopsis

Essence(R) bestselling author Travis Hunter tells the story of a young woman who takes control of her own destiny after lifelong abuse.

Zola Zaire has not had an easy life. She was raped at thirteen by her mother's boyfriend--with her mother's permission. Her mother and the man went to prison for the crime, and Zola, damaged from the experience, spent years running wild. Abuse was all she'd known, and she got comfortable as a bottom dweller. Even after she gave birth to a son, she couldn't get herself together, and her son was sent to a foster home.

Now Zola is living with Andre, a wealthy man who has given her a more stable and luxurious life. Things are far from perfect, however, because Andre has started to use Zola as his punching bag. One night, as she races out of the house to escape from another beating, she is rescued by Ian DeMarco, a stranger who is driving by the scene.

Ian and Zola's chance encounter sets off a chain of events that neither of them could have foreseen. Ian finds himself needing help from the father he rejected long ago, and an unexpected murder leaves Zola fearing that she will be framed for the crime. An unlikely ally helps uncover the shocking truth about a deadly game of revenge that has left them both in danger.

Review Quotes

Praise for Travis Hunter

"Hunter's agenda is the strength of this book; even cynical readers may be won over by his . . . positive message and push for African-American communities built on respect and love."--Publishers Weekly on The Hearts of Men

"Despite its title, Married but Still Looking is about the sanctity of marriage, accepting responsibility for one's actions and understanding the consequences of bad choices." --The Dallas Morning News on Married But Still Looking

"The Hearts of Men is a thought-provoking book that explores the lives of three different men who, despite all of their differences, are easy to identify and understand."--Upscale magazine on The Hearts of Men

"[A] true-to-life debut novel . . . [Hunter's] landscape of characters and their quandaries are sho'nuff true to life."--Black Issues Book Review on The Hearts of Men

"Inspiring, entertaining . . . Hunter is a fresh new talent. . . . The Hearts of Men gives us a glimpse into the mysterious void where black men hide their expectations, inspirations, disappointments and dreams."--St. Louis American on The Hearts of Men

About the Author

Travis Hunter is an author, screenwriter, director, and public speaker. His first novel, The Hearts of Men, was originally published in 2000 by Hunter's own company, Jimrose Publishing House. During the 2000 Book Expo America in Chicago, Hunter received an offer from Random House for the re-release of The Hearts of Men. And so began a successful evolution of published adult novels: Married but Still Looking, Trouble Man, A One Woman Man, Something to Die For, A Family Sin, Dark Child, and Momma's A Virgin. Inspired by his work with teens as the founder of The Hearts of Men Foundation, Hunter created a young adult series: Two the Hard Way, At the Crossroads, and On the Come Up which were published by Kensington Publishing Group.

Hunter is a native of Florence, South Carolina and resides in an Atlanta Suburb. He is a veteran of the United States Army and graduate of Georgia State University where he majored in Film and Video and minored in Psychology. Always an avid reader, Hunter parlayed his passion for the written word into a career as an author, playwright and filmmaker which has produced 11 published novels, an Off-Broadway stage play for the adaptation of his novel, Married but Still Looking, and a short film which he wrote and directed based on his novel, Dark Child.