Tainted Love
by Madeline Hampton

Shasta Brown wanted the one thing all girls wanted. Love. She saw everyone experiencing it but her. She knew of love but she wanted to feel a man’s love.She noticed how happy her best friend Laquenta was and wanted a man to make her feel good inside, emotionally and physically. Being pure was important to her and she wanted the perfect man to give herself to. When she meets Seth Avery, she feels he is that man. Seth comes into her life at the right time and Shasta couldn’t be happier, yet society has a huge issue with it. Shasta falls hard for Seth but there’s just one problem, Seth’s white and she’s black. In the 1970’s that wasn’t something that was easily accepted yet Shasta didn’t care. She was drawn to Seth and enjoyed their time together. She vowed to do whatever it took so that they could be together. After fighting a community who didn’t approve of their love, Shasta and Seth travel up north to the Big Apple from the racist bigotry of Virginia. Shasta finally gets to experience what it’s like being on her own, and in love. After coming up empty in her search for work, Shasta encounters Tommy Edwards, the black restaurant owner of Sweet Daddy Tommy’s Soulfood. After hearing her sad story, Tommy figures she needs a shot and a second chance, but the pressure of an unaccepted and an emotionally trying relationship has taken its toll on Shasta. An exposed secret comes to light, leaving Shasta bewildered and with a big decision to make. Will she stay with Seth or move on and experience life in the Big Apple without him?