3 Books Published by M.W. Moore Publications on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

The final years of prison don t get any easier for former NCAA track athlete Miguel Morris as forces still try to derail his hopes for early freedom. He s still tested by guards, fellow inmates and the bruising sun as he slaves like a farmhand in the work fields. But now, he s trying to avoid similar mistakes due to unresolved sexual addictions. In March 2005, he s paroled and finds employment in less than a month. Ultimately, he hits pay dirt when an Internet design firm hires him as a technician despite a felony conviction for six Texas bank robberies. He later attempts a relationship with Jasmine, leaving behind wounded ex-lover and confidante Lazlo that causes embers to fly. Notwithstanding financial success, he relearns the brutality of the free world when jealous colleagues Carlton and Eva hurl sexual innuendos and threaten him with blackmail, thus jeopardizing his attempt at love. In addition, a contemptible parole officer clamps down on his travels to promote his artwork, a therapeutic passion. Despite obstacles, Miguel is determined to live proudly and make An About Face.

After a plea deal and confession to six bank robberies, Miguel Morris’ life behind bars becomes a daily tempest marked by insolent penitentiary guards and delusional inmates. But despite the chaos, the former NCAA track champion must adjust to prison because it’ll be his home for the next 15 years, unless he is paroled before then. His first year of confinement is like a mental torture chamber as he is robbed of dignity and respect. Among the distresses, the former crack addict is forced to confront his fear of drag queens when one becomes his cellmate, deflect rumors about his sexual preferences and endure regular taunting from a malcontent ranking correctional officer. Although prison starts out as a lonely place, Miguel’s megawatt charisma — much more subdued in lockup — still works to his advantage as many secretly admire his sculpted 6-foot, 2-inch stacked athletic frame and dark-chocolate complexion. Along the way, he discovers that intimate and emotional attachments are practically non-existent. But when those occurs, submissive individuals are treated as property, often with violent consequences. Even Miguel is hurt a couple times when his heart is left unprotected. Internal chaos results because confinement leaves him powerless to assist his mom’s fight with cancer, and his best friend Lazlo, who’s struggling with tough choices that threaten his sanity. Miguel’s misery magnifies after being assigned to the back-breaking, Texas heat field labor of picking cotton and cabbage, a reminder of an era that hearkens back to slavery. And later, he spends weeks in segregation without privileges after being caught having sex in another inmate’s cell as the forces of evil continue to lurk.

For What I Hate I Do is a stunning yet fact-based fictional look at the abysmal and catastrophic lifestyle of protagonist Miguel Morris, an NCAA track and field champion whose sexual addictions (underscored by chemical abuse), send him on a downward spiral and bring so much hell on earth that it endangers himself and others. Endorsements, college, money and marriage are lost, marred by bad decisions and unsavory acquaintances, such as those who recruit him to become a sexual predator. Miguel feels betrayed by men and begins victimizing hoodlums and prostitutes. Ultimately, a shocking criminal element evolves that stirs a police and media frenzy for the former model and NCAA track and field champion who trades the opportunity to earn Olympic gold for silver handcuffs instead. Once while seeking redemption, he relapses and completely compromises his Baptist morals by becoming an exotic dancer. A single biblical verse in Roman captures Miguel’s struggles: For What I Hate I Do, which paraphrased means, I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate.