A note from author, Raymond Storm

Dear Readers,

I am super thankful for your interest in this site and my book, Caught at the Edge. I am an ex-gang member who has lived the street life. I have stood face to face with killers, I have been shot, stabbed, and left for dead. I gave orders to more men than most corporate CEOs, and I have watched many of my friends die. I lived in the streets and would have died for the streets. Now, as a man of faith, I know it was God who saved me from the streets.

Why write this book? To bring to light what the Cartel has been doing to kids since the early 80's—making them into soldiers. The best soldier is the one that has nothing to lose.
I know what it means to be that kid. I have seen every loss you can imagine, every pain you can inflict, and most types of abuse as a child. I learned to hate when I was very young. I thrived on it. To be honest, it is what drove me—that bitter taste of hate.

Some will say about Caught at the Edge, "Oh this is just some kind of religious book." Please let me assure you that it is much more than that. Before being published, I allowed men of known gangs read it: Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings, Vice Lords, leaders of prison gangs, and the likes. I have watched some pretty hard men hand me back the book with tears in their eyes. To know that someone else knew their struggles and made it through, touched them.

May I be so bold as to place a challenge before you? Allow me to take you on a journey like no other. Let me show you what hides in the dark recess of the streets. Like a football coach, I will run you through the gambit, but instead of plays, it will be emotions. I give you my word that this book will affect you. If it doesn't, I will send you a handwritten apology. Now if this book moves you, then please tell your family and friends about it.

Thank you for your time.
Be Blessed,

"Storm"

You can find Storm's book here

Caught at the Edge, a "must read" for those who know teens in trouble and want to help.

 

 Read this book and feel empathy for the plight of kids who have nothing and are only looking for a way to survive. Read this book and feel indignant at the audacity of the grownups who use down-and-out kids for their own protection and gain.  Read this book and see the need to rescue the kids before it's too late and to show them a better way than  the cartels offer them in exchange for drugs, sex, and guns. Read this book and feel the hope as you see the redemption that is possible.

Two Pronged Novel—Two Stories, Loss and Redemption

Raymond Storm, author

The author of the true-to-life novel, Caught at the Edge, tells two stories in alternating scenes. He tells of the loneliness, fear, and danger experienced by children and teens living in abusive homes and on the streets, and the exploitation of these vulnerable and "disposable" children by the drug cartels. The other story is of caring adults who reach out to rescue and redeem these forgotten kids. Through the portrayal of the hard life of Xaviar, an abused child as he becomes a belligerent and dangerous teen, the author, shows how a young man, when he reaches rock bottom, can be saved by someone who cares enough to reach out. In this story, it is a devout Christian man who intervenes and offers Xaviar a chance at a better life. Xaviar embraces the new-found hope and forgiveness and dedicates his life to showing kids like himself the love and direction they need. 

There are two messages in this book. One is that kids without love and security can easily fall into a life of crime, become involved in gang wars, and be manipulated as hired guns and drug runners for the cartels. The other is that compassion and understanding can give these lost boys a chance for a better, safer, more productive lifestyle. There are Christian, Buddhist, and nonreligious organizations that provide homes and shelters and outreach programs. More are needed. It is hoped that young people who suffer abuse and abandonment will read this book, realize they are not alone, and find help. It is hoped that this book, though fiction, will raise awareness and empathy for these forgotten and misunderstood teens and preteens and prompt caring people to offer help.

 

Caught at the Edge, by Raymond Storm

This book is fiction, but it is based on real life experiences and needs to be read with empathy and compassion. The author hopes to reach _young people who are tempted by drugs, guns and violence and show them the ugly side of this lifestyle. He wants to show them an option for a better way to live. Through the fictional character, Xaviar, and his homeboys, the author reveals the truth from the point of view of the kids who are caught in the web of intrigue and danger that can lead to prison or death.

If you care about the teens on the street with no place to turn and if you want to reach out to them with concern and nurture, read  this book.

Raymond Storm, Author, Caught at the Edge

Raymond Storm, author of Caught at the Edge, has lived through a firestorm of danger, violence, intrigue, and sorrow, much like the lives of the characters in his novel. Upon becoming a Christian and seeing that there is a better way to live, a way filled with hope, love, and understanding, he wanted to help the kids who are caught in the same trap he was. He decided to write a story to depict exactly what life on the streets is like, the dangers that lurk in every shadow, and sometimes masquerade as a way to adventure, riches, and prestige.

He wants to tell the kids that gang violence doesn't pay. He wants to tell society that there are kids who have no other alternative and know of no other way—and end up both killing and being killed. The pictures painted in this book are not always pretty. The anguish and suffering are real. There are kids who live this life, every day. Kids that need intervention and better choices.

But mostly, Raymond wants to show the readers of this book, both the parents, the children, the average citizen, and the criminals who prey on these kids that there is a way to find help and refuge. Raymond found it through Christianity. He found it through many organizations established to give shelter and nurture to boys headed in the wrong direction.

As he says in a note at the beginning of the book:

"This book comes with a strong warning. I pull no punches and I paint a harsh picture. But I withhold judgment, as I’ve learned over the years that only God, who knows the heart and mind of everyone, can judge us. As for me, I can only follow God’s example of unconditional love for everyone.

"The story you are about to read is filled with pain, death, hate, wars, danger, and a vivid portrayal of the street life of fifteen kids who became hired guns for the Mexican cartel. Xaviar and the others are fictional characters, but the life they illustrate is all too real. But this book also has another story that can change the way you look at the streets. As you read, I challenge you to feel the emotions these kids go through and watch the struggles that will make you say, “this couldn’t happen” only to realize that it happens every day. Find the hope inside a life that seemed hopeless, and, most importantly, see how the hope can change a life, before your very eyes."

Raymond Storm

Raymond's book is now available on Amazon as an ebook. 

 

New release coming soon

Caught at the Edge, by Raymond Storm will be released soon as an ebook. This book shows the horror of the everyday lives of many children caught up in the culture of warring street gangs as they are exploited by drug cartels. Is there a redemption for these forgotten, throw-away kids? Read Xaviar's story.

The author says this about his novel:

This book comes with a strong warning. I pull no punches and I paint a harsh picture. But I withhold judgment, as I’ve learned over the years that only God, who knows the heart and mind of everyone, can judge us. As for me, I can only follow God’s example of unconditional love for everyone.

The story you are about to read is filled with pain, death, hate, wars, danger, and a vivid portrayal of the street life of fifteen kids who became hired guns for the Mexican cartel. Xaviar and the others are fictional characters, but the life they illustrate is all too real. But this book also has another story that can change the way you look at the streets. As you read, I challenge you to feel the emotions these kids go through and watch the struggles that will make you say, “this couldn’t happen” only to realize that it happens every day. Find the hope inside a life that seemed hopeless, and, most importantly, see how the hope can change a life, before your very eyes.

Yes, there are two stories in this book, one of the pain-filled life of children who are mostly left to grow up on their own without the security of love and guidance. It takes place in the mid 1980s. The alternating second story, the story of redemption and change, begins in the mid to late 1990s to 2,000.

Caught at the Edge was chosen for publication with Dark Trails Press because of its vivid portrayal of lives that need our attention, understanding, and intervention. Reading this story will bring understanding and compassion for the young people, allowing the suspension of judgement for a class of kids we tend to condemn and ignore. Let's not do that anymore.

Dark Trails Press, an imprint of Raven Publishing, Inc.

Dark Trails Press, an imprint of Raven Publishing, Inc., which is known for it's "true fiction" for juvenile and young adult, as well as adult readers, has been created to confront life's hard issues through "true fiction" and memoir. 

Most of the books published under this new imprint will address important issues, just as Raven Publishing does, but with books that must, in order to realistically portray the complicated, difficult, and sometimes controversial issues, will contain some adult content such as sex, language, and violence.

More to come about the books as we publish them under this imprint.