Anti-bullying slogans are helpful to remember if bullying is an issue in our lives. And this one - don't let others' words blind you to yourself - is to remind us not to start believing what others say when they call us names. When we hear the same words over and over, it's easy to let them wear us down, so we need to keep reminding ourselves of our good qualities. And if you don't think you have any, keep looking, because we all have them. For more help in dealing with bullying in your life, read my YA novel You Can't Shatter Me, even adults have told me that they've found healing for long held scars from childhood bullying. … [Read more...]
‘You Can’t Shatter Me’ has won an award!
Some nice person submitted You Can't Shatter Me to the Indie Book of the Day people and they gave it an award. Thank you, it's a lovely surprise. I hope that it brings the book to the attention of all those people who could benefit from a fresh and empowering approach to dealing with bullying. People are saying lovely things about the book, but the word of its existence still hasn't got far. If you can help share the news, I'd appreciate it. Kindle US Kindle UK Kobo Barnes & Noble Apple Paperback links here. … [Read more...]
Why You Can’t Shatter Me has a bullying theme.
I didn’t start out to write about bullying specifically, but I did want to write something that used analogies to show ways to deal with emotions and issues in a teenager’s life. As well as having a teenage daughter, I’m a casual (substitute) teacher in a local high school and I see the kinds of emotional stuff that kids have to deal with on a day to day basis. Often they have no skills to help them negotiate their minefield of emotions, and they suffer a lot more than they need to. All they need are a few tricks to help them see things in perspective and their issues become a lot easier to handle. I’ve used the analogies in the book (eg seeing your life as a movie) very successfully with teens, so I wanted to share them with a wider number of people. Initially, I planned to write a series of short stories about the same people, but as soon as I took my main character into a school setting, a bully appeared and shoved a fat boy against the wall. Carly, the female lead, decided she had … [Read more...]
