BookSparksPR Speaks Out Against Bullying, and You Should Too!

I'm honored to be taking part in BookSparksPR's anti-bullying campaign. I don't usually get personal on this blog, but bullying is something that is very important to me. My daughter, age 12, has been bullied for years. She has been called names, hit and even had a volleyball and stick thrown into her face. Things have been a little better so far this year, the main bully has moved away and she is in the middle school now, and I'm hoping it will stay this way. My son is still a student at her previous school and I'm pretty sure the principal still cringes when he sees me coming his way. I don't let things go, I will call the school and I will have the situation addressed. 

Even though things with my daughter have cooled down a little, we are not nearly out of the woods. She is twelve, moving into those awkward and horrendous teenage years when girls become their most aggressive. I worry for her every day. She isn't like the other girls. She has yet to become boy crazy, doesn't really pay attention to what she wears and is spunky. She farts on command, she can burp the alphabet (with pride) and she is very perky. She loves anime and manga and is always drawing. Because of this, she has been called "different" and a "loser." But to me, she is perfect. She is fun and can give it just as good as she can take it. She is hilarious. I hope she never changes. But girls are cruel. We are hurtful, spiteful and we know how to make other girls hate themselves. Just thinking about what lies ahead for her makes me want to lock her in her room until she is twenty-five.  

As if this isn't hard enough, I have yet to talk about my son. My adorable, sweet little boy. He is eight and he has special needs. He has Dyspraxia and his speech is severely delayed. Even though he has made incredible progress over the last six years, it is still very hard for strangers and kids to understand him if they aren't with him all the time. We are doing everything we can to help him improve and his school is fantastic when it comes to his extra needs. But what happens when the other kids realize that he is different? Will they turn against him? Right now, they don't care about his speech issues. But they will. What happens when they start picking on him for having to take "the short bus"?

These are things that I never thought of before having children. It honestly breaks my heart and gives me panic attacks just thinking about them having to deal with these issues. Sadly, too many kids have turned to violence and even suicide because of bullying. I don't want this to happen to my children. I don't want this to happen to anyone's children. Something has to be done for these precious children growing up in a hate-filled world. 

BookSparksPR has created the "BookSparksPR Speaks Out Against Bullying" campaign and I am thankful to be a part of it. To start, they are highlighting The Salt God's Daughter by Ilie Ruby which deals with bullying. (Read my review here). I hope you will take part in this campaign and help make a difference!

Speak out against bullying - The Salt God's Daughter by Ilie Ruby

Note from Ilie: The stories of the women who populate The Salt God’s Daughter were inspired by the confluence of real life and a Celtic myth, which I learned from a folksong my mother played on the guitar, The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry. While the myth is the map, its many roads reflect the experiences of my grandmothers, of my mother, of my friends, and of seventeen young girls I never knew but whose histories found me. My wish was to illuminate the female experience through generations–not only those times that are shrouded in shadows, but also those that are lovely and beautiful, and made indelible with light. At its heart this is a story about true love, sometimes found between mothers and daughters, in the secrets of sisters, and in the arms of the first person with whom you shared your heart. When all is said and done, this novel belongs to resolute sisters Ruthie and Dolly. They are my champions. Their journey of discovery and survival is the heart of this story.

Set in Long Beach, California, beginning in the 1970s, The Salt God’s Daughter follows three generations of extraordinary women who share something unique—something magical and untamed that makes them unmistakably different from others. Theirs is a world teeming with ancestral stories, exotic folklore, inherited memory, and meteoric myths.

In recognition of October being National Anti-Cyberbullying Awareness month, we are proud to speak out with BookSparksPR, book lovers and author Ilie Ruby against bullies.

Here's how you can speak out too!

• Post it: Post this anti-bullying badge on your blog, site or social media today along with the book cover and the note on Ilie Ruby's book The Salt God's Daughter. We understand you have other obligations/plans for your blog that day. Whatever you can do today to stand up for these 17 young women, Amanda Todd and so many other women and children who are being/have been bullied.
• Tweet it: Speak out with @BookSparksPR, book lovers and @IlieRuby today against bullies! No bullying! http://bit.ly/RCBDSZ #SpeakOut
• Facebook it: Share the badge, this campaign (http://bit.ly/RCBDSZ) and your words against bullying via Facebook and tag (BookSparksPR) so they can share too!
• Rate it: Head over to Goodreads and rate Ilie Ruby's The Salt God's Daughter. It’s a 5-star beautiful book about love, family, and surviving bullying! http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13584821-the-salt-god-s-daughter
• Buy it: If you buy Ilie Ruby’s book, The Salt God’s Daughter, let BookSparksPR know and they'll match with a donation to an anti-bullying organization. On October 24th only, if you buy the book for you, a friend, a holiday gift (great for mothers, daughters, friends, book clubs, etc) or all the above, send your receipt(s) and they'll be donating up to 20% of book sales that day (based on emailed receipts) to the "I Choose" anti-bullying campaign in support of BookSparksPR Speaks Out Against Bullying and all these victims. Buy on Indie Bound; Buy on Amazon; or Buy on Barnes & Noble. Send receipts to contests@SparkPointStudio.com