Christening the Blog with Anti-Hate

Lovingly borrowed from thatguywiththeglasses.com (I love that guy!)

First posts are always the hardest, I think, because the biggest question is, "What do I talk about?" I'm a writer. Should I talk about my writing? Sure, at some point.

But, first, I'd like to talk about why I write and more importantly, why I want to write fiction for teens, tweens, and children.

Growing up, I read anything and everything I could get my hands on, but I mostly kept to the science fiction and fantasy. It was my way to escape some of the stress and unpleasantness of the real world. My family life was nice. I had loving parents, awesome siblings, fluffy pets to cuddle when I felt sad . . .

But school could be Hell. Bullying is a very serious problem and, yes, I was bullied in school. I think we all have been at some point.

According to makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org, here's how the statistics break down:

• It is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. Source: National Education Association.
  
• American schools harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their victims. Dan Olweus, National School Safety Center.
  
• 1 in 7 Students in Grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying.
  
• 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.

Growing up, I read to escape.

Now, I write to give that same escape to others.

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Ashley Leigh is an aspiring author of young adult, children's, and genre fiction. If you or someone you know is a victim of bullying, don't keep silent. Speak out. Stand up. Visit www.makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org for resources and ways you can help.