Battle of the Bullies by Fenyx Blue - Book Tour + Giveaway
What made you write a book about bullying?
When I was a high school student, I was an unconventional popular student. I was the cheerleader who sat with those who no one else would sit with in the cafeteria. I was the student council vice president who invited all students to the dance, especially those who had never attended a dance or did not have a date. I was the friend who told a skinny classmate who felt uncomfortable in her own skin that she was beautiful. She has now gone on to become a supermodel. Most people expect me to say I was bullied as a child, but I have always been an upstander. That is how I know how important it is to be an upstander for those who are bullied. I wrote about bullying because I have witnessed bullied students become great human beings with the help of upstanders. I want to inspire teens to become upstanders for those who are targeted by bullies. We may not be able to change the hearts of all bullies, but we can encourage students to no longer stand by and allow bullying to happen.
As an advocate against bullying, I am always
shocked that people do not believe that girls can be bullies. I am even more shocked when they say that
they can only be “mean girls.” Battle of
The Bullies provides a look at all of the types of bullying that girls
participate in including isolation, gossiping, physical bullying, and cyber
bullying. It also shows the danger of
anonymity and silence. Bullies of all
genders get away with harming others because of the silence of their
enemies. We need more brave teenagers
who will speak up instead of keeping secrets for bullies.
My high school English teacher, Mr. Torrence,
said I would become a teacher. He was
correct. I thought I would be a lawyer
or a doctor, but I am so happy to be an educator. I have the pleasure of encouraging students
to love to read each day. I also help
other teachers to engage their students, to motivate them, and to help them to
grow as learners in my role as an instructional coach. Each author is unique, but I appreciate
having two professions that compliment one another: I teach students who tell me what they wish
they could read about and as an author I am able to make their wishes come
true.
After I successfully published four books,
aspiring writers began to reach out to me to help them along their writing
journey. I am so excited to be helping
future writers to publish their books. I
am finalizing Book III in The Triplet Trilogy, but I am having as much fun
helping eager writers to make their dreams come true. One of my current writers is a teacher who is
writing a book on financial literacy. I
am sure his book will make a difference and change many lives for the better.
I will not pretend to be perfect or 100 %
balanced as a mompreneur. Some days I am
60% author and 40% mompreneur and some days I am 80% mommy and 20%
authorpreneur. My kids and I create our
calendar together. They are the
priority, but they know that their Mommy does many projects so that other kids
can become heroes. I have told them that
I hope to save lives, prevent crimes, and protect the innocent. The calendar has been helpful because I can
plan everything out by month. We make
the hard choices of what is a must do versus what is a may do activity. Since I have two teenage children, they have
fewer demands on my time, but I love that they know that they get first choice
when it comes to my time.
I imagine myself during the Harlem Renaissance
in New York. Langston Hughes is
introducing me as I come to the microphone to recite a poem. I imagine jazz playing in the background. My outfit makes the audience sit up in their
seats. They admire my feathers, beaded
gown, and pearls. The room is filled
with playwrights, artists, musicians, and creative, cultural icons. I want to be in the room with the thinkers,
trailblazers, and history makers in Harlem.
I was created to create. I am
gifted to give. I would want to go back
to a place where innovation was welcomed.
Deciding to write a book takes courage, but I
would like to share the time that I stepped out of my comfort zone to be
brave. I was in Army ROTC in
college. I had a gun, a uniform, and a
mission. My instructor told us to climb
to the top of the stands. I was afraid
of heights, but I knew that failure was not an option with this military
man. I knew that he would not take fear
as an excuse so I began to climb. I
looked up to the sky as it got closer and closer to me hoping to reach the top
without having a heart attack. My
heartbeat matched the university band’s pulsating beats. I made it to the top only to hear him say,
“On my count, rappel.” Our entire squad
was to rappel down the stands in unison while fans cheered us on from below. This required facing my fear, literally. You know how they say your entire life
flashes by when you face death or destruction?
It wasn’t true. I didn’t see what
I had experienced in life, I saw what I wanted to be. I wanted to be fearless. I decided I would not be afraid again in the
future. If I could win the battle with anxiety,
I could win future wars, too.
Enter the Giveaway:
2 Comments
Very nice cover. I like the blurb. I like that it talks about bullying, a very real issue, and I like that the sisters are triplets. Sounds like a good book for younger readers. Thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read.
ReplyDeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.