Tough Cookies

Some days, I struggle with what to write here. Today, I'm giving you all a taste of what my new series Mystic is about, and what message I'm trying to convey by writing it. Disclaimer: This is my author's note from the book. It will appear in every copy. People need to understand my message. If I make a difference in just one person, I'll feel like I did my job as an author.

Without further ado:

I see our world falling apart with hate. I’m not a person who preaches there should be no war or we should share in free love. What I am is someone who understands just because one person is different from another, it doesn’t make them less than human and doesn’t make them less deserving of my acceptance. I don’t hate or judge because I wouldn’t like to be hated or judged myself.

Everyone makes choices. Every single person on the planet is different in their own way. I choose my religion and my beliefs. There are some things I didn’t choose. Those things are what make me different from you, and what make you different from the person next to you.

Maybe you’ve made a choice I don’t believe in or that goes against my strong values. I’m going to try to understand you either way. No one told me it was up to me to shove my beliefs or values down your throat. So, for example, if you’re a Christian person and I’m an Atheist or Agnostic, would you want me to tell you you’re wrong for being a Christian? No. You’d want me to understand and realize your choices aren’t mine and you’re free to do and believe what you want. You’d want me to leave you alone so you can practice your beliefs with security and safety.

I wish for nothing more than a world where people understand the Golden Rule and actually live by it. As you read my Mystic series, try to understand what hate does when brought down upon the head of someone who is different or who makes choices other than what you might have made. Try to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. Learn how hate can grow and be nearly impossible to stop. Study how to be accepting to those who didn’t choose the path you did. Discover their reasoning instead of casting them off. I promise you, they are struggling anyway. Don’t make their struggle more difficult than it already is.

WSTW (Women Save the World) is not a real company as of the date of this book’s publication. I wish it were. We all have strength in us and the only way we’re going to be able to battle hatred is when we quit hating each other and ourselves. Hate manifests just like the creature in this series. Start looking around and you’ll see it, too.

I’m sure I’m living in a fantasy land, wishing for all of the above; but I am a writer, after all, and if I cannot find solace in my words, I fear there may be nothing left to hope for. What a sad ending that would be…

Pick up a copy of Mystic ~ Bronya when it releases on Tuesday, August 21, 2012. Read it. Come back here and tell me how you felt about what happens to Bronya.

Have you ever been put down for your choices or ridiculed? Did you change your beliefs or did it just make you angry? What did you do in response?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo