A Happy Ending
Each time someone reads "First Night of Summer", it helps to raise awareness for the safety and welfare of children.
I was touched to hear the story of a reader just the other day. He came to me and explained that his daughter is a single mother with an eight-year-old daughter of her own. He recently found out that she had a new boyfriend hanging around, and wondered if he should look the guy up--just for fun and to satisfy his curiosity. What he found blew him away and came as a shock.
The new boyfriend had a record, and a full conviction as a sex-offender with a child. The father called his daughter immediately and explained the situation. She was dumbfounded. The very next day, the boyfriend was scheduled to babysit her eight-year-old daughter by himself at a nearby water park.
Because this little girl's grandfather had just finished "First Night of Summer", the seed was planted that people are not always who they appear to be. He discovered that his granddaughter's future caretaker had the potential, and history, to cause her harm.
I have always said, if "First Night of Summer" can save ONE child from a terrible experience, all the difficulty in creating it will have been worth it. And now it is!
I share this because our world is too uncomfortable, by and large, to speak of the taboo subject--child predation. Only through awareness can we protect the innocent. Join me and help raise awareness through fiction.
I was touched to hear the story of a reader just the other day. He came to me and explained that his daughter is a single mother with an eight-year-old daughter of her own. He recently found out that she had a new boyfriend hanging around, and wondered if he should look the guy up--just for fun and to satisfy his curiosity. What he found blew him away and came as a shock.
The new boyfriend had a record, and a full conviction as a sex-offender with a child. The father called his daughter immediately and explained the situation. She was dumbfounded. The very next day, the boyfriend was scheduled to babysit her eight-year-old daughter by himself at a nearby water park.
Because this little girl's grandfather had just finished "First Night of Summer", the seed was planted that people are not always who they appear to be. He discovered that his granddaughter's future caretaker had the potential, and history, to cause her harm.
I have always said, if "First Night of Summer" can save ONE child from a terrible experience, all the difficulty in creating it will have been worth it. And now it is!
I share this because our world is too uncomfortable, by and large, to speak of the taboo subject--child predation. Only through awareness can we protect the innocent. Join me and help raise awareness through fiction.
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Ceej
(new)
Jul 14, 2013 11:08PM
That is inspiring. Its never a bad idea to do anything and everything we can to protect our children. I have two myself and would rather seem over protective than under! My kids are such precious gifts! <3
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Absolutely, Ceej. What's strange is how most people don't want to even think about his type of thing, much less talk about it---regardless of how real and common it is. There's a fine line between fear and awareness. My goal is to raise awareness, not instil fear. I fail to see how we can go wrong with that. Thanks for the comment. Also, if you would like to hear an interview I did with Author Magazine, check out the link below.
http://authormagazine.org/interviews/...
