Justin Bieber- Another teen idol gone crazy

Justin Bieber is all over the news and social networking sites as though he were the first teen idol to go a little crazy after becoming an adult. He is not the first one to go through such a horrible downfall in an attempt to change his goody-goody image though. There were many before him. It started with teen idols from the seventies. They see fame the likes of which most adults couldn’t even handle, then the charm wears off. What is left is this empty shell of a person who wants to shake the squeaky clean image.

Some teen idols go on a short lived downfall and turn themselves around very quickly. There was Brittany Spears. She went into a tail spin for a little while, picked herself up and moved forward. Then there were people like Justin Timberlake who moved, quite smoothly, into an adult career without the major downfall. Shaun Cassidy simply moved from teen idol status to a comfortable position behind the scenes. Leif Garrett is one of the most often discussed teen idols who fell quite hard from his pedestal and he is still paying the price for that.

This is definitely not a new problem. It is as old as the title “teen idol”. Andy Gibb suffered the same thing. Unfortunately, he died at a very young age and his talent is now a long ago memory of a fresh, young life that was destroyed by fame and fortune. I have to be totally honest here. I hope and pray that Justin Bieber pulls out of this funk he seems to have found himself in. I hope that people will stop judging him and start realizing that we all perpetuate this type of thing. They are human beings with feelings and virtually no private life to speak of. That’s a lot to handle at that age, even if they wanted it and brought on themselves. They can’t do it without our permission.

Danny’s Grace revolves around Danny Rush’s life and has more to do with child abuse than it does about teen idols, but it didn’t help that he became famous as a teen idol. He’s a lost soul who needs a lot of help from someone who is willing to stand by him no matter what. Maybe that’s what Justin Bieber needs right now. A little understanding and a lot of repercussions for his actions. Just ask anyone who has seen that kind of fame. It doesn’t do them any good to never hear the word ‘no’.

Read Danny Rush's story of the disgraceful downfall of a teen idol. Pre-order your copy of Danny's Grace today.

Ironic, isn't it?

Danny's Grace officially went on pre-sale status yesterday. It was a proud moment for me, and still is. The ironic part is that the book is dedicated to 10-year-old Kami Ring, a girl who died at the hands of someone she trusted. This morning, the local paper did an updated story on the case. The Cecil Whig reported about the man who allegedly committed the crime. I won't mention his name here because I would rather give the spotlight to the beautiful young lady instead. 

No child should suffer from physical harm by anyone's hand, especially not the hand of someone they love and trust. It's not okay. It's disgraceful, heartbreaking, and uncalled for. May Kami and all children like her rest in the loving arms of God. Amen.

I am very proud to announce that pre-orders are now being taken for Danny's Grace. There are two ways to order. Order by using the payment button below to get an autographed copy of the book. This option is exclusively for those who visit this blog. 

You do not have to have a PayPal account to order via the Buy Now button. If you do not have an account, simply click on the "Don't have a PayPal account?" link. You can then pay with a credit card. Thank you for your support. I hope you enjoy reading Danny's Grace as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Autographed copies are available for a limited time only. Order today to make sure you get your copy.

Warning: May contain offensive language

Danny gets around. Here is a little excerpt to remind us that no matter how bad we have it, some people have it worse. And there is always a wolf prowling at the door:

You want to know why I’m talkin’ different? Come here. Closer. Closer. Come on, move in here. I smacked you in the forehead? Me? I wouldn’t do that. Listen. These people, they can’t hear me say this. There’s a way you have to talk down here. This ain’t uptown like we used to be. This is as downtown as it gets. Look around you my friend. Look at the bricks coming loose from these apartment buildings. Look, look down there. You see it? Yeah, now you’re catching on. There’s a reason those doors and windows are boarded up. There’s a lot of fires down this street. Don’t worry though. They might be boarded up, but, you don’t think that stops ‘em do you? The homeless, Idiot. Most of the people who live down here, they ain’t got no place to go. They sneak in there at night so they don’t get rained on. They light fires inside to try and cook the fucking scraps they get outta the restaurant dumpsters. Breaks my heart, it does.

Don’t be such a smartass. Why am I gonna let myself starve? You want to be like them? Go ahead. I’m not going down with you. I’m better than that. Yeah, I’ve had some setbacks. I’m still Danny Fucking Rush and I’m not going down like that. If that means keeping them down, so be it. And to finish what I started earlier; you cannot, do you hear me? You cannot let these people know that you don’t belong here. Yes, that’s alright. You can feel like you don’t belong here. You just better not let them know it. They smell fear a thousand miles away. It’s take or be taken down here. This ain’t the prissy side of town and you better not be looking for some cushy little, pen pusher’s job either. There’ ain’t none of that around here.

Excerpt from the upcoming novel, Danny's Grace. Happy Halloween!

"The ghosts."

"I don't believe in that stuff. That's just silly."

"Silly or not, that's what they believe. That's why I like to come out here. No one else is brave enough to."

Wide-eyed expressions on hot babes. I aim to please. She'll be so tight up against me, I'll need a crow bar to pry her loose. That's okay though. I think I can handle the pressure.

"Okay, I'll bite. What's this supposed legend?"

Hooked. Time to reel her in.

"Back in the 20's this was a popular spot for location shoots. A young girl, I guess about your age, came to watch her father, an actor of questionable character, work. The film was nearly done and they only had one more day of filming. As soon as that was done, they could call it a wrap. The production company had tents set up all over the place. They planned to sleep out here so they wouldn't have to travel back and forth. The daughter had her own tent. When she decided to slip off and get some sleep, her father kissed her on the forehead. He told her goodnight but ignored her when she told him that she loved him. The next morning, her father went to wake her up. He was a stickler about rising early as not to waste the day. When he reached her tent, he yelled into her. She didn't answer after he called several times. When he finally ripped the tent door aside in a fit of anger, he was stunned to find that she wasn't there."

"What did she do? Run away?"

"No. That's what they thought at first. To be sure that something else hadn't happened; they combed the beach looking for her. They hoped she had just wandered off while taking a walk. Maybe she was lost?"

"So they found her?"

"No. They searched for hours. They even searched in the water and she was nowhere to be found."

"So she must have run off then."

"That is what her father thought. He didn't seem too worried about it, so, they continued to shoot the film. They wrapped it up and left the beach thinking that she may have gone back to the city. The father arrived home and told her mother about what had happened. The mother became distraught at the thought of her daughter wandering aimlessly around the beach or, worse yet, the city. All kinds of thoughts filled her head about what could have happened to her.”

“That’s horrible! Do you think the father did something to her?”

“I don’t know. That’s possible and as soon as you let me finish, you will see why.”

“Sorry, go on.”

“The father blew it off and basically told her to get over it. She didn't even try to forget about it; it wasn't in her nature. He was a controlling man, so, she knew that he would never allow her to go search on her own. She waited until he left for work the next day and went in pursuit of her daughter."

"So the mother found her?"

"You are a mighty impatient person."

"Sorry, can't help it. Go on."

"The mother went to the beach and began to search around. She couldn't find a thing. Then she spotted that pile of rocks over there."

"That's a pretty big pile of rocks."

"Yes, it is. And if you snoop around them enough, you will find there is more to them than meets the eye. There are hidden caves in there. The mother wanted to know what had happened to her daughter, so she ventured in."

"There's no cave there. I don't see any openings."

"God's honest truth, honey. I swear, not a word of it is a lie."

"I would have to see that to believe it."

"You really ought to have more faith in me. But just to prove it to you, I'll take you in sometime. I've been through them. Pretty creepy in there though. A person could get lost in there real easy. There must be hundreds of different passages and if you take the wrong one, well, you may never find your way out."

"Okay, okay. Get the story done. I want to go swimming."

"Alright, Miss Impatient. She hiked about a mile into the cave. She held only a small candle in her hand. She had grabbed it before leaving the house. Odd, she knew, but who's to question motherly instincts? Maybe in case it got dark or something. Anyway, she got about a mile into the cave and suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.”

“You’re going to tell me something bad happened. Don’t tell me. I’d rather not know.”

"It’s okay, honey. Come on… you have to hear the rest.”

“Fine. Go ahead then but I don’t like where you are going with this.”

“There in front of her was her beautiful daughter. She had been hacked to death. She wouldn't have recognized her except her dress had been taken off of her and folded neatly. It was placed beside her mutilated body. The mother, she went stark raving mad. She came out of the cave screaming, carrying her daughter's lifeless body and ran right into the ocean. An undercurrent caught them. Turned them over like an out of control cement mixer. The bodies washed up on shore a couple of days later. The father was so overtaken with grief and bitter guilt; he went to the same spot and shot himself in the head a week later."

"So, it's their ghosts that are supposed to be here?"

"Yup. And they all come out at different times, searching for each other. They say the daughter is really searching for the love she thought her father had withheld from her. I know it’s a sad story, but life isn’t always candy corn and Pixie Stix. Sometimes it’s fire balls and Lemonheads, you know?"

Ha, tears with a smile. Just the reaction I was looking for. Oh shut up. It's the truth. That really is the legend. I just left out the part where a bunch of bums wanted the beach to themselves and made the whole thing up, except the caves. They are really there. It worked too. Shut up. You won't tell her a thing. If you do, I'll have to kill you.

"That's so sad. That's horrible! And you forgot wax lips and Pop Rocks."

"Come here. Lay your head right here on my shoulder. I think you were right. There is no such thing as ghosts."