As a way of reaching out to those teenagers who, for whatever reason, feel the need to turn to drug use in order to cope, I wrote a young adult novel called The Teenage Wars. I felt this title particularly appropriate because these days, teenagers are fighting a war. The motivation behind my writing this novel began when I read a newspaper article about a Detroit mother who turned her son in to the police because he had become involved with drugs. The chain reaction of thoughts that ran through my mind when I read that news article resulted in the writing of my novel which has since been published. I thought that if a mother loved her son enough to do more than just threaten him with some form of punishment, perhaps other young people would respond and shun drugs if their parents cared enough to take affirmative actions. I can still remember a time when parents actually took an interest in their children's lives. School sports, Little League games, and other school activities used to bring out the parents in large numbers. I wrote this book because I care enough about young people and the world they're forced to live in these days to want them to take affirmative actions in their lives. There was a time when parents took on that responsibility. But lately parents seem to have abandoned that role in favor of their own vanities and self-absorbed lifestyles. It is my most sincere hope and belief that teenagers can take a stand and give themselves a life without these artificial and damaging drugs which are all too readily available these days. No one should have to rely on the crutch of a drug-altered life - each and every young person should have the chance to be themselves, to be all they can be, and be, above all, free to achieve a life filled with hope and a future filled with life. J.A. Fulkerson, Author