Billie Holladay Skelley—Guest Blog Post 3-8-2026

As a nurse and a writer, I enjoy attending book fairs and talking to children and parents about their interests and what they like to read. I participate in several book fairs each year, and I’ve met hundreds of people, but one interaction has always remained with me.
 
It occurred several years ago, when I was attending a holiday fair in a small town in Missouri. This particular book fair was held in the local library, and it was well attended.  By and large, everyone was in a festive mood, and the fair had proved to be a very popular and positive event.
 
When it was about fifteen minutes before this event was scheduled to end, a woman approached my table and began looking at my books. After studying a few of them, she asked me if I had anything for a young girl to read about relationship violence.
 
She told me she had been unsuccessful in finding any material about dating violence, and unfortunately, I did not have anything available either. Needless to say, her comments caught me off guard—especially when she confided that her 13-year-old daughter had been attacked and sexually assaulted earlier that week. We talked long after everyone else had left the fair, and the distress in this woman’s eyes was the reason I decided to write Spice Secret: A Teen’s Cautionary Diary.
 
As a nurse, I know that it has been estimated in the United States that approximately 1.5 million high school students experience physical abuse from a dating partner annually. Most parents, however, don’t think dating violence is an issue or are not aware of it as a problem. Beyond the physical abuse, many victims may also experience verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse.
 
While some students can relate to statistical reports and direct facts in medical studies, I know other students respond more to fictional/story-type material—and that is another reason why I wrote Spice Secret: A Teen’s Cautionary Diary. This book does not provide all the answers or have solutions for every situation, but my hope is that this fictional account sparks discussion among students regarding what is acceptable behavior and what is not acceptable behavior in a healthy relationship. I only wish I’d had the book at that book fair years ago when I talked with that concerned mother.
 
I believe there is a real need to foster discussion among middle school and high school students regarding dating and relationship violence—and I hope Spice Secret: A Teen’s Cautionary Diary will help to augment that discussion. With all the time students spend on social media and in relative isolation these days, I feel healthy relationship guidance is more important today than ever.
               
https://www.amazon.com/Spice-Secret-Teens-Cautionary-Diary/dp/1959489070