About the Author

Donna W. Hill is a writer, musician, speaker and avid knitter from Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains. An online journalist, her subjects range from music and knitting to blindness issues and chocolate. A songwriter with three recordings, she is marketing her first novel, The Heart of Applebutter Hill, a high school mystery with excursions into fantasy. The book has received prepublication reviews and recommendations from professionals in education, rehabilitation and the arts as a valuable tool for diversity inclusivity and anti-bullying initiatives for middle school and older students.

Purchase The Heart of Applebutter Hill & Provide Braille Books for Blind Students

Print copies are available at these & other outlets.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1483948226
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4000964

eBook versions can be purchased at these & other outlets.
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CNG6DDM
Nook Book: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-heart-of-applebutter-hill-donna-w-hill/1115426305?ean=2940016415000&itm=1&usri=2940016415000
7 eBook formats, including .epub, .mobi and .rtf, are available at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/313071?ref=DonnaWHill

accessible versions are available for Readers with print handicaps
Bookshare: http://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/639304

Donna’s History

Though she worked primarily as a musician for over twenty years, Hill has had a long-standing interest in journalism. Her coverage of the inauguration of President Carter was the first time that national press credentials were awarded to a blind representative of a radio reading service.

Legally blind from Retinitis Pigmentosa, Donna is a volunteer publicist for the National Federation of the Blind, Writers Division and other NFB divisions. She developed a free resource for other volunteer publicists, through the Writers Division.

Hill’s motivation is the continued struggles of blind Americans to gain acceptance and opportunity — problems that persist despite legislative change, advances in technology and the extraordinary achievements of some blind individuals. Two thirds of working-age, blind Americans are unemployed. Only ten percent of blind kids are taught Braille, despite strong Braille-literacy/success links.

Hopes that the digital revolution would level the playing field for blind Americans are threatened. Disability rights laws are failing to insist upon accessibility for home and office appliances, software or websites. New academic studies say that these laws, when compared to other civil rights legislation, are creating a permanent underclass.

These issues rarely make mainstream news. Hill, who enjoys long walks, knitting and camping, knows that strong media presence has helped other minorities. She believes bringing the truth about blindness into the light will improve public acceptance and opportunity for all blind Americans, benefiting everyone.

In July 2010, she was recognized for her volunteer efforts by Stanford University’s Stanford Social Innovations Review, “Third Sector Grit,” by John Brothers: http://www.ssireview.org/opinion/entry/donna_hill_a_profile_in_third_sector_grit/ when

She was interviewed for Dr. Kent Gustavson’s Blind, But Now I See (2010, Blooming Twig Press) the biography of late, blind guitarist Doc Watson: http://www.docwatsonbook.com/?page_id=398

Her essay “Satori Green” appears in Rick Singer’s Now: Embracing the Present Moment (July 2011, O-Books Publishing): http://www.EmbracingthePresent.com

Her book Unopened Gifts, (1994, published with a grant from Lutheran Brotherhood) helps congregations integrate people with disabilities.

Donna’s Music

The Last Straw CD at CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill

Apple I-Tunes: phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374

Accessibility Issues for People Using Screen Readers

Screen reader users, there are issues with Word Press’s “Leave a Reply” form – which is labeled on this site “So, What Do You Think?” If you are not signed in, you should still be able to post comments, but even if you can access the edit fields and fill them out, the “Submit” button doesn’t work most of the time.

I have advised Word Press Support of this issue. The reply was, “I reported the issues you described, and they may get addressed in a future revision of comments on WordPress.com.”

Meanwhile, here’s a “temporary” solution. Every page and post now has a link labeled “Accessible Comment Form for Screen Reader Users.” It will be sent to me, and I will get it posted. The URL is: https://donnawhill.com/accessible-comment-form-for-screen-reader-users-3