Category Archives: Uncategorized

Web Accessibility for Blind Americans: Obama’s Broken Promise

Most Americans take the internet for granted. Banking, accessing medical records, making reservations, shopping and school/work-related research are routinely done online. Blind Americans, however, who rely on text-to-speech software (aka screen readers) are being left behind. And, why? The technology … Continue reading

Posted in Accessibility, ADA, Blindness, Disability, Print Disabilities, Uncategorized, Visually Impaired | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Challenger’s Challenge: 30 Years Later, a Street Performer turned Author Remembers

Six weeks before the Challenger catastrophe (1/28/86), I bought my first home. I moved from Philadelphia’s Germantown section, where I’d spent eleven years as an apartment-dweller, into the magically wonderful, Montgomery County neighborhood of Glenside. Rich, my soon-to-be-husband, and I … Continue reading

Posted in authors, memoir, songwriting, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

An Author’s Life Without Accessible Websites and an Easy Fix: Sign This Petition to Wake Up Obama

I just spent two-plus hours composing the following tech-support email to LinkedIn Customer Experience Advocate, Carina. It demonstrates, if you can stand to read it, why blind people need President Obama to release regulations for web accessibility. These regulations are … Continue reading

Posted in Accessibility, ADA, Blindness, Uncategorized, Wrighting | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Hunter with ring over his nose

Well, I didn’t mean to post this, just to add it to my library. But, now that it’s here … Hunter figured out a new way to carry his red rubber ring.

Posted in Dogs, Guide dogs, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Featured Book: The Heart of Applebutter Hill by Donna W. Hill

Originally posted on Jamaica Pen Publishers:
The Heart of Applebutter Hill The Heart of Applebutter Hill book 14-year-old Adiaphoran refugees Baggy and Abigail are a bit cynical, as they are alone in a new country. Rounded up with other refugee kids,…

Posted in adventure-mystery, authors, Blindness, Disability, Dogs, Education, fantasy, Guide dogs, novel, Print Disabilities, Uncategorized, Visually Impaired, young adult | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Writing: the What & Why of It

The written word permeates all aspects of our lives. Even if we exclude books, newspapers and magazines, our world is filled with documents of identification and ownership, insurance policies, medical records, instructions and warnings. The written word is etched into … Continue reading

Posted in authors, Education, Literacy, Uncategorized, Wrighting, Writing Process | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Writer’s Rant: Unchain Me from This PC!

Hope springs eternal … at least until it is dashed on the rocks of reality. Whether it’s a month, a year or a decade, perceptions of that perfect house, job, community or relationship can switch from a beautiful thing to … Continue reading

Posted in Accessibility, ADA, authors, Blindness, Uncategorized, Visually Impaired, Wrighting | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

National Poetry Month: a Tribute from a Fictional Creative Writing Class

“No, you go first.” Here’s a chapter from my novel The Heart of Applebutter Hill. It’s the first day of the summer term at the Plumkettle Learning Center. Our heroine, 14-year-old Abigail, her guide dog Curly Connor and best friend … Continue reading

Posted in authors, Blindness, Braille, novel, poetry, Uncategorized, Visually Impaired, Wrighting, young adult | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Writers’ Gazebo: Assumptions & Directions

Good writers take great pains to make their work perfect. Whether it’s an article, story, novel or the text for a marketing campaign, they check and double-check to ensure that spelling and grammar conform to current standards. They labor over … Continue reading

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Writer’s Gazebo: Tips to Improve Your Writing Through Empathetic Thought & Precision Editing

After several decades of observing and writing about my fellow inhabitants of Planet Earth, I can’t recall ever thinking that anyone didn’t have a story to tell. Whether it is the true account of your life’s journey, your perspectives on … Continue reading

Posted in authors, Uncategorized, Wrighting | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment