Talking Programs Are Not A Blind Girls Best Friend

Greetings and salutations!

Though it's probably seemed like it lately, no I have not dropped off the face of the Earth. There has been a lot going on that has prevented me from posting. The first and most annoying is the talking program on my new computer.

It doesn't like me much and believe me, the feeling is mutual. I am a JAWS girl through and through, but unfortunately, that is not what I'm running on my new laptop. Therefore, I come to you now after charging up my old one. The new program won't let me access Blogger for some God foresaken reason.

I'm sure it isn't the fault of the program and that is why I am not naming it here. I don't wish to give it bad marks in the virtual world. As we all know, those can be quite damaging and last forever.

I think the problem boils down to simple operator error and nothing more. I assure you that I'm working on it and one way or another, will figure it out. I have to... even though it's seriously cramping my style.

I will if nothing else keep this laptop charged just for the blog and promise to post again soon. Thank you to all my loyal followers. I love you all and will talk to you soon.

A Little About New Projects And A Little About Clandstine

I just got back from camping today and it’s been a very productive writing day. My kids have been absorbed in activities that they haven’t been able to do much in the last week or so which has allowed me to be very efficient with my latest project.

I am super excited about it because the main character of this one is a totally blind person. It isn’t as easy as you would think to write a character like that. Sure I can’t see so I can easily get into the person’s head to write them that’s true. But a reader (especially a sighted reader) wants description. A blind reader wants description too but for a different reason. I live by the saying that an audio book is a blind person’s television. This is because you don’t miss anything when you read like you do when you listen to your favorite show or movie.

Anyway as always I’m veering off track. In order to make a blind main character work affectively I have decided to make her someone who became blind rather than someone who was born that way. She has only been blind for a year so she is still in the stage where she is pretty much a Debbie Downer on the subject. It hasn’t dawned on her yet in the book that blindness isn’t the end of the world.

I went through a lot of mixed emotions when I lost my sight. I have also had gobs of people ask what that was like and how it felt. I thought it would be a good element to add to the story of such a multi faceted character.

The book is still in the beginning stages so I don’t want to give away much but I will tell you that I’m only at chapter 4 and I’m already falling in love with it. Don’t get me wrong I love Clandestine too but in an entirely different way. The Bound In Blood series is fun to write and I have put a lot into it. But with this project I’ve really delved into my soul and put a piece of my soul into it.

I hope you adore this story as much as I do. I am unsure yet if it will be a series but can definitely see the potential for one with the plot that is unraveling.

I promise to keep you up to date on that and also with the second book in the Bound In Blood series Divinity whenever possible. I know I have been neglecting my blogs lately and for that I’m sorry, I truly am. But its summer time so both kids are home full time, we’ve been camping a bunch and also been devoted to the new books I’m working on coupled with getting Clandestine out for your viewing pleasure.

There have been a lot of questions about whether or not Clandestine will be made into an audio book. When it is released it will only be available in print and EBook. BUT I promise that an audio version will be made available as soon as that is possible. Unfortunately, the production of an audio book is very expensive. I looked into hiring a narrator but the cheapest I have found is five hundred dollars and right now that is just not an option for me. That is definitely one down side to self publishing, accessible formats take a while if they come at all.

I have been looking into finding someone I know read it for me but that isn’t as easy as it looks either. I have to be sure the person has the right quality and tone to their voice to portray Emily as well as the rest of the slayer gang. It will be done I promise. I’m just not sure when.

I will write again soon and let you know how things are going. PS… I will be posting this same post on both my blogs so all of you will be equally informed.

Furthering Site Accessibility Furthers Your Reach

I have discovered the coolest feature that can be added to a blog. Thanks to the site Odiogo bloggers can now make their blogs more fully interactive and accessible for all readers. It makes every blog post you write or static page you create an audio file that can be listened to. The service is free and easy to incorporate into your site.

I found it via another blog on blindness. It is called Beautifully Blind It is ran by a creative and insightful woman named Robin. The only thing I had to do to sign up for the awesome service was enter my site address and Email address. After that it prompts you to implement an Odiogo widget to your site to finalize the set up. That process took just a few minutes. Once all that was done check your site!

Depending on the amount of content on your site, it might not be completely done. But chances are you will be able to at least see that some of the audio files for your blog posts are done.

Sure it is a compute rated voice reading my words to the world. But, it is a voice that in my opinion is much better than the voice of JAWS. I think readers will like this option very much.

The other cool aspect is that people will have the ability to subscribe to the audio files. HA how cool is that? Now not only you are a blogger but you are a podcaster too! Once they subscribe they can have access to your blog posts off the computer. For instance, if a person subscribes to your podcast via ITunes, every time they sink their device to the computer your latest masterpieces will be available to them.

This means your readers will have yet another way to enjoy your words on the go. Thus, furthering your message to the world.

I am so excited to have found this feature and hope that my readers will love it as much as I do.

To subscribe to my podcast simply look under the heading “Subscribe to My Podcast” and follow the link. It will take you to the page that will allow you to do so. If you run a blog and are interested in the service you can check it out at Odiogo