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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Congrats to one of our Central CT memters, Noreen
Grice. Hubby John found the below info.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Anne West</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>The link from SellingBooks.com<BR><BR><A class=moz-txt-link-freetext
href="http://www.sellingbooks.com/noreen-grice-everyone%E2%80%99s-universe/">http://www.sellingbooks.com/noreen-grice-everyone%E2%80%99s-universe/</A><BR><BR><BR><BR></DIV>
<H1 class=entry-title>Noreen Grice – Everyone’s Universe</H1>
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<DIV class=left>Written by <A
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fn nickname url"
title="View all posts by Cathy B Stucker"
href="http://www.sellingbooks.com/author/Cathy%20Stucker/" rel=author>Cathy B
Stucker</A> in <A title="View all posts in Author Interviews"
href="http://www.sellingbooks.com/category/author-interviews/"
rel="category tag">Author Interviws</A><BR></DIV></DIV>
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<P><B>What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it. </B></P>
<P>My most recent book is called <A
href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098335670X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=sb04e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=098335670X">Everyone’s
Universe: A Guide to Accessible Astronomy Places</A><IMG
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(2011). It’s both an education and travel guide. The first part of the book
shows educators how to make astronomy and the night sky more accessible to
people through mobility access, non-visual access, non-hearing access and
non-verbal communication access. The second part of the book is a friendly
state-by-state travel guide to already accessible astronomy destinations such as
planetariums and observatories. The theme of the book is that even if you have a
disability, you can still actively participate in learning about the night
sky.</P>
<P><B>Tell us something about yourself.</B></P>
<P>I was born and raised in Malden Massachusetts, a suburb just north of Boston,
by a single parent and grandmother. I loved watching space-related programs and
reading astronomy books as a child.</P>
<P>In 1984, during my senior year as an astronomy major in college, I started
working part time in the Boston Museum of Science presenting planetarium shows.
About a month later, group of blind students attended one of my planetarium
shows. The program was pre-recorded and the manager told me to just help this
group to find their seats. At the end of the show, I wondered what these
students thought about their planetarium experience so I asked them. Their
response changed my life. They told me “the show stunk” and walked away. From
that moment, I vowed to find a way to make astronomy accessible to people who
are blind. I began investigating ways to make touchable images and how to make
the planetarium shows and topics in astronomy more accessible. This work led me
to write my first book, Touch the Stars, which has touchable images and text in
print and Braille. The Museum of Science published it in 1990 and it is now in
its 4th edition and published by National Braille Press. This book led to
several books with NASA: Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy
(2002), Touch the Sun: A NASA Braille Book (2005) and Touch the Invisible Sky: A
Multi-Wavelength Braille Book Featuring Tactile NASA Images (2007). I have also
written a children’s book, The Little Moon Phase Book (2005) and designed
tactile graphics for NASA exhibits.</P>
<P><B>What inspired you to write this new book? </B></P>
<P>Over the years, people would come up to me at conferences and write to me and
say that they needed ideas to make astronomy more accessible to special needs
groups. Or a person with a disability would write and ask for ideas on visiting
observatories. I decided to combine these two themes into one book and expand
beyond visual accessibility to include barriers faced by people who use wheel
chairs, people who can’t hear and people who can’t communicate by speech. This
book is different from my other five books because it does not have Braille and
touchable images. It is available in large print, Kindle, EPub and Accessible
PDF.</P>
<P><B>How did you choose the title?</B></P>
<P>I chose the title, Everyone’s Universe, because that’s how I feel personally.
It really is everyone’s universe and there are strategies to remove barriers
from access to telescopes and astronomy enrichment programs. I provide the
blueprint and examples of places that have already made their facilities more
accessible.</P>
<P><B>What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did
you overcome them?</B><BR>I had never worked with a book designer before but
fortunately met one at my first meeting of the Connecticut Authors and
Publishers Association. He guided me step-by-step in details to self-publish my
book, such as ISBN numbers and Library of Congress registration.</P>
<P>I also discovered that even if you create an accessible PDF version of your
book (for people who read by listening to the computer), current book
distribution software does not allow you to upload the book and maintain the
accessibility features with security features. This required me to create
individual CD copies of Everyone’s Universe to sell.</P>
<P><B>How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get
started?</B></P>
<P>I worked at the Boston Museum of Science Planetarium for 26 years. My work
involved writing a variety of brochures, reports, and scripts. But it was that
one experience with the group of blind students that got me really thinking…no
one had made astronomy accessible before so I needed to do that!</P>
<P><B>Do you have any writing rituals?</B></P>
<P>When I have an idea at night, I write a note and put it in my shoe. Then I’m
sure to find it the next morning!</P>
<P><B>Did you learn anything from writing and publishing this book? What?
</B></P>
<P>I learned that there are a lot of things going on in the background when you
have a publisher versus self-publishing. Having to do your own marketing takes a
lot of time. I am passionate about making science accessible to people with
disabilities and speaking on this topic. If I can help remove perceptual
barriers between students by providing materials that can be used by all
students (versus colorful slick book for sighted students and dull Braille book
for blind students) this helps people see each other as equal peers.</P>
<P><B>What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors?
</B></P>
<P>I read a variety of books including topics on business, travel and
biographies. I enjoy reading the Little House on the Prairie stories, Anne of
Green Gables, and the inspirational writings of’ Helen Keller. I’ve read many of
Bill Bryson’s Travel Books – he is so funny!</P>
<P><B>What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or
publishing?</B></P>
<P>Join a writers group where you can learn new skills and pick up writing
strategies. Work with an experienced book designer!</P>
<P><B>Who is the perfect reader for your book? </B></P>
<P>Everyone’s Universe is an important resource for science educators (teachers,
museum/planetarium/observatory staff, and astronomy club members who offer star
parties for the public). This book is also a great resource for people with
disabilities and/or family members who are interested in natural science. W can
make the universe more accessible together!</P>
<P><B>Where can readers learn more about you and your book?</B></P>
<P>To learn more about Everyone’s Universe and other books written by Noreen
Grice, please visit <A href="http://www.youcandoastronomy.com" target=_blank>You
Can Do Astronomy</A> homepage.<BR></P>
<P><A
href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098335670X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=sb04e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=098335670X">
Picture of the book cover <IMG
class="alignright size-full
wp-image-15068"
title=EveryonesUniverse height=450 alt=""
src="cid:002d01ccb2a4$8ad223f0$6402a8c0@anne1" width=300> </A><BR><A
href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098335670X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=sb04e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=098335670X">Noreen's
photo from article <IMG class="alignleft size-full wp-image-15070"
title=NoreenGrice height=230 alt=""
src="cid:002e01ccb2a4$8ad223f0$6402a8c0@anne1"
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