[musictlk] Blind author/singer-songwriter needs a bit of your time to help advance diversity in young adult literature

[Linda Mentink via musictlk]

This is from a friend. Please help her if you can.

Are you familiar with the diversity watchdog 
group "Diversity in YA?" They track the 
Publishers Weekly bestsellers list for Young 
Adult novels with main characters and authors 
representing minorities. Their report for 2013 
found no blind main characters and no blind authors. To read the report, go to:

http://www.diversityinya.com/2014/03/diversity-in-publishers-weeklys-2013-young-adult-bestsellers/#more-3170


My interviews and interactions with other blind 
women authors of fiction, along with my own 
experiences, suggest that we  are routinely 
rejected by the mainstream publishing industry, 
which calls our portrayals of blind girls and 
women "unrealistic." The public, we are told, 
will not accept an independent and resourceful blind female character.



My hope is that, if junior high and older 
students read books featuring realistic blind 
characters, they will be more likely to be 
inclusive as adults. Despite the law, blind 
students are still denied course material in 
accessible formats, and unemployment of otherwise 
able-bodied blind Americans -- regardless of 
their skills and education -- is higher than for 
any other minority. Especially for a 
low-incidence disability like blindness, books 
are crucial in creating a sense of familiarity 
and acceptance in the general public.



We just passed the first anniversary of the 
publication of my novel, The Heart of Applebutter 
Hill. My husband Rich was in and out of the 
hospital for over six months and is still 
suffering from the damage caused by Central 
Nervous System Lyme disease. We are doing what we 
can to promote the book, but we really need your 
help. I'm not asking you to buy anything.


The book is available through Bookshare. What I 
need is for you to read it and to write a review 
on Amazon by August 15. All you need is an Amazon 
account and enough time between now and the 
middle of August to read and review a novel. You 
would be helping me personally, as well as 
promoting diversity, since the book features a 
legally blind heroine and a secondary character 
who is totally blind, along with  other 
characters with disabilities and other 
differences. The heroine, Abigail, is a 
14-year-old shy singer-songwriter, who is just 
learning Braille and assistive technology. 
Several songs come together in the course of the 
book. One tag line is, "Mighty oak trees are 
nothing but little nuts who stood their ground."


The Heart of Applebutter Hill has received 
recommendations from professionals in the fields 
of education, rehabilitation and the arts as a 
diversity and anti-bullying classroom resource. 
You will recognize several Federationists. Their comments are at:

http://donnawhill.com/recommenders-of-the-heart-of-applebutter-hill/



Several publications that may interest you 
recently ran articles about me. In April, The 
Daisy Planet (published by the DAISY Consortium) 
ran the first of a two-part series on me:

http://www.daisy.org/stories/donna-hill-part-1 

Part #2 was recently posted at:

http://www.daisy.org/stories/donna-hill-part-2


May 28, 2014

Georgia Center for the Visually Impaired, Sightseeing blog

"Me, Braille and the Heart of Applebutter Hill"

http://www.cviga.org/sightseeing/safe_sight_braille_applebutter/?noticeId=0x4b207ee5f11aec1f&contactId=0xc1ce890b5ee45fa7 



On April 7, 2014, About.com assistive technology 
expert Andrew Leibs reviewed my novel and published:

"Fantasy Novel Keeps it Real When Portraying Assistive Technology"

http://assistivetechnology.about.com/b/2014/04/07/fantasy-novel-keeps-it-real-when-portraying-assistive-technology.htm  




Available electronic formats of The Heart of 
Applebutter Hill include .mobi (Kindle), .epub 
(Apple, Blio, Nook, Sony, etc.), .pdf, .rtf, .pdb 
and .lrf. To get yours, send me the name of your 
e-reader or the file-type you prefer. If you 
don't have an e-reader, there are free apps such 
as Kindle for PC and Adobe Digital Editions which 
allow you to read .mobi and .epub books on your 
computer. The .pdf and .rtf versions work on 
virtually any computer and devices like the 
Victor Reader Stream and Booksense.



Once you've read it, rate it on Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1483948226



This would help me, because there are free 
promotional resources for indie authors, but they 
only help people who have a minimum of 25 Amazon 
reviews with an average rating of 4.2. I have the 
rating, but have nowhere near enough reviews.



Thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

Donna


-- The Heart of Applebutter Hill - a novel on a mission:

<http://donnawhill.com/>http://DonnaWHill.com