[stylist] Introduction of a New Writer

[Jewel S.]

Hi all,

Some of you likely know me from some of the other listservs...I seem
to be everywhere these days, eh? *grin* So, I'll only give a short
introduction, and one about what brings me to this listserv.

My name is Jewel. I am 25 years old, and live in Raleigh, NC. I am a
member of the Raleigh chapter of the NFB, as well as the North
Carolina Association of Blind Students. I am a research geek, loving
to write about things I research about. So, that brings me to why I'm
here.

I write many different things. Lately, I've been doing a lot on my
blog, Treasure Chest for the Blind (found at
<http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com>), a blog about resources for
blind people, such as alternate screenreaders like NVDA, sources of
e-books, such as NLS' BARD, RFBD, and there will be one soon about the
Internet Archives, software (games, business tools, home tools, and
much more), and anything else I think people will find of use. It's
really more of a way to allow me to share with other all the amazing
things I have found on the Internet and out in the world, and also a
way for me to write often.

Beyond the blog writing, I also write for my local chapter's
newsletter. My article each month will be a Member Profile. I have
written so far, that was supposed to be in last month's, but was left
out, and will be in this month's newsletter. I've just started doing
this, and am very much enjoying the phone interview process of
learning about the members of my home chapter.

I have also written a lot of poetry. Some of it is crap, but some of
it is not half bad. Much of it can be found at poetry.com under "Amber
Gaspard," my maiden name. Some of it is quite depressing, poetry
written in my childhood, being raised by an emotionally, verbally, and
occassionally physically abusive mother. I have written poetry about
wanting to destroy a mirror and cut myself with it, about how the
tracks on my arms are reminders of my past, and descriptives of the
verbal abuse. This was a sort of therapy for myself. Some of my poetry
is more upbeat, however, like descriptives of nature much like haikus,
and medieval-style poetry about books, reading, and other stuff.

Finally, I have written a few short stories that went nowhere, but
have two books that have been slowly developing over time. The first
is a fantasy about a half-troll child searching for her past after
learning that her mother never knew how she came to be, and her search
for herself. She really is searching for herself, trying to find where
she fits in between two different worlds (troll and human), neither of
which will accept her. The story is sorta a fantasy adopted-child
story, and a few friends who were adopted said they can really relate
to the story.

The other that has developed over time is a fantasy mystery. Erica is
a young girl who has, for as far back as she can remember, had the
same dream every night, of an old man at a well. As the story
progresses, you learn more about what this dream is (or do you?), and
the story is about Erica trying to understand who she is, what this
dream means to her life, and how it has shaped her entire being.

The first book has been thus far called Unknown Past, and the second
has thus far been called simply "The Well" The first is pure fantasy;
however, the second is loosely based (at least at the beginning) on my
own life as an abused child and the dream that I often had as a child
and my own search for the meaning of the dream.

I have also written a children's book about a rabbit who lives near a
farm and decides one day to live on the farm, since the grass is
always greener, and quickly learns that he is much better off being
what he is, a rabbit, after trying to be a cat, dog, horse, chicken,
and other farm animals. It is a story of acceptance of self, at the
same time teaching about farm animals.

One last story that is not developed much at all, but is only an idea
is about a world where everyone is blind, where everyone has always
been blind, where there is no such ting as humans seeing with eyes
like people do in the real world. Instead of vision, people have echo,
a form of echolocation that sometimes is seen in children who are born
totally blind. But then a sighted child is born, then another, and
schools for the echo-impaired (those who see with their eyes, but
can't use echolocation) open, and the world slowly tries to help these
poor impaired people who have eyes like animals. It is kinda a role
reversal that has a subtle message of teaching sighted people what it
is like to be a minority as blind people are.

So, that's my stories and such, and I hope to share my writing, learn
from others, and enjoy this list.

Later,
~Jewel