I have a lot of disabled characters in my books, from a
werewolf who can’t grow back his legs after an incident (Werewolf’s Choice,
Para Schooled 1), to a visually impaired (some remaining vision) leader of all
the werewolves in North America (A Pack of His Own 1 through 6_. I consider
disabled people to be under-represented in books in general, just as I think people
of color are likewise excluded from some books. I’ve worked hard to rectify
both situations. I’m not a POC, but I am disabled: I’m blind. Almost totally.
“How can you be blind but still retain some vision? Isn’t
the term ‘blind’ an absolute?” Nope. According to the National Federation of
the Blind, of which I’m a member, “blind” is defined as a condition that
effects how you live your life without some, much, or all of your eyesight. I
can still see my fiancé’s half-purple hair, and the color of her service dog’s
poodly self: auburn drifting to brown. But I can no longer read print or see my
computer to do edits. This is unacceptable, and so I turn to a screen reader
for help. A screen reader is a program that reads everything on a screen, not
just the stuff in Word (or your Google or Apple equivalent) but *everything*,
sometimes whether you want it to or not!
I wanted to introduce you to my visually impaired
SearchLight (like Men in Black but for magical creatures instead of aliens)
professor, Charlie McLaughlin. His first book which contains two full-length
novels, is currently on sale for $0.99 at this link:
Charlie, or as he’s known by the
end of his first book, Tilthos Charles, is a strong telepath who uses all of
his senses to get around, but when he’s deprived of his white cane, he’s less
than graceful.
I totally based Tilthos Charles’s
level of vision on what I had at the time. I wrote his book back in 2012, although
it’s been re-released by Changeling Press, and I had a lot more eyesight at the
time.
I love the disabled world, which
is both less and more connected than that of the LGBTQ+ community because there
are so many disabilities that it’s hard to relate, and yet having a disability usually
predisposes a person to be more understanding of another’s disability. Usually.
If you
want to learn more about writing blind, please check out my newsletter at this
link: https://forms.gle/EcEcXXa6CQXB1EwbA
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Blurbs:
Hunter’s Claim: Luis Delgado, psychic vampire, can deal with
lust. That’s one of the fun parts of being a psychic vampire. What he can’t
handle is falling in love with the half wolf who wants nothing to do with him.
Almost nothing. Charlie can’t resist the sex. But Charlie has
become alpha of an eros pack, whom he must protect at all costs, and the
TruWolves terrorist group wants to destroy everyone who supports peace between
the straight and LGBT wolves. How can there be time for love?
Tracker’s Fate: Ethan is afraid his job as a tracker -- execution
chief among his duties -- will keep other wolves away and cripple his soul.
Jeremy wants children. He is not bisexual, though, and can’t imagine seeking
out a female wolf just to have pups.
When these two are thrown into a murder mystery where the bystanders
are not so innocent, can Ethan and Jeremy find their way to true love?
Excerpt from Hunter’s Claim
The soft light of hanging lamps with thick shades lit
Charlie McLaughlin’s classroom. The air smelled faintly of the plants in the
windows. To preclude distorting echoes, the concrete walls were hung with thick
carpets.
Charlie settled into one of the available chairs in the
circle and listened to his students find their places. Even though he could see
their vague shapes, his visual impairment prevented him from making out fine
details. Such as what their faces look like. He smirked inwardly.
Charlie scented nervousness from some of them, and others
exuded excitement. Only two seemed calm. When his watch read ten a.m., he
shuffled the papers in his lap and sat forward.
All conversation and extraneous noise stopped.
“Relax,” Charlie said. “This is the review session for your
midterm. No one’s going to be graded today.” He ran his index finger over the
list of names on his attendance sheet. Braille wasn’t his first choice when
reading. Most of the time he listened to a computer or recording. But for
attendance sheets, braille was ideal. “I take it only Sherri is missing?”
“Yes, sir,” said Malik, one of only two sylphs in this
year’s freshman class.
The door opened, and Charlie inhaled, testing the air. He
smiled. “You’re late, Sherri. You’re lucky this session isn’t mandatory.”
“She was escorting me, Professor McLaughlin. It’s been a
while since I’ve been here, and you’ve moved your classroom.”
Charlie didn’t turn to face the intruder. Damn it.
SearchLight trackers think they have permission to wear their concealment
charms off duty as well as on. Those charms mitigated smell, sound, and
sight. Charlie wanted to throw the sneaky bastard out of his room on general
principle.
Buy links:
A Pack of His Own (Duet) Vol. 1 (A Pack of His Own 1)
Amazon
Changeling Press
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