16,500 Page View Party!

Holy cow guys! The blog has reached 16,500 page views! Can you believe it? Right? Me either:)

I just wanted to drop you all a quick note letting you know how much I appreciate all of you. You guys are why I keep this going.

That being said, if there are any topics you would like to see discussed in future posts, don't be afraid to let me know. How do you do that you ask? I will tell you. First you can put your idea in the comment section of this post. Or if you are not comfortable doing that, please feel free to send me a message using the contact form. You can also post ideas, suggestions and random comments on the blogs Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/playingtheblindcard

I would also like to take this opportunity to plug my other blog in hope that you will all check it out and decide to sign up to follow that one too. Signing up is easy. Just a few clicks and you're done. There you will receive the same easy going banter as you enjoy here. You can find it at http://www.authornicolerae.blogspot.com

You can also visit the Facebook page for this blog at http://www.facebook.com/authornicolerae

Thanks again for all your love and support. You encourage me every day to keep going and keep writing.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

New Years Resolutions

When this time of year roles around, everyone starts making promises to themselves. Somewhere in the world a person is vowing to lose weight, stop smoking, be nicer to others etc...

Everyone in general starts of totally devoted to their resolution. They strive to achieve their goals and aim to be a better version of themselves. This is great! Change is necessary. Without change we can not grow. If we do not grow we can never be better.

I have a fre things I want to change about myself regarding my blindy side. Therefore, I figured this was a good place to send out loud and in public proof of my promises to myself. Maybe it will make them more likely to be a success. Hey, a girl can dream can't she?

First, I want to learn more braille. Right now I barely know enough to even be classified as actual knowledge. The small town I live in doesn't have anywhere that teaches it. I know there are other resources out there and I intend to utilize those resources to the best of my ability.

Second, I want to push myself to be more daring in matters of mobility. I know how to use my cane. I know how to use public transportation and for the most part, get from one place or another. However, I want to be better. I want to pick a random place that I've never been and strive to make it there by myself. I want to step out of my comfort zone and out of my self-imposed little box and go on an adventure. No my goal isn't to be as daring as Dora or anything, but you get the idea.

Third, I want to reach out to people like me. If I can help even one person in a situation similar to mine, then I've done my job. It's crucial that we all stand up together, grab hands and realize that toegether we really can accomplish anything.

Fourth, I want to go on more than one adventure that isn't something someone would expect me to do. I'm not sure what yet, but I'm pretty creative and will think of something. Maybe I could go go-carting, sky diving, or snow boarding. It would be thrilling to feel the freedom of these activities and to also prove to myself that my blindness is not a real limitation.

No matter which of these is accomplished first or last, I aim to be better me in 2013. At the border traveling into 2014 I want to look back at this year and be proud of the things I've done and the efforts I've made. In the end that's all that really matters, even if I can't make all of them come true.

Readers, if there is something you want to do... DO IT! Where there's a will there's a way. Never give up! Go after your dreams and attach yourself to them like a spider monkey with O

On My Hands and Knees Begging For Help:)

I know that donating to a project or cause that you have no guarantee will be a success can be intimidating. Maybe you think your pledge won’t make a difference. Maybe you are leery of giving money to a stranger. No matter what the reason, I hope you will reconsider.

I assure you that every dollar earned will be going to this book project. My fans want it so much that it is crucial for me to get it done. That being said, there is no way I would ever back out of my end of the deal.

Kick Starter is a crowd funding website that aims to help connect people with creative projects with possible investors. A person has a limited amount of time to reach their goal. If their goal is not met, no money exchanges hands. That’s right, your money never leaves your wallet.

Second, if you decide to pledge, you will receive prizes for your generosity. Therefore, it’s kind of like purchasing something. Once the goal date has passed, all the people who supported the project will receive their items.

I plan to send people who pledge emails updating them on the progress on the production of the audio book. I am producing my books through a company called ACX. The narrator I have chosen is Melissa Strom. She is a well respected and very talented actress. She has agreed to stay on for the entire series which is anticipated to be four novels.

Again, I know it seems risky. Just know that I will never receive any of your financial banking information. All transactions are completed through Amazon Payments. This is a secure way to ensure your financial protection.

The reason it is so important to me to have my books done in audio is because… well, I myself am blind. I know what it’s like to look for a novel on Audible and have it not be there. That is one of the most frustrating things a book lover can go through. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, fans have written to me wanting to know when the series will be available in audio.

The only reason I haven’t done it by myself is because I haven’t had the money. My first book only just came out in August and the second will be out in December. Therefore, right now my funds are limited. I would never ask strangers for funds if it wasn’t completely necessary. This is the only way I can carry out this portion of my dream in a somewhat timely fashion.

I am a single mommy to two great little girls. I want them to be proud of their mom. Most of all, I want to build a career that will give them a better life. Yes, money can’t by happiness, but it is a big part of life.

I don’t want to depend on Disability income anymore. I want the pride of standing on my own two feet knowing that I’ve worked my buns off to get there. When I received my first royalty check of fifty dollars, you would have thought that I had been given a mountain of diamonds and gold ripe for the picking. I cried, knowing that this was my first real pay check. I earned it all by myself and not because of something that was beyond my control.

The town I live in is a difficult one for finding regular employment, especially when you have a disability. I have tried on numerous occasions to get a job. On all of those occasions I was turned down. They of course couldn’t tell me the real reason, but I knew what it was. They were intimidated by my blindness. They didn’t think I could handle the job, though I was more than qualified. I was never given the proper chance that I deserved and wanted so desperately.

You see, I have never been someone that enjoys getting something for nothing. That’s why it took me so long to decide on creating a Kick Starter project. I finally decided that it wouldn’t hurt to try. If someone didn’t want to pledge, they didn’t have to. If they did, then awesome.

I didn’t want to wonder for the rest of my life if it would have worked. It’s the what if’s that keep you up at night and kicking yourself in the end.

The great thing about a Kick Starter project is that you can back out at any time if you change your mind. The minimum pledge is one dollar, so breaking the bank is not a problem. You will have comfort in knowing that you helped in making someone’s dream come true. Someday when I’m as famous as James Patterson or any of the other great authors out there, you can say you helped me get to where I am.

I don’t plan to take your money and run. As I’ve said, you will get some really cool prizes for each of your donations. I will send you update emails and I’d like to keep in touch with you long after the project is completed. I want you to know that your contribution means a lot to me and I will never forget it or you. I will also be happy to respond to emails anytime, even if the project is done and the productions complete. After all, if it wasn’t for all of you, it wouldn’t be possible.

I only have until November first to reach my goal. That is less than two weeks away. So I am before you on my hands and knees begging for your support. Pretty please consider helping me achieve my dream. It would mean a lot and I’d be eternally grateful.

Help Bring Clandestine and Divinity to Audio

I have launched a project on Kick Starter My project is to raise the funds necessary for creating audio books of Clandestine and Divinity.
As most of you know, Clandestine and Divinity are the first and second book in the Bound In Blood series. Clandestine was released in August of this year in both print and eBook formats and is doing very well.

I have received several messages, mainly from viewers of this blog to make the series in audio. In order to make this a reality sooner rather than later, I have turned to Kick Starter for help.

For each pledge you make, you will receive several great rewards and prizes. It is a win win situation. You would be helping an author make her dream come true and getting something cool in return.

Even if you decide not to pledge, I would really appreciate it if you could visit the page anyway. You can see a super cute video of my two girls that will make you smile. While you're there, please be sure to help spread the word by pressing the Facebook like button, tweet it and or pin it. This will help get the word out. The more people that hear about this the better.

So have I convinced you yet? Please visit the site below and check out the project and cute video of the girls.



Thanks again and I hope you decide to help:)

Giving Up Is Not An Option

Sometimes things happen in life that you don’t expect. Sometimes for a very select few people, life goes completely according to plan. The majority of us this isn’t true.

The most important thing to remember is that you are not alone in this world and there are people who understand and sympathize with what you are going through. There is no problem to big or to small that doesn’t have some sort of solution or another. There are resources everywhere and thanks to the World Wide Web, the answers are at your finger tips.

Giving up is not an option. Even when you think there’s nothing left to be done, giving up is not an option. It is true what they say “quitters never win and winners never quit”.

All of this applies whether you are blind, visually impaired and even sighted. It doesn’t matter what walk of life you come from or what your financial standing is. You matter and so does your life.

Want to make it great? Get out there and do something with it. No body can make you happy unless you are first happy with yourself. If you want something go after it, fight for it and hold onto once you have it with a death grip. Don’t stop until you’ve obtained your dreams. Stare defeat and failure in the face and stick your tongue out.

The only thing holding you back from self actualization is your own inhibitions… so knock it off!

My dream… I am getting ready to publish my first book Clandestine If I can accomplish my dreams, I know you can too. So get out there and make it happen!

Dreaming Blind

Everyone dreams whether they remember them or not is another story. The images depicted during sleep depend on the person who develops them. I was recently askedhow a blind person dreams? Does a person who is born blind have different dreams from someone who became blind?

The answers are simple. Blind people dream just like a sighted person. The only difference is the types of dreams that they have. Just as no two people are the same, neither are their dreams. Dreams are based on thoughts, memories and experiences.

That being said, it would obviously be difficult for a person who has been blind since birth to dream images. They do not have any visual memories or experiences to draw from. This is not to say that they are incapable of having a dream. It has been said that some people have what is called an auditory dream. This means the person dreams in sounds and voices. The dream will exhibit scenarios based on the dreamers experiences but in an all audio format with no pictures.

As for people who became blind later in life, their dreams depend on at what age they lost their sight. For example, a person who lost their sight at age fifty are going to have more visual experiences to draw from then a person who lost their sight at age five.

Personally, I dream as though I were still sighted. My sight really started to decline at age twenty. My sight in the waking hours was limited at best. In dreamland though my dreams have always been vivid and clear as crystal. The only time I don’t see things properly in my dreams is when I’m picturing something or someone that I’ve never actually seen. If I’m dreaming about a person they might have blurry features but are still present visually in some form or another. Sometimes my mind even makes up their appearance but what I think they might look like. Sometimes, I get this right other times the person looks the exact opposite of what I imagined.

I’m glad I dream so vividly. It gives me the opportunity to see faces and places I would have otherwise forgotten. It keeps me aquainted with the things that are most important to me. This way when the genious’s of the medical world invent a cure for my eye condition. Although, I do admit that I am slightly worried about this. People aren’t going to look just as I remember them. I wonder if I will even recognize certain people.

If you are a blind person reading this how do you dream? If you became blind later in life are your dreams different from when you could see? If you are sighted, what do you think you would miss the most if you only had auditory dreams?

If you have thoughts to these questions please log them in the comment section of this post. Also, feel free to ask any questions of your own. If I can’t answer them maybe one of the visually impaired readers wouldn’t mind fielding it.

As always thanks for reading.