There are millions of ebooks out there – so I had to make this heading sensational! Firstly – it is true – this author has been blind for more than twenty years, since the age of 31, and cannot see a single letter or screen! How does he do it? He has a keyboard and special system that makes sound, though it reads computer codes and doesn’t sound like normal speech…just think about it – by the time he went blind, computers were hardly even in existence!
That aside, the book itself is pretty amazing. It is well-written, imaginative, and very descriptive. It has a slightly different feel to it – something refreshing.
I had the honour of designing his book cover – that’s why I am posting about it here. But I also would like to assist him in advertising his book, as social media is not an easily manoeuvrable mission for a blind person. It took him five years to write this book, if not for any other reason, at least purchase his book for that reason alone! The price is less than a hamburger, after all!
Here’s my interview with Willow May Jennings (Pseudonym):
Tell us a little about your life, Willow May -
I was born in lower Alabama (LA) I have spent the majority of my life in Augusta, Georgia. I have a BA in English Lit… I was amazed when in the year I graduated 1997, I was completely blind. Three years later, I was working for Coca cola in Atlanta, but after seven years in customer service; I felt a need for a change. I quit Coke to write full-time. I am still single too.
What inspired you to start writing?
I discovered I loved to read and write even with poor eyesight. It’s because of my visual impairment that kept me home on Saturday nights and I got lost in the Hobbit. It was not until I read some really badly written books that I decided I could do better. The other thing is I could never find the kind of book I enjoyed the most, so I wrote the kind of book I enjoyed reading.
Where do you get your story ideas from?
Believe it or not, I write about my dreams. For example, I had a dream. The thing about this particular dream was that I saw it in color and I took part in it like it was true reality. It was so real that I got up and while still in the dream walked over to my desk to jot it down before I was aware I was at my desk. In my dreams, despite my total blindness, I could see! It is this very effect that I invoked in “Catmando” (see chapters one and two).
How do you manage to write whilst being visually impaired (blind) – writing is usually such a visual type of skill?
The biggest challenges in writing is not the actual writing process; It’s the publishing. Living in a sighted world has many hurdles and seeing my work so the sighted can see it is beyond my abilities. So, I must rely on the kindness of others such as my editor and cover designer.
Screen reading software makes my life easier, it’s my ignorance of what computers offer the user that interferes with my progress as a writer. If I could find someone to take care of the details and allow me to write; I’d be content just to write.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
What I really enjoy in writing is the high in creating a story by the seat of my britches, never knowing exactly how the story will end. Now, it’s the editing and reediting that feels like withdraw symptoms. Occasionally, there’s the word or phrase that pulls the entire story together like a completed puzzle. And of course, it’s the satisfaction of completing the book that gets me up every morning to attack the edits.
Do you have more books planned? What will they be about?
I am currently creating Book two, “Snakehead” (working title) in the series “The Land of the Glitter Critters.” There are several books waiting for the editor that is written by Thomas O. Black that really interests me in publishing. ”Paradise: Lost and Found,” the dream story, is the one that will introduce me as Thomas. Next in line is “Mother Goose.” I hope by then I have a following eagerly looking forward to my books.
How can readers contact you?
I’m an open book, so if anyone is interested in knowing more about this blind guy, I can be contact at: LeapingTiger@knology.net.
Click on the ebook image to go to the Amazon Page where this book is available…His book could do with a few good reviews too! Please also visit and like his Amazon Author Page. And kindly purchase this only book by the world’s only blind self-pubbed author!!
BRIEF SUMMARY:
An erotic paranormal fantasy (adult literature) about a blind social worker who struggles to help those less fortunate when he is drawn into a new world where his skills are needed to save a community from a bank robbing biker gang, but more important, he must save the people of Caterpillar from certain extinction. This story explores the freedoms of body and soul once released from the physical limitations. The reader will yearn to run with the Cataroons and the wind.
Catmando is a delightful first book from the series The Land of the Glitter Critters.
Here’s a last-minute addition by the author:
“If it’s not too late, would you include a part of my life that I had forgotten and might be important. Embarrassing on me, but I’m an award winning playwright! Hard to imagine but true.
My last two years at Augusta College, I enrolled in the Sandhill Writers Conference writing contest. For those two years the genre was for scripts. Off Broadway producers came down to Georgia to judge for themselves. The first year I won second place, beaten by another English professor from another college. The second year I won honorable mention for a comedy, but it wasn’t as funny as my play. I still have a copy of the play, “The Train at the End of the Tunnel is Another Train.” For a free copy, just e-mail me at Leapingtiger@knology.net“
Follow me on Twitter -
https://twitter.com/willowmjennings
Visit my website -
http://leapingtigerbooks.weebly.com/
Buy my book -
Buy my book -
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/244967
Great interview and WOW, I thought writing and publishing was hard and I am not visually impaired. Kudos to you, Willow May, for going ahead with your dream. I’m off to “like” your Amazon page and book.
In case you’re interested, my editor at Wild Child Publishing is blind and she uses all the bells and whistles, as you can imagine, to edit books professionally!
Patti
Thank you for the information! Willow May would love to hear about any other blind authors or editors!
Melody, I love the cover that you created for Willow May Jennings. It really fits the story. I just wish “she” could see it.
I have the honor of knowing Willow Mae and man behind her. Simple things for us are a huge struggle for Willow May, but she has persevered and followed a dream. She never complains. Instead, she accepts it and continues forward. Her independence is mind blowing.
There are so many places in Catmando that showcase a total freedom just to be, and it’s done with such visual description. That’s something that Willow May must pull from memory. Words are what keeps those memories alive for her. Just reading her descriptions is amazing.
Yes, I loved the descriptions in her book…they have an almost surreal quality. Perfect for the paranormal genre.
The interview you wrote for Willow May Jennings was beautiful. It makes us stop to think of how we might sometime whine if our little finger hurts.
I happen to know this author very well, and Willow May even calls me ‘Aunt’. I admire her enthusiasm in everything she does or says. When she calls me, it’s a ray of sunshine on the phone. I went to school with her mother and father, and did not have the privilege of meeting their children until we all three ended up at the same Retirement Center. When she came to see them, for a few minutes, I could not believe she was blind.
She brought much happiness to her parents, their nurses and aides, me and the other residents while she was visiting here. I adopted her immediately to be my niece. I love her, and feel her career will soar, with the optimism she possesses. Perhaps I should get her autograph now, because, I am sure I will be begging for it later!!!
Thank you for the nice article you wrote about her.
Thank you for stopping by to read the article! It is most interesting to hear more from someone who personally knows Willow May. Yes, she is always so positive in her email exchanges, and very witty too…
Great interview. You are a new author to me Willow May, so I really enjoyed learning more about you. I’m very interested in reading this book.