Chatting with New Blood: Patty L. Fletcher

Posted: September 28, 2024 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Books, Chatting with New Blood, Interview, Review | Tags: Blended Lives Chronicles, Chatting with New Blood, Patty L. Fletcher, Sides of the Order, Writing to be Read | 22 Comments

My guest this month on “Chatting with New Blood” is author Patty L. Fletcher. Her debut novel was Sides of the Order, Book 1 of The Blended Lives Chronicles, which I reviewed back in June of 2024. (You can read my reveiw here.) While I’m writing this, she is busy doing the final edit and proof read on Book 2 of the series, A Battle of Choices. Yep. Patty is in this author thing for the long haul, and she’s got the whole series thing going in full swing. In addition, she is an advocate for those who are visually impaired, like herself and she is active in several organizations which promote inclusion and accessability. Her short fiction has been included in both the Visions and Midnight Roost anthologies from WordCrafter Press, and her poetry was included in Poetry Treasures 3: Passions. She often volunteers as a host for WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, as well, and is always willing to share around WordCrafter and Writing to be Read promotions on her social media channels. She’s here with us today to share some insights into the world of the blind and visually impaired, as well as letting you know about her debut novel.

About Patty Fletcher

Interview

Kaye: I love that your bio gives details about yourself as a person first. You don’t even mention that you are a published author until near the end. So many author bios, including mine, talk about being an author first and throw in the “oh yeah, and I’m a real person with other interests” almost as an afterthought.

Patty: Hello, Kaye and all.

Thanks for having me today.

When I was considering what to put into my media kit, which is where the bio you reference comes from, I gave some thought to what people ask me when we talk about my work. Most of the time, when an interviewer begins asking questions, they talk about who the author is as a person.

When bloggers blog, they also talk about their personal side and people seem to love it. So, to me it only made sense to start that way.

I learn by watching others, doing what they do, then once I’ve a grasp of it all, I add in my own style.

Monkey see monkey do then add in a little of you, is a great thing to remember when entering the writing world.

Kaye: I think this shows a lot about how we define ourselves. I define myself, first and foremost, as an author because writing infiltrates every part of my life. I love to go sit in the forest, watch the birds, smell the flowers, listen to the river flow, and write poetry about them. People I know and relationships I’ve had find their way into my stories. It all come back to the writing. You, on the other hand, define yourself first and foremost by your blindness, which also effects every other part of your life, so it comes first in your bio. So, let’s talk about that aspect of your life.

Kaye: You’ve lived with blindness all your life. What do you feel is the most common misconception about blindness that people hold?

Patty: People tend to say things such as, “Oh, you’re amazing.” Over the slightest things. I have been told it is amazing that I can feed and care for myself, ridiculous things such as the reason I don’t like watching TV is because I cannot see it. That cannot fly, because we have audio description to tell us what’s happening on the screen and even before that was a thing, we blind folk liked TV as much as the next person.

Nope, the reason I don’t watch TV is because that’s chewing gum for the brain. My brain wants substance. Real meat the brain can sink its teeth into. To me, that’s not coming from a TV show about a deputy with a bullet in his pocket.

It’s a great diversion sure, but I’d rather be diverted by a book.

Kaye: I see television is just another form of story telling, because I also do screenwriting, I suppose. But, my grandmother was blind from diabetes, and she used to sit and listen to the television all the time with the rest of the family. In fact, to entertain me, we would pretend to be the characters in my favorite television programs and make up our own stories. But she also listened to talking books, which were around even when I was a kid. Before the written word, people would sit around a fire and listen to the storyteller relate the stories of tribal histories. I think story is a human quality, no matter how we choose consume it. I think it is wonderful that you choose to consume your story through books, and also that you choose to share your own stories in that way.

Kaye: You’re continually active in trying to raise awareness about your disability and there is a huge pool of readers out there with visual impairments. What are some things authors can do to reach that audience?

Patty: The first thing I think people need to understand is that no two blind people process information the same way. Some read braille. This means when they download an eBook they’re downloading it to a braille display. When you write, don’t use a bunch of fancy fonts. Whether a person is visually challenged, totally blind, or has some other print disAbility you’re losing a huge part of your audience right there.

Some blind people, like me for instance, use a screen reader. A screen reader is a software program such as Windows Narrator, which is built into every Microsoft Windows computer which speaks what’s on the screen. So, if you use photos in your digital work, it’s a great idea to include alt text in your photos. This is especially important for the book cover, which is something designed to grab the attention of the buyer. Odds are, if I run on an ad or a blog post which doesn’t include good descriptive text, not something which says, “A photo of the book cover which says, “The Blended Lives Chronicles” That’s not descriptive. I want to know what the cover looks like.

Be descriptive.

Another thing which sends me away without looking further are unlabeled links. If all I hear is “Llink, Link” every time I scroll through a post or website, I’m not looking at it one, more, second than it takes me to close it out. If I don’t know what that link goes to, it’s not getting clicked.

Another thing, even if you don’t plan to release your work as an audio book, take special care with your grammar. When a blind person uses a screen reader with awareness and ability, they can catch a grammar error a mile away and it can also change the way a scene is perceived. Besides, if we’re lucky, the National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled program might pick it up and record it for their vast library. Make it reader friendly. Use a program such as the Microsoft Read Allowed feature to listen to your books before you publish. I promise you’ll be glad you did.

Kaye: You have lived a life of service. It seems like you do a lot. Can you tell us about your work with the ADP Performing Arts Committee, Blind Information Technology Specialists, Guide Dog Users Incorporated, and the American Council for the Blind?

Patty: First, a correction the organization is “The American Council Of The Blind” and it is written exactly that way. These things are important because ACB (American Council Of The Blind means the organization is made up and run by blind people. The Word for implies it’s done for us. Not of and by us. Words and Details are so important to the meaning of things aren’t they?

As stated in my bio, I’m just now finding my way with BITS. They’re a special interest affiliate of The American Council Of The Blind focusing on blindness technology. They’re getting ready to offer a class on Microsoft 365 which I use daily. This will help me, and others learn to use it with our screen reader programs, and I cannot wait to take it. I’m certain there are many features within this program I am not aware of. I am sure this will enhance my productivity.

The ADP (Audio Description Project) committee is something I got into about a year or so ago. The committee I’m on focuses on the importance of getting audio description into live theater and national park tours, museums, and the like.

Easy right?

Humph! People aren’t as receptive as you’d believe.

Guide Dog Users Incorporated (GDUI) is another special affiliate of The American Council Of The Blind. Our mission, to raise awareness of guide dogs and advocacy issues.

Two of the biggest things we’re working on are problems with being denied a ride by a rideshare company such as Uber and troubles with needing to prove our dogs are real service animals before we can fly.

One would think in the 21^ST century this wouldn’t be a problem, but it is. In fact, thanks to a lot of people abusing the system with their birds, bunnies, and snakes we’ve been pushed back decades.

I’m currently running in the GDUI 2024 election. I hope to be elected as a board of director. This will place me in a position where I can do work with a much more narrowed focus toward advocacy and awareness. Having the power of an entire bord alongside you can surely be effective.

Kaye: Your Blended Lives Chronicles series features a blind protagonist, who has learned to overcome other disabilities as well. What has Laya Moonwalker done to adapt to her afflictions? She even has a trusted guide dog, King, who she has a unique connection with, and she serves on governing boards in her world. How much of Laya Moonwalker is you?

Patty: Let me start with the synopsis of the book.

Lady Laya MoonWalker is a well respected author and magazine owner and a high priestess in the magickal community. After a drawn-out battle with the forces of dark magik, she has come into her own. She lives and works on Planet Korponious, where she is the owner and creator of an Interplanetary Magazine called “Blended Lives Chronicles.” Her mission is to blend the lines of race, creed, and disability that separate so many and to elevate the recognition of the training and ability of Service Animals of all kinds to a new level. She has just been accepted into the Blended Lives Federation and now hopes to continue her work in a way like nothing known to her before.

As you can see, Laya walks a lot of paths within her life. Of course, she is a work of fiction, but her battle with mental illness is quite real. That and what she experienced at the hands of her fiancé Jack also came from my own personal experience.

We’re to write what we know so that part is me.

Another thing which comes from my own perspective is the relationship she and King have together. This too comes from my own experience. My guide dog and I are quite bonded, and he needs no human words to let me know what’s what. If people would only pay attention, they would have no problem reading their dog’s thoughts. Maybe it’s a bit dramatized, but it’s also quite real. The trainers mean it when they say, “What you think and feel travels down the leash, and what the dog thinks and feels comes back.”

But for me, it’s more. I can be sitting in the living room not speaking a sound, only thinking to Blue that it’s time to go out or eat and the next thing I know, he’s by my side. Coincidence? No.

Kaye: You have founded and run a couple of different businesses which can be found on your site, Patty’s Worlds: Tell-It-To-The-World Marketing, of which you also host a podcast, and The Writer’s Grapevine Online Magazine. Tell us a little about these two endeavors.

Patty: They are one in the same. Nothing changed about the business I run other than the name and a little restructuring on the pricing.

I’m a content promoter and now I just have people pay a fee for being a sponsoring member of Patty’s Worlds and they receive those services.

Kaye: You also have stories in the Visions and Midnight Roost anthologies, and poetry included in the Poetry Treasures 4 anthology by WordCrafter Press. Can you talk a little about collaborating on an anthology and how that went for you?

Patty: I enjoy collaborating with other writers on such projects. Three things gave me problems when working with a few situations in the production and marketing side.

First, authors need to have a good awareness of what an anthology is and how it gets put together. I once worked with an author who had no idea what was in store when she got the idea. She ended up having to backtrack. There was no contract spelling out who had what right, how royalties would be split, a whole host of things were not dealt with correctly right from the start. Had I not already had some experience with anthologies by that point it could have been a true disaster. Instead, I wrote to her, with some tips and a mock contract and helped her get back on track. The anthology was published, and I made it in.

The second problem I have had when collaborating with authors on anthology projects has been consistency. Again, having all one’s ducks in a row before one begins is absolutely a must.

These things being out of whack for a blind person can make an already daunting job twice as hard. For me at least, I want and need to know exactly what I need to be doing as my part of any project and if those in charge don’t have it together, I’m sunk before I ever begin. That’s more an OCD issue rather than a blindness issue. This makes it extremely hard for someone with a mental health disability.

Finally, I had to deal with working on the marketing end of things with others. Blog tours can be absolutely maddening. I’ve all but stopped participating. I refuse to put a post on my blog without graphic labels (Alt text) in photos, and unlabeled links. I’ve said it at least a jillion time yet when I get into a tour some of the tour stops don’t comply with my wishes and then I’m stuck having to reblog a post somewhere I already know blind readers will not enjoy. So, if you’re out there reading and you’re thinking it might be a great idea to collaborate with me, make sure you’re ready to learn how to jump those hurdles because they’re non-negotiable.

No descriptions or labels, no deal.

Kaye: Please let readers know where they can find you online.

Patty: I’m happy you included me in your interview series. I hope people have a little better understanding of who I am and what I do.

Just in case I left anything out, here’s all my information below. I’ve included links to The American Council Of The Blind, Guide Dog Users Incorporated and BITS.

Please make sure to visit them to gain a better understanding.

Thanks again for reading.

May Harmony find You and Blessid Be.

About Patty L. Fletcher

Updated April 2024.

Patty Fletcher is a single mother with a beautiful daughter, of whom she is enormously proud. She has a great son-in-law and six beautiful grandchildren. From April 2011 through September 2020, she owned and handled a black Labrador from The Seeing Eye® named King Campbell Lee Fletcher A.K.A. Bubba. Sadly, after a long battle with illness on September 24, 2020, King Campbell went to the Rainbow Bridge where all is peace and love. In July 2021, she returned to The Seeing Eye® and was paired with a Black Labrador Golden Retriever cross named Blue.

PATTY’S BLINDNESS…

Patty was born one and a half months premature. Her blindness was caused by her being given too much oxygen in the incubator. She was partially sighted until 1991, at which time she lost her sight due to an infection after cataract surgery and high eye pressure. She used a cane for 31 years before making the change to a guide dog.

WHERE SHE LIVES AND WORKS…

Currently, Patty lives and works in Kingsport, Tenn.

Patty is quite involved with The American Council of the Blind – ACB and its community.

She’s a member of Guide Dog Users Incorporated where she serves on the GDUI Election Candidacy Task Force, and the membership Committee.

She works with the Audio Description Project by serving on the ADP Performing Arts Committee.

She has also recently joined Blind Information Technology Specialists (BITS). Another special affiliate of ACB.

Though she’s not yet found her place there, she is learning things from their informational content.

She’s the creator and owner of Tell-It-To-The-World Marketing (Author, Blogger, Business Assist), The Writer’s Grapevine Online Magazine and the creator and host of the Talk to Tell-It-To-The-World Marketing Podcast, which have recently been reconstructed and can all be found in Patty’s Worlds.

WRITING GOAL…

Patty writes with the goal of bridging the great chasm which separates the disabled from the non-disabled.

Patty is also a published author.

Learn more at the links below.

All full length published works…

Amazon

Smashwords

Anthologies…

Midnight Roost: https://books2read.com/MidnightRoost

Visions: https://books2read.com/VisionsAnthology

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions: https://books2read.com/VisionsAnthology

Strange Weather Anthology

https://www.marlsmenagerie.com/

Blog…

Home of Patty’s World

Facebook…

https://www.facebook.com/

Instagram…

https://www.instagram.com/

LinkedIn…

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/

Goodreads…

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8431191.Patricia_L_Fletcher

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