| Filed under Fiction Relationships
A new book Hope For the Tarnished promotion.
It’s great when internationally-known and respected friends help out independent authors like me. Sally is one of the best.
Check out Sally’s Smorgasbord Blog Magazine, it’s fun, informational and full of inspiration.
Book cover photo of a couple in sihouetted looking out upon a beutiful beach sunset over the water. The book title is printed across the top and author’s name is printed across the bottom.
| Filed under blindness
Hello all-
I am taking part in this fundraising event — supporting a benefit concert for blind Ukrainians during this unstable time in their country. The event is legitimate and I am asking each of you to share it with your tribe.
My local blindness advocacy group, WCBNY did not even hesitate to agree to donate dollars. If blind folks don’t help other blind folks, what’s the point?
We all shared the same thought: what if this was our Country and we needed help? Every bit counts towards supporting the people who will need it.
Please direct your questions to the persons mentioned in the message below, not back to me.
From: https://mushroomfm.com/withyou
We’re With U. Blind performing artists’ Virtual Benefit Concert for blind Ukrainians on 16 April
Welcome
On 24 February, Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The death toll is mounting. Families have been torn apart as some seek refuge in other countries, while others stay to fight for their country’s freedom.
One of the consequences of war is that it results in life-changing impairments, including blindness. Another is that war leaves those who are already blind vulnerable and at risk.
The situation has made many of us feel helpless and heartsick. But there are things we can do, ways we can help.
On Saturday 16 April at 2 PM Eastern time in North America, 7 PM in the UK, that’s Sunday morning at 4 AM in Eastern Australia, 6 AM in New Zealand, the global online blind community is joining together for We’re With U, a benefit concert to help blind people who have been affected by the atrocities in Ukraine.
If you’re a blind performing artist, you know that music has power. This is your chance to perform to a worldwide audience while lending a helping hand to those who desperately need your help. If you appreciate great music in a range of styles, this is your chance to listen to some of the best the blind community has to offer, while also donating to support blind Ukrainians.
Every cent raised will reach organisations assisting blind Ukrainians, thanks to our partnership with the World Blind Union’s Unity Fund. World Blind Union is the global organisation representing the estimated 253 million persons who are blind or partially sighted worldwide. They are working actively with organizations in the area who are providing support to Ukraine. With their support, you can be sure that the generous donation you make will go to a project that makes a difference.
We also thank the National Federation of the Blind for their considerable moral, infrastructural and communications support for this project.
The below sections of this page have further information and is being updated regularly.
How can I listen
In the spirit of working together that has been the hallmark of this event, many Internet radio stations and channels in the blind community will broadcast the We’re With U concert. Chances are that if you listen to an Internet radio service of and for the blind community, you will hear the event there. Please check with your favourite station, and encourage them to carry We’re With U if they are not yet signed up to do so.
You can of course hear We’re With U right here on Mushroom FM. Mushroom FM has an accessible online player on this website. It is available in all radio directories including Apple Music. It has its own Alexa skill and Google Home action. You can also tell Siri to Play Mushroom FM.
How long is We’re With U set to run for?
We don’t yet know. Artists have until 8 April at 11:59 PM North American Eastern time to send in a contribution, but what we can say is that it is shaping up to be a showcase of talent that will last for some hours. So, be prepared to settle back with your best speakers, a beverage or two, and a keyboard to type in your credit card number to donate to Ukraine. Consider your kind donation the price of your virtual ticket to this event.
How do I donate?
Throughout the We’re With U concert and a little ahead of the event, we will give you a URL where you can donate securely with all major credit cards. Everything you give goes to blind Ukrainians who need our help.
Is there a social media hashtag?
You bet! It is #BlindWithU. Note that the U is an uppercase U, and not the world Y O U. Since we can’t bring everyone together in a stadium for this event, we encourage you to use the hashtag #BlindWithU during the event, and right now if you want, to discuss the concert.
I really want to donate to this, but I have trouble with credit card forms. Is there some other way?
We are working on the possibility of taking donations via phone and hope to have more to say ahead of the concert.
I want to perform. How do I register my interest?
That’s fantastic! The more the merrier. The event is being produced by Jaffar Sidek Ahmad, who came up with the brilliant idea of the We’re With U event and has seen it expand into the international concert it has become.
You will need to provide Jaffar with a high quality recording of your performance by 11:59 PM North American Eastern time on 8 April. We also ask that you preface your performance with a brief message that introduces yourself and tells us about why supporting blind Ukrainians is important to you.
If you have heard well-remembered past events in this genre, such as Live Aid, you know that happy music is OK, as are cover versions. Our aim is to raise as much money as we can by giving people excellent entertainment, so your contribution neither has to be original nor does it have to have a war theme. The key thing is that we entertain people, encourage them to stick around, and give what they can. So, whether you’ve written an original composition or you’re singing to a backing track, you are welcome to share your talent with the world for this important cause.
Please discuss what you’d like to do, by sending an email to jaffar.
I am part of an Internet radio station/YouTube channel/Other platform that can stream. Can we rebroadcast the event?
We welcome approaches from any partner who would like to carry We’re With U. The event is audio-only, and you will need to be able to relay a stream in MP3 format.
For more information or to express your interest, please contact Jonathan Mosen, who will be the MC for We’re With U, jonathan@MushroomFM.com . This will also ensure you get important updates relevant to those who are carrying We’re With U.
Copyright © Mushroom FM 2022.
| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Relationships
We walked into the holiday party. I was already anticipating a good time with friends after the imposed bouts of social isolation as a result of Covid.
We were greeted and directed to our table by a pleasant staff person. Bailey, my guide dog, was excited to see our good friends and greeted one of them. I pulled out my chair, settled my coat and bag and asked Bailey to lay down under the table when the two women to my right became hysterical upon noticing him.
“I can’t stay here, the dog will eat all my food,” and “That dog is going to bite me,” and “I can’t relax with that dog so close,”.
My heart sunk and I put on the blank face. The face that tries to hide the disappointment and frustration brought on by ignorance and fear of my guide dog by others.
My friend tells them the dog won’t do that, it’s trained. Still they go on and I feel the anxiety build. Will I have to leave? I do my best to ignore them, but one person continued to go on about “that dog, will bite me,” “I can’t stay here with that dog,”, etc.
I grope for my water glass and wait it out.
I don’t want to be here, don’t want to eat, I feel like these people just stole it all from me. I almost got up to leave, was close to tears but I refused to let them see me cry. I had a right to be there, too, and because I am blind, my guide dog did, too.
a person sitting on the other side of our table spoke to the person who was now almost yelling about “that dog,” — and quieted them. It took me some time to refocus on my meal and my friends. My guide dog curled up for a nap under the table.
The rest of the afternoon was fun thanks to a stranger who knew how to handle another stranger’s fear of dogs.
The thing is even though I stayed quiet, I was angry. Being subjected to reactions like this, while infrequent, still happen and still affect me in a powerful way. I felt confused and hurt by their reactions. I hope they will remember how “that woman with the dog,” kept her cool and shared a meal. I hope they will one day understand how much it cost me personally to shelf the feelings and get past their outburst.
Ann and Bailey on bench: Both looking straight on
| Filed under blindness Fiction Relationships
Hope for the Tarnished is here!
📖 🌻 📕
About the book
Young Abbie struggles to cope with the traumatic experiences in her life. Ripped from everything familiar after her parents’ divorce, she is dropped into an unknown neighborhood and is emotionally abandoned by her mentally unstable mother. Abbie is caught up in the cruel nature of one sister’s addictions and often rescued by her other sister’s sense of familial responsibility and love.
The story takes place in the 1970s, revealing family secrets and the shift of cultural norms as Abbie leaves her doubts in the past, embracing a bright future.
“Well-known in disabled writers’ circles, Chiappetta is that rare novelist who is able to incorporate a character’s disability into her story without making it the focus of her narrative. She lets her audience realize that a disability, like hair color or a personality quirk, is merely one aspect of a human being, not the person’s defining feature.”
Purchase it now in your choice of hard or soft cover and Kindle eBook
© 2022 Ann Chiappetta
Description of book cover: silhouette of two people standing on a beach watching a brilliant and colorful sunset over the water. Title of book is printed at the top.
| Filed under blindness nonfiction writing Writing Life
Annie Shares News Issue 2.2 February 2022
anniesharesnews@groups.io Subscribe anniesharesnews+subscribe@groups.io
Everything Annie: www.annchiappetta.com
Here’s to palindromes, 2.2.2022! There are ten palindrome dates during 2022 and in 2021 there were twenty-two. Hm. 💭
I wasn’t going to do it, wasn’t going to give into the year-in-review, fan the rolodex of personal and literary accomplishments and ego-boosting feats and phantasms claiming it is imperative for others to read it and feign being impressed. What can I say? I gave in like a cheap pair of dollar store flip-flops.
Here’s a year in review. I’ll attempt to complete it in quarters and leave the unmentionables unmentioned.
I am sure I could go on to number over twenty items but won’t belabor it, folks. I am good and find the place where I am now one of wonder, learning, and balanced with stubbornness necessary to push through the challenges.
Peace and health for you, friends. I value the connections and the free exchange of support and care we’ve shared over the past year and hope we continue the connections into the future.
Dreya the book dragon wants to wish you all well and continued flights of creativity to come your way.
1Red and green dragon floating amid books and musical notes. She is smiling and Ann’s name and the words “Making meaningful connections with others through writing” is to the right of the dragon.
| Filed under writing Writing Life
👚 Six Sentence Story
Where is my underwear? Folded neat and clean only a moment ago, gone like the unmatched socks lost in the great beyond. The brassiere and shirt and even the socks are present, along with the pants but the bloomers have disappeared. I decide not to call for bloomer back-up, instead I find a spare to wear, dress and reach for my shoes. fingers brush against familiar lace and Lycra and I smile, feeling less like a doddering fool. Now, I wonder, how did the darn undies get over there?
Thanks to Abbie Johnson Taylor and Behind Our Eyes for weekly prompts like this one to keep us writing. 😊
| Filed under nonfiction Relationships writing
| Filed under nonfiction Relationships writing
Annie Shares News Issue 1 January 2022
Join the list: anniesharesnews+subscribe@groups.io
🍾 Happy New Year! 🎇
Well now, friends and followers, 2021 has been complicated, hasn’t it? I don’t know about you but I feel wrung-out and all kinds of weird – hm, could it be the wacky weather or maybe the long-term effects of a two-year long pandemic. One blogger I know stated the continual loss and grieving may contribute to feeling wrung-out and disheartened. – whatever is contributing to it, it’s sure been a rollercoaster ride of strained emotions. If you think you’ve been alone in feeling this way, rest assured you are one of many and you are not alone.
As written by Plato: “Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school. And the person that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and fool”
He might have been talking about himself yet his words are prophetic and powerful. I never thought we would be living through a pandemic and yet here we are.
I will move onto less troubling topics,. Most of the early part of 2021 was recording my two most recently published books as audio books. It’s a goal to strive for my material to be offered in alternative formats for the blind and people with print disabilities like dyslexia. All my books are available from audible.com and as digital books from the National Library of Congress talking book catalog. The specific links and everything Annie is on my website, www.annchiappetta.com .
I would not have been able to do it myself, and huge thanks goes out to voice actor and the best narrator, Lillian Yves for being there to help.
Taking part in interviews and podcasts is fun and exciting, especially when being an international guest. Check out this one with Princess Diva: https://anchor.fm/diva-williams/episodes/Inspirational-moments-with-Ann-Chiappetta–Author-e19j36i
and this one with Karina KKantas: https://www.artistfirst.com/kantas.htm
Here’s a haiku for you to ponder:
Hands cup grains of sand
Delicate and Rough to touch
Stars pulsing through time
Dreya the book dragon sends wing beats of creativity and kindness your way, 🐲
A whimsical red and green dragon floats among flying musical notes and books. Text to the right reads Ann Chiappetta making meaningful connections with others through writing.Ann’s personal logo
| Filed under Relationships
The past two weeks have been difficult beyond the ongoing vicissitude’s of life for Jerry and me. He watched his sister pass from cancer. She was fifty. I got an email from my former director telling of a veteran’s passing. I counseled his wife for five years and though our therapeutic relationship ended, I often thought of her and her family. We were able to attend the veteran’s services.
Today I received the sorrowful news a friend and Westchester Council of the Blind member succumbed and died of a heart-related illness.
This poem is for them.
We Remember Them…
In the rising of the sun and in its going down,
We remember them;
In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
We remember them;
In the opening of buds and in the warmth of summer,
We remember them;
In the rustling of leaves and the beauty of autumn,
We remember them;
In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
We remember them;
When we are weary and in need of strength,
We remember them;
When we are lost and sick at heart,
We remember them;
When we have joys we yearn to share,
We remember them;
So long as we live, they too shall live
For they are now a part of us as
We remember them.
from Gates of Prayer,
Judaism Prayerbook
| Filed under blindness Fiction Guide dogs nonfiction paranormal Poem writing
📚 You won’t want to miss out on these discounts
All my titles are on sale until January 1, 2022. Save 50% at the Smashwords year-end sale.
Or visit my author’s page to find out more and read a preview:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AnnChiappetta
Why Smashwords? Electronic choices, of course. Simple and get the book delivered to your inbox. Transfer it to your favorite book reading app. It’s great, kindle isn’t the only eBook reading app in town. 😉
