Writers are advised by editors, agents, academic and self-appointed experts to write about what they know. Some people have pointed out that would be boring. As writers we live in a world of imagination. Some tend to exaggerate, or have a quirky point of view, but many of us simply wonder what’s beyond the known world. We daydream, pay close attention to and analyze our sensory experience, and experiment with ideas. In other words, we go beyond the bounds of ordinary existence. In a way our characters are avatars for ourselves as we explore a made-up world, one created from what we know and what we are curious to know.

When I wrote Miami Morning, I broke the rule on writing what you know. Instead, I was fascinated by what I could learn about topics that were new to me. As I wrote, for instance, I was challenged, just…

My name is Jeremy Breitenbach.  I am legally blind with cerebral palsy and use Braille. 

The cerebral palsy limits me to the use of one hand, my left.  I have limited vision in my left eye and none in my right, but I can watch TV, watch movies, and play video games if I sit close to the TV screen. 

Some of my favorite TV shows are: the Dragon Ball franchise (which is comprised of: Dragon Ball, the Dragon Ball movies, Dragon Ball Z, the 15 DBZ movies and 2 specials, Dragon Ball Z Kai (the revised Dragon Ball Z), Dragon Ball GT, and the Dragon Ball GT special), Ghost Adventures, Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks, The Middle, The Simpsons, Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the entire Star Trek franchise, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (the one from 1983), Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda (1989…

Image Curtesy of Clipart Kid

As a writer, I have often been asked whether my characters are inspired by real-life people. My answer is generally negative. Of course, I use my world knowledge and personal experience when I write a book, and this includes observations of other people’s behaviors, reactions and opinions. I may even literally quote some non-standard phrases that people around me (particularly my husband) love to use. But I have never tried to describe a real, familiar, individual in a novel. With one exception.

This exception is not a human being, however. It is a bird. Specifically, a crow.

One of my first fantasy novels is about a woman who has a special talent of speaking to animals. Not speaking in the most literal sense of the word; rather, she understands them, takes care of them, teaches them – and they love her and cooperate with her…