Are you interested in taking on an Australian-based writer who deals expertly with the disability sector? Why do I write about disability - I've been in the midst of it for pretty much my whole life, especially during the last 14 years.
I have been writing since before the age of 10, starting by producing twenty-something editions of a small journal about my family's antics, photocopied in my Dad's home-office and sent to 50 or so of our family and friends. I was first paid by a "real" magazine for an article I wrote about growing up in the bush, in 1995. Most of my work relating to disability, however, appears in journals that provide free subscriptions or other tokens in exchange for articles.
I specialize in writing about disabilities, having first-hand experience of being a person with a disability. I am knowledgeable in many areas relating to disability and to chronic illness. I am also a quick study on diseases and conditions that I don't know about first-hand. I have been on the Internet for a decade now, and am extremely adept at researching topics using it and the local library.
I wrote for the Themestream site for several months, submitting 29 articles to them, all but one of which earned the highest rating possible for their articles. Comments by readers of my articles included:
Wow. That is all I can say. I have been sick for about a year and have never been able to explain to people what life is like. I have shared this with many people, and I will continue to do so. Thank you again for making an unexplainable illness...explainable! Keep up the great work!
- Anonymous, November 26, 2000
Unfortunately the Themestream site closed due to lack of funds, taking with it most of the saved comments from my readers.
My most read piece of writing so far, an "Open Letter To Those Without Fibro/CFS" has been read by an uncountable number of people, published in at least five books (that I know of), published in journals in three languages and on almost every continent including in Australia, the USA, South Africa and Germany.
On-paper forums in which I have been published include:
- Access: The National Issues Journal for People with a Disability (Australia)
- MESA: Official Journal of the ME Association of South Africa
- Grass Roots Magazine (Australia)
- The Fibromyalgia Advocate, Devin J Starlanyl MD (USA)
- Newsletter of the ME Association of Canada
- Journal of the ANZME Societies Inc (Australia/New Zealand)
- Emerge: Journal of the ME/CFS Society of Victoria (Australia)
- CFS Forum: Chronisches Erschopfungs Syndrom (Germany)
- The Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Resource Book and Life Planner Workbook, Dawn Hughes (USA)
- Massachusetts Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome Association (USA)
- The Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Association of Ontario (Canada)
I can be reliably contacted via email at ricky@notdoneliving.net - I check this email address every day barring catastrophes and trips to hospital. Please email me if you'd like my phone number or other contact information.
