Finished the year strong with a good bike workout! Missed a lot this year resting my shoulder--hoping for better in 2015. Happy new year.

And that's it. Final edit done. Couldn't look through it again (at least not for a long time) if I wanted to. Still excited by the story, and I'll begin looking for a publisher after the holidays.

New Article: A Voice of Disability Lost

It’s been a while, but here’s my latest article just published on the Huffington Post Impact section: A Voice of Disability Lost http://huff.to/1qrMNQO. Thanks for checking it out.

Sorry to read this morning that Stella Young has passed. I learned of her when a couple people sent me her talk, which had a similar message to my book. I believe she died at age 32. Too young, of course, but she made her voice heard.

Another round of editing down (as much as you can distinguish between drafts). Excited by the story. Hope to find a publisher for this one!

My Wheelchair-incorporating Halloween Costumes

There’s not much to say while editing what I hope will be my first published fiction—progress is being made—but I’ve seen so many pictures of wheelchair or disability-related Halloween costumes on social media that I thought I’d share my own. The below are from the early 1980s. I went trick-or-treating as a golfer after I got my first power wheelchair scooter, which was a very new thing and I felt like everyone in the world wanted to tell me that it looked like a golf cart. I think it was Halloween 1983. The injured Philadelphia Eagle picture is dated 1980 on the back, and clearly before I had the good sense to become a fan of the Steelers!

Happy Halloween!

My Latest Article: The Ice Bucket Challenge and a Cold Dose of Reality

My most recent article is now on the Huffington Post Impact Section: The Ice Bucket Challenge and a Cold Dose of Reality http://huff.to/1wMNbIC; hope you’ll give it a read.

Farewell Summer 2014. You were productive but a bit dull. Sundays w/ the Phillies were fun. I need some down the shore time next year!!

Latest article: Self-Defense Breeds Confidence, Strength for Instructor and Students With Disabilities

My latest article is on The Huffington Post Impact section: Self-Defense Breeds Confidence, Strength for Instructor and Students With Disabilities http://huff.to/1l9SRuz. Hope you will give it a read.

I believe I have a rough draft. Thinking of it as an A to Z draft...the story is told. Much work to be done.

Happy to do some writing this morning instead of dealing with computer problems. Still hoping to make my Labor Day deadline for a novella rough.

My latest article, “Writing and Disability: Powerful Together”

I was glad to have the opportunity to reach some new readers with a guest post on “Blogging It Up with Marfi.” It’s been great connecting with someone with so much experience and wisdom (and equally strong opinions) on living with a disability. I hope you will check out my latest article, “Writing and Disability: Powerful Together.” Click here to read it.

Update 7/22/14: The article is now on the Huffington Post Impact section, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-j-quinn/writing-and-disability-po_b_5602527.html.

Beginning the ending. Working to have a draft of what I hope will be my first published fiction by Labor Day.

Starting to like the day-after-PT workout. Long ride by the river Saturday, great workout Monday, which usually means I’m a bit sluggish Wednesday. But with PT on Tuesday, I actually did slightly more (14+ mls) at the gym on Wednesday and felt stronger on the last day of the “cycling week.”

Check out my latest article, “Just Play,” on disABLE

My guest article for disABLE has been posted! Click here to read the article. 

Many thanks to Jimmy Curran and disABLE, The Brand, for the opportunity.

UPDATE 7/9/14: The Huffington Post Impact section picked up the article. Give disABLE some clicks . . . no, I don’t get anything . . . but you can see it on the HuffPost here.

Every now and then I have to let the sports blogger in me get out.

I think the ‪#‎Sixers‬ are going to blow the draft big time tonight. Sam Hinkie’s incognito act smells of fear to me. I would do anything I could to move up to get Jabari Parker. Joel Embiid seems destined to be the next big man to wear a suit on the bench for the Sixers. Andrew Wiggins has bust written all over him. He wet his pants in the NCAA tournament. And I don’t want to hear about the guy from Australia—nobody knows what he is. That said, I don’t know what you can really do. My guess is they’ll be stuck with Embiid, and hopefully they get lucky at 10. Let’s see some of that genius out of Hinkie!

I’m also guessing the U.S. gets a tie in the dullest soccer game ever against Germany. It’s supposedly raining like crazy and both teams advance with a tie—great tournament, by the way. Advance by tying!

Update: I don’t want to put too many posts up about sports, but I have to rant some more about the Sixers. What the Sixers did last night is absurd. Hinkie’s plan seems to be to permanently put success off into the future and to give fans a reason to be happy they’re losing. Maybe that’s his genius—he’s found a way to make losing palatable. They had picks 3 & 10 and come away with two guys who have absolutely no hope to play on opening night, and probably won’t play all year??? Are you f’in’ kidding me? Another year of tanking? They actually draft Russ Smith, who was a winner in college and might be a little bit worth watching, and they traded him for a guy they traded last year. Absolutely absurd. If you pay to go to the Sixers game next year YOU ARE A SUCKER!

Just submitted my third article in two days to various websites . . .

. . . making it a total of five articles written in the last month or so. Hoping it leads to some exposure. That’s it for the summer unless some paid opportunities pop up—want to meet my personal deadline to finish a draft of what I hope will be my first published fiction.

On the day my niece “graduates” 6th grade, here’s a ‪#‎tbt‬ from my “graduation” from Old Forge School—a school for kids with disabilities.

The concept is all but dead as I understand it with “inclusion” now the model for educating kids with physical disabilities. Overall, that’s the way it should be—kids with physical disabilities being educated alongside everyone else. But along the way of trying to keep up with everyone else, I think we lost a little bit of the importance of kids with disabilities being together. Old Forge had many shortcomings, but it was a place where kids with disabilities were just kids.

Bookstores, Non-profits, Schools / Teachers Can Get 36% Off My Book, I’m Not Here to Inspire You

I just learned that bookstores, retailers, organizations, non-profits, & schools (i.e. teachers/professors, I presume), can get 36% off on my book, I’m Not Here to Inspire You: Essays on disability from a regular guy living with cerebral palsy by ordering directly through iUniverse.com. And there is no minimum to purchase. You likely need to call to place the order. Contact me if you have a problem. I really believe the book can raise awareness about people with disabilities for high school students, be useful in the right disability studies courses, and, of course, I especially hope young people with disabilities will read it. This is the best offer yet that I’ve been able to offer non-profits and schools/teachers, which I think is the best path to getting the book to the target audience.

Aside from the obvious problem...when will able-bodied people learn that a wheelchair is part of personal space...

Four straight weeks of sales for I’m Not Here to Inspire You

Feedback is always welcome; some nice reviews are on Amazon. Hope high school teachers and college professors consider it for the fall; I think it can raise awareness and hope it would be worthwhile to prospective teachers, especially special education majors. Of course, my biggest hope is young people with disabilities will read I’m Not Here to Inspire You #INHTIY. Summer reading? Feel like I’m making progress on “the next thing,” which I hope will be fiction, but you never know ‘til it’s done. 

I was glad to communicate with Carol Marfisi of Independence Edge Studio to do an interview. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Carol and her perspective on disability (and other) topics for a while now.

Click here for the transcript.

Need more mornings like this--some productive writing before 9 AM.

“At times you say things I do not want to hear but need to. Other times you say things I wish I could say but I need to keep my job.” -Special Education teacher on I’m Not Here to Inspire You.

I received a couple positive responses this week from people with disabilities about I’m Not Here to Inspire You. It’s always good to hear from someone who has read the book, but it is especially gratifying to learn when someone with a disability read it and got something from it!

Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day Tweet / Facebook Post

If you haven’t done so previously, please consider “sharing” or re-tweeting I’m Not Here to Inspire You: Essays on disability from a regular guy living with cerebral palsy http://amzn.to/1jfORHu for ‪#‎CPawarenessday (Thanks in advance, and thanks to those who already have shared it.)

My latest article for The Mobility Resource is available . . .

Click here to read Doin' Disney with a Disability (and Why I'll Never Go Again).

Best Chance Yet to Let The Ellen DeGeneres Show Know about I’m Not Here to Inspire You

Today, Ellen DeGeneres asked people to let her know about books. As readers/followers may know, I created a video introducing my book just for Ellen months ago. Of course, I’m Not Here to Inspire You isn’t meant to be a joke, but if you liked the book it might be the perfect time to help ‪#‎getRobJQonEllen with a share, a tweet, or a comment on her YouTube video or website, about my book. Any support in my efforts to get The Ellen DeGeneres Show to consider the book for the show, or even just to get Ellen to mention it on Facebook and/or Twitter, would be tremendously appreciated. Of course, ‪#‎getRobJQonEllen has mostly been about having some fun and making others aware of the book in the course of the campaign. I really do believe the book has a strong, positive message, especially for young people with disabilities, and I am still working to let people know it’s out there. It would certainly be great to truly let the world know about the book by actually getting it on the show. Thanks!

Did you know it’s Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month? Well, ok, neither did I but it might be a great time to read I’m Not Here to Inspire You.

Most sales in one week on Amazon.com for I'm Not Here to Inspire You!

Not sure yet where the sales came from, but I’m hopeful high school ‪‎teachers‬ will consider it for discussing disability in their classrooms. I still have at least a few codes available for free downloads of the book for teachers who would like to preview it.

Nice to see some new areas filled in on Amazon’s map of where the book has sold. Don’t forget to join the #INHTIY Book Tour and help spread the word!

Click here for details on the Tour.

My latest article: 5 Things I Would Say To My Younger Self About Having A Disability

Check it out on The Mobility Resource here.

The toughest essay to publish in the book was “From the Heart, About the Heart.” Yes, people with disabilities look for love and sex too. Worth a Valentine’s Day read? Get the ebook in time!

Added this thought on Twitter on Valentine’s Day: Wonder how many people with disabilities got the sex talk as kids?

My post detailing my lifetime goal of creating a rec center for people with disabilities now on The Mobility Resource!

Check it out here.

Let me know (on Twitter, Facebook, or the TMR post) what you would want included in such a place.

The #INHTIY Book Tour reached #Steelers Country!

          Love that the #INHTIY Book Tour made it to Steelers Country in Pittsburgh! With an 8-4 finish, can’t wait for next season! Join the tour by posting a picture of the book @ me on Facebook or Twitter and continue to help spread the word about I’m Not Here to Inspire You.

Thinking Big

          It’s a new year, a time when many will take at least a few minutes to resolve to somehow do better in their lives. Whether it’s the ever popular goal of losing weight, going back to school, or spending more time on a favorite hobby, turning the calendar to 2014 will once again offer the chance to start anew.

          By the middle of January, if not sooner, every late night talk show host will take his turn at making a crack about new year’s resolutions already being forgotten. Yet, I generally choose to join the resolvers. In fact, last year I took the step of posting my 2013 resolutions right on my computer.

          No, I didn’t tweet them or post them on Facebook. I did write a blog post around them. I guess when you’re a writer, it’s what you do. But primarily, I printed them out and used a magnet to stick them on my computer tower.

          If you’re wondering what a computer tower is, ask your parents.

          Finally taking them down in the last week of December, I’d say I did pretty well. I published my book, I’m Not Here to Inspire You, and learned (and continue to learn) plenty about self-publishing. I actually finished writing a rough draft of a novel I had started to write in 2012. After months of effort I read it and thought . . . “eh.” So, for now, it’s in a drawer. I didn’t quite create a regular pickup game of manual wheelchair hockey, but I did join a power wheelchair hockey team—Philadelphia PowerPlay. Technically, I expanded my boundaries on the cycle by going a couple extra miles into new territory, but nothing like I wanted. I was in good enough shape to do it, but opportunity doesn’t always meet preparedness. And we won’t discuss my effort to stop wasting time on Facebook.

          If I add up the two halves, I’m counting 3 out of 5. Hey, bat .600 for a year at the plate in the majors and I guarantee you’ll make the mid-summer classic.

          This year I decided to think long-term. Sure, I want to publish some fiction by the end of 2014, and I’m at least training like I want to do the M.S. Ride in September. But this year I resolved to do something that I absolutely know I won’t accomplish by the time 2015 arrives. I won’t even be close. I may never be. But I think there’s something to putting a goal down on paper or out in the universe. Therefore, I decided to set a life goal. It’s a goal I actually mention in my book, but never detailed.

          I am going to build a rec center for people with disabilities in the suburban area of Philadelphia.

          I have a vision of part gym, part night club, part game room, part living room.

          The primary thought is to create a space for people with physical disabilities to have a chance to connect with each other in a place built for us. My idea is to have a place to go to simply be with others in our community. I think of teenagers or even adults who might head to the Y or the playground knowing they can likely find a pick-up game of hoops that they can join. Plenty of people might stop at a bar in the hopes of finding someone to talk to. Others might hit the gym for the social benefits as much as for the workout.

          Of course, people with disabilities aren’t excluded from any of those activities. But it’s rare to “bump into” someone else with a disability. Often we shy away from the bar scene for various reasons surrounding our disabilities—at least I do. And even having our friends with disabilities to our homes or going to their homes can be a challenge because of distance or the individual accessibility issues of each person.

          As a kid, I rarely got to just hang out with friends. Even now, getting together with friends with disabilities just to watch a ballgame would be a challenge. My home is accessible for me but not necessarily my friends. Most of us live quite a distance apart. And that’s just the start of the conversation.

          It might be a pipe dream to build a place where I know a bunch of us could easily get together to watch a ballgame, have a drink, or even play a little hoops. Funding issues alone would make it almost impossible to give a team like the Philadelphia PowerPlay a permanent home of their own. I already know of the many pitfalls a friend came across in her thoughts of creating an accessible fitness center some years ago.

          In fact, while my friend doesn’t have a disability, thinking of the concerns that squashed her plans before they ever really got going made me want to set this goal even more. I was always taught to be very realistic about my limitations, a message I have begun to think I took too much to heart.

          I remember wondering why my friend was worried about how people would get to her fitness center, as if it would be part of her responsibility to provide transportation. But in thinking about my idea, I realize that perhaps it was just a very realistic concern—if people can’t get to a place, it won’t be very successful. Even the thought of trying to “work the system” to help a segment of the local disability community reach a rec center on a regular basis is beyond intimidating to me. Of course, getting to the point of worrying about transportation might never happen. Trying to network with the right people to fund such a project seems impossible when networking for a job was always a nightmare. I don’t have a clue what would go into finding a location let alone actually building the rec center.

          I could easily let these concerns along with plenty of others put an end to my idea. If this resolution ever goes anywhere those concerns may very well be its end.

          However, instead of being realistic and figuring out all of the reasons it won’t work, maybe it’s time to think of what might be. I’ll never be a guy who jumps into the water hoping I learn how to swim, but it might be time to figure out how to enjoy the water anyway.

          A year ago I worried that self-publishing a book could be a big waste of time and money. Instead, with the book out and having dipped my toe back into the freelance writing pool in 2013, I’m hopeful for an even better 2014. I’m convinced more than ever that writing is my vehicle to all of my professional goals. No doubt it would take the revenue and clout of a bestseller or two to even start to think about making the rec center a reality.

          But a new year is dawning and thinking big never hurts as long as the little things are being attended to.

          Happy New Year, everybody. Think big in 2014 and beyond.