Disabled passengers

One of the nicest things about writing a book about backpacking across the world in a blue chair is that sometimes you are asked to put the knowledge you have gained and put it to good use for the benefit of other disabled passengers in various forms of travel.

I have been working in the background to ensure that disabled travel passengers will have safe and efficient trips in the future. You never know what positive things will come out of writing a book!!

Spring Book Fairs - disabled traveller

With the advent of Spring on the horizon, I will be looking forward to checking out the various events in the area, and participating!

It is always so nice to meet and greet and let more people know about "Travels in a Blue Chair".

Keep tuned into this page for updates on the events I will be attending in 2012.

Follow me on Twitter

I have now created an account on Twitter, so I will be tweeting all things new and exciting.

BlueChairBook on Twitter!

You can follow me by using the link above. Enjoy!

Kindle edition of Travels in a Blue Chair

Great news! Travels in a Blue Chair is now available on Kindle as an eBook to be downloaded from Amazon.

You can take my adventures with you on the morning train, on the plane or anywhere you want to read it easily and electronically!

Here is the link....

Travels in a Blue Chair - the Kindle edition eBook

Happy Travels!

Word on the Street Festival

I have contacted Nicola, the festival director of the "Word on the Street Festival", which is held in the city each September. It is a great author's event held at Queen's Park right in the centre of town.

I am hoping they are interested in learning more about books on the disabled experience! I think it would be a great event to showcase "Travels in a Blue Chair", and open some eyes to the book loving general public. Here's hoping!

Accessibility Toronto - Rogers TV show

I have contacted the local cable TV show "Accessibility Toronto", to see if they would be interested in an interview this year?

The program is great, and features accomplishments of the disabled community in the city.

I am hoping to hear back from them in the next few weeks and will keep you posted!

Another year comes to an end.

It is hard to believe that another year of this bloggiary is coming to an end soon!

This year has been quite eventful with appearances, interviews and even some travels! My travel experiences this year were quite interesting in both a good and a bad way. More to come on the bad part later on.

I will say a special "Thank You" to each of you who have read this page and those of you who have supported "Travels in a Blue Chair" over these last 4 years!

Happy New Year!

GoodReads.com - author page

Serge, a buddy of mine who is a great reader, recently told me about the website GoodReads. He is an avid reader and urged me to participate as an author to try to spread the word about the book.

I have set up an "Author's Page", although it is quite sparse just now. I am trying to determine the best approach, and will be updating it regularly. The website urges me to run a contest to raise interest so I will be considering that.

Here is a look so far...

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6933375-travels-in-a-blue-chair

Gretzky is a great guy!

I recently attended an event for the local hospital last night, and the guest speaker was Wayne Gretzky! Wayne is only the greatest hockey player of all time and does quite a lot of charity work now that he is in his retirement.

As I was enjoying a glass of wine and some sushi, someone to my left stuck out his hand for me to shake. Since I am in a chair, I didn't see who it was at first, as his head is at a different level than mine, but I shook the hand without thinking. It turned out to be Wayne!!

I told him my "Gretzky story", about how I was in the old Buffalo Aud when he scored a natural hat trick in the third period to win the game 3-2, and in doing so, he broke Phil Esposito's NHL goal scoring record. He laughed when I told him I was annoyed with him, because he scored all the goals at the other end of the ice, since I was behind the Oilers net that night.

I gave him a signed copy of my book, Travels in a Blue Chair, and he was really interested. Later, when it was time for my picture to be taken with him, he even remembered my name, likely because it is also his dad's name. On the way out he again called my name and said he looked forward to reading it.

Wayne is well known for his mild mannered demeanor and being a nice guy. He really is too!

Toronto Public Library - speaking @ Pape and Danforth

I have been contacted by Alice at the Pape and Danforth branch of the Toronto Public Library about speaking about "Travels in a Blue Chair" in the spring!

One of the great things I enjoy is being able to reach out to readers and travellers alike, especially at libraries. One of my most memorable was in Haldimand-Norfolk, when I packed the house with enthusiastic readers!

I am really looking forward to getting out there and meeting the group at the Pape and Danforth branch in a short while. Thanks Alice!