Asking For Beta Readers with Autism

ETA: Wow, and thank you. I’ve got several emails I still need to reply to, but I think at this point I have enough beta readers to help me with the story. I very much appreciate all of your responses.

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Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes, and for sharing various positive and awesome things. I don’t know about you, but for me, reading your comments and hearing about the good things in your lives brought some much-needed hope and happiness yesterday.

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I’ve just finished writing a story about Nicola Pallas, an autistic bard from the Libriomancer books. This one is set many years earlier, when Nicola is unaware of the larger world of magic.

I’ve talked before about my son being autistic. To be blunt, this story is important to me, and I want to get it right. I want Nicola to be an individual, not the One True Representative of Autism. I want to avoid the various cliches and problematic storylines (there is no “cure” narrative in this one). And I want her experiences and perceptions to ring true.

So I’m asking for a few beta readers with autism, to take a look at this story and help me make it stronger. If you’re interested and willing to help me on this, please email me at jchines -at- sff.net.

Thank you.