Ann Chiappetta

Making Meaningful Connections

First Book Revamped

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Poem Relationships writing Writing Life

Yes, readers, my first book, Upwelling: Poems C 2016, www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta/ , a slim volume totaling 60 pages, is being recorded and prepared for Audible.com. This is an opportunity that transpired because of who I knew, aka, networking.

I hope this format will help me get my work to more readers. I hope it will help generate income, too; what I am hoping for the most is for an agent or publisher to become interested in my work.

Each step taken is one step closer to being represented.
It is hard to keep going, though, and sometimes it feels like all the effort, the self-promoting, and the book signings and readings are sucked into
a black hole.

What keeps me going is working with other creative professionals, like Lilly, who has done a fantastic job, capturing the nuances and emotions of poetry.

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Upwelling ebook cover white flowers against black background framed in red border

by annchiappetta_nxovue | tags : | 2

S Is For Success, Sort of

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Yes, readers, the new wickedly light and sexy infinity edge Dell laptop is good to go, thanks to much patience and help from my friend, mike. The first model was returned and I even made the first payment. Last Saturday I visited Mike and he helped me configure it. Now I will be using Windows 10, JAWS screen reader version 2018 and adding a few programs I use for writing and blogging. I even purchased an external DVD drive, and found it quick and easy to use.

What I did not allude to in the blog post, “D Is For Dilemma’, was that I’d also upgraded to an iPhone XR from an iPhone 6S. I think this transition was harder due to the change from buttons to haptics, removal of the home button, and new gesturing commands as compared to the older phone.
Here is a little poem about it.
On the Tip of a Finger
By Ann Chiappetta

Tap.
Flick up.
Flick down.
tap tap.
use a digit
drag it around.

press side button;
“Hello Siri” — why doesn’t she talk?
Slide and lift
Thumbs are best to text.
Swipe up with index finger
Tap tap to select.
Tippity-tap tap
Doink doink doink
Try middle finger gesture instead.

Spell Onomatopoeia
 NOT ammonia —

Swish, swoosh blunk

Dexterity demands flanges
To execute a pinch or scrub.

“Hi Siri,”

I didn’t say that

Slide and lift
Thumbs are best to text.
Swipe up with index finger
Tap tap to select.

D is for Dilemma

| Filed under blindness writing Writing Life

I finally decided to purchase a notebook style laptop. I wanted something portable with gobs of gigs and high-end drivers. What Can I say – I don’t own a car, so I wanted a luxury computer instead. I shopped, researched my required configuration possibilities, and made the call.

The sales person was polite and friendly. I placed the order and the call only took 30 minutes. Not bad, thought I; the new infinity edge 15” weighing only 4.5 lbs. would soon be on the way.

Being blind and a user of a speech program, I made the appointment with an assistive technology expert for the following Saturday. He suggested I plug in the unit to charge it, but not to open it until we were ready to configure it; I confirmed it was getting power and didn’t think any more about it.

Saturday afternoon, we opened and hit the power button. Nothing happened. Suffice it to say either the unit was damaged in transit or it was a Dud, refurbished or otherwise.
I made the dreaded call, spent 45 minutes saying I wanted a replacement, being sifted through customer service, then technical support, and finally a supervisor, who confirmed my request.

I was disappointed, to say the least but based on what the supervisor, Puja stated, my replacement would be on its way Monday.

Monday morning, an email message and phone call from Dell’s technical support/premium warranty and support department explained they required two photos one of the laptop, service number and sticky note with my name and time and date of call, and, 2. , serial number on the charging adapter, to be taken and sent back to them. The first set of photos were rejected. The second set was accepted. Unless they find another “requirement” to delay the replacement, my replacement has been “dispatched,”. This is, from what I can tell, is the confirmation of the replacement laptop.
So, readers, what should have taken a few days in this world of instant gratification and digital access, will most likely take about three weeks.

by annchiappetta_nxovue | tags : | 3

Meet The Author

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Meet The Author Ann Chiappetta
May 16 from 5 – 7 p.m. Westchester Disabled on the Move 984 N. Broadway, suite 400/4th floor, Yonkers, 914.968.4717 or www.wdom.org/

In this new collection, Words Of Life: Poems And Essays, the author once again exhibits the ability to write about both the light and dark sides of life. .

National Poetry Month

| Filed under Poem Relationships writing Writing Life

TROPHIES
By Ann Chiappetta

Burnished figures on pedestals
Inscribed electroplate
Into households they gather, insidious
Conniving onto shelf and mantle place

They represent childhood paragons
Foster a competitive edge;
Rally spirits when called upon
As we leap and clear the proverbial hedge

They possess our emotions, sentiments
Simbiants woven into beliefs
A bit of blanket, a toddler’s treasure
Photos that trigger grief

Even in death we cannot escape
Carved markers above bones underneath
Grassy knolls peppered with maudlin
Guardians, trophies the dead bequeath

Yet the living tend the reminders
While the dead are set free
What a breath holds dear
Spirits don’t need.

2005

Blogging Words of Life

| Filed under blindness Poem writing Writing Life

Yes, indeed, dear readers — blogosphere followers, it is a two-for-one weekend. Thanks to Ann Harrison-Barnes and Sally Cronin for helping promote my newest book, WORDS OF LIFE: POEMS AND ESSAYS C2019.
First, Sally’s link:
https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/04/07/smorgasbord-blog-magazine-the-sunday-interview-getting-to-know-author-ann-chiappetta/
and here is Ann’s:
https://annwritesinspiration.com/2019/04/06/featured-book-of-the-week-words-of-life-poems-and-essays-by-ann-chiappetta/
Feel free to Re-blog, tweet, and share and thanks very much for all the support.
Visit www.annchiappetta.com for more about me or go to www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta/ for all eBook and print purchasing links to all my books.

Words Of Life Press Release

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Poem Relationships Writing Life

For Immediate Release
Contact Ann Chiappetta, author: 914.393.6605 anniecms64@gmail.com
Local Author Celebrates National Poetry Month with New Book Release
April 2, 2019 – New Rochelle, NY
New Rochelle author Ann Chiappetta publishes WORDS OF LIFE: POEMS AND ESSAYS. It is the author’s third independently published and self-promoted book. The collection combines poems, essays, and flash fiction drawing upon life’s vicissitudes, including nature’s beauty and cruelty, the foibles of relationships, the love of family, and the unconditional regard and respect for the author’s guide dogs.
The book is available in e-book format for $3.99 and in paperback for $9.95 from Amazon and multiple other online booksellers. Go to Chiappetta’s author’s page, http://www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta/, for book buying links and to read an excerpt.
Chiappetta’s books were edited and prepared for electronic and print format by DLD Books Editing and Self-Publishing Services: http://www.dldbooks.com/ .
From the Author:
“I loved organizing the poems and essays for this book. I feel it is an autobiographical sketch of my creative life, and the reader gets a peek into who I am and how I feel and think. This collection is especially meaningful to me because I have proven that being blind is no longer a significant barrier to completing a printed book with a beautiful cover and top-notch book preparation, thanks to DLD Books.”
Chiappetta’s book signing dates, planned for later in 2019, will be announced on her website, www.annchiappetta.com. To book Chiappetta as a guest speaker, go to www.annchiappetta.com.
About the Author:
Ann Chiappetta, M.S., is an author and poet. Her writing has been featured in many small press publications and collegiate journals. Ann’s nonfiction essays have been printed in Dialogue magazine, and her poems are often featured in Magnets and Ladders. Her poetry is also included in Breath and Shadow’s 2016 debut anthology, Dozen: The Best of Breath and Shadow. Her first collection, UPWELLING: POEMS (C 2016) and FOLLOW YOUR DOG: A STORY OF LOVE AND TRUST (C 2017), are available in both e-book and print formats from http://www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta/ .
Ann’s blog: www.thought-wheel.com
Ann’s personal website: www.annchiappetta.com
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For 314 PI Day

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For PI Day from my new book.

book cover white rocks beside patterns of sandFrom WORDS OF LIFE: POEMS AND ESSAYS © 2019 By Ann Chiappetta

Elixir of Life

A perfume memory
Aromatic
Fills the air nostalgically

Notes
Of geranium, moss, soft musk
Perennial tones capture the scent of sunlight and sorrow

Ache Awakens
Once hibernate in the mental loam
Memory buds bloom, perfume released

Rekindling the loss
Caressed by Ribbons of comfort
Like honeysuckle on the wind, flavors of love

Sweeten bitter tears like dew drops on cheek petals
Within each lies a prism of hope
Awaiting release, gathering energy, aroma clusters coiled in readiness

Flowery, Sweet scents
Patchouli, bergamot
extracted, bottled, applied

Aromatic notes fill an olfactory repository with meaning
Remembering the smell, searching
Whispers of love, warmth, consolation

For what
Triggered a walk through the bouquet-journal
The book

The perfume memory
The nostalgic elixir.

WORDS OF LIFE: POEMS AND ESSAYS
C 2019 by Ann Chiappetta

About the Book

In this new collection of poems, essays, and flash fiction, the author once again exhibits her ability to write about both the light and dark sides of life. There are numerous poems and stories about nature: its kindness, cruelty, and wonder. There are frank expressions of the sadness and frustration she felt at the progressive loss of her eyesight and a poem about the social isolation that disability can bring. Other pieces, though, sing of joys as diverse as family closeness, the love of dogs, the delights of scents, and the power of the muse. Just as in her first volume of poetry, Upwelling: Poems (2016), there is no fluff here. To read Ann Chiappetta’s works is to feel them deeply, appreciate them mightily, and remember them forever.

From the Introduction

While it is my hope that all the pieces in this book resonate with my readers, I have my favorites. Some of the poems have been previously published; all reflect what lies within. This volume is accented with a few photographs. As I lose the last vestiges of my vision, bringing a meaningful visual array to this collection seems imperative. Finally, dear reader, I want to share the prose that reflects the way I’ve lived my creative life.

If just one poem or essay resonates with you, I have accomplished the purpose. For a moment, as the eye reads and the brain interprets, the reader slips into the shoes of the writer. This is the true spirit of what it means to be creative, open, to offer the emotions in such a way as to give another person the opportunity to appreciate the writer’s experience with the words of life.

Contact Information

Ann Chiappetta lives in New Rochelle, New York
Email: anniecms64@gmail.com
Phone: 914-393-6605
Book-related website: http://www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta/
Blog: www.thought-wheel.com

The author’s previous two books are Upwelling: Poems (2016) and Follow Your Dog: A Story of Love and Trust (2017)