(PRWEB UK) 20 December 2016 -- AT LAST - ADULT FICTION FOR DYSLEXICS!
Who do so few adults pick up a book? Those of us who enjoyed the thrills of the printed page as children may simply say we’re too short of time these days. But for dyslexic adults, it may well be that reading is a chore rather than a pleasure.
That’s about to change, as Perfect City Press has just launched AA Abbott's crime thrillers in a special dyslexia-friendly edition. The Bride’s Trail and its sequel, The Vodka Trail, are fast-paced with short chapters. They’ve also been formatted in line with the British Dyslexia Association’s guidelines for documents.
10% of the population is dyslexic, but AA Abbott discovered no adult fiction was published for them. Although dyslexia-friendly books are produced for younger people, adults are expected to cope with traditionally formatted books. “I know e-books and audio-books can be helpful, but I thought it was a shame dyslexic adults couldn’t simply pick up a paperback and read it without struggling,” AA Abbott says. “I looked at the British Dyslexia Association guidelines and I thought: why not? I publish my books independently through Perfect City Press, and we can produce a new edition very quickly. While mainstream publishers plan for up to two years in advance, it’s taken us less than six weeks to have dyslexia-friendly books on sale for Christmas.”
WHAT MAKES A BOOK DYSLEXIA-FRIENDLY?
“There’s been dyslexia in my family for at least three generations, and I’d already tried to make my books easier on the eye,” AA Abbott says. “They were all printed on cream paper, and the first, Up In Smoke, used a sans serif font. But I needed to go further to meet the British Dyslexia Association guidelines - in particular, using large letters and more space.”
The British Dyslexia Association Style Guide recommends a sans serif font such as Verdana, with a 12-14 point font size, wide spacing, and dark text on a cream background. The new editions of The Bride’s Trail and The Vodka Trail are printed in Verdana 14 point, with a 1.5 line spacing between rows of text.
“I’m aware of special dyslexic fonts, such as Dyslexie,” AA Abbott says. “I tested them on dyslexic relatives, but they found conventional sans serif fonts just as easy to read provided the text was large enough. I couldn’t find proof that special fonts were better than Verdana, which came out well in comparison tests by the BDA New Technologies Committee.”
WHO ELSE WILL ENJOY THESE BOOKS?
The large print and cream paper makes these editions especially suitable for readers suffering from visual stress, or who have to squint at conventionally-sized text because it’s too small.
ABOUT 'THE BRIDE'S TRAIL' AND 'THE VODKA TRAIL'
Although both books can be read independently, The Bride’s Trail and The Vodka Trail follow the fortunes of Kat, a young croupier desperate to regain her family’s vodka business.
In The Bride’s Trail, Kat marries illegal immigrants for money using fake ID, is wrongly accused of stealing from a casino and disappears with gangsters on her trail. In The Vodka Trail, she crosses swords with vodka distributor Marty, then has to rely on him for her survival when both of them are kidnapped by terrorists.
AA Abbott had feedback from 20 readers on the draft of each book, and they were both professionally edited. “Readers deserve a high-quality book, whether it’s produced by a big publishing company or by the author herself,” AA Abbott says.
The titles are priced at £1.99 e-book, £7.99 traditional paperback format, and £16.99 dyslexia-friendly format. They can be ordered from bookshops or Amazon.
The new editions are pricier because they cost more to print, but AA Abbott points out, “They are still affordable and would make a great Christmas gift – or New Year treat.”
ABOUT AA ABBOTT
Also known as Helen Blenkinsop, AA Abbott chose her pen name in a shameless attempt to take the first slot on your bookshelves. A member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, she lives in Bristol and spends a lot of time in London and Birmingham, the cities where both books are set. She has also written other thrillers and short stories.
Helen Blenkinsop, Perfect City Press, http://aaabbott.co.uk, +44 7967467014, [email protected]
SOURCE Perfect City Press
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