Hello Gail! Recently learning about this in school, and I was wondering how much you looked to the handicapped civil rights movement for drive and characterization for Oracle - since it was all happening when she got paralyzed, and the Americans with Disa

I would love to be able to say that it was a huge inspiration, but I have to say I don’t recall using it in that manner in particular.

Truthfully, I tried my very best to imbue Oracle with the experiences and information that disabled readers shared with me while I was writing her. I kept in close contact with several disability rights groups, and I tried to keep up on the recent literature.

But reading about such things is not the same as practical experience, and we could have done SO much more. In particular, it took ages for us to get her in a chair that wasn’t a relic, and some of that was my fault. I should have made it a priority.

And now she’s gone, which sucks.

Truthfully, if there are more Oracle stories someday, I would love to see a writer with disabilities take on the character. I think it could be incredibly meaningful to a great many people.