Wisconsin writer pens novels featuring characters with disabilities
RICE LAKE, Wis. — For 25 years, Katie Mettner of Rice Lake has been living a love story with her beloved husband, but there was a painful chapter that happened after a ski accident.
"By the time I was 35 I became an amputee, I had already been using a wheelchair for 3 or 4 years," Mettner explained.
As she adjusted to her new identity, the avid fiction reader realized she could barely identify with any of the characters in mainstream books.
"I was like, okay we got to do something about this. We have to write a story that actually talks about what it's like to have a disability and that you are just a normal person. And you can fall in love, and you can have an epic love story because in the end all we want is a love story," said Mettner.
So she started writing.
She published on Amazon and immediately people started reading.
"It was so nice to be represented in this genre," readers reacted. "Because romance is the biggest genre in the world and when you don't see yourself represented there, it's hard to connect."
Every novel Mettner wrote had a character with a disability. Her characters use wheelchairs, has a foot drop, and in another one, the character had her foot amputated. Some had hidden disabilities, like congenital heart disease.
"I write them so that people with disabilities can feel represented and also so people without disabilities can read them and learn about people-first language, different disabilities and how they can approach people in their community. Instead of saying 'Oh let me get that for you,' say 'do you need any help?'" Mettner said.
Now she writes Harlequin Intrigue mystery novels and general romance.
She's published 61 books - with 10 more on the way.
You can find Mettner's novels on Amazon, she's also on Instagram and Facebook. All of her love stories are based in Minnesota or Wisconsin.