The inspiration for this book stems from my own experiences of 'disability'. Various things that happened to me as a deaf child forty-odd years ago are still crystal clear in my mind. The bizarre array of value judgements around disability in our society, particularly when imposed upon us as children, can have a lasting impact on our lives. "Living Where the Nights Jive" tells the stories of twelve disabled women, ten from Wales and two from the West of England. The stories are taken from interviews, and edited into a narrative. The women interviewed are aged from late 20s to 60 plus. All are involved in the arts in some respect, whether as writers, visual artists, performers or administrators.We disabled women have not been given too many chances to put our side of things. Even in today's inclusive, sharing, diverse world, we still come pretty low down on the list of 21st Century wannabes. Yet our history is rich, awful, funny and fabulous. We are part of the fabric of society. Over hundreds and thousands of years we have been doing our stuff; helping friends, raising families, earning a living, laying out the dead, sewing quilts, painting, singing, creating for all we are worth. Yet look at the history of the arts in the Western world, and you'd never guess. With a few notable exceptions, we are invisible.