Tag: Loss

Steam Heat #SixSentenceStoryThursdayLinkUp #Fiction #Inspiration

In the old house, the radiator hissed. I shivered as I snuggled under the covers with my hot water bottle. The one I loved was no longer with me, and the steam heat wasn’t doing me any good.

I’d shoveled plenty of coal in the boiler. I’d put a lot of oil in the burner. But without my loved one, I was cold.

Thanks to GirlieOnTheEdge for inspiring the above work of fiction with this week’s six-sentence prompt in which the given word is “steam.” The above song was one my college choir sang years ago, and I thought of it after reading the prompt. If you’d like to write something in exactly six sentences, using the word “steam” at least once, you can share in the comments or click below to join the fun and read other six-sentence creations. Thank you for stopping by.

 

InLinkz – Linkups & Link Parties for Bloggers

 


Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories

Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

Published independently with the help of DLD Books.

The scene shows an isolated barn off to the right in a snowy field, probably shortly after sunset. The foreground is a mixture of white, blue, and brown shades. Behind the barn is a line of dense, dark trees, many of them evergreens. The sky is the pink one sometimes sees at sunset, and a full moon hangs above the treetops to the left. The title is in plain black letters against the sky with a white glow behind them. The author’s name is in white letters near the bottom of the cover.

Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.

 

As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.

In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.

The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.

 

Click here for more information and ordering links.

 

About My Monthly Newsletter

 

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to News from My Corner by sending a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

Life After Loss #SixSentenceStoryThursdayLinkUp #Excerpts #WritingPrompts

I made myself toast and instant coffee and sat down at the kitchen table, where I stared out the window at the snow on the ground against the backdrop of the cloudless blue sky, where the sun shone as if nothing were wrong.

We’d received a dusting of snow overnight, and in the distance, I heard the swish of a broom as the few flakes that fell on somebody’s sidewalk were swept away. Much to my annoyance, Daryl had cleared our sidewalk earlier that morning before we left for the nursing home. I’d been anxious to see Mom for the last time, sure that Penny would call the funeral home if we didn’t show up right away. I knew now that I needn’t have worried.

After eating my toast, drinking my coffee, and taking in the surroundings, then cleaning up the kitchen, I turned my attention to the phone calls I needed to make.

***

Thanks to GirlieOnTheEdge for inspiring me to post the above excerpt from my novel, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me, with this week’s six-sentence prompt in which the given word is “ground.” If you’d like to write exactly six sentences, using this word at least once, you can share in the comments or click below to join the fun and read other six-sentence creations. Thank you for stopping by.

 

InLinkz – Linkups & Link Parties for Bloggers

 


Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories

Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

Published independently with the help of DLD Books.

The scene shows an isolated barn off to the right in a snowy field, probably shortly after sunset. The foreground is a mixture of white, blue, and brown shades. Behind the barn is a line of dense, dark trees, many of them evergreens. The sky is the pink one sometimes sees at sunset, and a full moon hangs above the treetops to the left. The title is in plain black letters against the sky with a white glow behind them. The author’s name is in white letters near the bottom of the cover.

Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.

 

As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.

In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.

The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.

 

Click here for more information and ordering links.

 

About My Monthly Newsletter

 

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to News from My Corner by sending a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

To Bill in the Hereafter #TuesdayTidbit #Poetry #Inspiration

Let me read it to you.

 

To Bill in the Hereafter

Copyright 2024 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

 

 

Before you, I had no one,

was content to have no one,

knowing others abused and cheated on

by those they loved.

 

Then, you came, out of the blue,

turned my world upside down.

It took some time,

but I realized you were the one.

 

Through the years, and there weren’t many,

I loved you till the end,

during good and bad times,

did everything for you

that you could no longer do for yourself

after two strokes paralyzed you.

 

Now, I’m back to where I was,

not having anyone and not wanting anyone.

I wait for the day

we’ll be together again.

 

Back Story

 

I don’t remember what inspired me to write this poem. But I do remember writing it during an online class with poet John Sibley Williams. The poem appears in the fall/winter issue of Magnets and Ladders, which can be read here. Thank you for reading and/or listening.

 


Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

For those who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled in the United States, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me is now available in an audio format from their site. To download this book click here.

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to my email list to receive my monthly newsletter and other announcements. This is a one-way announcements list, meaning the only messages you’ll receive will come from me. So, you can rest assured that this list is low-traffic. Send a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go.

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Copyright 2021 by Abbie Johnson Taylor.

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

The cover of the book features an older woman sitting in a wicker chair facing a window. The world beyond the window is bright, and several plants are visible on the terrace. Behind the woman’s chair is another plant, with a tall stalk and wide rounded leaves. The woman has short, white hair, glasses, a red sweater, and tan pants. The border of the picture is a taupe color and reads "Why Grandma Doesn't Know Me" above the photo and "Abbie Johnson Taylor" below it.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.

After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?

Pummeled by a Loved One’s Illness and Death #SixSentenceStoryThursdayLinkUp #WritingPrompts #Inspiration

“It’s cancer,” my mother told me over the phone on a summer morning in 1999. She’d been to the hospital to have fluid removed from her lungs. Now, she was telling me the fluid was cancerous, and the diagnosis was like a punch to my gut.

She soon started chemotherapy. Six months later, the oncologist gave her a good prognosis. But on December 15th, she suddenly left this world, and that was another punch.

***

Thanks to GirlieOnTheEdge for inspiring the above with her six-sentence prompt for this week, in which the given word is “punch,” and the idea is to write something in exactly six sentences, using the word at least once. You can click here to participate on your blog and see other responses. Thank you for reading.

 


Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

For those who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled in the United States, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me is now available in an audio format from their site. To download this book click here.

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to my email list to receive my monthly newsletter and other announcements. This is a one-way announcements list, meaning the only messages you’ll receive will come from me. So, you can rest assured that this list is low-traffic. Send a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go.

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Copyright 2021 by Abbie Johnson Taylor.

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

The cover of the book features an older woman sitting in a wicker chair facing a window. The world beyond the window is bright, and several plants are visible on the terrace. Behind the woman’s chair is another plant, with a tall stalk and wide rounded leaves. The woman has short, white hair, glasses, a red sweater, and tan pants. The border of the picture is a taupe color and reads "Why Grandma Doesn't Know Me" above the photo and "Abbie Johnson Taylor" below it.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.

After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?

A Book for Older Ladies: My Review of To the Women by Donna Ashworth #FantasticFridayReads #Poetry #Inspiration

What Amazon Says

 

To The Women is the second book from History Will Remember author and social media wordsmith, Donna Ashworth. Donna’s poems and essays for women are constantly flying around the Internet, bringing positivity and solidarity. This collection contains 48 favourite poems, plus beautiful quotes, truly something for everyone, to inspire, comfort, and motivate. It makes the perfect gift from one woman to another.

Praise for Donna…

“Donna’s writing calms me down, lifts me up, inspires and enlightens. She makes women feel good about themselves and that’s my type of girl!”–Denise Welch, Loose Women.

“Donna has an incredible gift of posting beautiful words which touch your heart at exactly the right time you need them. Her words support and motivate; they uplift and inspire.”–Kim Nash, Author.

 

Buy from Amazon.

 

My 5-Star Review

 

I was drawn to this book after reading about it on one of the blogs I follow. When I read the first poem, “It’s Time,” I was filled with a joyous sense of peace by the idea that I could say no. The book only got better after that.

I like the popular highlights that provide sage advice. I could relate to “If You’re a Woman Without Her Mother” for an obvious reason. “If I Ever Have to Leave” is what my late husband would have told me if he’d thought of it. Bringing home the point that you are enough, this is a book all older women should read.

 

Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to my email list to receive my monthly newsletter and other announcements. This is a one-way announcements list, meaning the only messages you’ll receive will come from me. So, you can rest assured that this list is low-traffic. Send a blank email to:  newsfrommycorner+subscribe@groups.io  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go.

 

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Copyright 2021 by Abbie Johnson Taylor.

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

The cover of the book features an older woman sitting in a wicker chair facing a window. The world beyond the window is bright, and several plants are visible on the terrace. Behind the woman’s chair is another plant, with a tall stalk and wide rounded leaves. The woman has short, white hair, glasses, a red sweater, and tan pants. The border of the picture is a taupe color and reads "Why Grandma Doesn't Know Me" above the photo and "Abbie Johnson Taylor" below it.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.

After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?