Tag: Writing

Six-Sentence Story Thursday Link Up: Life After Bill

Now that I have the whole house to myself, I write wherever I want: in the recliner or office, at the kitchen table, or in the back yard, where I also feel close to Bill. During thunderstorms, I write in our bedroom, where I feel safe in an armchair that Bill often used before his strokes.

I could sell the house and relocate to an apartment, but why? The house is paid for, and as long as I can maintain it and the yard, with some assistance from the senior center’s help–at–home program and a lawn care service, I see no reason to move. Besides, transitioning to a smaller place would mean downsizing. Although it has been almost three years since Bill’s death, I’m not ready to go through his myriad possessions scattered throughout the house.

Thanks to GirlieOnTheEdge for inspiring me to share the above excerpt from my memoir, My Ideal Partner with this week’s six-sentence story prompt in which the given word is “thunder.” If you’d like to write something in exactly six sentences, using the word, or a form of it, 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

 

Announcing Smashwords 18th Annual Summer/Winter Sale

 

I’m excited to announce that my books, Living Vicariously in Wyoming, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me, The Red Dress, and My Ideal Partner, will be available ABSOLUTELY FREE at Smashwords during their 18th Annual Summer/Winter Sale! This lasts the entire month of July and is a great time to get my books, along with books from other talented indie authors, at bargain prices. You’ll find the sale here. Happy reading!

 

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!

 

Tuesday Treasures: Jumping Off the High Dive — Poetry

Jumping Off the High Dive

©2026 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

 

 

 

As the hot summer sun beats down,

stand at the board’s edge,

sensing your closeness to the sky.

Look down momentarily to be sure the way is clear,

not letting the dizzying height alarm you.

Close your eyes – bend your knees – lift off.

Feel the exhilaration of sailing through the air,

The water’s refreshing coolness as you splash down.

You did it!

When my younger brother Andy and I were kids, we often swam at the local park pool that had both a low and a high diving board. Once, Andy decided to try diving off the high dive.

He was an expert swimmer and diver, and just about everyone in the pool knew this. We all watched in anticipation as he climbed the ladder to the high dive. At the edge, he hesitated for the longest time while we urged him on. Finally, he said, “I can’t do it.” Humiliated, he turned and descended the ladder as other kids in line behind him grudgingly climbed down ahead of him.

I was never good at diving. I tried it a few times in college and always bellyflopped. Looking back, I wish I’d tried at least jumping off the high dive instead of ridiculing my little brother for being such a chicken. Maybe Andy wouldn’t have been scared if he’d seen me jumping off the high dive.

This memory came to me back in April during National Poetry Month when someone in my Behind Our Eyes group prompted us to write a poem using a word beginning with the letter J. The word “jump” came to mind, hence the above poem. It was recently published in The Weekly Avocet, and you can download the issue here. I hope you enjoyed it and 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

 

Announcing Smashwords 18th Annual Summer/Winter Sale

 

I’m excited to announce that my books, Living Vicariously in Wyoming, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me, The Red Dress, and My Ideal Partner, will be available ABSOLUTELY FREE at Smashwords during their 18th Annual Summer/Winter Sale! This lasts the entire month of July and is a great time to get my books, along with books from other talented indie authors, at bargain prices. You’ll find the sale here. Happy reading!

 

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!

 

Monday Musings – What’s Your Book About?

As a writer, have you ever been flummoxed when someone asked you what your book was about? I’ve usually launched into a lengthy synopsis. But after listening to a recent episode of the Grammar Girl podcast here, I found a better way to answer this question.

According to the expert interviewed on the podcast, instead of providing a detailed description of the book, the idea is to summarize the book in one sentence, emphasizing its main selling point. For example, if you wrote a cookbook on Mexican cuisine, you might say, “This book will show you how to make great enchiladas in simple steps.

Below, I’ve summarized a few of my books in one sentence, showcasing each book’s main selling point. These books are available free from Smashwords as part of their annual summer/winter sale. Please see below for details.

Living Vicariously in Wyoming is a collection of stories about people in Wyoming who find themselves in ordinary and not-so-ordinary situations. Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me is about a sixteen-year-old girl who gradually matures after her grandmother tells her a shocking family secret. The Red Dress is about how a homemade garment shapes a woman’s life. My Ideal Partner is about how I met and married my late husband, then cared for him after he suffered two paralyzing strokes until his death.

If you’re a published author, I challenge you to come up with one sentence summarizing the main selling point of one of your books and share it in the comments. You might try summarizing an entire series you’ve written. There’s no right or wrong way to do this. I suggest you listen to the above linked podcast episode to get some ideas. I look forward to reading your book summaries and thank you for stopping by.


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

 

Announcing Smashwords 18th Annual Summer/Winter Sale

 

I’m excited to announce that my books, Living Vicariously in Wyoming, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me, The Red Dress, and My Ideal Partner, will be available ABSOLUTELY FREE at Smashwords during their 18th Annual Summer/Winter Sale! This lasts the entire month of July and is a great time to get my books, along with books from other talented indie authors, at bargain prices. You’ll find the sale here. Happy reading!

 

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!

 

Marti’s Writing Dilemma: a Six-Sentence Excerpt from Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

At first, I had plenty of time to write. For a while, before funding ran out, the college produced an annual literary journal. I was in charge of editing that, and some of my stories and poems were published there. I even had ideas for a novel.

After the girls were born, I didn’t have nearly as much time to write. I kept telling myself that once the girls were in school, things would change, but they didn’t.

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 story prompt. If you’d like to write something in exactly six sentences, using the word “charge” 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 visiting.

 

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!

 

Book Covers Worth Many Words #MondayMusings #OpenBookBlogHop #WritingPrompts

Welcome to another Open Book Blog Hop. Here’s this week’s prompt.

***

Do you have a favorite site for free photos to use with your writing? Or do you use paid photos?

***

The only photos I use are for book covers. Leonore, my editor at DLD Books found great pictures from various online sources for Living Vicariously in Wyoming, (See below.) Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me, The Red Dress, and My Ideal Partner.

The photos for the covers of That’s Life: New and Selected Poems and How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver were taken by friends. Someone at iUniverse, the firm that helped me publish We Shall Overcome, designed the photo for that cover. I’m proud to say that my book covers have received rave reviews.

***

If you’re an author, where do you get photos you use in your work? You can sound off in the comments or click below to join the conversation and see what others say. Thank you for reading.

 

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!