Just My Luck #FridayFinds #Fiction #Inspiration

Just when Teresa thinks she’s had all the hard knocks she can stand, life throws her one more. But in a surprising way, she bounces back. Please click below to enjoy this story from my new collection, Living Vicariously in Wyoming on my website.

***

The weekend after I was laid off from my job as a high school guidance counselor, my husband Charles and I went skiing. I took a flying leap off a small hill and landed spread-eagled in the snow, my skis pointing in one direction, my poles in another. My right knee was badly twisted.

***

Fiction Sample – My Corner

 


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:  [email protected] .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

Before We Knew What was Coming #SixSentenceStoryThursdayLinkUp #Excerpts #WritingPrompts

The service, performed by a judge who was a family friend, was short, sweet, and to the point. Bill wrote a detailed script for the event that even indicated who would bring us our plates from the buffet during the reception. We recited our own vows that we wrote earlier with the help of a website Bill found. At the end, we had a good laugh when the judge said, “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Johnson, uh, I mean Taylor.” As we walked up the aisle, I wondered if this would jinx our marriage. Little did I know what was to come.

***

Thanks to GirlieOnTheEdge for inspiring me to share the above excerpt from My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds. This is in response to this week’s six-sentence story prompt in which the given word is “vow.” If you’d like to write something in exactly six sentences, using the 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:  [email protected] .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

Don’t Quit Your Day Job #MondayMusings #OpenBookBlogHop #WritingPrompts

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

***

What is the biggest “don’t” in writing? (What should a writer never do?)

***

In 2000 while working as a registered music therapist with nursing home residents, I took up writing as a hobby but was considering it as a career. However, a friend told me not to quit my day job. I took his advice until 2005 when I married my late husband Bill.

Then, he convinced me that we could get by on just our disability income from Social Security and didn’t need my income from the nursing home job. I haven’t looked back since. Even now that he’s gone, I’m still getting enough income from my disability and widow’s benefits that I don’t need to work.

But I think my friend’s advice was sound. Unless you become a bestselling author with an annual publishing contract, you’d better have another source of income to survive as a writer. Of course, having a job may not give you a lot of time to write, and that was definitely the case with me. But I thought it was better than being a starving artist.

***

What’s something you don’t think a writer should do? You can answer in the comments or click below to join the conversation and read other responses. 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:  [email protected] .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

Hang Up Your Sock #SundaySunshine #Jottings #Gratitude

Each Sunday, I share something that has made me grateful in the past week. On Christmas Eve, I did a program through the ACB (American Council of the Blind) Community that was just released as a podcast last week. I’m delighted to share this with you.

In 2020 during the COVID lockdown era, the ACB Community was formed to give isolated residents an opportunity to socialize and participate in a variety of activities on Zoom. Later, events became available in Clubhouse. Now, there are over a hundred programs each week with topics including music, crafts, technology, and more. Some are broadcast on ACB Media, an Internet radio service produced by the American Council of the Blind.

Every month, I do a social activity on the second Wednesday called Abbie’s Alcove, where we share memories on a variety of subjects. But on Christmas Eve, I did something a little different.

I started doing “Hang Up Your Sock” last year inspired by a Thanksgiving activity, where participants were asked to describe their own personal floats in a Thanksgiving parade. On Christmas Eve, there’s a virtual tree lighting, where people can describe an ornament to be hung on the tree, then someone is chosen to place the star on top. I thought it would be a neat idea to do something similar with stockings hung by the fireplace for Santa.

When I was growing up, on Christmas Eve, my family always hung stockings by the fireplace. Afterward, Dad read aloud Twas the Night Before Christmas. Now, my parents are gone, and my brother and his wife, living in Florida, probably don’t carry on this tradition, with their kids all grown. I wanted to bring this tradition to the ACB Community, which has also been my family for the past several years.

In “Hang Up Your Sock,” we gathered virtually in front of a crackling fire — with plenty of mantle space for everyone’s stockings and cupcakes and eggnog for all to enjoy. I encouraged participants to describe a stocking to be hung by the chimney. We even had time to share some Christmas memories. Then, I read Twas the Night Before Christmas to conclude the event.

This program is now available as a podcast, and you can click the link below to hear it. If you’re still in a festive mood after the holidays, maybe listening to this will bring back memories, and you can share them in the comments. Alternatively, you can tell us what made you grateful in the past week. I’m grateful for the opportunity to provide an activity for people home alone on Christmas Eve. Thank you for reading and listening.

 

20251224 Hang Up Your Sock – ACB Community – Apple Podcasts

 


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:  [email protected] .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!

A Great and Influential Musical Act: My Review of Blood Harmony by Barry Mazor #FantasticFridayReads #Nonfiction #Inspiration

From Audible

 

The definitive biography of the Everly Brothers, one of the greatest and most influential acts in popular music history, based on dozens of exclusive and archival interviews, as well as long-lost global reporting

In between the Elvis years and the rise of the Beatles, there was no bigger act than The Everly Brothers. From 1957-1962, they were among the highest selling pop acts in the U.S. In that time, they developed their own brand of rock ‘n’ roll and gentle pop balladry that leaned heavily on older, close harmony styles of country music singing. “Wake Up, Little Susie,” “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” “Cathy’s Clown,” “Let it Be Me,” — their hits were legion and their sweet and sour Appalachian-style harmonies influenced everyone from The Beatles to Simon and Garfunkel to the Beach Boys to Crosby, Stills, and Nash. The Everly Brothers—Don and Phil—are inducted members of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame, and progenitors of the hybrid Americana roots music format.

Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story is the first biography that’s focused on the dramatic, complicated relationship of these two famous and strikingly talented brothers, and explores how the evolution of their relationship played out in the much- loved music they created—through some sixty years of performing. Their story is the story of American music, from their rural Kentucky origins to massive international fame, falling out of fashion in the wake of the rise of rock bands and singer-songwriters, and their many comebacks.

Blood Harmony is a fitting ode to the brothers who made a huge impact on the modern music scene, celebrating how their creative “blood harmony” evolved to become an entry point into country music for millions around the world.

 

Blood Harmony Audiobook by Barry Mazor

 

My 5-Star Review

 

Having wanted to be a professional singer as a child, I’m always fascinated by stories of other musicians, even if I’m not familiar with all their music. This was the case with The Everly Brothers. I’ve heard and sung only a few of their songs. Nevertheless, when I read a review of this book, I was curious, and I’m glad I picked it up.

I like how the book’s material is organized chronologically in chapters highlighting certain years in Don and Phil Everly’s lives. I enjoyed reading about how they grew up and their careers – together and separately – and was saddened to learn of each one’s passing.

But the Everley Brothers, like the rest of us, had their idiosyncrasies. I was disgusted to read of their many marriages and divorces and how Phil, Don, and other family members sued each other over the rights to “Cathy’s Clown.” I also didn’t like the way Don and Phil treated their mother when she went on tour with them once. This may have provoked her to treat them the way she did later. But two wrongs don’t make a right.

However, I was fascinated to learn how many of their songs and albums were inspired and recorded and how their music influenced other artists. Some of their children established their own musical careers, and I found this interesting as well.

I like how the author draws us into Don and Phil’s story by including quotes from them and others with whom they were involved. The Audible narrator does an excellent job. Even if you, like me, weren’t really a fan of The Everly Brothers, if you’re interested in musicians’ lives, Blood Harmony is for you. I hope the Everly Brothers’ legacy lives on 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

 

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:  [email protected] .  You’ll receive a confirmation email. Reply to that with another blank message, and you should be good to go. Happy reading!