SIPS OF WINE FROM THE WRITER’S GRAPEVINE: Little Apartment in the Big City by Abbie Johnson Taylor #Memoir #AuthorsThey’reOnlyHuman

Thanks to fellow blogger Patty Fletcher for sharing my memoir, “Little Apartment in the Big City.” It was supposed to be published in this month’s issue of The Writer’s Grapevine, along with a few other pieces I sent her. But technology gremilins had other plans. So, Patty is rectifying this. Stay tuned for more wine from the grapevine, courtesy of yours truly.

Campbells World

Good afternoon campbellsworld visitors.

As most of you know, I put out a monthly online magazine called, The Writer’s Grapevine. You also know that I’ve begun a column called Sips of Wine from the Writer’s Grapevine.

In this column I share anything from a special mid-month time sensitive announcement to a short story, poem or article that didn’t manage to make it into the latest issue.

Today, I’m setting right a mistake I made when putting together The Writer’s Grapevine August Harvest Edition.

Somehow, Abbie’s submissions didn’t go where I told them to go when I saved them and so when I did the magazine they weren’t in their correct place and so were forgotten.

Here for your enjoyment is the first of those submissions.

Please do feel free to comment to let us know your thoughts on her piece.

LITTLE APARTMENT IN THE BIG CITY (Memoir)

by Abbie Johnson…

View original post 2,326 more words

A Dog’s Magical Tale of Service #Thursday Book Feature

Bubba Tails: From the Puppy Nursery at the Seeing Eye

by Patty Fletcher and King Campbell

 

What Smashwords Says

 

In this magical and love filled tail, King Campbell AKA Bubba travels to the puppy nursery at The Seeing Eye to help ready a group of puppies who are just about to embark on the fabulous journey of learning to become Seeing Eye dogs. Just as he is about to finish his tail, a wee pup becomes very frightened of all that lies ahead, and one frightfully stormy night she runs away! Will King Campbell hear the urgent call from the puppy nursery in time? Will they find her and save her so she can fulfill her destiny?
The use of Tail instead of Tale for story and Magik instead of Magic is intended for these short stories. A great play on words from King Campbell.

 

My Thoughts

 

I met Patty Fletcher several years ago through Behind Our Eyes, an organization of disabled writers scattered across the country. She has since started her own business, TELL-IT-TO-THE-WORLD Marketing, which uses mostly social media to promote authors and businesses. She’s been helping me promote my books for years, and I’ve noticed an increase in sales since I started working with her.

Patty is totally blind, lives in Kingsport, Tennessee, and indeed has a dog she calls King Campbell, who is now retired from his work as her Seeing Eye guide dog. Campbell’s nickname is Bubba, hence the book title.

Bubba Tails is a fun way to educate children and the young at heart about guide dogs. King Campbell tells his story in a way all can understand. The book includes information about The Seeing Eye, so parents and other adults can learn more about their work and how they can help. The last story in the book, “Wish of the Wee Golden One,” could be made into an animated Christmas film. I strongly encourage people of all ages to read this book for entertainment and enlightenment.

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By the way, from now until July 31^st, you can download My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress absolutely free from Smashwords as part of its annual summer/winter sale. Click here to visit my Smashwords author page.

Also, for those of you who use the National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. Thank you for reading.

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

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Spring’s Hopelessness #Poetry

Today’s poem comes from my collection, How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver. My late husband Bill loved to sit outside in the sun. One year, when spring came after a difficult winter, he was anxious to do this but frustrated because it still wasn’t warm enough. That is what inspired me to write this poem. You can read more about Bill and me in My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds, which can be downloaded absolutely free this month from Smashwords. See below for details.

This poem is a haibun. It contains two paragraphs of prose followed by one stanza of haiku. You can click on the title to hear me read it.

 

Spring’s Hopelessness

 

 

Spring comes wet with little sun. Hope is dashed by the wind that buffets the house, rattles wind chimes, rain that drums on the roof. Without enough warmth, grass, flowers, trees, shrubs won’t grow.

He loves the sun, can’t get enough. It’s one of his few pleasures, since he can no longer walk or use his left arm or care for himself. After a brutal winter with endless snow, frigid temperatures, he longs to enjoy the sun’s healing warmth.

 

wishes for the sun

fall on the deaf ears of God

wait for warmth to come

 

By the way, for the next month, My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress are available on Smashwords as part of its sale to support those isolated as a result of the coronavirus situation. Please click here to visit my Smashwords author page and download these books. Thank you for stopping by and reading today.

 

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

My Books

My Amazon Author Page

Facebook

Website

 

 

Victory Polka #Monday Musical Memories

While I was working as a registered music therapist with nursing home residents, someone requested the song I’m featuring today. Sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, it offered hope during the desperate times of World War Ii. Although times today aren’t nearly as bad, they’re still bleak, with the numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths being reported on the news every day. So, I hope this song also offers you hope.

As you listen, think of what will happen once social distancing restrictions are lifted, allowing public places to open again. Here in Sheridan, I’ll be able to go to my water exercise classes at the Y, eat lunch at the senior center, meet face to face with my writing groups, and practice with my choir. I’ll have easier access to toilet paper and other items. As I walk by the creek, I’ll hear the happy cries of children from the nearby park. Last, but not least, I won’t have to worry about getting sick. Then, I’ll dance my own victory polka.

By the way, for the next month, My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress are available on Smashwords as part of its sale to support those isolated as a result of the coronavirus situation. Please click here to visit my Smashwords author page and download these books. Thank you for reading today.

 

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

My Books

My Amazon Author Page

Facebook

Website

 

 

Piano Man #Monday Musical Memories

I liked this song when I was growing up during the 1970’s, but its meaning didn’t become clear until I became an adult. It’s about a man who entertains bar customers by playing the piano and singing.

Well, as part of my job as a music therapist in a nursing home, I did the same sort of thing but not in a bar. In a resident’s room or activity area with no piano, I used my guitar. Like the bar patrons, residents requested songs. If I knew them, I played them. If not, I found and learned them and played and sang them another time.

Now that I write full-time, I still play the guitar or piano and sing at nursing homes and other senior facilities. But thanks to the coronavirus situation, I won’t be doing that anytime soon. But when I do, I still take requests, and if I don’t know the song, I find it, learn it, and sing it the next time I’m there. Unlike the man in the song, I don’t get free drinks, but I often get free cake and ice cream, since most of the time, I’m entertaining during a monthly birthday party.

Now, during this time of social isolation, you probably don’t want to frequent a bar or other establishment that offers musical entertainment. But you can listen to this song and picture yourself in such a situation. Enjoy!

By the way, for the next month, My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress are available on Smashwords as part of its sale to support those isolated as a result of the coronavirus situation. Please click here to visit my Smashwords author page and download these books. As always, thank you for reading.

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

My Books

My Amazon Author Page

Facebook

Website