Tag: Positivity

A Better Day Coming #MondayMusings #OpenBookBlogHop #WritingPrompts

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

***

What keeps you motivated on tough writing days, and is there a moment in your journey so far that completely surprised you?

***

A resident in the nursing home, where I worked for fifteen years as a registered music therapist, loved standing in the hall outside the smoking room, after he’d had a cigarette, and greeting people as they hurried by. One of his favorite expressions was, “Better day comin.”

That always brought smiles to our faces because he was right. No matter what kind of day you’re having, whether you’re a writer or caregiver, things will eventually get better. This realization surprised me in my journey.

***

If you’re an author, what keeps you motivated when you’re having a tough writing day? Can you think of anything that surprised you in your journey? You can answer in the comments or click below to join the conversation and read what others say. Thank you for stopping by. Always know that a better day is coming.

 

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!

Family, A Good Heart, and Staying Positive #SundaySunshine #Jottings #Inspiration

Welcome to another Sunday Sunshine, where I share three things for which I’ve been grateful in the past week. It was hard narrowing my list down to three things, but here they are.

 

Travel Plans

 

I’m grateful for happy memories of spending time with my brother and his family in Florida. I’d originally planned to spend Thanksgiving with them this year. But last week, I made the difficult decision to postpone my trip because of concerns over flight reductions caused by the government shutdown.

I’d been agonizing over this decision most of the month. One minute, I thought I should not overthink it and go, making more happy memories with my family. The next, I wondered what if I were stranded somewhere for who knows how long. Being visually impaired and dependent on others for assistance in airports, the prospect frightened me. Finally, I realized that though I wanted to be with my family for the holiday, my concerns were adding to my stress level, and this wasn’t healthy.

After I canceled my reservation, I heard that flight restrictions had been lifted. Things might have been back to normal by the time I was scheduled to fly out yesterday, but what was done was done. I can still use my ticket if I book another trip within the year. I’ll try to go in the spring.

Meanwhile, my family and I will probably get together on Facetime, which is better than not seeing them at all. I don’t think my brother and sister-in-law understand completely. But things are what they are, and I need to accept that and move on.

 

A Clean Bill of Heart Health

 

This past week, I had my annual routine echocardiogram and follow-up appointment with the cardiology physician’s assistant. My test results are good. The leakage in my heart valve hasn’t gotten worse, and as long as I’m not having symptoms such as swelling feet or shortness of breath, I don’t need to be concerned.

Since heart disease runs in my family, this is a relief. The cardiology PA said to keep having annual echocardiograms, and that’s what I plan to do. I’ll also try to eat right, exercise regularly, and get plenty of rest in the hope of staying heart-healthy for as long as possible.

 

Inspiration to Express Gratitude

 

Last but not least, I’m thankful to fellow author Lynda McKinney Lambert for inspiring me to start weekly gratitude posts here. All this month, she’s been taking this a step further by posting daily about three things for which she’s grateful. With my music and other obligations, I don’t have time for daily posts on top of other weekly features I do here. But thanks to Lynda, I plan to make time for gratitude posts once a week in the hope of spreading positivity.

Lynda and I belong to Behind Our Eyes, a writers’ group. Lynda encouraged fellow members to post three things for which they’re thankful to our email list daily for 21 days. Sitting down at my computer every morning, opening a blank Word document, and writing down three things for which I’m grateful has helped me stay positive during difficult times. I plan to keep doing this, and I’ll pick three things to share here each week.

 

Sound Off

 

What three things are you thankful for this week? You can answer in the comments or on your blog with a link to this post. I look forward to reading about your gratitude. As always, thank you for reading and stay grateful.

 


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!

Staying Mostly Positive Through Poetry: My Review of Square Peg in a Round Hole by Robbie Cheadle #FantasticFridayReads #Poetry #Inspiration

From Amazon

 

How to stay positive in a negative world!

Square Peg in a Round Hole is a collection of poetry, art, and photography. The section, Life, demonstrates the author’s perceptions of life in a fast-moving world filled with work, ill-health, and other demands. The other sections illustrate how the poet makes use of writing poetry, creating art, and photography to keep smiling.

 

Buy from Amazon.

 

My 4-Star Review

 

I always enjoy reading nature poetry and was intrigued when I read about this book on one of the blogs I follow. I’m glad I picked it up.

This collection features poetry about wildlife, flowers, and people. My favorite poem was “The Visitor,” told from the perspective of a bird entering a home.

I love how Robbie Cheadle punctuates her poetry with her photography, drawings, and videos. I found her resources and explanations of some poems helpful. I especially liked the fondant and cake artwork image of flowers, almost too good to eat.

Not familiar with this type of art, I did a little research. According to ChatGPT, fondant cake art is a type of design used in modern custom cakes. A smooth, pliable icing used to cover cakes and create decorations, fondant is made from sugar, water, gelatin, or sometimes marshmallows. For a polished look, it can be rolled out like dough and draped over a cake. It can also be sculpted into shapes, and I’m guessing this is how Robbie Cheadle created the flowers pictured in the book. Though I’m not much of a cook, I found this intriguing.

I like the way Robbie Cheadle labels her images. Because I’m visually impaired, and I couldn’t make out some of them, it was nice knowing what they were. I enjoyed watching her videos of wildlife.

Though this anthology is meant to keep you smiling, some poems are dark. I’m not saying unpleasant topics shouldn’t be addressed. But in my opinion, if you’re going to create a poetry collection about positivity, it’s better to leave out negativity. Otherwise, if you enjoy reading about and viewing images of all things natural from the comfort of your living room, Square Peg in a Round Hole is for you. Thanks 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:  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!

Poetry with a Positive Perspective #FantasticFridayReads #Reblogs #Poetry

Today, I’m sharing an oldie but goodie from July of last year. What I said about this book then still stands today. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll check it out and find positivity among negativity. Happy reading!

***

With bad news happening in the world, we could all use some hope and positivity. Thus, I was drawn to this book when I read a review.

Donna Ashworth does an excellent job narrating this beautiful collection. Her soothing voice is uplifting, as she dispenses such advice as to help someone else when you’re feeling down or put hope next to your car keys or in some other safe place.

 

Poetry with a Positive Perspective: My Review of Wild Hope by Donna Ashworth #FantasticFridayReads #Poetry #Inspiration – 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:  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!

Poetry with a Positive Perspective: My Review of Wild Hope by Donna Ashworth #FantasticFridayReads #Poetry #Inspiration

What Audible Says

 

This powerful new collection of wisdom will help us find hope, peace, self-acceptance, and inspiration on the days we feel worn down, helpless, or sad. Written with love and understanding, it reminds us that, amidst our daily struggles and constant outpourings of bad news, we have so much to hope for and that every one of us can play a part, big or small, in making the world a better place.

With poems such as Surrounded by Treasure, That Thing You Do, Through the Wringer, and Rope Ladder, Donna Ashworth helps us remember that most people in this world are good and that acts of kindness and love within our individual spheres of influence, however small, all contribute to a better future. She also gently guides us, no matter how busy or overburdened we may be, to practice better self-care and self-acceptance.

 

Buy from Audible.

 

My 5-Star Review

 

With bad news happening in the world, we could all use some hope and positivity. Thus, I was drawn to this book when I read a review.

Donna Ashworth does an excellent job narrating this beautiful collection. Her soothing voice is uplifting, as she dispenses such advice as to help someone else when you’re feeling down or put hope next to your car keys or in some other safe place.

“Listen for Me” reminded me of my late husband Bill, who loved music as much as I do. “You Don’t Meet Anyone by Accident” confirmed my belief that Bill was sent to help me achieve my dream of being a writer. My favorite is “Without You,” a poem I’d love to read to Bill. Music and sound effects add a nice touch to this Audible recording.

If you’re not into poetry, I still encourage you to check out Wild Hope. When you hear the author’s words, you may forget you’re listening to poetry. You’ll definitely be uplifted. You may want to return to this collection from time to time, especially when you’re feeling down and need positive affirmation.

 

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

 

I’m pleased to announce that this month, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me, The Red Dress, and My Ideal Partner are available ABSOLUTELY FREE as part of the Smashwords 16th annual summer/winter sale. You can click here to visit my Smashwords author page and download my books.

I have more great news! 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?