Talya Tate Boerner's Blog, page 39

How to Write a Book Review

Since I’m always preaching on the importance of book reviews, I thought I should put my blog where my mouth is and write a post about it. How to Write a Book Review plus my random thoughts on a topic near and dear to me.

Reviews are important, y’all, for reasons I never understood until I wrote a book. It’s about visibility. Most authors (including me) have no publicist or agent, no real budget for advertising. We do our own marketing and typically feel invisible in a sea of books being rele...

My Lessons from Nature

My Lessons from Nature.

This year so far, our spring has been indecisive and teasing. In one sleep, our wild weather vacillates from hard freeze to near 80 degrees. Since February, I’ve been growing African daisies, marigolds, okra, and basil in my makeshift greenhouse.

What’s a makeshift greenhouse? In my world, it’s a folding table shoved in front of a sunny window in our garage. Our garage is heated, so it works until we can build a real greenhouse.

I have succulent and coleus cuttings, a...

Sunday Letter: 04.15.18

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

Is it just me or did the past week zoom by like a comet? If I didn’t scribble in a journal, I’d have no memory of anything from the past seven days. These days, my memory seems to exists only on paper.

My short term memory, anyway. I have no problem remembering details from forty years ago. I’m pretty sure this is a sign of my “maturity”. 

Quietude

Recently on Instagram, my friend Sarah Shotts mentioned she had begun observing #100daysofquietude. Her aim over the...

Ozarkansas Tool Library!

Since this is National Library Week, there’s no better time to introduce you to the Ozarkansas Tool Library! Yes, the Ozarkansas Tool Library is yet another cool reason to live in Fayetteville, Arkansas. You already know I’m a huge fan of the Fayetteville Public Library. The tool library is a partnership between the Fayetteville Public Library and Feed Communities. It works much like the book library. Instead of buying a tool you may only need for a few hours or a few days, you can check it...

Sunday Letter: 04.08.18

Dear Sunday Letter Peeps,

Last week I had technical difficulties with my blog, but (knock-on-wood) everything is squared away. Here we are on April 8 which happens to be Draw A Picture of a Bird Day (more on this later). You may think I’m kidding, but I’m not. There’s a day set aside for nearly everything you can’t imagine.

Just A Dusting

Yesterday in Northwest Arkansas, we received a dusting of snow. Just a dusting, thank goodness. But seriously snow, YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE. I waited entire m...

Book Reviews: March 2018

Sorry for the delay in posting my book reviews for March 2018. I don’t want to moan about the reason, so I won’t. Moaning would take away from the fabulousness of these books.

I’m always surprised when I go back and review the books I read during a particular month, because it seems no matter how different they may be in genre, setting, or plot line, I can typically find similar themes. For March, the theme of all seven books I read involved a journey for survival.  Interesting how tha...

Sunday Letter: 03.25.18 (spring break edition)

Dear Sunday Letter Readers,

It seems everyone in Arkansas has been traveling this past week to fabulous destinations for spring break or anniversary trips or just because they can. (Yay for that!) I have Facebook friends in Maui, Portugal, Paris, and all across the sandy Florida beaches. Thank you for sharing pictures and allowing me to daydream along with you.

I was on Spring Break, too. In my own city. And it was fabulous. As I said in my last Sunday Letter, I didn’t plan to leave Fayettev...

on the Second Day of Spring, my true love gave to me…

On the second day of spring my true love gave to me, sweet potatoes frying in a pan.

LOL, I’m no poet or songwriter, but since today is World Poetry Day I encourage you to read poetry, look for poetry in nature, maybe even try your hand at writing a poem.

Pat Laster is my favorite Arkansas poet. She creates beautiful poetry, often about the flora and fauna outside her home in Benton. Check out her blog, PITTYPATTER, and give her a follow. Starting the second day of spring with a few lines of...

Sunday Letter: 03.18.18

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

I’m writing this letter on the last Sunday of winter 2018. And I’d like to start by saying, thank you for reading all through the winter. We don’t say thank you often enough, you know?

The past week was a busy one for me. I won’t go into all the details, but I did lots of driving for classes and speaking engagements. Not only that, but we had Pi Day, the Ides of March, and St. Patrick’s Day to observe. Whew!

This week I’m on spring break.

St. Paddy’s Day Cake Balls

I failed to make a pie for Pi Day (boo), but I made cake balls for St. Paddy’s Day (yay). And since St. Paddy’s Day isn’t until tomorrow, I’m ahead of the game. This morning I enjoyed one with my coffee. The great thing about cake balls is you really can have your cake and eat it too. Satisfy your sweet craving in two little bites.

Yum.

If you’ve never made cake balls, I’ll tell you this—it’s a process that takes a little patience, but it isn’t difficult. And if you’ve ever bought cake balls...