Talya Tate Boerner's Blog, page 8

Sunday Letter: 08.21.22

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

Are you loving this late August weather? Here in north Arkansas we are enjoying cool mornings and warm afternoons that feel pleasant rather than stifling. The hummingbirds are especially active this time of year, zipping around from feeder to feeder and plant to plant. What fun they are to watch.

Life feels good right now. And bonus—this morning a soft rain is falling.

I’ll gladly take it!

Lake Time!

This week I will be enjoying a little lake time with the family. Ho...

Virtual Launch Party for Bernice Runs Away!

Hey friends! With a little over six weeks until the official October 1st launch of Bernice Runs Away, I’m planning a virtual launch party now. Maybe you participated in the two virtual launch parties I had on Facebook for my first two books? If so, you will probably recall that they were very fast-paced with ten questions and ten giveaways announced within a two-hour timeline.

I’ve decided Bernice’s Virtual Launch Party will look a little bit different. Perhaps not so fast-paced.

I think you’ll...

Sunday Letter: 08.14.22

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

Woohoo! Tomorrow I will be two week post-op. My body is still recovering from surgery, although I have to say, so far this has been way less of an ordeal than the wrist surgery I had a few years ago. Other than the first couple of days/nights when I felt nauseous and uncomfortable, I’ve had very little pain. I get tired, especially in the afternoons, but for the most part, I have to remind myself to take it easy, that I’m still healing.

I believe all the get well wis...

Sunday Letter: 07.31.22

Dear Sunday Letter readers,

Praise be! In the past few days we’ve experienced a reprieve from this summer’s horribly hot and dry weather. Yes, finally, much-needed rain moved across the state; the rumble of thunder has never been so welcome to my ears.

This morning, there’s a chance for more rain.

Not gonna lie—the past week two weeks have been extra tough. No matter how much water we gave our plants, many remained parched and stressed. It had become so dry and hot the tree frogs had stopped si...

Book Reviews: July 2022

My book reviews for July span the sparse kitchens in WWII Britain to the streets of current day East Oakland. These books are written by women, about women. (This wasn’t intentional on my part, but subconsciously, maybe it was.) From family abuse to dating drama, each story touches the heart in a different way.

I hope you find a story that speaks to you.

Book Reviews July 2022:French Braid
by: Anne Tyler
(Family Saga Fiction)
Publication Date: 2022

Anne Tyler is a master at capturing the dysf...

Sunday Letter: 07.24.22

Dear Sunday Letter readers,

Hello again. Well, I made it through a week of pre-surgery quarantine, and now I have one more week to go. There’s just something about needing to stay home that makes me antsy. Know what I mean?

It was a good week to be inside though—thank the good Lord for air-conditioning! Man alive, it is HOT. The whole area has become a dry sauna, and areas in the neighborhood that aren’t getting watered are cracking wide open. BUT, relief is coming in our ten-day forecast with ...

Sunday Letter: 07.17.22

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

Yep. We survived another steamy hot week. And, since my last letter, I celebrated a milestone birthday—the Big 6-0. Sounds serious, doesn’t it? Like it’s time to get on with things; the sands in the hour glass are slipping through at an alarming rate. Well, to tell you the truth, I look forward to birthdays and see them as a positive, a time for celebrating another successful trip around the sun while reflecting on memories and anticipating new things ahead. Sort of ...

How to Make Botanical Confetti

I decided to try my hand at making botanical confetti. Since it’s my birthday week—yay!—confetti is definitely in order, but really, you don’t need a special reason for a confetti-filled day. And what can be better than confetti made from nature?

Can you believe all the colors found in our backyard?

The small dots of botanical confetti look like paper. But they aren’t. Each leaf not only provides a glorious color, but also a completely unique pattern. No two pieces of confetti are the same.

...

Sunday Letter: 07.03.22

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

Holy moly, I’ve been both riled up and in a funk, feeling hopeless and helpless over many things going on in our country. I took a few days away from the craziness of social media to just be. And while nothing has changed with respect to the things that riled me up in the first place, stepping away from incessant and often hateful chatter is healthier for me than jumping into it. I feel better when I refocus on the basic things that make me happy. Deadheading spent b...

Book Reviews—June 2022

I managed to read a stack of books in June. There is definitely something for everyone in my June book reviews, unless you never read, and then I don’t know what to say. Bless your heart, maybe?

If you love a heavy tome of a story, Cloud Cuckoo Land is for you. Women’s Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Essays, Humor, Time Travel—it’s all here.

Read on, friends…

 

Cloud Cuckoo Land
by: Anthony Doerr
(Literary Fiction)
Publication Date: 2022

How author Anthony Doerr’s brain contains his imagination is a wo...