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Alone and Lonely

January 13, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

wine

“White wine, please.” She sits at the end of the bar and blends in with the other faceless people. She is alone. Alone and lonely yet surrounded by laughter and dancing and music so loud the wine vibrates in her glass. Everything feels forced—the energy in this place, the smiles plastered all around, even her breathing—inhale, exhale. She takes a sip, feels the coolness slip down her throat and silently toasts the New Year. Things can only get better…

“Bourbon rocks.” He claims the next stool. The faint smell of his cologne almost invokes a memory, but not quite.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

This post was written especially for Write Tribe – 100 Words on Saturday, Prompt: Strangers in the Night.

Musical Pairing:

Frank Sinatra, Strangers in the Night

My Little Sister

January 5, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

Curled inside my polka dot sleeping bag, I hid underneath the dining room table reading.
 
Momma said I would catch a cold lying on the floor, but the furnace warmed the air, and I was comfortable.
            
Santa brought me a whole stack of books. 
 
He brought my little sister a huge stack too.
 
Even though I was two years, nine months and seven days older, everyone—even Santa—treated us like twins and assumed we enjoyed the same things.
 
My sister would never read her new books.
 
So really I got a double stack of books, and she got shortchanged.

beanbag chairs, 1970s

talya
 
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
 
This was written for Write Tribe  100 Words on Saturday Prompt #1 – My Little Sister.
(This is also a snippet from my book, reworked to fit the prompt.)
100 Words on Saturday - Write Tribe

Are you alive?

September 15, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Congratulations.
If you are reading this post, you are alive.
Do you feel alive? Truly alive? Do you wake each morning excited, wondering what amazing things the day will bring, or do you merely go through the motions with no passion and zero enjoyment? While days disappear, do you wait for your life to begin?
Things will be better next year…when I get married or buy my dream house or publish a book.

We aren’t guaranteed five more seconds.
If you knew you only had one year to live, what would you do?
Still reading?
Guess what? You’re still alive.
talya
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life
Musical Pairing:
Led Zeppelin, Stairway to Heaven
This was written for the Write Tribe 100 Words on Saturday. (Write exactly 100 words on the prompt – a story, a poem, a mini-essay). This week’s prompt: Truly Alive. 


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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: 11.23.25
  • Maggie and Miss Ladybug: My New Children’s Nature Book
  • Sunday Letter: November 9, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 26, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 5, 2025

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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