Behind Our Eyes Book Launch Presents Author Abbie Johnson Taylor Interviewed by Carol Farnsworth September 14, 2023 Transcript Readers Note: If you have found this transcript to be helpful, please take a moment to let us know by sending a brief message to Marlene Mesot at: Marl.Mesot@gmail.com. You may also contact someone you know in our writers’ group. Thank you very much. Carol Farnsworth: Welcome everyone to another Book Launch from Behind Our Eyes. Tonight we are priviledged to have one of our fellow authors Abbie Johnson Taylor. And looking over my notes, I was surprised to see that she has written nine books. I’ll have to look up some of ‘em. Abbie Johnson Taylor: Actually, it’s six books, Carol. Carol: Six, yeah, wow. Abbie: That’s okay. Carol: I heard nine. I can talk to you about… Abbie: Well. Carol: …the three that are coming. Ha, ha, ha. Abbie: There’s just one coming. Diane Landy: Nine is an upside down six. Abbie: Yeah, nine, yeah. It’s an easy mistake to make. Carol: Just remember, you asked for me. Okay. The book we’re talking about this evening though is called The Red Dress. That, along with My Ideal Partner: The Man I Was Married…ur, Best Married, and, what’s the last part, took care of… Abbie: My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds. I had to think for a minute. Yeah. I think we might have lost Carol. Is anybody there? Hello? Carol: Yeah, I’m still here. Abbie: Okay, then. Yeah. I think we might have lost Carol. But that’s alright. You know what, I’ll just go ahead and go on and start ‘cause I was going to start off by sharing an excerpt from the book before we go into the actual interview. So I’ll just go ahead and do that, and then hopefully Carol will be able to return. Can anybody see, did she leave the meeting? Diane Landy: I got a notice that she left. So probably she’s… Abbie: Oh, she must not be back yet. Diane: …not back yet. Abbie: Okay, alright, thank you. Alright, so that’s okay. I’m going to go ahead right now and read an excerpt from The Red Dress. This is from the Prologue. Abbie: Prologue. October 1987. Boulder, Colorado. “Oh, Eve, don’t tell me you’re going to work on that creative writing assignment now instead of going to the homecoming dance?” In her dorm room, Eve Barry was staring at the blank piece of paper in her typewriter waiting for her poised fingers to produce something. She sighed and ran her finger through her long black hair. As she turned to her roommate Charlene Tucker who was fresh from the shower, clad only in a black terry cloth robe, her dark, wet curl plastered to her head. “I’m really not interested in going to the dance and this assignment’s due Monday. I went to the game this afternoon.” “Yeah, wasn’t that awesome? We creamed the Wyoming Cowboys!” “Wait a minute. You’re from Wyoming.” “Yeah, but I’m in Colorado now and we have something to celebrate. “You really should come to the dance. I know you don’t have a date, but I’m sure Alex won’t mind if you come with us.” “I really should work on this tonight. So I’m not planning on getting it done tomorrow on top of my other assignments, especially since I have a writers’ block. With everybody at the dance I should be able to work on it without any distractions and maybe something will come to me.” Charlene rolled her eyes and moved to her side of the room and switched on her bedside radio tuned to a soft rock station. “What was the assignment again?” she asked as she removed her bathrobe and began applying lotion. “I’m supposed to write about a memorable piece of clothing.” “That’s easy. Write about the dress you wore the first day of kindergarten when you threw up all over the nun who hit you with a ruler for being late.” Eve almost laughed. “That’s not my story. You’re the one who went to a paroprial school.” “So, it’s still a story. Your professor will never know the difference.’ Eve sighed again. She wasn’t surprised by her roommate’s attitude. Charlene didn’t understand or appreciate literature the way she did. Eve watched Charlene finish applying lotion, dry her hair, and put on her undergarment, then rifle through her closets for something to wear. All the while Charlene prattled on about Alex Smith, the boy who would accompany her to the dance; the captain of the football team, about how handsome he was in his uniform, how he could throw a ball and run. She realized why Charlene was suddenly loyal to the University of Colorado team and felt like throwing up. Finally Charlene said, “Wow, there’s nothing good here. If you’re not gonna go to the dance, could I borrow something from your closet?” “Sure.” She was anxious for Charlene to leave. She turned back to her desk. Hangers in her closet scraped against the metal bar as articles of clothing were shoved aside. “Oh, look at this!” said Charlene. Eve turned and could only stare at the bright red dress she’d almost forgotten. Charlene held the garment at arm’s length admiring the three-quarter length sleeve, low neckline and gathered waist. “Oh my God, this is beautiful! Where’d you get it and why do you keep it off to one side in your closet?” Eve then heard on the radio the mellow strains of Lady in Red, the song she’d pushed to the back of her mind and hoped never to hear again. Charlene laid the dress on Eve’s bed and hurried to her side. Kneeling and taking her hand she said, “Hey, what is it?” Eve could hold back no longer. With tears streaming down her face she said, “I wore that dress and we danced to that song.” The end. Abbie: If ya’ wanna know what happens after that, you’ll have to read the book. Carol laughs. Abbie: Ha! Carol, you’re back, yea! Carol: I’m back. Sort of, technical issues. You know how those are. Sorry. Abbie: No worries, no worries. I’m done with my prologue, so you can carry on. Carol: I did. Alright. Well, you’ve heard a very interesting start to a book and I hope that you all get this book either from BARD or go and buy it and Abbie will be telling you later where you can get the book. Well, I wanted to ask her, first of all, how did you get the idea for this book? I sort of remember a story about it and I would like you to tell us. Abbie: Well, several years ago I was taking a memoir writing class in which, like Eve, we were asked to write something about a memorable article of clothing. One elderly woman in that group wrote this piece. Oh, and I should say that we shared what we wrote afterward. And so, one, that’s how I know this. One elderly woman that wrote this piece about how she had a red blouse he mother made for her. And when she went to college a sorority sister bullied her into giving her the dress And so when her mother found out their relationship just wasn’t the same. And so I got to thinking, alright, well this could be a start to an interesting story. But, just so that I’m not plagiarizing the other woman’s story, let’s make it a red dress that she wore to her prom and something happened at the prom. And I’m not going to say any more ‘cause I don’t want to give away too many spoilers. But, and so that’s why she has a good dress in the back of her closet. And then she takes it with her to college, and then her roommate finds it, and bullies her into giving it to her. And then, twenty-five years later, she gets married with three children and then she, kinda, gets a friend request from an old roommate on Facebook. And then she meets her best friend who, along with her boyfried, betrays her. And she is happy to deal with the past in order to face the future. And that’s kinda how that got started. Carol: I like some of the interesting tidbits that you put in the story that actually tells us some personal things about you, such as the Colorado Rockies. Wht is the story behind them? Abbie: My late husband Bill was a Colorado Rockies fan. That is who in a way that I modeled thirteen-year-old Thomas after. That’s the son, he’s the youngest in the family. And I kinda modeled him after Bill, you know, being a Colorado Rockies fan. And so, yeah, that’s how that happened. Carol: In some of the work that you did in music therapy and with the senior citizens, you developed the mother, didn’t it? Abbie: Yes. Carol: The mother-in-law… Abbie: Yeah. Yes. That’s right, exactly. That was through my work with residents with dementia, in nursing home residents who have dementia. Yup. Carol: And the idea that the mother keeps correcting people of their… Abbie: Right. Carol: …uh, lay rather than lie. Abbie: My own grandmother was like that. She was never an English teacher, but her husband, you know, was a high school principal. But yeah, my grandmother had this nasty habit of correcting grammar and she even didn’tlike swear words. If you said a swear word, she would, you know, say you shouldn’t say that word and, ya. So that’s where I got that idea. Carol: Ha, ha. So you made her a librarian instead of a teacher. Abbie: Well, yeah, yeah, a librarian. Right. Carol laughs. Who did you pull from for Adelle, Charlene and Eve? They… Abbie: Alright. Carol: …seem to be intertwined. Abbie: You know, Eve and Adelle pretty much came out of my imagination, weren’t really inspired by anyone else. But Charlene; I had a classmate named Charlene when I was in junior high and high school who was, at first, a bit of a bully, and then she grew up. But now, you know, we see each other on Facebook once in a while and sometimes around town. She lives here in town. And, you know, she’s very nice. But, the way she was back when I was in junior high and high school, was kind of how I modeled Charlene in the book. And then, like I said, Eve and Adelle, they aren’t really after anyone in particular. They just came out of my mind, imagination. They weren’t really inspired by anyone in particular. Carol: Alright, it was too cute that you named the brother Thomas Sawyer. Abbie: Right, yeah. Carol: …I’m silent. Abbie: Yes. Yeah, exact. Well that was kind of a joke. And you’ll see when you read the book how that came to be. Carol: Ha, ha. And every time that was in the book I had to laugh. I thought it was so cute. Abbie: Right. Carol: …so cute. And he’s such a cute character. Abbie: Yeah, ha, ha, he is. He is, yeah. Carol: Now what about the husband of Charlene and the husband of Eve? Does that… Abbie: Okay. Carol: …mean anything? Abbie: Well, no. Eve’s husband, again, just came out of my imagination. But John, Charlene’s husband…I have an uncle John who actually lives in California and does sound effects for movies, just like John, Charlene’s husband. And so that’s where I got the inspiration for John. And one time when Bill and I visited John and his wife in California, he actually offered us, fresh froze orange juice. And so that actually inspired the scene there where John is offering Eve some fresh froze orange juice once when you all keep visiting Charlene. Carol: Yeah, I ahways find it very interesting, these little background informational pieces. Abbie: Right. Carol: Things that come out. Yeah. Is there anyone else that I’ve missed? I don’t think there is much about Aunt Polly. Abbie: No. You know, I never actually have her, she’s just in passing. The only reason I have her there is to provide a reason for Greg, Eve’s husband to want to teach at a school for the blind, as opposed to in a public school. And Polly’s never mentioned. So, but yeah, I mean she’s mentioned, but she never actually appears. But yeah, and apparently that whole family, they kinda like being named Sawyer, and so, ha, ha. Carol: Yeah, I liked that. I did. Now, what about Eve and the idea of not looking forward to a class reunion. Did you have any experiences with class reunions? Abbie: No, no, the only experience I had with class reunions, because I never had a date, and so, for the first two reunions my dad went with me. Poor guy. He was really out of his element. And then, a couple of years ago, when we had a fortieth reunion, my brother would happened to be visiting and he and his wife came with me. We had a lot of fun. So, no, I never had any experience with class reunions. If I could go, I went. You know, if they were having ‘em. But that’s it. So, no, that just came out of the imagination. Carol: Good. Abbie: And I thought the reunion would be a good way for even Adelle to connect. Because otherwise, why would they even be in the same town. Now, did you know anyone who had issues with their graduation, or as you said, I can’t say a reunion. Abbie: No. Carol: But. Abbie: With a prom, you mean? Carol: Yeah, the prom. I thought it was graduation. Abbie: Well, no. It was during the prom and no, that was purely from my imagination. And, I did go to my ouwn prom. And, again, my dad went with me because I did not have a date. And, again, he was out of his element, but, you know, ha, ha, ha. But he loved me and was willing to go with it, but yeah, no. That’s just all imagination again. Carol: Well, it’s a great book. Is there anything else that you want us to know about it without giving anything away? Abbie: No, I can’t think of anything else. Like I say, not without giving it away, so. Carol: I know. Ha, ha. I know. I said let’s ask about this. No that would give too much away. Let’s ask this, so. Abbie: Right. Right. Carol: You’ll just have to read the book. Then I’ll tell you which twenty-second or third reading it, it was delightful. Abbie: Well, thank you. Abbie and Carollaugh. You’re the first person I know, besides my late husband Bill, who read one of my books more than once. My first 15:22 book we fell over some came out and it was recorded by my regional talking book library. Bill must have ordered that thing on cassette umpteen, you know, five or six times at least. And he just enjoyed listening to that over and over and over again. He was just so proud, pleased as punch, yeah. Carol: I think husbands are like that. They get real proud when their wives can do something that they can’t do. Abbie: Right. Yes, yes. Carol: Well, do you think it’s time to open it up for questions? Abbie: I don’t see why not. Unless you have something else to ask me. Carol: I can’t think of anything. But if I think of something I’ll jump right in. Abbie and Carol together: Okay. Carol: We’re open now for questions. Anyone have a question? Ann Chiappetta: Beth, you have a hand raised? Abbie: Go ahead, Beth. Beth: Yes, I do. Yes I do. And I am enjoying this very much. Abbie, when you write, do you have a certain way that you like to think through your characterizations and verbal, you know, things you have your characters to say. I read The Red Dress and really enjoyed the book for many reasons. How do you do things like the characterizations and also visual descriptions of things. Thanks. Abbie: I just kind of fly by the seat of my pants. You know, I really don’t do an outline. Now, what I have done, and what I did with this book, and my latest book, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me, I wrote a document called Launderings and Ponderings. And I would, you know, just write this like an informal synopsis, kind of here’s what could happen, and maybe what if this happens. And maybe that would cause this to happen, and what if this happens. And so on and so forth. But otherwise, I just kinda fly by the seat of my pants and kinda develop the characters as they go. As I go I mean. And I hope that answers your question. Carol: Does anyone else have a question. Thank you, by the way. Abbie: Yes. Annie, do we have any more raised hands? Ann: Yup. Sally. Sally Rosenthal: Okay. Abbie, how long did it take you to write this and while you were writing this, dod you stop writing other things like poetry and nonfiction? Or did you juggle them between chapters? Just curious to know your process. Abbie: Yeah, it took me, let’s see, I’m trying to think. I’m guessing it took me about a year to write this book. And yeah, I would occasionally write poetry, and of course I, every month I go to, I participate in a local poetry group. And so I will have to write poetry for that because we have assignments and that kind of thing. And then of course live poets and things. But otherwise, that is strictly what I would write. Write that first, and then when I finished a book, I put it aside for a while and I would work on other things and then I’ll get back to it. Sally: Okay, thanks. Ann: We have Janet and then Diane Landy. Janet: Hi. Abbie: Share it. Go ahead. Janet: Hi. How did you get your books to publish in BARD? Basically, how many books did you get in BARD already published? Abbie: Okay, well I have two books on BARD right now, The Red Dress and My Ideal Partner. Now, The Red Dress, how it got up on BARD is a mystery. I had contacted the Purkins Library about recording it and they said it would be a while but they could do it. And the next thing I knew, I got an email from my regional Talking Book librarian saying that she had read that The Red Dress is slated to be put up on BARD… Janet: Oh. Abbie: And so, thinking that Perkins had done it, I contacted Perkins and said, I understand that The Red Dress is ready to be put up on BARD and, you know, how soon will it be up there? And they said, well no, we haven’t recorded it yet. And so, as it turns out, apparently, you know, the only thing I can think of that happened was, I was a guest at an Accessible World Fiction Old and New book discussion group, and apparently, after that,a bunch of people must have requested it. And that’s how it got up there. Now, My Ideal Partner was recorded by my regional Talking Book library, and they are in the process now, of uploading all their recorded books to BARD. And so that’s how that got up there. And they have two of my other books; We Shall Overcome, my novel, and How to Build a Better Mouse Trap, which is a poetry collection. And so I meant to go today and see if any of them are up there, but I haven’t. But I will keep checking the site periodically. And as soon as they are up there, I will get the word out, so that if you want to get those books from BARD you can. Janet: Yeah, ‘cause I’m looking at it and, I’m sorry, it seems like it’s not up there or something. Abbie: Yeah, The Red Dress was uploaded a couple years ago. And it was actually recorded by the NLS, National Library Services person Allison Reading and she does an excellent job. Janet: Oh, thank you. Abbie: You’re welcome, Janet. Thank you. Ann: So we have Diane then Alice. Diane: Hi, good evening. Collective hi. Diane: Thank you so much for coming. Abbie: Oh, thank you for coming. Diane: I love hearing your inspiration for this story. And that last question kind of answered my question, which was if there was an audio version and if so, where I could get it. But I do have another question because I am working on my very first middle grade novel, which is different for me. I’m a picture book writer. And I was just kind of curious about how you approached you structure, pasting. Do you look at every chapter as its own scene, or, you know, those kinds of things? Abbie: Yes. Diane: Because I’m just… Abbie: I would… Diane: …learning to play with these things myself, so you know. Abbie: Yes. Yeah, I write each chapter separately and I will proof read each chapter separately. And then, what I have done, I belong to a weekly fiction group that meets Saturday mornings, and we critique each other’s work. And most of us are working on one novel, or one project or another. And so, I would email 21:46 chapters to this group to list. And then they would provide feedback for me. And, of course, when I was writing We Shall Overcome, my late husband Bill was the one providing the feedback. And so, that’s how I basically do it. I do one chapter at a time. And, I’ll write, and then if I’m going to send it to the group, I will proof read to make sure its, you know. And then I’ll send it, and if it’s feedback I’ll make notes on that, and I just move on to the next chapter. Diane: Okay, so , is the entire group reading the entire novel so they sort of know what happened in the last chapter? Abbie: Yes. Absolutely. Diane: Okay. Abbie: between the chapters, yeah. Now, there are times when, if I’ve got something else going on, they might miss a chapter, but, otherwise yeah, they’re basically reading the entire book. Diane: Okay, great. Thank you. Abbie: You’re welcome. Carol: I think Alice was next. Abbie: Yeah, Alice, go ahead. Alice Massa: Yes, thank you, and congratulations, Abbie, on the publication of your six books and the books you have on BARD. We’re all very proud of you, and so please that you’re here this evening to share all of this with us. And I would like to know, when you are heavy into writing one of your books, like this particular novel, how much time can you work at one time before you need a break or call it a day? And then also, I’d like to know if you’ve had any contact with the narrator Kristen Allison from NLS? Because she’s one of the very much enjoyed narrators of NLS. And I think you were so fortunate to have her read your book. So, those are my questions and thank you. Abbie: Well, you’re welcome, Alice. Yeah, I usually work for maybe half an hour to an hour and then I’ll take a break and get back at it and I’m usually working, oh gosh, anywhere from six to eight hours a day depending on what other things I have scheduled. It may be less than that. It just depends on the day. And, as I said, I didn’t know The Red Dress was even gonna be recorded by BARD. So I never had any contact with Kristen Allison before they recorded it. But I did attend some program, I can’t remember what it was now, where she was a guest, and I was able to talk to her and tell how much I appreciated her narration of the book. So, thank you for those questions, Alice. That was really a nice thing. Abbie: Yes. Ann: Melanie has her hand raised. Melanie Peskoe: Hi there, Abbie. Abbie: Hi. Melanie: I am a brand new member of Behind Our eyes. Abbie: Oh. Melanie: And I am new to this, not writing, but new to the idea of writing a novel or something that is longer than a short story. And I’m wondering if you have any insights from a seasoned writer to someone who is new, and how did you go about finding a writing group? That is sort of something I’ve been pondering lately is how to locate a group like that. Thank you. Abbie: Oh, you’re welcome. Okay, so, I had a brain freeze for just one second. Alright, there are several pieces of advice I like to give new writers. And the first, very important, write every day, even if it’s just email. You know, you’re still writing. So, write something every day. If you like to journal, that’s also a good way to get some practice writing. Also, it’s important to read, read, read. Read books in the genre that you’re writing in especially, but also read books on craft of writing. I also recommend that you subscribe to The Writer magazine. You can get that on BARD. Because every month they have articles on craft, and they have markets and other useful information. So that’s the only thing. And as far as finding a group, that can be tricky. Now this weekly writing group that I found, somebody commented on my blog and said, hay, I belong to this writing group. If you’re interested contact so-and-so, and I did that. And that’s how I got into that group. Now, Behind Our Eyes of course, you know you can get help with writing there. Otherwise, you could ask your library. You could do research online, you know, writing groups in whatever town and state you’re in. And just ask around. You just never know. You might find something. My poets group, for example. Originally I got involved in another group called Range Writers, years ago. And they had advertised they were having a meeting in the local paper, and so I went, and I entered their contract. And then our third Thursday poets kinda formed out of that group. So you just have to do some searching and ask around in order to find a group. Carol: I think the idea of asking your library…Our library… Abbie: Yes. Carol: …has several each week. Oh, we have this person or that to get a group going. So that’s a good place… Abbie: Right. Carol: …to start. Abbie: And, of course if you’re so inclined, you can always start your own group. You just have to know how to advertise it, and get the word out, and that kind of thing. Melanie: Excellent. Thank you so much. Abbie: You are so welcome. Ann: We have no raised hands. Abbie: No. No raised hands. Carol: I have a question now. Abbie: Okay, good. Thank you. Abbie laughs. Diane Landy: This is Diane. I’m sorry. May I ask something? Abbie: Sure. Diane: So, I don’t know the woman that was just asking that question, kind of looking for a reading group, a critique reading group. It kind of sounds like that with a prom setting that this is kind of a young adult book, and one way that I found two amazing critique groups is through SCWI dot org. And that sound stands for the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators and it’s for anyone who’s writing between board book and young adult book. Abbie: Oh, okay. Diane: So I just wanted to throw that out. And I found the critique group by writing everyone who was within a thirty mile radius of where I lived looking for people. And I created a critique group, and then I also kinda fell into one that was already existing and it was very helpful. Ann: Great advice. Abbie: Okay. Carol: Oh It's interest. Ann: Yeah. 20:33:36 Okay. Abbie: Well, did we get any hands at that point, Annie, while she was talking? No, no, hey okay. Ann: No raised hands. Abbie: Okay. Carol, what was your question? Carol: My question was, I was trying to do the math. You had 6 books. You became a full-time writer in two thousand and five. And the one book, The Red Dress, you said, took a year. On average. How long do you spend on each book? Abbie: Usually about a year. And then it takes me another year just to go back and go. And go through and edit and get ready for publication. Basically because I have other things going on. I have my blog and website. I have other deadlines. I sing with a couple of groups. And so, I don't always have time to devote every minute of every day to…If I did they would get out much more quickly. So. Ann: Abby, I have a question. Abbie: Okay. Carol: So don't feel bad if you're slow. Carol laughs. Abbie: I know. Carol: Thank you. Abbie: Okay. Okay, you're welcome, Annie. What was your question? Ann: I was just wondering, did you start out with just poetry or was it like, did one morph into the other, were you interested in both prose and poetry, what came first? Abbie: I think it was poetry that came first. And then I was writing some creative nonfiction, some memoir type pieces. And then I got the idea to actually, you know, start fictionalizing my experiences and that's kind of how We Shall Overcome got started. And so that's why I just do a little bit, you know, of every, well, not every genre, but a little bit of fiction, a little poetry, creative non-fiction. I just do all three major types of writing. Ann: Right. Thank you. Abbie: You're welcome. Carol: Uh. This is Carol again. What is your favorite genre? And why? Abbie: Well, right now I am leaning more towards memoirs. Right now. I mean, that's what I seem to enjoy reading the most. Short stories. I don't know. I mean, I do like fiction. And I just finished reading a really good work of fiction, but my reading tastes have kind of mellowed out and I like memoirs that are inspirational, I don't like a lot of violence. I don't like a lot of descriptions of lovemaking. I just kind of like nice, heartwarming feel-good type stories, is what I prefer to read now. Carol: Thank you. Ann: I have another question. Are you going to ever write a cozy mystery? Everyone laughs. Abbie: No. I think that's Marlene's department. Carol: A mixed genre. I love it. No, I don't think I'm gonna be writing any cozy mysteries. No, no. Ann; No. Everyone laughs. Abbie: I understand they don't have a lot of violence. I might try one read. But I don't know. Like I say, you know, when I was younger, I did like mysteries, but as I've gotten older, I think my tastes have mellowed out. So. Ann: Yeah, yeah. You might have changed. Some of the things that I really liked I just don't like and now I just feel attracted to other stuff I would never have thought I would have ever… Abbie: Right, right, right, yeah. Ann: …read before age thirty. Okay, Beth has her hand up. Abbie: Bath, what you got? Ann: Well, here we go with the hands. Okay. Abbie: Oh boy. Ha, ha. Ann: Go ahead, Beth. Beth: Okay, you were talking about mysteries and I'm not kidding here. I'm really serious about this. Did you read the Nancy Drew books as a kid? I love those books and I'm not really into mysteries anymore either but those books were really good and I think they were very well written and they really taught you how to think. So I wondered if you ever enjoyed those. Thanks. Abbie: Oh yes, I did read a lot of Nancy Drew books as a kid. Yeah, like I say, when I was younger, I loved mysteries. I also read Trixie Bellden. I loved mysteries. I also read Trixie Bellden. When my brother was little before he could read, I read him some of the …because I had, I could use a CCTV to read the books and I would read. I even read him the Hardy Boys books, some of those Hardy Boys books, and he liked…so, yeah. Okay. Diane: Great question. Ann: Bobbsey Twins. Yeah, I read those too. Yes. Yeah. Alice is next. Abbie: Okay, Alice. Alice Massa: Thank you. Yes, I'd like to know, what has been your most successful marketing effort throughout your six books. Or what is one marketing effort also that you really enjoyed presenting in a bookstore, whatever it may be. What did you most enjoy? And which was your most successful, do you think? Abbie: Well, I think the most successful marketing effort was…My last three books are on Smash Words and twice a year they have these sales where you can advertise your book for 75 per cent, 50 per cent, 25 per cent or for free and I seem to make the most sales when I can participate in those899999999999 because you're not making any money, but people are buying books and that seems to be the best way, if you get the word out. If I'm offering a book for free, then people are gonna buy it and they'll tell their friends about it and maybe they'll buy it or whatever. And so that seems to be the most successful. Now the one thing I do enjoy doing, is worth working, is promoting my books on my blog and I participate in it a couple of features a week. One of them is called Open Book Blog Hop and these are by other bloggers and that this blogger asks the question and you answer on your blog and then you link to this Hop where other people can read it. And that's one way I can promote my book. I like doing that. And those posts seem to get a lot of attention. And there's also something called Six Sentence Story Thursday Linkup where you write a story in only six sentences, no more, no less just six exactly. Six sentences or it can be a poem or essay, whatever. And you put that on your blog, and you link to that Hop. And so those seem to be, I think my most enjoyable promotion efforts. Ann: Okay. DeAnna, you had a question? DeAnna Noriega: I was gonna say, to Abbie, that it’ what you have done and getting your books on BARD has been quite successful. Is there a trick to it? Abbie: Well, as I said, Abbie laughs, no. The Red Dress, it just, it's a mystery. Uh, not a cozy mystery perhaps, but it is a mystery how it got up there, Abbie laughs, to tell the truth, I really don't know. Now, My Ideal Partner was recorded by my regional Talking Book library in Utah. And they are in the process of uploading all of their recorded books to BARD. And so there is just no trick. You know, it's just the luck of the draw. Now, I've been in touch with Perkins about recording my latest book Why Grandma Doesn't Know Me and I heard from them last spring and they said they’d probably get to it this fall and I still have not heard back from them. So I may have to wait and contact them again, to see how close they are to doing it, if they can still do it. If not, I could just send it to Utah. When my short story collection comes out either this year or next year, I'll probably just send it to Utah. So because they're putting their books up there, of course it'll stay. It still won't take any less time, I don't think, but at least it'll get done one way or another. So, that's about all I can say. I wish I had a more definite answer to that question. Ann: Sally, you had a question? Sally Rosenthal: Abbie, have you ever considered teaching writing, maybe one day workshop or in a community college, adult education? Abbie: Well, in order to teach in a community college, I'd have to have a master's and I definitely don't have that. Well, I suppose I've thought about it, but like I say, I really don't have the time to actively pursue something like that, but if I were asked to do that, I would definitely consider it. Because, of course, how I would do it, I don't know. But you know what? I'll tell you something. Years ago, I ended up teaching braille at a camp for the blind to adults and I was originally going to be teaching a class in social problems, which is talking about how you deal with problems related to your vision loss and most of these people are senior citizens. And since I facilitated a support group for visually impaired adults, I figured I could do that. Well, the braille instructor got sick and so I was asked to teach. I thought, okay I know how I'm gonna do it, but I'm gonna do it one way or another and I did it. So yeah I could teach writing if I were asked to do it I would definitely consider it because I feel that you don't have to be a certified teacher as long as you know the material and are willing and have good people skills, which I hope I do, Abbie laughs, you can teach anything. Sally: I was wondering since you had worked in a nursing home, as music therapist, I don't know if you only worked with people with dementia or if you just talked with general population. Abbie: Well, I worked with… Sally: But have you ever worked with any writing? Abbie: Well, oh, writing, yeah, nursing home that would be difficult because by the time a lot of those folks get there, you know, they're not able to, you know, like hold a pencil or, you know, hold a pen or use a computer. So writing, teaching a writing class at a nursing home will be difficult. Now a senior center, with more higher functioning adults, I could do that. 20:44:42 Okay. But I'm just not sure how I’d do something like that in a nursing home. But yeah, Ann: We have no hands. Abbie: Okay. Carol: I’ll ask another question then. You mentioned that you tried to get your book on Perkins. Some of our libraries, and I mentioned this to Abbie, are very opposed to taking a book that is… Abbie: Self-published. Carol: So besides Perkins, do you know of any other places? Maybe the American Printing House. Abbie: I don't think the American Printing House is recording books anymore because I used to get Readers Digest from them and now NLS is doing that. Ah, Carol, you mentioned the library that Alice uses in Wisconsin. If they would take books from other authors in other states that's possible. I just don't know otherwise. Carol: Yeah, I was just wondering if you tried anyone else. Oh, thank you. Abbie: Yeah, no, I haven't tried any other libraries. Lynda Lambert: Can I jump in and ask a question? Abbie: Sure, please do! Lynda: Anyway, I have two questions. First, have you thought about doing any kind of a sequel to this book like taking Eve and putting her in another situation or family members, I could see something like that happening. Right. Abbie: Well, I have considered and again I don't want to go into it because I don't want to give away spoilers but I have considered if something else were to happen. But, you know, I don't know. So far it hasn't really come to fruition. Lynda: I wanted to ask another question. I know, it was a comment. It was about teaching a class or doing a workshop. One thing that hasn't been mentioned, but I know this because I'm a former museum director. Abbie; Right. Right. Lynda: Art museums and community art programs offer, book writing things or memoir classes and stuff and you do not have to have a degree to do that because you're a successful writer. Abbie: Right. Lynda: You have published books and you would have tremendous, I would think, tremendous creditability in doing something like that if you had a local place where you would want to do that. Abbie: Yeah, sure Well, yeah, there is a local art gallery where my poets met for a while during COVID when the senior center wasn't open because we normally meet at the senior center. And so yeah, that's possible. If I had the time, I would definitely approach them. But like I say, with my other obligations and my short story collection and my blogging, website, I just don't have any more time, but if someone were to approach me and ask me to do like maybe just a one day workshop or something. Lynda: It'd be fun too, you know. Abbie: I would be glad to consider it, but I certainly don't have the time to actively pursue something like that. Lynda: I taught a memoir class once, at an art center and mostly it was senior citizens that came, but very highly functioning people and it was really fun. Thanks, Abby. Abbie: Oh, you're welcome. Ann: Thanks, Lynda. Alice, you have a question. Alice: Yes, I have one more. I hear sometimes sports people being asked where they keep their trophies and I think books are authors trophies so Abbey. Abbie: In my spare bedroom. Alice: On. Okay. Laughter. 20:48:57 Yeah. Abbie: I have piles and piles of them. Yeah. Carol:Chuckles. Abbie: Because I order, I usually order about twenty to fifty copies when they come out. Because I do signings and stuff and I don't sell that many. So, and I've got piles, and boxes and piles of books, but it's better to have too many books than not enough if you need them so. Carol: Well, we know where to get a printed book copy that's signed by you. Abbie: Absolutely. You know where I live. So come on over. Okay. Come on to my house, to my house. I'll give you books, as Rosemary Clooney might say. Abbie, Carol and Ann laugh. Carol: I think I'll have you do free matter for the blind and send it to me. Abbie: Well, I don't know if free matter for the blind would do, but I don’t think I can send print books that way, but no worries. Abbie: I can send them pretty cheaply through media mail. So. Carol: Oh, okay. Oh, that's good. Ann: We have no raised hands and we're at ten to the top of the hour. Abbie: Alright, well maybe it's time to start winding things down and let our president Marilyn Smith talk about Behind Our Eyes if you're ready to do that, Marilyn? Marilyn Smith: Sure. Be glad to. This is so interesting. I can remember in two thousand six when this group was founded, Abbie came in. It was right in the year and we were talking about our goals and such and she says, I really want to write a book. I, you know, been working on one. And at that time she was submitting memoirs and, short stories and poetry and some of the work she was doing then was in our first anthology. She is one of our founding members. There are about twelve of us, I think, still in the group. And so we have been enjoying Abbie's little, varied genre choices all these years and she always gives us a prompt once a week of the six sentence story or gives us a word to play with and write something about. And we have watched, and I and everybody else who came along, we have watched this group develop from just a very small group of friends sharing our writing into an organization that's international in scope. We have three anthologies. The third one should be coming out very soon, like within a month or so. And, we have an online magazine, which you can submit if you're a writer with disabilities, even if you aren't a member, but once you've been in the magazine, we hope you will decide that you should be. Because we have so many things to offer. You're at a book launch tonight and that's only one of the opportunities that we offer authors who want to go in that direction with their writing. We also have critique groups, some that are scheduled on a monthly basis. Marilyn: We just recently initiated a program with classes taught by our members on genres and sometimes on various methods of writing or reading your work. We have a reader's workshop. Sort of like an open mic and it's an opportunity to practice and perform. Combine the two, you can't get better than that. And our email list is very focused on writing and it's very friendly and pretty low traffic. It's a really pleasant place to be. So we have an awful lot of opportunities there for people and we hope that you might be interested. We want to especially welcome our new members who have come tonight and hope you will take advantage of whatever suits your fancy from the options that we have available to you. And others are visiting if you're interested, by all means go to our website Behind Our Eyes dot org. There is a join us link there. You can check out our Special Evans page where we have featured some of the recordings. We do twice a month Sunday night meeting with sometimes it's a critique session, sometimes it's a guest speaker, sometimes it's a panel or one of our own members who is involved in a particular genre that we all have some interest. I can remember, oh, a few years ago, one of our guests was Ron Charles from the Washington Post book world and I remember that night Abbie saying, I’m considering writing a book and starting to work on it and it's about a red dress that passes from one generation to the next. This is the rest of the story, you might say. And so, by all means, consider Behind Our Eyes because we'd love to have you a member. That's it. Abbie: Thank you, Marilyn. Carol: Abbie. Let's see, would you like to tell us where are your books available for us? Abbie: Oh yes, and I also forgot to give you the DB number. Of course I did send it in the email, but for those who aren't part of our group, I will pull that up here for you real quick. So this book is available. It is available on BARD. And it's also on Bookshare, but then if you would like to purchase it, it is available from Amazon and Smash Words and other resources. So the recording number, the number for BARD is DB. 9 8 2 8 2. Again, that's DB 9 8 2 8 2. And so, you should be able to find it that way. And then also I can give you my website address so you can go learn about my other books. And find out what you can get them. And that is. HTTPS colon slash slash WWW dot Abbie Johnson Taylor, that's A B B I E, J O H N S O N, T A Y L O R dot com. You can also email me through that website. There's a contact form right there. So. Carol: Oh good, any final thoughts. Besides buying my book. Abbie: No, not really. I hope. Thank you. I would like to thank, Behind Our Eyes for allowing me to promote my book. And thank you all for coming and I hope that you enjoy reading my work. Diane: Thank you so much. Abbie: You are so welcome. Carol: Thank you for being our interviewed person for this month. Abbie: You are so welcome and thank you for interviewing me, Carol. All right, well I guess that's it. Good night everybody. Readers Note: If you have found this transcript to be helpful, please take a moment to let us know by sending a brief message to Marlene Mesot at: Marl.Mesot@gmail.com. You may also contact someone you know in our writers’ group. Thank you very much.