Exercising
I’m not a poet, but my friend, Carroll Taylor, is. She’s been demonstrating different forms of poetry lately, and I’ve been paying attention.
About
Sharing our unique stories . . . bridging past and present
We all have stories to tell. Some of us write them, others relate them orally. Some folks do both. Our stories help define who we are, connect us with our ancestors (and perhaps with our descendants), and the world at large.
Stories can entertain, enlighten, educate, and inspire. They can soothe, terrify, support, tear down, unite, or divide us. We are transitory, but our stories can endure.
The purpose of this website and blog is to explore the world of sharing stories and perhaps inspire you to share some stories of your own.
For me, it all started with the sudden realization that I’ve led an amazingly interesting life. Upon introspection, three major categories shook out:
- Short stories
- Nature nuggets
- Books
The short stories are easy. As I recall memorable—often funny—events, I jot them down. When time allows, I return to the list, choose an idea, and flesh out the story. More often than not, this triggers additional memories to add to the idea list. When I have enough of these stories written, I hope to put the collection into book form. Meanwhile, I’ve put a couple of samples on the Short Stories tab of this website.
Nature nuggets are easy, too. Most of my short stories share personal experiences in the great outdoors. Some of them nudge me to dig a little deeper into some aspect of nature that appears in the tale. What I learn by doing this is invariably fascinating and worthy of passing along. Maybe someday I’ll have enough of these collected for a book, too. For now, though, I’m working on adding a Nature Nuggets tab to this website.
Books? This one isn’t quite so easy, other than publishing collections of shorter tales. But I am making significant progress. I've got two under my belt now, and am working on two more.
S. G. (Sandy) Benson writes from her home in the mountains of western North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, Barry, and two bossy dachshunds.
Why Out on a Limb? A forester by training, she worked in the woods most of her life. Along the way, she published a real estate magazine and wrote many outdoors articles for newspapers and magazines. Recently, she’s begun "branching out"—sharing tales at local storyteller gatherings and working on several book ideas. She published her first book in 2021: My Mother’s Keeper: One Family’s Journey Through Dementia and her second book, Dear Folks: Letters Home 1943-1946, World War II in 2024. See the Books tab for details and ordering information.
Blog Archive
June 2025
Breaking New Ground
My short story, The Man with the Silver-Handled Mop, earned a “Staff Favorites” designation in Carolina Woman’s 2025 Writing Contest. I’ve experimented with fiction from time to time, but this is my first published piece. I won’t be abandoning nonfiction, of course, but it sure is fun to try new genres.
May 2025
Hot Off the Press: Cinder Lake Featured in Mountain Lakes
I’m thrilled to share some exciting news—my short story Cinder Lake has just been published in the newest anthology from Old Mountain Press, Mountain Lakes! 🌲📘
Springtime Parade
Ankles swollen, shortness of breath;I need exercise.In March, daily walks begin.Dread soon gives way to awe.
Lingering Memories Erupt Again
(May 18th sparks some intense memories. This excerpt from a chapter in my upcoming memoir explains why.)
Playing with Poetry
I’ve always said I don’t really like poetry very much. That’s not exactly true. More accurately, I’ve always been a tad afraid of poetry. As a nonfiction writer, I find prose quite comfortable. Poems . . . not so much.