The World According to Rebecca Buckley

Got out into the coolness while it was happening, this morning.  It's much warmer now, but it's still beautiful to look out upon.  I rearranged my garden furniture and pulled more weeds, too. Have been pulling weeds every morning this week.  There's a patch of some kind of weed/grass that is trying to overtake my gravel and one of my flower beds.  So, I'm pulling them up, individually, and it's working. I mowed the ones with the trimmer that are in the flower bed, actually makes a nice place for my babies to snooze.  Better than dirt.  I almost have all the weeds pulled that are in the gravel and were in the lawn.  Tomorrow morning ought to do it. 

Today I'm cleaning up websites, making changes, deleting stuff.   Posting to blogs, etc.  Updating.  Tomorrow, Sunday, I'm taking the day off.  Will do nothing on the computer, nothing for R. J. Buckley Publishing, no writing.  Nothing to do with books.  I need a complete day away from it all.

Soooooooooo ... that's what's happening in my world right now. 

Oh!  Must tell you that the "2009 WOW Anthology" has been released.  So watch for it on the Barnes & Noble  site.   It's already on Amazon.com, but sometimes you get a break in price on B&N.   It's full of exciting short stories of all genres, 21 of them by 21 authors.  This is a must read, guys.  

Happy reading!

My sister Mary just reminded me that I haven't posted on this blog since December ... so in case you don't know, I'm back!

Yes, I had a fabulous trip to Brussels, in fact I'm using the research and information and people and places in writing "Midnight in Brussels" as we speak. The past few days I've been totally immersed  in the writing of my third novel of the "Midnight" series, or the "Rachel O'Neill" series (I call it one or the other). I believe you'll be happy with this one even more than the other two: "Midnight at Trafalgar Square" and "Midnight at the Eiffel."  You can go to my travel blog to read about some the experiences and my days in Brussels, if you'd like. http://rebeccabuckleytravels.blogspot.com/

I'm getting into the characters and the settings more than ever. They say with each book you write ... you improve. And I'm trusting what they say. I feel I write better with each book, anyway, regardless of what "they" say. You can be the ultimate judge of that, of course.

I want to get to the point that everyone enjoys my stories, not just women, men too.  I do have male fans, however, that base is growing with each book.  So this will be book number five - 3 novels, 2 collections of short stories.  Exciting.

It's a beautiful day here in Arizona-land. Beautiful!  Yesterday we had a bit of a wind storm, no rain, just wind. Frightened the cats enough that they wouldn't go out. It blew the outdoor grass umbrella over, so I had to go out and collapse it and move it to the enclosure. The cats are out in full force today though, there's a poor lizard that is trying to escape their rough playfulness.  They've brought him in twice.  Right now I've locked them indoors so the little guy can get away.  They aren't too happy about that. In fact, Oreo is meowing to get out.  I'll give it a couple more minutes.

So ... that's what I'm doing today ... writing, writing, writing ... AND enjoying outdoors and my babies.  (Already watered the potted plants this morning.)

Have a good day ...

Yes, the time has arrived.  I'll be leaving for the airport in 2 hours.  It's 5:16 a.m. on Monday, December 29 (my youngest son's birthday!), and I'm doing last minute list-making for my roommate and will awaken her at 7:00 for us to have a cup of coffee together before my airport ride gets here.

The anticipation has been great over the past few days, it's been difficult to think of anything else ... even though Christmas has come and gone and I prepared Christmas Dinner for 4.   And now here it is, the morning I take off for Belgium. 

As soon as I get there, I'll be taking a cab to the hotel ... am staying at the Metropole Hotel (love those Metropoles ... stayed in one in Moscow).  Usually the first day arriving in Europe or Britain I spend sleeping, if I am not able to sleep on the plane.  Coming back it's a bit different, for some reason it doesn't seem as if the trip is as long as the trip over ... but then we all know it was.  lol lol lol

Then the first day out in the world after getting my rest, I'll chart my course for the remaining days.  I'm hoping to go to Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent, Liege, Ostend, and Leuven if time permits ... will do them as day trips, maybe not all of them.  For sure I'll go to Bruges, want to revisit it - the romantic little Venice of Belgium, for that is where my heroine of "Midnight in Brussels" will be living and working (doing more research on her surroundings).  

Okay!  It's Christmas Eve day.  I'm sitting here thinking of what would make this Christmas Eve special.  My roommate is still sleeping, she arrived last night.   Yes, I have a roommate now, I'm so happy about that. 

The fear of kicking the bucket and not being discovered for weeks while my cats scrounge and starve is over.  There's somebody here to make sure that doesn't happen.  I'm not afraid anymore.  Ever since I watched a documentary about two grown sons going to Italy (I think it was Italy, or was it France? Maybe it was Spain.) to clean up after their mother had been found in her house having died several months earlier has been bugging me.  No one had noticed her absence, can you imagine?  Sad, huh?  Anyway, the sons faced the horrid job of clearing out her house and hiring someone to actually remove her rotting remains.  Terrible terrible!  Did you know there are people who specialize in that cleanup?  Her animals were dead, too.  Jeez!  Now this is not Christmas Eve talk.  Stop it!

Okay ... back to my initial happy thought ... how can we make this a very special Christmas Eve?

Tomorrow I'll be cooking Christmas dinner for my son Micheal and his wife, so it's four for dinner at 2 p.m.  That will be cozy and Christmasy.  I'm looking forward to that.  I've been watching all the Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies this season ... love those!  They really get you in the mood for the season, don't they?   Just love them.

But tonight, what can we do?  We're going shopping this afternoon, maybe we can stop somewhere for a lite dinner, maybe go to Scottsdale or Tempe Old Towns.   Feel the festivity.  I wonder if there are any neighborhood Christmas light sections?  There must be.  I'll check on the Internet and see where they are, that would be fun.  I love doing that.  Yes, that's a winner.  Okay ... we'll do our necessity shopping (Christmas shopping is done), oh wait a minute.  My roommate wants to go and buy some outdoor lights for this house, just for the front window.  So we can do that.  And maybe get some for the tree in front.  Yes.  Then we can take a ride to where the neighborhoods are lit up ... and then go to dinner.  Perfect!   There, it's all planned.  You know, one other thing I used to love to do on Christmas Eve ... go to the Midnight Mass in the little churches in England.  Haven't done that in the U.S.  It's different here, it seems, than in England.  I probably couldn't stay up that late anyway, now.  lol lol   

So ... MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!

My old friend Bob Henry, the husband of my dear friend June Cain Miller, passed away today at 1:00 p.m. 

I remember when I first met Bob at Bob Henry's Round Table Prime Rib House on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica CA.   Such a handsome, striking, man!  Single his entire life till he met June when he was in his 70s.  They made quite a pair ... both could steal the room when they walked in, a very dynamic couple.  My heart goes out to June today, for she has now survived the two loves of her life, and she's able to keep on truckin' and shift those gears. Watch for her on www.junesamerica.com .  

I used to spend a lot of time at the Round Table on Wilshire in the '80s and then again in the '90s when I lived in L.A.  Dick Leslie at the piano bar was the draw, and many of us would go there several nights a week to sing at his mercy.  Yes, he could be cantankerous, of course, as most piano bar players are, and would let you sing if he wanted to.  lol lol  But I was a patient soul, I just loved music, and loved hearing other singers as well as singing myself.  So, it didn't matter to me if he let me sing or not.  I enjoyed it anyway.  And I loved people-watching at Bob Henry's bar/restaurant. Plus, the food he served was superb, the best!  I dined there most nights, sometimes even at lunch, either with a date or alone.  Mostly alone, I prefered it that way .

Yes, those were the good ol' days, those days with Bob Henry and that group of cronies.  We had some fun times, we did.  Now many are gone including Bob.  Most are.  Just a few of us left that used to make the rounds on those few blocks of Wilshire Boulevard, from the Pacific Dining Car to Bob's 26th Street Round Table to blind Smitty at Bob Burns on Second Street. 

I miss it all and I miss all my favorite people of those days. 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS!

June Cain Miller Henry passed away after a sudden heart attack on January 11, 2009, almost two months to the day of the death of her husband Bob.  This was a complete shock to all of us who knew June and dealt with her on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.  I'd spoken to her before I left for Brussels on Dec 29 and we exchanged emails while I was away.  In fact we were talking about her next book that I would be publishing, we were eager to get going on it. Take a look at her first book on my publishing site - www.rjbuckleypublishing.com . 

But you know, she was so depressed and tired when we spoke last.  The death of Bob and all the changes she'd gone through in the past few months were devastating and stressful to her. 

She will be missed, I can attest to that. Even now I forget and will start to email her or telephone her only to remember that she isn't there anymore. 

I think of you often, Junebug, just as I am right now.  Love you.

Okay, I will.  So here it is, 3:33 a.m. on Thursday, July 10.  I finished creating a web site for a dear friend just a few moments ago, she's also a client of mine (my publishing company - R. J. Buckley Publishing) and I'm feeling very happy.  You know what I mean?  When you feel as if you've done something that's needed for someone, it makes you happy.   And I sure love that feeling.  I do.   So, I'm having Champagne and feeling even happier.   lol lol

Now, today (later today), I'll get down to brass tacks and do some serious final editing and publishing on the same client's book before starting on the next one.   Yes, another client's manuscript is waiting in the wings and I'm ready to get into it.   Somewhere in between and during that one, I plan to finish writing my own non-fiction book that I'll be using in a workshop in October at the WOW Writers' Conference in Scottsdale AZ on the 10th & 11th.   So, my plate is full as usual.   But I have eliminated some things since I tend to take on too much.  I've stopped offering my editing services to the public and have ended my blogtalkradio shows.   Waaaaaaaaay too much for me.  And what a relief it was to stop doing those two things. 

You know, sometimes I over commit, and this has been one of those times. 

Hey, Heather ... are you out there?  Are you coming to the conference in October?  Marilyn Meredith is doing a couple of workshops, wish you would come, too.  I need to email you.

Okay ... I need to go to some of my other blogs and websites to update things. 

By the way ... I've been busy with my lovely new home and garden, too.   Take a look  www.rjbuckley.blogspot.com.  It may not be your kind of "castle", but it's sure home to me.  I love it.  

Yep, I'm digging the dirt!  Today I dug two holes in the hardest dirt I've ever encountered - for plants in my front yard.  It took me forever.  I told my sons I'm going to trade them in on new ones (they both live nearby), since they have been avoiding digging those holes for me.  I have 6 more in the back garden left to do ... although I've nearly dug those out, have been doing it little by little.  They're almost deep enough to hold the plants.  I could probably go out there right now and finish them off, if I were so inclined.  I may do that this evening when it's cooler.  Arizona is very warm this time of year, you know, so early mornings and late evenings are best for being outdoors.

I found a few mistakes in the WOW Anthology and have just corrected them and republished the book.  Damn!  I don't know how I missed those typos.  I guess it's because I read it way too many times (I'm the final editor) and it was all running together by the time I thought it was ready to go.  And being the perfectionist that I am, you know it killed me to find those errors.   Gawd! 

I couldn't sleep last night ... was thinking of a book I want to write.  I'd been reading Dostoyevsky's short novel - "Notes From Underground" - and it just struck a loud, familiar chord with me.  I'd been running a theme through my head for a couple weeks, something much more personal that I've ever written before, and when I began reading "Notes" it came to me all of a sudden - how I could write it and about what.  Now I'm so eager to get everybody else's manuscripts off my desk so I can start this new project of my own - it'll be written as fiction I think.  Haven't decided for sure, yet.  Might call it a memoir.  However, with the unfortunate notoriety with James Frey and his "memoir" ... I don't know. Although he sold millions of copies, regardless.  

Well, back to work ... not enough time in a day ... 

Well, I don't exactly mean May Day as in "help!"   I mean it's a lovely May day today.  It's probably in the high 90s, still not as hot as it will get here in Arizona, but it's warm enough for me.  I haven't stepped out into it, yet, today, but I will sometime within the next hour.   Need to make a run to Office Depot and then to Fed Ex.   Stuff to send off.

This month is a busy one for me between catching up on editing clients' manuscripts (editing service), editing and publishing "The Chipping Away of America" by June Cain Miller  (R.J. Buckley Publishing).  We have a release date of June 26 for "The Chipping Away of America", and we'll both be appearing in Santa Monica for booksignings.  Don't know where, yet, June is taking care of that at that end.  Her non-fiction book is fabulous, by the way.  She definitely is outspoken on the current political scene, has so much to say about all the candidates and about life and all that goes along with it.

My first non-fiction will be out later in the summer, I'd hoped to have it ready by the above release, but it's not going to happen.  My latest collection of short stories is available now, though, "Bits & Pieces of Me".  So I'll have it and three other of my books with me in June for the booksignings.

The WOW (Wizards of Words) Anthology is available now, too.  It's up on Amazon ... 25 authors contributed 25 short stories and it is a fantastic read.  So take a look.  Just type in "WOW Anthology" at Amazon.   These books are also available on the publisher's web site ... www.rjbuckleypublishing.com .  So you can purchase them there, too.

All right!  Now, what's going on in my life other than all the above.   First off, I'm in the middle of qualifying for a reverse mortgage.  Yes, I'm doing that with my Arizona home.  It guarantees me a monthly income that I can live with come what may, and a home for the rest of my life.  Anything else that comes in is icing on the cake.  I do own another home in California, so that's always a little nest egg for me down the line.  But in order to stay at home and devote all my time to writing and my business ventures, the reverse mortgage seems to be the ticket.   It lifts a great deal of worry for me. So now I don't have to go and be a Walmart "greeter."  And since stress has been taking it's toll on me lately, just finished two cardiac tests - results yet to be heard, now I can begin to rest easy and do only what I love to do.   Hooray!!!

The reverse mortgage is an amount of funds that a lender sets aside for you, based on the value of your home and equity.  You have to be 65 or older and use your home as your primary residence.  You use the funds that are approved for a monthly income as long as you live, and it never has to be paid back until the time of your death or at the sale of the property.  Your heirs may sell the property after your death and pay the funds and keep whatever is left, if any, and they will not be charged for an overage amount if that's the case.   In other words, if what you've drawn is more than the value of the house at sale time, the debt is called even.

Another way of doing it is ... you draw the entire lump sum that has been approved in cash.  Or you can set it up as a letter of credit.   Or you may draw a lump sum in addition to monthly payments.  And also, you can set the length of the payments to life, 20 years, 15 years, 10 years, and so forth, if you want.  Regardless of the amount of years you set the monthly draw, after that time is up, you may still live in the house for as long as you live, without repaying that money.  The funds are repaid at the time of your death or if you sell the house or if you move out of the house.  

What a fabulous godsend for the elderly!  Sure the lending institution is making a bunch of interest and charges on the transaction, but if you aren't concerned about leaving your house to your children, then it's a great way to go.  I'll keep you posted on my involvement.