rebecca buckley - author

May 2008 BECCA'S BULLETIN
NEW HAPPENINGS!

ON THIS PAGE:

  • "Write it Right"
  • "Bits & Pieces of Me"
  • Two New Anthologies
  • "Midnight at the Eiffel"
  • "Just a Dream"
  • "Never Again!"
  • "Love Has A Price Tag"
  • Midnight at Trafalgar Square
  • My Schedule
  • My Press Kit
  • My Published Articles
  • My Blog
  • Wizards of Words


  • FOR MY EDITING SERVICES
    Click Here

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY
 
A BUSY MONTH
Publishing Three Books

Cinco De Mayo is a fun holiday usually ... and who's to say this one won't be. But first for me is a Nuclear Stress Test at 10 a.m. on May 5. YIKES! Well, I'm sure all will be well and I'll pass with flying colors. Afterwards a Midori Margharita will be in order, I can assure you of that! And some tasty chips and salsa.

This month is a very critical one for me in some ways and a fun one in others. Fun first, of course, my middle sister and brother-in-law will be visiting from California, the first time since I've moved into my new home in Arizona. So, I'm looking forward to seeing them and to show off my cozy space.

Last month Ali and Martin came from Dorset UK, as well as their daughter Amy, and we had a wonderful 6 days of siteseeing here. I stay at their B&B when I travel to Weymouth, love that seaside town! And I'm wanting to go there in the worst way these days. Maybe later this year. I'm missing my usual dose of the UK. I always come away from there with new ideas for stories, as most of you know who have read my books, it's an inspiring environment. Paris runs a close second. If you haven't listened to my radio show on Wednesdays (see below), you can go there and hear Ali and Martin. They read with me when they were on my short story segment.

This month I'll have published "Bits & Pieces of Me", it's in the final proof stage as we speak. You can read about it as you scroll down. And I'll be editing and publishing "The Chipping Away of America" by June Cain Miller, due for release on June 26. At that time we'll be having a release party in Santa Monica and I'm truly looking forward to seeing old friends and familiar faces, it's been a long time since I've spent any time in that neck of the woods. My own "Write it Right" is in the works, Book One of the series. I'll be doing a workshop using it as my reference in October at the WOW Writers' Conference in Scottsdale. So if you're a writer and want to learn how to write it right, punctuate it right, this is the book and the workshop for you.

HOME ON THE RANGE ... I had hoped to begin the landscaping in my back garden this month, but will have to put it off till June. A bit late to get started, but then, SO? I'll be doing a rock garden with flowering plants indigenous to the Arizona desert and climate. And will add touches and creativity of my own, garden adornments and art. Must have some water effects, too. Maybe a pond, or a fountain. No pool because it's too much of a bother and there's so much care involved in the maintenance of it. I'm not a pool person anyway. My son lives a block away, he has one, that's close enough.

This year I'm spending more time writing and publishing than getting out there to booksignings and conferences, but next year I'll get back on the trail and will be available for appearances. So, let me know if you'd like to schedule me in 2009.

Have a happy May!

"WRITE IT RIGHT"
 
SERIES COMING SOON
Book One in April



Can You Believe It?

Writing this series has been an over-the-top experience for me, WOW! I'm utilizing all that I've learned SINCE those boring, horrid English classes in school. I wonder where those English teachers are who had very little patience with me.

I'm smiling right this minute as I write this. Smiling because it's ironic that I'm a writer and am helping others write. That's exactly how this series came about, you know. I would email answers to questions I had been asked about the usage of one sort of grammar over another or one type of punctuation over another, etc. And I was building up quite a collection of questions and answers. Then I decided to take it a bit more serious and did tons of research. But it didn't just begin over the past few months, I was learning and teaching fellow workers when I was in the corporate environment a few years ago. At one place of employment I taught classes on Business English to the personal assistants and secretaries of a large company. Never would have thought I'd be doing that, believe me. And I enjoyed it.

Now I've expanded into the parts of writing - characters, plot, openings, closings, how do you know when to make a chapter break, what is POV, in what person should one write, it's all there. And I've made it very simple, a departure from the rigid text book examples that can be most confusing and difficult to ingest. At least to me they're difficult, always have been. In my books, I make it easy to understand and implement.

"Write it Right - Book One: Punctuation" should be available by the end of April. At least that's the target date. So If you'd like to reserve a copy now, you may do so by clicking the BUY NOW button below. I'll also be using these books for workshops at conferences and book festivals when asked. I'm doing a workshop at the 2008 Wizards of Words Writers Conference in Scottsdale AZ on October 10. www.wizardsofwords.org

There just isn't enough time in a day.

"BITS & PIECES OF ME"
 
My Second Collection
of Short Stories



THE TRAIN TO MOSCOW
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
A SILVER LINING
JUST A DREAM
MAMA'S DIARIES
LOVE IS JUST A WORD
BROTHERS
VIAGRA DIALOGUES
ZARA'S SECRET
MOHAN, INDIAN BOY
CAFE DUSTEYSKY

Above is the list of titles in this book. I'm thrilled with how it all came together, for I can tell you right now, I'm hooked on writing short stories. Yes, there are bits and pieces of me in these stories, rightfully so. You see, it all comes from me, some from my imaginations, some from my experiences, some true, some not. And as always, it's your guess. That's the fun of it for me.

"The Train to Moscow" was inspired by an actual train I took from St. Petersburg to Moscow. It could have happened just as I described, oh yes. I think I need to take that ride again.

In "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", the plight of the homeless was stirring me up again. It's a short-short story and was initially the result of a writing exercise - using a list of ten words to write a story and writing it quickly. Of course I expounded a little, it's longer than the original paragraph.

"A Silver Lining" was my contribution to the anthology by the Amazon Shorts writers - mentioned below. It had to fall within the guidelines of the Window on the World theme. I truly enjoyed writing this one. It was a challenge. Just love those challenges.

"Just a Dream" is one that Amazon Shorts published last year. And I love it, I hope you do, too. It's okay to love my own stories.

Okay, "Mama's Diaries." I've received so many emails asking for more of this story. I had put an excerpt up on one of my blogs and boy did I get a response. And yes, I do love this story, too. So now you can at last enjoy the rest of it. I'm thinking of expanding this one into a novel.

"Three Little Words": a woman's take on the three simple words - I Love You - and whether or not they mean anything other than just that. Are they committing words or not?

"Brothers" is the story of two babies - one who escaped death, one who didn't. I will say that this one is all too familiar. Just as in my last collection when I wrote "Oh Yes, I remember", this one is also dear to my heart.

And then comes "Viagra Dialogues." Quite a contrast! I had to wait till both my parents went to the after-life to write this one. It is double-X-rated. Yep, I do have it in me, folks ... a warped sense of humor.

"Zara's Secret" is next and is a story of a American woman in Paris making some wrong choices, and then again, maybe not. But as always in forbidden love there is a price to pay.

AND lastly . . . "Mohan, Indian Boy." A real departure for me having a charming little boy as my main character. I was sitting in a mall waiting for my son who was being fitted with eyeglasses one day not so long ago, when an Apache family entered the corridor. Just watching them, the two parents with their son who was the spitten image of both of them, was all it took for me to feel the beginning of a story. And it has been a delight writing it. Arizona has a few Apache reservations and the terrain and environment all around was inspiring for this story. It's set near Sedona in a past era - with all the beautiful, spritual surroundings in the red-rock foothills.

"CAFE DUSTYEFSKY" is a stageplay with music based on my Santa Monica piano bar days. My partner Don Dominguez wrote the music and lyrics, I wrote the book. It's a fun story, although not without it's tragedy. And it's full of romance and drama. Four characters, all singers, all wanting love and happiness - a slice of real life.

TWO ANTHOLOGIES COMING UP!
 
Amazon Shorts Writers
WOW Writers



Two new anthologies of short stories are about to be released which include new stories I've written. So you want to be sure and check those out.

One of the books is by 20 authors who are published and have written for the Amazon.com Shorts Program. The book title is "THE WORLD OUTSIDE THE WINDOW" and is in its final edit.

The other anthology is by 25 members of the Wizards of Words Organization, bookcover shown here.

To puchase CLICK HERE.





MIDNIGHT AT THE EIFFEL
 
Cover Photo by
Robert Abrams

"Till death do us part" is not Jerold Singer's pledge, it is his mantra.

Shellie Singer escapes to Paris from L.A. fleeing an abusive marriage to follow her dream of becoming a famous Jazz singer. Adrian van Allman, a gentle young man from Switzerland striving to become a successful artist, falls in love with her at first sight.

Shellie also meets Rachel O'Neill in Paris, an American writer who lives in Cornwall. Rachel's lover, flying over South America on a field trip for Cornwall's Eden Project, crashes into the Amazon Jungle.
Back in L.A., Shellie's friend Janet Corrigan - a savvy, blond and brassy Barbie doll with brains - who harbored Shellie and made it possible for her to live on a Parisian houseboat near the Eiffel Tower, is accosted by Shellie's husband. Janet shoots him in self defense. But that does not stop Jerold Singer. He escapes police custody, leaving the hospital more determined than ever to find his runaway wife.

The story is about Shellie, Rachel, and Janet - all three wanting romance, all three wary, afraid to trust, and not sure if they even want to try. All three in Paris with life decisions to make.

To purchase CLICK HERE

MY SHORT STORIES ON AMAZON.COM
  A SHORT READ!
I was participating in a writing exercise on a message board where a fellow author - David S. Rosenberg - posted a color photograph of a striking historic house and asked that we write a story opening that the photo inspired.

My imagination and fingers immediately took off as if by magic. I actually felt as if I experienced that house and wrote it as if I had. My heroine is drawn to it as much as I was, except her attraction has been a mysterious, magnetic pull for two years to find a house she'd seen only in her dreams, but knew existed.

I deeply feel we should listen to our mind's voice and pay attention to our gut feelings and sleep dreams because most assuredly we're being nudged in a direction we must go. This story is one result of my belief.

Amazon Shorts is a relatively new program designed by Amazon who is publishing single short stories by published authors. You'll find never before published short stories by some of your favorite best-selling authors as well as by newcomers, like me.

So, off you go to Amazon.com and click on the "32 Categories" link, then the "Amazon Shorts" link where you'll type in my name or the title of my short. Or just click on the link below.

ANOTHER SHORT ON AMAZON.COM
  ONE MORE TIME!
Have you downloaded this one yet? If so, please give it a review on Amazon Shorts. If you've read any of my books, I'd appreciate a review from you. Good or bad. Thanks, guys.

Okay, so you're asking, "What's NEVER AGAIN about?" Well, on the day that Buck Owens (country music icon and owner of the Crystal Palace in Bakersfield) passed, I was reading about him that day in Bakersfield at "RUSSO'S BOOKSTORE" where I was having a booksigning. I was reminded of the good times I spent at the Palace seeing Buck perform and all the musicians he presented. During that era I was having a difficult time breaking away from a past love, and that day as I was reminded of Buck, those memories flooded my mind. I wrote this piece as a reminder to me, and to give hope to others, and as a remembrance of a great music venue.

LOVE HAS A PRICE TAG
  Collection of Stories - some fiction, some not . . . Love Has A Price Tag

The idea to write this book was sparked by the writing of the first short story for Amazon. The bug bit me, so I wrote eight more short stories and added two of my stage plays and one screenplay to the mix. What a bargain! All in one book.

Bulletin! Some of the stories are memoirs. (smiles)

It all begins on a frightful night in SHOE'S ON THE OTHER FOOT, then prepare to blush and get warm all over when you read the sensual scenes in BATMAN'S RIDDLER IN KANSAS CITY. You may relate to ANSWER THE PHONE, a breaking off with the old and starting anew, then we travel to Oklahoma in PLEASE COME BACK and feel the fear of a young woman in hiding, after which you'll experience that time we all dread when we're too old in TAKE ME, LORD, TAKE ME NOW. Next it's a teen-age girl in awe of a movie star in CARY GRANT & PINK CORDUROY, and you better have a handkerchief handy when you read OH YES, I REMEMBER - all about lost love and prejudices. You'll cheer for Amanda in *AMANDA'S DREAM and Rachel O'Neill in a screenplay: **PEACE IN THE VALLEY. And LITTLE KATIE MCMULLEN is a stageplay based on the life of Catherine Cookson, the British novelist, from age 13 as one of the poorest of the poor to her death at 91 when she was ranked 17 among the richest in the UK. OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE RAINBOW is another stageplay about two people, dramatic opposites, and how they attempt to survive their differences in order to marry.

WHEW! That was an eyefull!

*"Amanda's Dream" is a preview of my upcoming third novel in the midnight series - "Midnight in Bruges"

**"Peace in the Valley" is actually the first appearance of Rachel O'Neill in my work.

MIDNIGHT AT TRAFALGAR SQUARE
  A Contemporary Novel


FIRST IN THE "MIDNIGHT" SERIES

1. MIDNIGHT AT TRAFALGAR SQUARE (2005)
2. MIDNIGHT AT THE EIFFEL (2007)
3. MIDNIGHT IN BRUGES (2009)

(There are 12 novels in the series, each with a New Year's Eve celebration in a famous world city.)

Rachel O'Neill is an American writer in England who is betrothed to Ethan Philips. She can't believe she's accepted Ethan's proposal, even though it's merely a business arrangement. She's afraid of commitment and intimacy, arrangement or not, having been miserably through it all before. What's worse, she's unable to muster the guts to tell Ethan she can't go through with the marriage. She complicates her life even more by kissing a complete stranger at London's massive celebration in historic Trafalgar Square at the stroke of Midnight on New Year's Eve. The events that unfold rapidly whisk Rachel into a world of adventure, romance, travel and discovery. Here she comes face to face with eclectic characters who appear to have been traveling together for more than one lifetime.

Will Rachel find what she is looking for? Are her dreams real? Will Ethan persuade her to be his bride?

Rachel O'Neill reappears in "Midnight at the Eiffel", so follow her to Paris after you read "Midnight at Trafalgar Square."

MY 2008 SCHEDULE
 
Listen to Rebecca Buckley on internet talk radio
EVERY WEDNESDAY AT NOON & 6 P.M. - Pacific Time


2008

JUN 26: Santa Monica CA - TBA

OCT 10 - 12: Phoenix AZ - 2008 WOW Writers Conference

NOV 6: Bakersfield CA - Booksigning TBA
NOV 7 & 8: Wasco CA - High School Reunion

Click on the following for:

MY PRESS KIT - includes Bio

MY PUBLISHED ARTICLES

MY BLOG

EXCERPTS FROM SHORT STORIES

WIZARDS OF WORDS
  WOW

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Music CD: Lifescapes- Romantic Evenings - "The Love We Share"