IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Am going out into my back garden to have my cup of ginger tea when I finish this post. I love this time of year in Arizona. The sun is shining, flowers are in bloom, the plants are flourishing, trees are full, lawn is green ... can't beat that, can you? Those things make me feel good. Doesn't take much, you see. I love my home environment and my flower gardens ... and my babies: Princie, Oreo, and Albee.

Speaking of flowers, I've been taking photographs of them and putting them up on my website. Have you seen the first ones? I've more to put up, will do that shortly. When you click on them and then click on them again, you can get the detail of the main flower, the one I focused on. They look like Georgia O'Keefe paintings when they're enlarged. Makes me want to pull out the canvas and paint. Sure, like I have time to do that, too. lol lol

My time these days is taken up with creating the galleys for the three books RJBP is releasing in December. Had hoped to have at least two of them done this week, but am behind schedule. One will be completed today.

So that's what's happening in my world. Ohhhhhh, one new thing to announce ... I'm launching a literary magazine June 2010 called LITERATI. More information at the R. J. Buckley Publishing site - rjbuckleypublishing.com . Excited about the mag, for sure. I suscribe to GRANTA, THE PARIS REVIEW, PRAIRIE SCHOONER, and AMERICAN SHORT FICTION which are four of the top literary mags of our time. They've been inspiring to me and I figured instead of publishing an annual anthology of other writers' work, why not launch a mag. So there we are.

Have a happy day!

BOOKS ON THE WAY!

Am waiting for the first shipment of the newly released "2009 WOW Anthology" - 21 short stories by 21 authors. Exciting! Then the complimentary copies will be sent out to the contributing authors. Also the prepublication-orders that were received will be filled. So, guys, watch for your copy.

At the moment am working on three other books by other authors ... doing final edits and designing bookcovers for RJBP. So ... I am busy busy busy! these days. Also putting the final touches on my own latest novel "Midnight in Brussels" - to be released in a week or so ... that will be my focus over the next couple of days. Need to get that one out so I can clear my head and concentrate on the other three.

Other than that, I'll attend two writers meetings coming up this month in Phoenix ... one this Wednesday (East Valley Writers Group) in Tempe and one on the 30th (Scottsdale Society of Women Writers) in Scottsdale.

Since the WOW organization dissolved, my stress level has decreased somewhat. I hadn't realized what a burden that was on me. Five years of it was enough, five years of being the glue that held it together. But we did do some good, encouraged and supported many fledgling writers and I'm proud of that. My gratitude goes out to those who were always there for me. I hope to see you all at other conferences and events in the near future.

Okay ... back to work!

Happy Monday!