Why do I write? Who am I?

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.
-Roger Miller, musician
(1936-1992)



This autobiographical piece was written in response to some requests by my readers who wanted to know more about me. Hopefully, it also shows I'm one who walks in the rain.

Some time back, I received a review from a new member complaining this entry didn't tell her enough about me. Not knowing what else she wanted me to say, I'm asking this of anyone who reads this monologue, "What else can I tell you about little ol' me?"

If it doesn't delve too much into my private life, which wouldn't interest you anyway, I'm more than willing to share with you, so ask away!

Enjoy!

About Judity aka J. A. Buxton:
Hello to anyone who drops by.

First of all, you might find of interest some information about my writing.

I published my first novel, Home of the Red Fox. in 2003. Earlier in 2011, I had it converted to an e-book. Recently all six of my e-books were listed in Amazon's Kindle store. Please check out the links below for more information. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow and read my e-books for free. Otherwise, they cost the small amount of $3.99 each.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007134ON8

The sequel to Home of the Red Fox. was inspired by comments from WDC members wanting to know more about the characters in HOTRF and is also an e-book. I hope you'll want to read about the new orphanage, Hannah's Home, and all the children who find sanctuary there. Home of the Gray Dog is somewhat darker than the original novel.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007134R5S

The last in the "Home of the" series is also an E-Book. Home of the White Dolphin is both a sequel and prequel to the first two e-books. Ancestors of characters from the first two stories in this trilogy are introduced. I had lots of fun doing research about the 19th century.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0071CBUZE

I also enjoyed writing a novella, now an e-book, that is quite a departure from the type of story I usually do. Seraglio Of the Gods started out as a simple story in the erotica genre, but morphed into a novel about ancient deities. It covers love or merely submission between gods and humans, a battle for the future of mankind, and perhaps even a surprise or two. I'd really enjoy feedback on what you think about my foray into what is uncharted territory for me.

ttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B006XND69U

In November of 2009, I entered the yearly NaNoWriMo challenge to write a novel of at least 50,000 words without stopping to edit. My decision was to write a sequel to my earlier novella, "Seraglio of the Gods." To Live Again In Paradise continues the story of the ancient gods after our population on Earth ended. The three worlds of Luzon, Auspasia, and New Earth are explored. After months of editing, something I really dislike doing, it is finally on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009Z2QXFA

Another book, 1,000 Words or Less, published in 2008 as a paperback, is also now in e-book format. In the link below, you can check out this collection of 52 very short stories where I tried to pay homage to my favorite Writing.com prompt contest, "The Writer's Cramp" .

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0074B57EW

There is an unfinished novel in my portfolio with stories about a large city's forensic department. Randall and his crew are nagging me to hurry up and get back to writing about them. Randall often wakes me up out of a sound sleep at night by whispering, "I miss you, lovely lady!"

After retiring at an early age, my main love for writing finally took me over, and I haven't been able to stop. "It's a curse," as Adrian Monk would say. First, I wrote short stories about my favorite TV show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and its wonderful characters, mainly Grissom.

My stories finally ended up here, which is a perfect web site for writers, and I hope some of you and your friends will check them out at http://judity.Writing.Com/

After spending months of fun writing and then going through the excruciating pain of editing, my first novel was finally published. Other than reading and writing, I've pretty much been spending most of my free time staring at my computer screen and posting on various newsgroups.

Before retiring, I worked as a mainframe computer programmer and then as a medical transcriptionist. To be honest, being retired is much more interesting than work ever was.

My Interests:
General
As noted, I enjoy writing and reading. My animals, cats and possums, are a large part of my life. In fact, one of the first stories I wrote and posted in my portfolio is below.

A Possum's Story  (E) Memories of a kitty fritters, possum pie, and the rainbow bridge. #1019730 by J. A. Buxton

This year, I compiled many stories I'd posted on an AOL message board into a diary about Fred the cat. He is a typical cat, and I bet you people who are owned by a frolicking feline will end up saying, "Hey, mine did that to me once!"

Stories about Fred, feline extraordinare  (E) My Fred the cat stories #1283920 by J. A. Buxton

I also enjoy watching British mysteries on BBC America and the Biography channels.

Music
This is easy. Neil Diamond has been a favorite of mine for years. I also enjoy listening to Joshua Bell, a great violinist. Although I enjoy many types of music, I'd have to say classical music is what I now listen to most.

Movies
Since I've been renting movies for quite some time through Netflix, I'm able to watch more genres without having to go to the theaters. Science fiction is usually picked the most often. I don't care for the slash and gash type of film, but do like a good action movie now and then. Having been brought up by Uncle Walt (Disney) by way of the Mickey Mouse Club on TV, my taste in movies does remain mostly in the G range.

Television
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation was my favorite for years. Sadly, Grissom abandoned us, and I no longer feel that Thursday urge to watch the show. When I feel the need to see him again, I'm in luck since I own all the previous seasons on DVD. This show got me interested in the actor who plays Grissom, William Petersen, and I now also own either tapes or DVDs of all his movies. Can you tell I have a crush on this sexy man? (laughing)

I also enjoy watching Midsomer Murders and Law &; Order: Criminal Intent. Other than that, I'm more of a reader.

Books
Anything my hot little hands can get hold of as Amazon.com is my second home. Most of my disposable income goes there. I like science fiction, romance novels, biographies, nonfiction, classics, and mostly anything except for the Dean Koontz type of blood and gore books.

Heroes
I guess I'd have to say Abraham Lincoln, Ross Perot, and Dr. Gil Grissom could be classified as heroes for me for different reasons.

Writing Information
A few reviewers, after reading the above autobiography, have asked me specifically why I write, so perhaps I will add something about that here.

Should I mention the insistent voices inside my head screaming and begging to be brought to life by my meager words? How about often lying in bed for hours in the dark imagining how the main characters in my two unfinished novels will next behave? There are also the prompt contests on Writing.com that give me ideas in a flash about new characters or new situations for my stories. The daily Writer's Cramp contest is my favorite to enter.

Why do I write? I guess all of the above and none of the above. You might as well ask why do I breath or eat or sleep. I don't write to get published, although I admit that was fun. Some of you might understand what I'm saying. As for the rest, I honestly can't make it any clearer.

Writing is something I HAVE to do.

Family Information
Some readers have asked about my family. Well, let's see. I had one mother and two fathers, all since passed away. Then, there are my two brothers, a step and a half, neither of whom I have seen since I was a teenager.

Of my three sisters who grew up with me, there was a real, a half, and a step sister. My step is five years older than I am, and she and her husband and five children are all living in Brazil. I only see them now and then at family funerals.

My half sister is nine years younger than I am and has two children. Our personalities and life styles differ, so I don't stay in contact with her much.

My real sister, two years older and the family member I miss most, died of metastatic breast cancer on October 7, 1996. If I can only pass on one bit of wisdom to you women reading this, please be sure to get your mammograms when they are due. My sister, who had failed to originally do this, left eight children behind including two sets of twins. I still miss her.

Anyway, that's my family other than an additional 22 great nieces and nephews and a few already here in the next generation. By the way, I'm single, after deciding to let my sisters have the children.

I stuck to raising cats!

If you'd like to know more about me or my childhood, there are a few older nonfiction pieces in the folder listed below. I hope you like them.

West Brookfield, MA  (E) The place where I lived between the ages of 5 to 17. #1226070 by J. A. Buxton

I have bared my soul, now let me hear what you are like. You can respond privately if you're shy, but I'd like to meet you one way or the other. Bye for now.

Judity
You also can read any of my other stories in the link below
http://judity.Writing.Com/