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. Please check out the link below for more information about this book.
http://tinyurl.com/6csbcs
The second book, 1,000 Words or Less, was published in 2008. 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://tinyurl.com/68fkoo
I'm now in the editing phase of the sequel to
Home of the Red Fox., so I invite you to drop by and visit Walker at his mansion, Maison du Renard Rouge. While there, I hope you enjoy reading about the new orphanage, Hannah's Home, and all the children who find sanctuary there.
There is a prequel to the above novels that I also finished, all 170 chapters of it. Ancestors of characters from the first two stories in this trilogy will be introduced. I had lots of fun doing research about the 19th century.
There is also a second 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!"
I also enjoyed writing a novella that is quite a departure from the type of story I usually write. It 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.
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." Because it was done quickly, I would welcome any and all comments and suggestions to improve "To Live Again In Paradise."
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.
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!"
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, now with the addition of Jeff Goldblum. 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 couple 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.
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.