Wandering Thoughts of a Writer

My first thought: WTF!?         

We looked at our work phone.

A tsunami warning???

The town was ordered to evacuate and move to higher ground. 😮

The Pacific Ocean is a couple of blocks from our office and everyone there was told to leave NOW! 

Again, WTF!?

My manager contacted me and told me to be safe and to get to higher ground. Susan’s manager told her the same and that when we left the town we were in, we needed to take a different route – a higher one.

We called our family to make sure they were okay, which they were. 

So, what did Susan and I do?

We continued our business as normal, then took a break and got a Dutch Bro’s coffee. I mean, hey if we were going to die, we were going to die caffeinated and happy. 🙃

And obviously, where we were, not everyone was panicking because they were still working and others were going about their day as if nothing was happening.

Maybe because the town we were in was not in the danger zone whereas the town I worked and lived in was. Hell, sometimes I can hear the ocean from inside my house because currently, we live five blocks away from it.

The experience was a trip though, and thankfully, my life partner and I do have a bugout plan if faced with a major catastrophe.

But anyway, after an hour or so, the evacuation was called off and life resumed as normal with the added frazzled nerves that some people had from the experience.

It was a crazy day, and I’m so grateful for Susan being with me through the whole ordeal, for her being her amazing self, for my other awesome coworkers, and for my wonderful job. 

I have to say, even though there is a possibility of a major tsunami where I am, I will take my chances with that because it’s worth being here. 🥰

Dude, I haven’t posted a blog post in almost a year. 😮

Omg, where has the time gone?

I know.

I know. 🙄

Most of us always say: where has the time gone?

But, seriously. I should post more here or get rid of my Blogger account.

The truth is, I don’t want to close Blogger.

I love it. 🥰

I’m attached to it, like a spider monkey.

I try not to have attachments.

But I am attached to my Blogger account and my stuffy Coonie.

We won’t talk about Coonie though . . .

. . . Hell, I’m a minimalist.

I basically have no attachments.

My life is simple. No drama, not a lot of superfluous stuff, and for the most part peaceful.

I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth – the Southern Coast of Oregon.

I’m not braggin’ because the cost of living is insane here, BUT . . .

BUT! It’s the first place that I’ve felt at home.

A connection.

A peace.

I think it’s because I’m surrounded by nature (the Pacific Ocean, the mountains, the deep, plush forest, the river, and the creeks).

I work for the State of Oregon in human services, which has been a blessing because it aligns with the path that I’m on. So, during the day Monday through Friday, a lot of times, I deal with the dark part of humanity (domestic violence, drug addiction, child abuse, homelessness, etc.). In my off time, I work on myself, my mental health, exploring that endless rabbit hole, and writing that next book or figuring shit out so I CAN create a world that you and I can escape and have fun in . . .

. . . But yeah, since I flipped my life in 2017, seven years ago, it’s been a hard road at times, however, coming out the end of it now, or maybe close to it, I’m not the same person as I was, and it was all worth giving up basically everything to be where me and my life partner are now.

So focusing on OUR mental health has been a HUGE priority in our lives, and it still is and always will be.

On the book front, my next book (The Last O’Clery Witch) is in developmental edits. It was going to be published this year, but due to unforeseen family emergencies, production was placed on hold, which is no big deal. I’m not concerned with exactly when my book will be published. I’m just grateful The Last O’Clery Witch found a home with a publisher that ticks all the boxes in what I wanted as my first publisher.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, PEEPS!

Can you believe it’s 2024?

WTF!?

When I was younger, I never thought we’d get here.

What about you?

And it’s the year of the dragon, too! 🐉

How cool is that?

I’m excited to see how this year unfolds.

I hope all of you had a fantastic holiday.

I did.

We consider December 25th our New Year because the sun rises one degree higher after days of being still, bringing in a new lunar cycle. That week and night is when we perform our end-of-the-year rituals, such as getting rid of stuff that no longer serves us, deep cleaning the house, writing down what we want to let go of, and burning it. I also write down my intentions for the coming year. We light candles and sage our house to clear out negative and stagnant energy. I then express my gratitude.

So, yeah, that’s how we roll, but we did celebrate last night and today with the world. It was all good.

Today, we went to the beach to catch some ocean vibes and came across this dude or dudette.

Does anyone know what gender this crab is just by looking at it?

I want to say it's a girl . . .

. . . Anyway, us being us, we had to save it, so we put the crab near the sea for a better chance of survival.

It was awesome and a great way to start the new calendar year.

This post was also a tremendous way to start 2024. 

Check it out. 👇

 My publisher posted this on Facebook, so I wanted to share it here with you. 🥰

 Click on the photo to be taken to the website. 

Hey Peeps!

I have book news, but before we get to that . . .

 . . . Where in the bloody hell have I been?

 I mean, it’s been a while since I posted here.

I know.

I know.

 In this post, I will tell you the same thing as I told my subscribers since it’s an announcement and not top-secret news or content.

 Btw, if you’re not a subscriber to my newsletter, why not?

 If you want some exclusive news, giveaways, a chance to get my book before it goes live, and so much more, go ahead and subscribe.

 Here’s the link to subscribe, and no worries, I don’t spam or give away email addresses.

 http://rebekkahford.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=06bbb5773fe9e17e6ba0e860e&id=51f0af6e94

Anyway, I’ve been around. If you follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, you know I’m still alive. 

I’m aware it’s been a while since I sent a newsletter out, but a lot has happened these last few years, and this year we’ve been focused on self-care, shadow work, self-discovery, letting go of what doesn’t serve us, detaching, hacking into the Matrix, and figuring shit out. We had lost family members and friends, not from Covid, but one lost was suicide, so . . .

  . . . Yeah, not good. 😢
 
Keeping our mental health stable and healthy was a huge priority and will always be as it should be for everyone. But all in all this year has been a great year of recovery, truth, growth, manifestations, and prosperity.
 
Now for the book news . . .
 
I got a book deal for The Last O’Clery Witch! 🥳

The book contract is exactly what I want right now, and I’m excited to start this new writing journey with my publisher and team.

I believe this book will be published in 2024, but I’ll letcha know when I get a date for its release.
 
Are you excited?
 
I hope you’re still with me on this crazy journey.
 
If you are, you’ll be hearing more from me now.

Btw, I don’t know if I’ll get an author website or not. I’ve done those before, and although I do love having one, I’m a minimalist and honestly, I really like Blogger. I’ve had it since 2011. That’s a long ass time – even before my first book Beyond the Eyes was published. So, I’ll see what happens, but regardless, I’ll still have Blogger. 😊

So, to refresh your memory on what The Last O’Clery Witch is about, I’m going to put an unedited, rough blurb here to give you a taste of what the story is about.
 
 
A witch moves to a hotspot for paranormal creatures and gets thrust into a hidden supernatural world that forces her to face her fears and embrace who she truly is.
 
1591, Scotland (Prologue)

Ainsley McGregor did the unthinkable that sealed her family’s fate—she boasted about her magick to her friends and shortly after, her entire family was executed for witchcraft. Ainsley nearly suffered the same fate but was spared and became immortal by unseen forces. She’s now the last O’Clery witch (her maw was an O’Clery. O’Clery witches are all female and powerful) and for centuries with a heavy heart, she followed her maw’s rules: only use your magick to make herbal remedies so you won’t risk turning dark, don’t read the grimoire, and never talk about your powers.

Present Day

When Ainsley moves to a hotspot for paranormal creatures, she’s startled when she sees through a supernatural’s glamour and can communicate with the dead. Now a spirit is pestering her to help him, and a reaper needs her assistance. Thankfully, Ainsley has Keaton, a cute vampire, to help her navigate this supernatural world she’s now entangled in. But when a narcissistic half-demon who stuffed the town’s founder’s soul into a crystal she wears around her neck and an alpha werewolf discovers Ainsley is an O’Clery witch, they threaten her to remove the moon curse off his pack. If she refuses, the half-demon will open the gates of Hell in their small touristy town. Ainsley must embrace being an O’Clery witch and accept her magickal abilities without fear and guilt. She’s determined to free the founder and at the same time fool her adversaries. Added to her troubles, someone from her past pays her a visit, surprising her in more ways than one.
 
That is it for now. 

If you don’t hear from me until January, have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year! 🎉

2024 is the year of the dragon, and I think it’s going to be an ah-mazing year! 🥰
 
Cheers! 🥂

Rebekkah

Wow, is 2021 really over with?

Just when we thought we were almost home free, news about Betty White passing on punched me right in the gut. 😭

What about you?

Did you feel the same crushing blow?

I think a lot of people did.

I know she’s with her beloved husband now and she’s happy, but damn, I wasn’t expecting that.

Also, my great aunt Pat crossed over on Christmas Eve . . .

. . . So, 2021 was a sucky ass year full of loss, anxiety, stress, tears, and fear, but it was also full of growth, beauty, and amazing manifestations. ✨

BUT, I do not want to ever repeat that year or anything remotely close to it (do you hear that my higher self and Universe?).

Yesterday morning, the sun was out, so we went to the beach and got some ocean vibes, which was nice. 

In the afternoon, I cleaned the whole house, Kevin washed the bedsheets and saged and Palo Santo every room in our house.

Yeah, we weren’t fucking around here folks. 😂

We wanted to make sure whatever negative and/or stagnant energy was in the house would leave the house. We even opened the kitchen window so the energy had a way to escape our wonderful home.

And let me tell ya . . .

. . . After everything was done, it felt so much cleaner, fresher, and better in every room.

I also performed a simple burning ritual last night, which was writing down everything I wanted to release that didn't serve me. I burned it, and then on a separate piece of paper, I wrote down what my heart desires for 2022 and burned that as well. I then released the ashes outside, allowing the breeze to carry out my intentions to the Universe, God, Source, or however you want to define it.

If anything, it felt good to do and was fun.

Today the sun is out again, and we were able to get outside in nature to enjoy it and the sunshine.

Life is good.

I did notice a bit of anxiety inside me, but I’m learning how to embrace it and not push it away because when you push the anxiety away, it locks inside your body. Just allow it but don’t attach yourself to the feeling. Instead, observe it because that feeling is not you. Your true self is always happy, relaxed, and is love. Feelings that are the opposite of what you truly are come from the human mind, the ego-mind. Recognize it, but don’t identify with it. So that’s what I’ve been doing.

Anyway, there’s one thing I need to take care of in my life and once I do, everything else will fall into place, and that can happen any minute now.

I'm excited! 😂

May 2022 be an amazing year for me and YOU!

Cheers, my friends!  🥂

I know it’s been over six months since I wrote on this blog, but it’s been a challenging year. Honestly, this year has sucked ass.

Seriously.

2021 for us has been full of loss, struggles, anxiety, instability, blah, blah, blah.

BUT on the positive side, it’s been filled with extreme growth, self-discovery, and starting a new book series (The Last O’Clery Witch), but more on that in a minute.

I haven’t felt like writing or doing anything creative because of the hurdles and setbacks we’ve been going through. Hopefully, they’re over with now.

I do believe in the power of manifestation, and we get what we focus on the most.

If you’re mostly focusing on negative shit, then you’ll bring it into your experience, so I’ve been focusing on what I want instead of what I don’t want.

The trick though is to learn how to monitor your thoughts because the mind loves to tell stories.

It loves drama.

It loves to make up shit to worry about.

Meditation is the best way to learn how to take control of your thoughts. I’m not a pro at it yet, but I plan to be.

There are things in our life that we don’t have control over like just recently our 14-year-old cat fur friend (Church) died, and we had to watch the whole thing because the vets wouldn’t see him because of Covid.

They wouldn’t answer their doors.

And they weren’t taking new patients.

It was fucking heartbreaking! 😭

We didn’t realize how much our decisions in life included Church until he left us.

We miss him so much.

The morning we drove up the forested mountain to bury him among the redwood trees was unbelievably magickal. ✨

I took this picture on the way up the mountain. The photo doesn’t do it justice, but the ray of sunshine was like letting us know that Church made it across the rainbow bridge.

He’s no longer sick.

He’s happy now.

He’s having fun.

He wanted us to know that.

Also, the magnificent redwood tree we buried him under will look out for him and is honored to do so.

Putting Church to rest was an amazing experience that we’ll never forget.

It was as if we stepped into a different realm and were given a glimpse into it.

So yeah, there are things in life we don’t have control over. I didn’t manifest Church’s demise or my father-in-law’s death, or my friend’s death, or my ex-coworker/physician’s suicide, or my dad’s mini-stroke he just had last week.

Told ya it’s been a rough year, and that’s not all of it . . .

. . . But we won’t go into that.

I don’t like to get negative. I just wanted to give you a general idea of what’s been going on in my world this year.

Btw, we’re still on the southern coast of Oregon, and we love it here!

But when it comes to being true to yourself and dreams, ya gotta be all in and trust the process . . .

On the book front, Legends of Deceit #2 has been written for a couple of years now and still needs to be professionally edited and go through the whole publishing process, which costs a lot of money.

I haven’t had the resources to do that, but I believe in the future I will.

When?

I don’t know.

If you want to help out you can buy one of my books and tell your friends about them. 

The Last O’Clery Witch.

I do want to create a bitchin’ website for my books, photos, and videos. That is a future goal of mine.

Well, my friends, there you have it. 

We’re almost through 2021. 

I do believe I’m a winner, and I can be, do, and have whatever I want. 

I’m not giving up. 

I will continue to be true to myself.

Cheers! 🥂

Hello. Hello.

I know. I know. 🙄

It’s been a long-ass time.

I still love you, though. 🤗

There’s so much to tell you . . .

I’ll do my best to make it short.

Oh, but before I begin, if you’re a subscriber to my newsletter, then you already know how I’ve been.

If you’re not a subscriber, then what are you waiting for?

Here’s the link to subscribe. http://rebekkahford.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=06bbb5773fe9e17e6ba0e860e&id=51f0af6e94

Don’t worry.

I’m not a twat.

I won’t spam you.

Promise.

So, we’re still living on the Southern Coast of Oregon and fucking love it here. 🥰

I can’t believe we live here.

We explore and go on adventures all of the time. 🧭

I have so many amazing pictures, you guys.

If you want me to share some of them with you, I will.

I got rid of our Exploring Rabbit Holes website, which was a huge bummer, but the cost to run it was too much, and since we stopped doing van life, there was no need to have it up.

What I need and plan to do is build an author website for my books.

That’s one of my goals this year.

I just can’t decide how I want it to look. 🤔

It’ll come to me one of these days.

During Covid, which we’re still in (when will it end?), I started a new paranormal book series, but if you read my last post, you already know that.

The first book (The Last O’Clery Witch) is done.

It seems like that’s all I’ve been doing is waiting.

It’s really getting old.

Oh, another thing that has happened since I last posted here is my father-in-law crossed over in January. 😢

He got Covid, then pneumonia, and now he’s not here.

His passing was tougher than I thought it would be.

This month, I lost a really good friend to cancer.

She went quick – too quick.

I miss her a lot. 😔

So far, 2021 has been filled with loss, more self-discovery, new adventures, beauty, love, happiness, wonder, sadness, dark thoughts, positive thoughts, crazy-cool manifestations, creativity, growth, learning to be patient with the way things are, and trusting that our wellbeing is taken care of.  

We’ll see how the rest of this year goes, but I am in the clarity business . . .

What I do is, I get really clear and really happy, and good things come to me. 😉

Have a wonderful and magickal ✨weekend and week, my friends.

Cheers! 🥂

It’s been a few months since I last posted in here, and I wanted to give you a quick update on what’s been going on.

Right now, we’re dealing with the horrible wildfires.

We now live on the southern coast in Oregon, which Omigod I fucking love it here, but the fires are bad, you guys.

Yesterday morning I woke up in a dark bedroom and house. My first thought was a cloudy and rainy day.

Not!

I looked out the window and saw the orange sky and ash falling from it.

Bad idea.

We turned around and went back home.

My chest now feels heavy as if I smoked a pack of cigarettes in one night. It also hurts and so does my head. 😬

So, yeah, we learned our lesson.

Hey, I’m an INFJ, and I don’t like to be told what to do. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, that’s what’s currently going on besides dealing with Covid-19, which should be over soon.

I do have some book news, and I’ll have more later. 😉

I have a title and a name for this new paranormal series I'm writing . . .

The book title is: The Last O’Clery Witch

As I’m writing this rough draft, I’m learning things that I’ve always wanted to learn because my main character (Ainsley) who is a witch is into those things, like crystals, making tinctures, herbal remedies, tarot card readings, etc.

I’ve always been into that stuff and used to do tarot card readings . . . 

. . . But then I stopped.

I lost those parts of myself I loved because I had decided to assimilate to society’s standards instead. 🙄

Don’t do that, you guys.

Be your 100% self.

You do you.

I can get into the whole story of how I dismantled my life (I started it in August of 2017), threw out the old script that was spoon-fed to me since birth, and started writing my own. 

I’m now the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life . . .

. . . But this post would be way too long for that.

So, through research and during my own time, I’ve been learning more about crystals, zodiac signs, astrology, etc.

It’s really cool stuff.

I'm loving it.

I made this star and added a hag stone (we trimmed the ends after I took this photo) to it.

The materials are all-natural (the sticks were from the forest in the mountains, the string is hemp, and the hag stone I found on the beach).

For years, we’ve hung a star like this above our front door.

It wards off negative and evil people.

It totally works, at least, for us it has.

The hag stone is for an extra punch of power.

I made another protection star I’m going to use as a prize in a giveaway. 😊

Btw, Ainsley makes them as well.

So, I might be doing some witchy-cool post here that relates to this story I’m writing. I know my newsletter subscribers want me to in my newsletters, which btw, I’ll be sending one out on the 16^th. 

Have a great weekend!

Cheers! 🥂