R. H. Burkett

Neverland . . . that faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and the Lost Boys live and more importantly, play. This magical fairyland, ruled by the motto, “I’ll never grow up,” can’t be found on Google Earth or any GPS. It’s not that the directions of “first star to the right, straight on till morning,” are difficult to follow, it’s just that only those who truly believe can travel the star-lit path.

Occasionally, however, (probably more out of pity than any other reason) Tinkerbell sprinkles her pixie-dust over the unseeing masses, the enchanted mist dissolves and the road to make-believe and creatively twinkles for those who dare to take that all-important first step.

This past weekend the opalescent path led straight to Oklahoma City and the OWFI (Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc) writing conference. For a brief wrinkle in time, all was well with the world. No politics. No racism. No…

I love to think outside the box when it comes to promotion, book signings, and book launches.
For Dixie Dandelion I had a painting party at Pinot’s Palette, in Springdale, Arkansas. Pinot’s is a lot like Painting with a Twist. The owner/artist at Pinot’s, James bent over backwards to make this one-of-a-kind book launch a huge success.
For those of you not familiar with Pinot’s, everyone paints a same picture. All the painting supplies are furnished. Drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic may be purchased as well. Everyone listens to music, drinks, and paints. James gives step-by-step instructions.
In honor of Dixie Dandelion which is a young-adult Western, we painted cowboy boots.
Here are pictures:

In my new book, The Adventures of Dixie Dandelion, due to be released November 2nd from The Wild Rose Press, Dixie’s best friends are Soiled Doves. So. Who are Soiled Doves? In a word . . . Prostitutes.

In the 1800’s and the Wild West, prostitutes were among the first to populate and establish businesses. Looked down on by society these women often gave generously of their money, funding schools and other organizations. All behind the scenes, of course. From rolling wagons, tents, “bawdy” houses to stately mansions complete with china and crystal, these young women sold their wares for 25 cents up to a dollar and were known by many names: Soiled Doves, Sportin’women, Prairie Nymphs, Fancy ladies and Calico Queens to name a few. To avoid embarrassment for their families, most changed their names to such things as Hambone Jane, Sweet Annie, Black Pearl, Cotton Tail, and…

My fourth book, The Adventures of Dixie Dandelion is due to be released in November by The Wild Rose Press. Many of you know I’ve been working on Dixie for quite some time — four years to be exact. Dixie first popped into my head when I was writing my first book, Soldiers In the Mist. I had to put her on the back burner to finish Soldiers. I returned to Dixie only to have my second book, a novella, The Rook and The Raven come in and take over. Dixie went to the back of the line again. I started again with her only to have Bethany Ann from my third book, Daughter of the Howling Moon, come roaring in with a vengeance. Alas, Dixie had to wait, yet again. For those of you who know Dixie, you can imagine just how happy she was. She refused…

Weebles is a perfectionist. Me? Not so much. Take picture hanging for example. Before Greg hangs anything he has to start with math. How wide is the picture? What is its length? How many inches from the ceiling to the middle of the wall? Then he brings out the level. Me? I’m a member of the Hole in the Wall Gang. I eye-ball it, then pound a nail in the wall and hang the sucker. Simple. This drives Greg up the wall. (no pun intended.) Oh! Something else Greg is picky about is holes in the walls, especially if it is his wall. I won’t blow a two foot hole in my walls but neither will I go to great lengths to avoid putting a nail hole in one. Paint covers up a multitude of sins.

About two years ago Weebles made me a quilt. Since I’m a writer and…

Not many of you know but Weebles didn’t always wobble. Nope. When I first met him he was an agile black belt Judo instructor at the Air Force base in Little Rock, Arkansas. Believe it or not he’s also an actor; mostly musicals. Oliver. Oklahoma. Annie Get Your Gun. Fiddler on the Roof and My Fair Lady to name a few. In My Fair Lady he played the role of Pickering. Blew my mind. Not only did he have to dance but sing a solo as well. I don’t know how many of you have ever auditioned for a musical but a big part of one is dancing. I hate that part. I can sing. I can act. But dance? Nope. I have two left feet, and I can never remember the routines even though we rehearse until we’re ready to scream. Weebles didn’t like the dancing part either, but…

Weebles has two dogs, a boxer named Mazie and a little something or other named Daisy. Now, I am a dog person. Had dogs all my life, and I enjoy them. I’ve been known to walk up and pet a stray just because he has a smiling face and wagging tail. However, for the last decade I’ve been living with cats. Sorry to say, this has ruined me for most dogs. Cats rule. Period. So you can imagine the adjustment I had to make moving in and living in a dog-dominated environment.

My cat, Pan made the switch better than I did. I was so worried about her reactions that I gave no thought to mine. As a result, these dogs drive me nuts. They eat cat food like candy. I have never seen dogs scoff down a bowl of Nine Lives faster and more ravenous than these two canines…

Like I mentioned before, Greg has Ataxia which means he can trip over a line drawn on the floor. This makes a nervous wreck out of me. I have no idea when a dust bunny, or a crack, or a piece dog hair will trip him and land him on his butt. Well, usually he lands on his belly and flops around like a fish out of water. Scares the be-jesus out of me. I know he hates it. It isn’t something he can control, which for a control freak, is unacceptable. Oh, yes, I failed to mention before that in addition to Greg being a neat-nut and having OCD, he is a control freak as well. I think most men are to a certain degree. Of course Greg is a LEO and they are very independent creatures. I’ll give him credit, however, he’s mellowed quite a bit, but the…

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my life is: Never say Never.
Seventeen years ago I divorced only to find myself sixteen years later, moving back in with my ex-husband. The arrangement is strictly a roommate situation. I pay him rent. I live in my half of the house, he lives in his half. I have my own living room, bedroom, bathroom, and office. The kitchen is common ground. He does most of the cooking because I can’t boil water. Never have been a good cook, never will. We usually eat supper together but as he likes different TV programs, we split after supper and go to our separate corners.

You may be thinking, why did I move back? First and foremost, MONEY. While I could pay my mortgage and all the bills, I had no money to live on. Same with him. We were discussing this problem…

In my book, Daughter of the Howling Moon, my hero, Bethany Ann is half mortal, half spirit. She is a demon fighter for God. In case you haven’t figured it out, the heroes in my books, be they from a previous life time, from another dimension, or wishful thinking on my part, are extensions of me. So does that mean I consider myself a demon fighter? Yes.

Pretty bold statement, isn’t it? Here’s another one: You are too.

The first thing a demon fighter must learn is how to recognize the enemy. Webster defines demon as an evil spirit. Mental pictures of ugly, devil-like creatures spring to mind. But I really doubt Webster was a demon fighter. Bethany Ann is. She says, “evil can twist and turn and slip through cracks and never plays fair.” Demons, therefore, take many shapes and can attack in the most deceiving, innocent ways. They’re…