Awesome Gang / Bridgitte Jackson-Buckley

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Biography:

Bridgitte Jackson-Buckley (born in Los Angeles, CA in 1971) is an American author, blogger, memoirist and interviewer.

As an only child for 16 years, Bridgitte loved to read beyond her skill level. She always carried a pocket dictionary while reading Stephen King books. Displaying a natural talent for writing during her youth, Bridgitte has been writing in journals since she was in the fourth grade. During college, Bridgitte moved away from writing to pursue a “practical and safe” career in medicine.

Several years later, and after a variety of occupations, Bridgitte returned to her first love – writing – and quickly became known for in-depth articles on leading New Thought luminaries such as: Eckhart Tolle, Iyanla Vanzant, Deepak Chopra, Radhanath Swami, Elizabeth Gilbert, Penney Peirce, Elizabeth Lesser, Paul Selig, Marie Forleo, and several others including American singer, songwriter and guitarist Trevor Hall.

​As a freelance writer, Bridgitte has written online articles for Examiner, Tiny Buddha, Recreate Your Life Story, Medium, Patheos, Thrive Global and Gaia.

​She was the lead writer to launch Oprah Winfrey Network’s Super Soul Sunday website, the 21-Day Become What You Believe Meditation and Seven Days to Restful Sleep for “Oprah & Deepak’s Guide to Whole Health” in addition to various articles for Super Soul Sessions I-III.

​With a writing focus that includes spirituality, change, challenge and transformation, Bridgitte’s writing unexpectedly draws readers inward through her ability to convey complex spiritual concepts in a practical and accessible style.

​Bridgitte’s educational background includes a B.A. degree in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and the United States Peace Corps, both which have given her a broad base from which to approach many topics. Being bilingual, Bridgitte has traveled extensively throughout Central America including Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua from which much of her travel writing is based upon. Additional travels include Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.

​Bridgitte now resides in Los Angeles with her husband, three children and Miniature Schnauzer, and enjoys working with individuals and organizations who are interested in conscious change, conscious business practices, conscious leadership and empowerment.

The Gift of Crisis is Bridgitte’s first book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Gift of Crisis: How I Used Meditation to Go From Financial Failure to a Life of Purpose

“Since the start of the recession, 8.8 million jobs have been lost, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” I was one of those 8.8 million people. In 2009, I was laid off the research project I worked on due to funding being suspended. “Between 2007 and 2014” I was also one of “7.3 million consumers” who lost a home to foreclosure.

Some affected by job loss and foreclosure, due to the economic downturn, were able to bounce back relatively emotionally unscathed. Many, however, internalized the outer events as a negative reflection of their personal capacities without taking a deeper look at the crisis as a potential underlying catalyst.

Although a personal economic crisis can be viewed as both an externally influenced event beyond your control yet within your control, it can also be an opportunity to examine the conscious and sub-conscious conditions that brought the experience into your life. If thoughts and beliefs create experiences, so do unexamined thoughts and beliefs. It was through my experiences of prolonged financial crisis, that I realized I subconsciously co-created experiences that felt so bad until the only place I could go was within—exactly where I needed to go.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Ambivalence!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Stephen King :))
Wayne Dyer, The Power of Intention
Paul Selig, The Book of Knowing and Worth: A Channeled Text

What are you working on now?
Continuing with spirituality themed book interviews and articles. I love speaking with authors and sharing stories that are practical, helpful, inspiring, encouraging and necessary.

I’ve also moved into a completely different area: Screenwriting
For some time, I wanted to try to write a script but I was terrified. Over the course of the past year, I took steps to overcome that fear.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
1. Responding to HARO requests.
2. My blog on Medium.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Before becoming a published author, I had no idea what to expect beyond my personal thoughts.

While it has been an exhilarating and affirming experience, I can definitely say my thoughts leaned more to the fantastical side more than the realistic side.

Here are some examples of my fantasies and what I now know about being a published author:

1. Fantasy. You will have endless satisfying conversations with readers. Family and friends will stumble over themselves to tell you how much they liked your book.

Reality. You have some conversations that are deeply precious. You hold them close to your heart because you are pleasantly surprised at the individuals your book resonated with and the ways in which they were inspired.

2. Fantasy. After the book is published, you can relax, enjoy the accolades and watch it all gloriously unfold.

Reality. You can’t relax! You can’t even dip a toe into the waters of relaxation. You have social media platforms to update, book events to organize, daily marketing, grocery shopping trips to Costco, after school classes, the impulse to write another book without a clearly formulated idea, date night, a blog to maintain, writing ideas to develop and of course, navigating the million dollar question from (certain) family members: “Are you a millionaire yet? We’ll know if your book is any good if you suddenly move to a house in Malibu.”

3. Fantasy. Your author interviews will be carved into literary history.

Reality. Once an interview is scheduled, you must first ask the most important question: Is this a video or audio interview? That determines almost everything…if you must look presentable or simply sound presentable. Once that is determined, you spend hours re-reading through your notes, meditating, coaching yourself, and deep breathing to calm your nerves so you show up as the best version of you. And you’re still nervous. Slowly but surely, you do gain confidence.

4. Fantasy. Literary festivals, book fairs and conferences will consistently reach out to you to join them (all expenses paid) as a panel guest to discuss your book.

Reality. Trying to get your book accepted into a book festival, conference or literary event can feel like trying to gain entry into a club that’s not accepting new members. However, you can direct your attention to smaller local festivals and events in your community. You can also participate in larger festivals with other authors. Meeting amazingly, wonderful like-minded authors is one of the best parts of being an author. Their kindness, determination, willingness to share information, genius level creativity and camaraderie will leave you in awe.

5. The book will sell itself.

Nothing. Could. Be. Farther. From. The. Truth. When each author was asked what they wish they had known prior to being a published author, they were also asked what they wish they had known about marketing before their book was published. Here are some responses:

“Marketing takes A LOT of time. You need to be very clear on WHY you wrote the book and have total confidence in the importance of telling others about the book.”

“A new author must be prepared to spend for the necessary investment to get their book out.”

“Hire a publicist for professional connections and to discover unknown markets. Getting published can be one of the most powerful things to leverage. However, you MUST know how to talk about your book and (sometimes) this requires the help of a media coach.”

“Our strategy would have been totally different. We promoted ourselves as authors as opposed to promoting what the content of the book and what it would do for the reader.”

“Start earlier than you can imagine. I wish I had known how far in advance I should have begun to promote the book, seek publicity opportunities, and schedule speaking engagements.”

6. Fantasy. You’ll be the same person.

Reality. “Writing a book requires you to change because in order to do these things you have to.” It also requires you to travel a cathartic and emotional journey that never would have happened if your book had remained unpublished. Your perseverance, imagination, fortitude, and creativity — all expressed in your book, your writing — brings the reader into a world they could never experience otherwise.

Despite fantasy vs. reality, known and unknown, and inevitable highs and lows, writing is a way of life.

It can feel like the air you breathe and what makes your heart continue beating. Often times, your soul is filled with unspoken words until you sit down and pour them through your heart like a sieve. This is what writing is to the writer — a way of life.

“We are drawn to it, sometimes despite our efforts to pull away.”

And because of this, you come to understand this journey — the journey of being a writer, publishing a book, telling a story, sharing words and maybe helping others find a way — has contributed to your growth, both as a creator and a person and for this reason…yes, it is absolutely worth it!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
A few years ago, I was looking for a reason to continue writing. At that time, I was discouraged because my writing queries went unanswered, my online posts received little to no views, and I began to think (maybe) after years of writing, my efforts to be a writer were futile attempts at something that was simply not meant to be.

However, after reading THE ALCHEMIST, I was brought to tears. It felt as though the accessible and encouraging messages were written for me. It was at that time I contacted Mr. Coelho on Facebook through a private message. To my surprise, he responded.

Here is our the Facebook conversation:

Mr. Coelho, I finished reading The Alchemist for the first time last night. I read it in six hours. When I read the last page I began to cry, because The Alchemist, for me, is an Omen…I was just about to give up on my “Personal Legend” of being a writer. Thank you. http://www.examiner.com/spirituality-in-national/bridgitte-jackson-buckley Thank you. Thank you.

This was his reply on June 26, 2016:

“Hi Bj!

Thanks for your message. The contact with my readers gives me joy and strength to continue my work.

Writing tips: http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2014/10/31/writing-tips/Keep on fighting for what is important to you and the world.”

I followed the above link he sent to his blog which outlines Mr. Coelho’s tips for writers and took the following advice to heart:

“I write the book that wants to be written. Behind the first sentence is a thread that takes you to the last.”

Almost two years after reading THE ALCHEMIST and the encouragement it inspired to once again believe in the possibility of having a dream come true, my memoir entitled THE GIFT OF CRISIS: HOW I USED MEDITATION TO GO FROM FINANCIAL FAILURE TO A LIFE OF PURPOSE, was published by Mango Publishers in October 2018.

What are you reading now?
“Rosewater by Tade Thompson. Rosewater is a town on the edge. A community formed around the edges of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents comprise the hopeful, the hungry and the helpless—people eager for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumored healing powers.”

“Kaaro is a government agent with a criminal past. He has seen inside the biodome, and doesn’t care to again—but when something begins killing off others like himself, Kaaro must defy his masters to search for an answer, facing his dark history and coming to a realization about a horrifying future.”

What’s next for you as a writer?
Mulling around with ideas for children’s picture books, a spiritual sci-fi fantasy adult series and another personal growth memoir.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Your Soul’s Plan by Robert Scwhartz
The Journey Home by Radhanath Swami
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
My Soul to Keep by Tananaravie Due

Author Websites and Profiles
Bridgitte Jackson-Buckley Website
Bridgitte Jackson-Buckley Amazon Profile

Bridgitte Jackson-Buckley’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Original post found here.