Wednesday, November 20, 2013

A Few Cool Things and Switching Gears





Sorry I haven't been around much--I've been working overtime on the newest Llewellyn book (Lessons from the Pagan Path...which isn't going to be called that when it comes out). I'll explain why in a minute.

In the  meanwhile, two Very Cool things happened this week. I had a great back-and-forth email discussion with  my fabulous Berkley editor, Leis, and we've figured out the back cover copy and a tagline for Wickedly Dangerous, the first Baba Yaga book. (The tagline will probably be used for the second book too.)

What do you think of this?
"Who says wicked can't be good?" 

In other news, book sales (contracts) are announced on a website called Publisher's Marketplace, which is viewed by all sorts of publishing professionals. The announcements themselves often come out some time after the initial contract, due to delays in writing up contracts, etc. But it is always kind of a heart-fluttery moment to see your name up their all official like.

Someone on Twitter commented that she'd seen my announcement, and sent her congratulations. So I asked Elaine, my lovely agent, to grab a screen shot of it for me (since I don't subscribe to the paid full version, which lists all the sales, just an abbreviated "important publishing news" version). This is what she sent me:
 
 How cool is that??? It's almost as though I was an honest-to-goddess professional author :-)

Anyway, back here in the not quite as cool real world, the holiday season is rapidly approaching. This means two things to me--the shop is going to get busier, and I need to get my arse in gear and make some jewelry to sell!

So I've been working extra hard on the Llewellyn book, to get it done (except for some guest author contributions, which I'll tell you about another time, if you're interested). It has actually come along nicely, and I hope to be finished by the end of this week! And then, jewelry, jewelry, jewelry!

What did you think of the tagline? I was going for something intriguing...do you think I nailed it, or did I miss the mark?

And which kinds of gemstones are your favorites to wear as necklaces or earrings? Inquiring minds want to know...

Oh, and someone on Facebook asked me the other day how I came up with the idea for using Baba Yaga in a book series. Is that something other people would want to know the answer to?

13 comments:

  1. I did like the tagline - and yes, I would be interested in your reasons for using Baba Yaga (I usually picture her as an old crone).

    As far as the stones, it depends on what chakra I need energized.

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    1. Ah, stones for chakra work...that's a whole 'nother blog post too :-)

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  2. Let's see, in order:
    Yay!
    Yes, love the tagline.
    Moonstones.
    And yes, enquiring minds want to know.

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    Replies
    1. I love moonstone too...especially rainbow moonstone.

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  3. The tagline is GREAT!
    Why didn't I get to write in any of these things? :)
    I always like clear quartz and rose quartz.

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  4. Crazy here, too, but yes -- *love* the tagline! Great job!

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  5. 1. Woot!
    2. Awesome tagline!
    3. Moonstones (one of my birthstones), aquamarines and sapphires.
    4. Spill it!
    5. Get to work on that jewelry!
    6. Doctor Who 50th Anniversary episode to be aired at 2:50pm EST. I know you're a Whovian so make sure to schedule a break for that time. :)

    Kit

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    Replies
    1. I have it set to tape just in case, but thanks for the reminder, Kit--I definitely want to watch it live!

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  6. 1. Yahoo!
    2. I love the tagline. It goes with the line I saw recently that said "You say Wicked like it's a bad thing."
    3. Garnets, lapis, turquoise of various colors, amber, peridot.
    4. Yes I'd love to know (all this time and you didn't tell me ... or my aging mind forgot).
    Jewelry, jewelry, jewelry.
    And remember to meditate and exercise!

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    Replies
    1. Nope, you haven't forgotten. Nobody had asked me the question before, so I never occurred to me to talk about it...

      One of of two's not bad, right?

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  7. Congrats on all your awesome writing news! Very excited for the new publications. I think the tagline for the Baba Yaga books sounds great and very intriguing. I think it'll draw a lot of people in.

    In regard to jewelry, I personally love my amber and rose quartz gems for necklaces, but moonstone and clear quartz would also be nice. For earrings, moonstone or amethyst are my personal faves. :)

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