Elisabeth Alba and I finally Meet!

Last Monday, the 16th, I got a visit from the lovely Elisabeth Alba, who illustrated the Everyday Witch Tarot. Believe it or not, this was the first time we'd met in person, even though we'd worked together for over two years! We had a great time (with her husband, artist Scott Murphy, and their dog Rayo)--and we signed a bazillion copies of the tarot set. Okay, maybe it just felt like a bazillion, but she had her 30 limited editions and I had my 10, plus we both had extras to sell on their own (or gift to friends).

She posted about the visit on her blog HERE

She's actually even nicer in person than she had been via our thousands of emails and Facebook messages. And as a few people pointed out, we actually resemble each other! Here's as few pictures from the day.

[In an aside, people seem to be really loving the deck, which makes us both VERY happy.]

They're here! Rayo is as excited as I am.

You can see my original painting of the Ace of Cups on the wall behind us.

What do you think? Do we look like we could be related?

Signing the box and the books.

Still signing!

Her pile was bigger than mine, if you can believe it!

Trying to get Rayo to sit still long enough for us to get a picture. Ha!

It was a real treat to finally meet up, and hopefully it won't be the last time. It turns out that Elisabeth and Scott are both beer lovers like me, so I've invited them to come back sometime to tour the local Brewery Ommegang and just hang out. (They live in Massachusetts, about 3 hours from me, so this may take some planning.)

It's The End of the World as We Know It and I Feel Fine

I've had a song going through my head for the last few days, as the Inauguration approaches and we bid goodbye to a president I liked a lot, opening the White House doors to one who, if you follow me on Twitter and Facebook, you will not be surprised to hear, I do not.

But this post isn't about politics, really. I try not to be too loud about my own personal views on such things, since I know that not all of my readers share those views, and I respect everyone's right to hold their own opinions.

This post is to address my own depression on this day, in part because I know that many of the folks I'm friends with are also feeling sad, angry, and fearful. None of which are helpful, in the long run.

So I'm going to stay off of social media today, avoid the news, and remind myself (while working, and then later, writing and probably drinking wine) that what we think is the end of the world rarely is. I am going to do my best to stay positive in the face of a lot of negativity. I'm going to try to do as President Obama urged in his last press conference, and remain hopeful.

It may be the end of the world as we know it, but I think we'll be fine.

Big love to you all.

Magic and Mystic Turn 15!

If you are a regular here, you have probably heard quite a lot about Magic the Cat (Queen of the Universe) and her brother, the giant gray kitty Mystic. To me, they will always be my "kittens," since I got them, along with their mom, from the shelter when they were only about ten weeks old.

So tiny and adorable! But the size of Mystic's feet should have warned me...

Who could have resisted those faces?

 And yet, somehow, today they are turning fifteen. I don't know how it happened. (After all, I'm not getting any older, right?) We lost their mom last March, so I confess that it is a little scary seeing them getting older. But mostly they're pretty healthy, aside from some arthritis in her back that makes it hard for Magic to jump up on the couch and the desk anymore. Here are the new stairs I bought to help her out, along with an ottoman by the couch. (She picked up on the ottoman right away...the stairs are taking a little longer.)

Magic enjoying the sun.

 I confess, as much as I love all my cats, Magic and I have always had a special connection. Until a few years ago, this was one of her favorite positions. Especially if I was cooking. She would leap straight up from the floor to my shoulders. Needless to say, this worked a lot better in the winter when I was wearing a lot of layers... (She also co-wrote a number of my Llewellyn books.)

When they were younger, the siblings were also quite close. (You can see mom Minerva in the background. I'm pretty sure she was saying, "You two get along now.") As they got older, that was no longer true, in part because Mystic liked to throw his considerable weight around.

Although as you can see, he is usually pretty laid back.

Don't bother me...I'm napping.

 This picture was taken last week, on a cold but sunny day. You can see they've carefully spaced themselves out with Angus in between.

Truth be told, it doesn't matter if they are fifteen or five, they will always be my babies.

So I'm going to celebrate their birthday the same way I celebrate everything else--with a giveaway! Happy birthday, babies. Mama loves you more than the moon and the stars and chocolate.

Mystic, checking out the goodies

My yearly calendar, featuring book covers and cats, plus a Magic the Cat notebook and mousepad, a cute card from one of the shop artists that I think looks like Mystic, and a little black cat.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Tarot Deck is OUT! Deborah's Limited Edition

Happy New Year!

And a very happy one it is indeed for those of us who have been waiting for the arrival of the EVERYDAY WITCH TAROT -- it got back from the printer early, and even though it wasn't supposed to be out until January 8th, it is available NOW from Amazon, Llewellyn.com, and probably anyplace else, including your local Indy bookstore, who can special order it for you.

Huzzah!

Plus, it is #1 in New Releases in the Tarot category on Amazon, which needless to say makes me and illustrator Elisabeth Alba very happy!

Day one

 As some of you know, Elisabeth came up with a wonderful limited edition (30 only) set that includes signed bookplates (we're getting together mid-month so we can sign them together!), an original mini-sketch by her, a tin for the cards, and more. It sold out in the first couple of days, which was great, but a few people were sad that they hadn't been able to get one. We don't like sad around here!

So I've been hinting on Facebook that I was going to try to come up with a limited edition of my own, and here it is. Right now, there are only 10 sets available. I had the bags (large enough for both the deck and the book, plus all the other goodies, in case you wanted to keep them together) made up especially for this by one of the artists at my shop, and the little notebooks (to keep track of your readings) made special by another artist. The bookmarks are from the shop too, as are the candles. I didn't want to order too many, in case people weren't interested. But I have enough of the cool cat material to make another 10, probably, if the demand is high. Once that runs out, we've hit the limit for sure!

Here it is: The set includes the tarot deck itself (with the book signed by me, and also by Elisabeth if it is ordered before her visit and you don't mind waiting for her to get here), the bag, the cute little book--it has a kitty on it too!--with a broom pen to write in it. There is also a mini-smudge stick, a candle, and a small amethyst crystal, plus a kitty bookmark to use with the tarot book.

All these limited editions will be slightly different. As you can see, there are variations in the bags (different fringes), two different colors of candles, two different kitty bookmarks, and of course, the crystals are all individual. I'll take requests for preferences as long as I have the ones you want.

Variety is the spice of life! These are going to be one-of-a-kind.

Each set will cost $60, including the $30 card set itself, plus shipping. (Probably about $8 if you are in the States, more if you are outside the country.) I have no idea if anyone will be interested, or if they will disappear as fast as Elisabeth's set did. I guess we'll see! But I did want to offer something to the people who missed out on hers, and my set is a bit more magic-centric, as it were.

If you want one of these, email me at magicmysticminerva@yahoo.com -- first come, first served.

So, I admit I'm curious...did you get a set of the tarot cards? If so, have you received them yet and what do you think? Elisabeth and I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out.