The Glamorous Life of the Author

I know y'all probably think that authors live glamorous lives (mostly in full make-up and stiletto heels). So I thought, on this holiday weekend, that I'd give you a glimpse into mine before I go full-bore promotional "THE BOOK IS COMING OUT SOON" for Dangerously Charming. (Which is on sale now at Amazon, by the way. The paperback version is actually cheaper than the Kindle one, if you can believe it.)

So here you are, for your amusement, my glamorous life this weekend:

First, I defrosted the freezer in the mudroom.

 I'm making pesto today, so I needed to make room to put up the extra.

Then I went to the dump. No, I was not wearing full make-up and high heels.

Then I picked up a new office chair. I have to replace them a lot. Apparently my butt kills them.

 Magic the Cat is checking it out. She doesn't look too sure.

My friend Ellen came over to help me harvest things from the garden.

 Eggplants, tomatoes, and onions, OH MY.

The garlic harvest had been drying and it was time to clip it off and put it away.

It looks like a lot, but half will get replanted for next year.

No, you're not seeing double.

 The old cat tower had seen better days, but Angus spends most of his time sitting on the top bit, so when I saw the exact same thing on sale, I bought it. Ellen helped me put the new one together, using the non-instructions that always come with such things, and then we dragged the old one down to the street in hopes that it would find a new home. It was gone before we went back into the house. (Seriously. A nice lady with a station wagon was VERY happy.)

Naturally, Magic had to check this out too, even though she doesn't sit up there.

Yesterday was mostly house cleaning.

Yes, that's a pile of cat fur. Yes, that's all from one room. Yes, that is Magic supervising in the upper left. See? Glamour. Lots and lots of glamour.

Today I'm mostly working on the 365 Days of Everyday Witchcraft book for Llewellyn, although I did finish writing a short short story for Literary Escapism later this month, featuring Mikhail Day and Beka. And I have to go out and harvest a bunch of the seriously-out-of-control basil and make a huge batch of pesto. At least now I have a clean freezer to put it in.

What did you do with your weekend, three-day or not?

Oh, and be sure to come back tomorrow, because GIVEAWAY. Just sayin' :-)
 

BIG News for my Llewellyn Readers

I keep saying that I'm not going to be writing any more books for Llewellyn, because writing the novels for Berkley is taking all of my time these days. In fact, I've been saying that for a few years. But then my beloved editor Elysia asked me if I could write The Witch's Broom book (the Kindle version is on sale for $2.99 right now, btw), and since she's my favorite, I had to say yes. Then I got the idea for Everyday Witchcraft and I just had to write that one. But that's it, I said. Absolutely no more.

Only, um, I got this idea about a year ago. And I was silly enough to mention it to Elysia at Pantheacon last February, and she mentioned it to Bill, the publisher, who was there too, and they both said, "We REALLY want you to write this book."

I said no. I swear I did. I'd just gotten the second Berkley contract with two new novels, a new novella, and the revisions for Veiled Magic and there was no way I was going to have time. Absolutely not. Every once in a while Elysia would email me and say, "Hey, when are you going to write that book we talked about?" or "Gee, Bill reminded me I should ask you about that book." "No," I said. "Can't possibly do it. Way too busy."

But here's the thing...it's kind of a cool idea. I've had lots of fans ask me if I could do a year and a day book, or some kind of witch's devotional, or something along those lines. So the idea I got, almost a year ago, was to do a 365 Day book that would take the reader on a path through the year that would teach, inspire, and recharge them, no matter what their level of experience or the depth (or lack thereof) of their practice. It could be used as a personal year and a day journey, or as a devotional, or just for fun.

Did I mention I love 365 Day books? I have them for writing, and witchcraft, and other spiritual paths, among other things.

Magic the Cat insisted on helping with the picture, so I guess she likes them too.

So when Elysia emailed me again a few months ago and said, "REALLY, Bill wants to know when you're going to sign the contract for this. We really, really want you to write it!" I um, kinda said, "Okay, you win. I'll write it."

The contract for the tentatively titled 365 Days of Everyday Witchcraft got signed this week, just in time for Yule. Consider this my gift to you, my readers, who have been so lovely about supporting all my previous work. It won't be out until late in 2017, because, you know NOVELS (and the tarot deck that's coming out in January 2017), but you will be getting one more witchcraft book from me.

This is the last one. I mean it. Seriously.

Anyone besides me a little excited about this? (And yes, I'll probably be doing a giveaway later this week to celebrate--I just couldn't wait one more minute to share the news!)