Big Announcement and Oracle Deck Giveaway

OMG. There is so much going on here, I don't know where to start.

Okay, so first of all, as most of you already know, the Everyday Witch Oracle Deck is out from Llewellyn. It was supposed to come out on September 8th--yes, that's not for over a week--but was released about a month early. This caught me and illustrator Elisabeth Alba by surprise, but we're going to make up for it now.

When the Everyday Witch Tarot came out, Elisabeth made a road trip here from her home in Massachusetts. But she just gave birth to a baby in June (I KNOW! Congrats, Elisabeth!), so that wasn't possible this time. Instead, we each signed a dozen decks and sent them to each other, so we now have a dozen each that are signed by both of us. Most of those are going up on Etsy (Etsy listing) but I'm going to be giving away one double-signed copy here as well. In case math isn't your strong suit, that will leave me eleven on Etsy. LOL.

Each set will include the deck (signed by both of us), a special sticker we had made that features the back of the deck, a bookmark, and a postcard. The set I'm giving away here will also include some special surprise. What is it? I can't tell you--it's a SURPRISE.

So be sure to enter using the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post. As always, no purchase is necessary, although if you already have the deck, or win this copy, I'd really love it if you would post an honest review.

Here's a couple of the places you can get it. Amazon and Llewellyn. It is also available at B&N, any other online book seller, and you can request it from your local Indy book store if they don't happen to carry it.

BUT WAIT, THAT'S NOT ALL!

I have news.

I just signed a contract with Llewellyn for a new book. TA DA!

Tentatively titled The Eclectic Witch's Book of Shadows, it is going to be a fun and information-filled "everything you need to know" book for my witchy readers. It won't be out until 2021, probably (I haven't even started writing it yet), but I think you are going to like it.

Can you believe this is going to be my 13th nonfiction book? (My 12th with Llewellyn.) And that's not counting the books that come with the tarot deck and the oracle deck.

I hope you're all as excited as I am.

And now, the giveaway you're really excited about.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Big News Announcement and Holiday Greetings

I know I have been a little scarce lately, but things have been crazy this year. Crazier, I should say. And December is always something of a wild ride, between running The Artisans’ Guild (50 artists, retail in December, ‘nuff said), making jewelry, and all the regular holiday stuff. Plus upstate NY winter and sick cats. But I’m going to try and catch up on all the news, starting with the big announcement I’ve been sitting on for a few weeks.

NEW BOOK CONTRACT!

In Friday’s Publishers Marketplace, there will be this announcement:

Non-fiction: Religion/Spirituality

Deborah Blake's A MODERN WITCHCRAFT PRIMER: GODDESS EMPOWERMENT FOR THE KICK-ASS WOMAN, a comprehensive guidebook to witchcraft as a female-focused religion, including detailed instructions on how to practice self-care in today's society through goddess worship and magic, to Daniela Rapp at St Martin's Essentials, in a nice deal, by Elaine Spencer at The Knight Agency.

That’s right; I signed a contract for my first mainstream nonfiction book, with St. Martin’s Press. This is really exciting for a couple of reasons. It will allow me to reach an entirely new audience, and hopefully help a lot of women who are trying to find ways to feel more empowered in an increasingly overwhelming world. Don’t worry, though—this doesn’t mean there will never be another Llewellyn book. This is simply a fork in the road, not an entirely new path. Still, it is VERY cool, and of course, I’ll be celebrating with a giveaway! 

Celebration Giveaway!

 Check it out: A Fire tablet, a signed copy of The Little Book of Cat Magic, a broom pen, a regular pen, a stuffed dragon, a black cat bookmark, and an assortment of other bookmarks!

We’re also shopping a contemporary women’s fiction book, and I’m working on the next book in the Baba Yaga series, which I hope to self-publish in the new year, other contracts allowing.

For those of you who are still holiday shopping for Yule and/or Christmas, I’ve got a bunch of fun things up on my (mostly moribund for the last few years) Etsy shop. There’s some jewelry (Pagan and otherwise), some signed books and tarot decks (usually with other goodies), and due to numerous requests, I’ve also created some spell kits for Opening to Love, Protection and Strength, Healing and Peace, and Prosperity. The kits are available in either lovely carved wood boxes or pretty organza bags, with or without signed books. You can check it out here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/deborahblake

Keep in mind that we’re getting close to the holidays, and even with priority mail, I’ll need a few days to get things to you. So if there is something that strikes your fancy, order it soon.

 

 What the spell kits look like.

I’ll be doing an end-of-year wrap-up in a couple of weeks, but in the meanwhile, I wish you all a Blessed Yule, a Merry Christmas (a belated Happy Hanukkah) and all the joy in the world.

And now to the giveaway! As usual, all you have to do to enter is fill in the Rafflecopter form. No purchase necessary. Maybe you'll end up with an extra gift for yourself this holiday season.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Sekrit Project Announce and Celebration Giveaway

So some of you may have seen me talking on Twitter about a sekrit project that was a possibility... Well, I'm THRILLED to announce that illustrator Elisabeth Alba and I have just signed a contract with Llewellyn to create the Everyday Witch Oracle Deck! Can  I get a woot? (And a bottle of champagne?)

Elisabeth and I had a great time when we worked together on the EVERYDAY WITCH TAROT
We had so much fun, in fact, that we've been looking for a project we could do together ever since--well, ever since we recovered, anyway. We finally had coinciding windows of time available and come up with the idea of doing an oracle deck along the same lines as the tarot deck. Oracle decks are smaller and simpler, and take no preparation or training to use. The deck will have 40 cards and a book that goes with it, written by yours truly.

Here's the sample card Elisabeth made up. Isn't it AMAZING?

Notice anything special about this witch?

 
 We are both incredibly excited to be able to announce this project. (And to get the band back together.) No release date yet, but probably some time in 2020.

To celebrate, I'm going to give away one copy of the Everyday Witch Tarot Deck! (Signed by me.)

 

Just fill in the Rafflecopter form below. And then you can join us in doing the happy dance to celebrate our good news. What do you think? Are you excited too?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Sekrit Project Revealed

As those of you who follow me on Facebook or Twitter or read my blog might know, I have been working on a Sekrit Project for a while. I’m finally ready to share it with the world! (If you get my newsletter, you found out this morning.)

So, unbeknownst to most of my readers, I have been preparing to shift gears away from doing just Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy (although I will probably still be doing some of that) to writing some contemporary romance as well. I’ve wanted to write romantic comedy for years—who couldn’t use a laugh these days?—and it is finally coming back into the market. In addition, I like contemporary romance set in small towns, women’s fiction (especially if it has some humor in it), and of course, the occasional foodie romance.

What is a foodie romance, you ask? Pretty much what it says: a romance that is centered around food and cooking in some way. I wrote one a few years ago that I love, but we were never able to find the right home for it. So I finally decided to put it out myself. Introducing—drumroll please—

REINVENTING RUBY!

Here’s what it’s about:

Ruby Tate is a cautious and controlled woman; her only passions are cooking and her restaurant, Jewels. Unless you count the uncharacteristic one-night stand she had with a charming stranger the night of her sister’s bachelorette party. And she doesn’t. After all, she got out of his bed the next morning and returned to her real life—dealing with a failing restaurant, a not-so-silent silent partner, and a difficult family. And now there’s this new problem, like a ticking time bomb hiding beneath her white chef’s jacket.

Jonathan Gautier is a rising star in the culinary world. With three successful restaurants, a best-selling cookbook, and a new television show, he should be happy, but after six months on the road filming Seven Worth Saving and working in everyone’s kitchens but his own, Jonathan is burned-out and uninspired. The closest thing he’s had to a social life was one amazing night with a woman whose name he isn’t even sure of. All he wants is to wrap up this last episode and get back to his own kitchen. Maybe there he’ll be able to recapture his love of cooking, because if he can’t, he doesn’t know what on earth he’ll do with his life.

When Jonathan walks into Jewels, Ruby is horrified. She can’t believe that the famous chef who is her only hope for saving her restaurant is the man who gave her the best night of her life, and a little something extra. All she wants now is for him to help her save her dreams—and then go away. But Jonathan has other ideas. Lots of other ideas; most of which involve Ruby, food, and nakedness. And Jonathan didn’t get to be the success that he is by taking “no” for an answer. Together, they must find a way to save Jewels, even if that means completely Reinventing Ruby.

I really love this book and I hope you will too. I have to warn you, it is a little (coff) spicier than my Baba Yaga books. Let’s just say that all the heat isn’t in the kitchen! There are no witches or dragons, but there are some fun recipes as a bonus at the end. If you like my other books, I hope you’ll follow me along on this new adventure too.

Here are some buy links for the ebooks. The book releases on Monday, July 17^th, but the preorders are live now.

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073WQC793/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1499921047&sr=1-1

B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reinventing-ruby-deborah-blake/1126745668?ean=2940154454084

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/735950

iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/reinventing-ruby/id1259222095?mt=11

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/reinventing-ruby

I know that some of you really prefer print books, so I’ll be making a print version available through Amazon’s POD (print on demand). It will have to be more expensive than the digital version because of the additional costs of the printing, but I wanted to at least be able to offer you the option. It may take us a couple of days to get the print version up there, but it is coming.

I'll be doing a giveaway sometime next week (I'm waiting for some special-order goodies), so be sure to check back. You know how I love my giveaways. I’d REALLY love it if you would spread the word far and wide. If this is a success, there may be a few more surprises for you down the road.

Thanks as always for taking this journey with me!

(And special thanks to pals Karen Buys, Sierra Newburn, and Kari Blackmoore, for editing, formatting, and the wonderful cover!)

 

Big News for Llewellyn Fans!

So, I promised y'all more good news, and here it is. But there is kind of a funny story behind it, so I thought I'd share.

I keep saying I am not going to write any more Llewellyn books, as much as I love them, because the novels take so much of my time now. Then, of course, I came up with the idea of the 365 Day book, which I'm working on now. But that was ABSOLUTELY going to be the last one.

Then, around my birthday at the end of April, my beloved Llewellyn editor, Elysia Gallo, made a cryptic comment about how she had something for my birthday, and I was either going to love it or curse her name. Huh? I said. And then promptly forgot about it. (I pretty much promptly forget about everything.)

Then, towards the end of May, a package showed up in my mailbox.

The Mysterious Package

 I felt it as I walked up my driveway, and it was clearly a book. But it felt like a hardcover, albeit a small one, so it clearly wasn't one of mine. I was without clue. (Also not unusual.) So I opened the package as I was walking and pulled out this:

DOG Magic? WTF?

 For a minute, I was completely baffled. Elysia knows I'm a cat person. Why on earth would she be sending me a book of DOG MAGIC for my (belated) birthday?

So I read the pretty card she sent with it...and laughed so loudly, I think I scared the birds. (Yes, I was still in the driveway--I was curious!)

My belated birthday card. Isn't it cool?

The Card

Here's part of what it said:

Dear Deborah,
Happy belated birthday!
Your crazy-making gift from me is a new book idea--how would you like to write the companion to this book--but The Book of Cat Magic? Isn't it cute? And it's tiny--only 40K words! You know you want to! Please?

The really funny part? I had literally said in a conversation with my agent Elaine the day before, "And I'm pretty sure the 365 Day book is the last Llewellyn book I'm going to do." Boy, when the universe laughs at me, it isn't even subtle, is it? Snort.

So I called Elaine and asked her if she thought we could squeeze this into my schedule, and she said, "It's the book of CAT magic! You have to write it!"

So I called Elysia and said yes :-)

Apparently I'm doing one more Llewellyn book after all. It won't be out until sometime in 2018 (the tarot deck is coming January '17 and the 365 Day book will be out in the fall of '17, probably), but boy, am I going to have fun writing it!

Anyone else excited about this too? (And yes, I'll be putting together some kind of giveaway to celebrate at the beginning of next week. Any requests?)

WHOO HOOO!

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!)

Big Huge Fabulous News

Greetings from the depths of cold and snowy upstate New York! I hope that those of you in colder climes are managing to make it through this unrelenting winter. Hopefully my news will brighten up your day a little (it sure brightened up mine!).

I know that many have you been waiting to hear whether or not Berkley was going to give me a contract for the next Baba Yaga book. It took them quite a while to decide and I’m sorry to tell you that after looking at all the numbers, they have decided not to do book 3.

In, fact, they have contracted for THREE MORE BOOKS IN THE SERIES—books 3, 4, and 5!!

Plus another novella, which will be out before the next book. [Insert author happy dance here.] I hope this news makes you as happy as it does me. Which is pretty darned happy, I gotta tell you.

The bad news is that since it took them so long to decide to contract for the next three books (did I say YAY?), the third Baba book won’t be out until sometime around February of 2016. The novella (which will revisit our first Baba Yaga, Barbara, so we can see how things are going for her and Liam and little Babs) would be out around January, but that still means that all my faithful readers will have to wait a year or so for more Baba Yaga stories. I know; it’s a bummer.

But wait—there’s MORE good news! Yes, really.

Once upon a time, I wrote an urban fantasy novel called Pentacles and Pentimentos, featuring a witch-cop named Donata Santori. It was pretty darned good, if I do say so myself. How do I know? Because that was the book that got me signed by my agent, the wonderful Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency. It was meant to be the first in a series and was based on the award-winning short story I wrote that was included in The Pagan Anthology of Short Fiction. But for whatever reason, we didn’t manage to sell that book at the time. (Publishing, go figure.)

Luckily, my editor Leis knew that my readers would want something to tide them over until the next Baba Yaga book comes out, so I am also getting a contract to publish Pentacles and Pentimentos at last! They’re only going to put it out as an eBook to begin with, but if it does well enough, they’ll put it out in print too. (No pressure, eBook buyers!) AND, if it does really well, they’ll put out more books in that series too.

So, to sum up…

I’m getting a THREE BOOK CONTRACT for the next three Baba Yaga books, plus a novella, and an additional smaller contract for Pentacles and Pentimentos. [They’ll be changing the name, but I don’t know what to yet.] And you all are getting a lot of new books over the next couple of years!

I guess I’m going to have to come up with some way to celebrate, aren’t I? Any suggestions? Maybe another big giveaway?

And, of course, I am still working on the tarot deck project for Llewellyn, and my next nonfiction book is coming out from Llewellyn on March 8^th, which is only a couple of weeks away!

 EVERYDAY WITCHCRAFT

I  hope you’ll join me in doing the happy dance for this great news—because it would never have happened if it wasn’t for all the wonderful readers.

YAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAY!!!!!!!

(So tell me, are you happy dancing too?)