One Saturday in May

It's a well-known fact that I spend most of my days off at home--usually writing, sometimes working in the garden (more about that in my next post) . But yesterday, the first Saturday in May, was an exception.

My lovely friend Rob owns a store called Imagicka in Binghamton (a little over an hour away from me) and I'd promised him that once the snow melted I'd come do a book signing. (I did one there last year after The Witch's Broom came out, and it went really well; Imagicka is a fabulous Pagan/New Age shop, so the folks who go there are my peeps.) Since the signing fell right after my birthday and Beltane, we kind of went with that theme, and I baked some Beltane cupcakes and brought flowers to give out to everyone who came. One fan even brought me a present (as if driving an hour and a half to see me wasn't gift enough) and another friend of mine drove all the way from New Jersey to see me, although she swore that it was at least in part because she needed an excuse to get out of the house!

Here are a few pictures from the signing:

Me and the lovely Rob. You can see a little bit of how cool the shop is.

Niala, who brought not only a gift for me, but one for my friend Jo who is recovering from a heart attack and is stuck in rehab. Niala said she'd been there and knew what it felt like. How sweet! I have the best readers!

The fabulous April S., who I met last year at RoberCon, with Jennifer and Leigh

My pal Karen who is a Betty (some of you know what that means) and came a long way to see me! As you can see here, I sold a bunch of the novels, too, not just the Llewellyn books.

My best bud Ellen, who kindly does the driving so I don't have to and is generally a good sport. We always have a great time together.

Beltane cupcakes

Beltane flowers, being checked out by Luna

 One of the reasons I like doing signings at Imagicka is that my friends Robin and George and their kids Sophie and Nate live about fifteen minutes from there, on the way home. So Ellen and I got to go hang out with them after the signing and have a fun belated birthday/May Day BBQ. Because of Life Stuff on both sides and the horribleness of the Winter from Hell, we hadn't seen each other since Yule Dinner Party--WAY too long! Getting to spend time with my favorite kids in the world (and their fabulous parents) made the day perfect.

This was us, so there were three different kinds of dessert :-)

The only one not squinting was Nate, who was smart enough to put on his sunglasses.

Sophie showing off one of their new ducklings, brought home that very morning.

One of our patented Aunt Debbie and the kids silly face photos

Sophie showing off their cool fire pit. No, we didn't light it with her on there. Or at all, alas.

Nate wanted me to watch him mow the lawn (with dad George's help)

My beautiful birthday flowers, picked out by Sophie because she thought they looked like fire. Very fitting, since the Baba Yaga book I'm working on right now revolves around fire!

Home again, around 8 PM--the moon looked amazing in the pre-dusk sky. We could see it our entire drive back, even though it was still light out.

All in all, a wonderful Saturday. What did you do this on your Saturday?

Imagicka Book Signing Report

As some of you already know, I did a rare book signing at my pal Robert Wandell's shop in Binghamton yesterday. I thought I'd let those of you who couldn't be there get a taste of what it was like.

GREAT. That's what it was like. Okay, that's the short version. Here's the long one.

Rob has been asking me to do a signing at his shop for years, but it is about an hour and 15 minutes from me (which doesn't seem like much, but I don't do long drives because I have an unfortunate tendency to get drowsy behind the wheel after about half an hour) and frankly, book signings tend to be kind of a hit and miss affair unless you are famous. Which I'm not, for all that Rob likes to call me his favorite BNP. [Big Name Pagan.] Snort.

Still, The Witch's Broom has been generating a lot of excitement [side note--it's down to #50 on Amazon now. Pout. Someone go buy a book!], and Rob moved the store to a new location that I hadn't seen yet, and frankly, it's good to get the heck out of town every once in a while. So I said yes, enlisted my best friend Ellen to do the driving--in the new Honda Fit, which she enjoyed--and our pal Jo went with us. Rob suggested I bring some of my jewelry too, so I packed up a box of books, picked out a few pretty pieces of jewelry, and hit the road.

(Here's what's left)

The weather was a little crappy, but the atmosphere inside the shop was warm and lovely. And filled with temptation, since a Pagan/New Age/Cool Stuff store is My Kind of Place. But more on that later.

I was really thrilled with the turnout. Not only were there lots of enthusiastic folks, I got to meet a few people in person who I had only talked to here or on Facebook. The lovely Sarah Mawson drove FOUR HOURS with her family to come see me, because that was all she wanted for Mother's Day. That just made my day. (Waves at Sarah.) Caitlin Disler brought her mom Kathleen Livingston for Kathleen's birthday.

My friends Robin and George, who live nearby, stopped in with my goddess-children Nate and Sophie. That alone made the trip worthwhile! (You can see Jo guarding my table while Rob sells things on the right. Look at all that cool stuff!)

Nate found something he liked. Luckily for his sister, he didn't get to take it home. But he looks like his ready to take on the ravaging hordes, doesn't he?

We had an impromptu tattoo show-and-tell among my fans. (No, I don't have any.) This was my favorite. It was definitely the most relaxed and fun book signing I've ever done! I have the best fans on the planet. Just sayin'.

Rob was really happy I'd finally made the trip. And so was I.

I sold lots of books (including almost all the copies I brought of my older books, which I didn't expect) and a few pieces of jewelry. And everyone had a great time, which is even more important.

Of course, in the end, I did succumb to a few treasures for myself. (Hey--I worked hard! Besides, he had a store full of amazing stones, and I have a major weakness for stones.) I get this fabulous chunk of celestite, which is good for serenity (OY, could I use more of that!) and a wonderful little dragon bowl. I have always been fascinated by dragons, and they are the only thing besides cat-themed items that I could be said to collect. Now that I'm publishing the Baba Yaga books, which all feature dragons (in different forms), I am using that as an excuse to get a few more. Check it out.

Eventually we had to pack everything up and head home, but a great day was had by all.

Well, maybe not all. The cats were a little put out because dinner was late.

Truly, it was a fabulous day.

And speaking of days and fabulous, happy Mother's Day to my fabulous mom, Judy. Love you the most, mom.

Booksigning Reminder!

Just a quick reminder that I'm going to be at Imagicka (a very cool Pagan and New Age and neat stuff shop) at 75 Court Street in Binghamton, NY on Saturday May 10th from 1-4.

I'll have a stack of the new Llewellyn book The Witch's Broom of course, as well as a couple of copies each of all the previous books (including hard-to-find copies of the now out of print Circle, Coven & Grove and The Pagan Anthology of Short Fiction).

And owner Robert Wandell asked me to bring some of my jewelry too (which isn't exactly typical at book signings), so I put together a few pieces to bring, including these:

I know a few folks who frequent this blog are planning to be there. I hope if you live anywhere nearby you'll come in and say hello!

Of course, I'll report back here on how it went. You know, as soon as I recover. Have a great weekend!

BOOK SIGNING! And Feline Friday

I don't do many book signings--there aren't too many places near me to do them, and I don't travel much. But my friend Rob Wandell has a fabulous Pagan/New Age/Cool Stuff shop in Binghamton, NY, about an hour away, and he's been asking me to come do one for years.

So if you live anywhere near upstate NY, I hope you'll join me next Satuday, the 10th, from 1-4 PM. I'll have copies of The Witch's Broom
as well as a few copies of my earlier books (including a couple of rare copies of the now-out-of-print Circle, Coven & Grove and Pagan Anthology). I might even bring a few pieces of my handcrafted gemstone jewelry!

Here is a link to the Facebook event page Imagicka Book Signing
The address is 75 Court Street, Binghamton NY

I hope you'll come by and say hello. There will be food, and cool things to look at in the shop, and well...ME.

What do you think--do you live close enough to come? If you are there, be sure to tell me I know you from here!

Magic the Cat says "Be there or else!"

Angus says, "SNACKS!"

I hope I get to meet a few of my online peeps. See you there!