What I did On My Summer Vacation

I just got back from spending five days in San Diego. My parents live there, as does my younger sister, and I went out to visit them (and the ocean, which is my happy place). As a bonus, my daughter Jenn and her guy Ian (who I adore) came in from San Jose for a couple of days too. Ian's parents Maureen and Sean live in San Diego as well, and I met them when I was out there last September and we really hit it off. So seeing them was on the schedule too.

Unlike most of my trips, which are to conventions and conferences, and therefore mostly work, this one was just about spending time with the people I love and communing with Mama Ocean. I was really excited that Jenn and I would be together for the summer solstice, since she used to be a part of Blue Moon Circle when she lived here in Oneonta.

The flights were all long but uneventful, and my sister Becky very kindly picked me up at the airport when I arrived on Monday, and took a detour to bring me (briefly) to the beach on the way to my parents' house. So in the end, I actually made it to the ocean every day of my trip, which was great. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

I don't usually do "selfies," but I posted a picture every day of me with the sea behind me, just to prove I was really there!

Happy beach face

 Of course, I couldn't go to the beach without a good book...

Beach read!

 The day that Jenn, Ian, Maureen, Sean and I spent together happened to be both the Summer Solstice and Maureen's birthday, so we celebrated at my favorite restaurant, The Poseidon, which is right at my favorite beach in Del Mar. We shared lots of good food and all of it was delish!

Seafood feast!

 Then the guys snuck off and had the waiter bring out a giant piece of mud pie with a candle for Maureen (the glass was a trick to keep the ocean breeze from blowing the candle out before she could).

Birthday girl!

 Later, Maureen, Jenn, and I danced on the beach with cool colored flags Jenn brought, to celebrate the solstice. It was one of those rare perfect moments.

Solstice beach blessings!

 Three happy goddesses :-)

Jenn, me, and Maureen

 Here's Jenn and Ian at my parents' house. I'm probably prejudiced, but I think they're an adorable couple.

 This one is a terrible picture, but it captures how much fun we have together, so I'm putting it up here anyway. I think my sister said something to make us laugh just as she took the picture.

My parents took us out to Chili's one night. I'd never been to one, and there was way too much yummy food. Ribs. I love me some ribs. And onion rings...

Another one of the "happy at the beach" shots...

Ocean!

 On the last day, my dad and I went and hung out at the beach together, and like any good dad, he bought me an ice cream cone. It was just perfect. (Coffee, in case you were wondering.) Thanks, dad!

Beach + ice cream = happy

 You probably can't tell, but I really, really love the ocean. It's my happy place. And it has been a rough year so far, so I really needed it!

 There are no pictures of my parents or sister because they hate having their pictures taken. (I got a few, but only by PROMISING I wouldn't put them online.) But take my word for it, they are all glorious.

I was sorry to say goodbye, but happy to be heading back to my goofy cats and my own bed and my writing. Alicia, my fabulous cat sitter, went above and beyond by coming to fetch me at the Albany Airport (about an hour and a half from my house), and then it was back to reality. Hopefully the peace and joy of the ocean and spending time with family will linger a little longer than the jet lag...

Gratitude Giveaway and Year's End Summary

Well...this has been a year, hasn't it? Lots of good things, and lots of bad, alas. But in the end, I am still so grateful for all I have. And especially grateful for YOU, my friends, readers, and fans. So I'm doing one last giveaway this year for no reason other than to say thank you for taking this journey with me. Thank you for buying my books, and for putting up reviews (really, THANK YOU), and for generally spreading the word and being supportive. Y'all make the hard work worth it. So I'm doing this:

Carried away? Moi? Never.

So, here's this year in review--briefly, because otherwise we'll be here all day.
Good stuff:
Well, I had two books out, which is great. WICKEDLY POWERFUL was the third Baba Yaga novel, which was then followed by DANGEROUSLY CHARMING the first Rider novel.

BOOKS!

Got to go visit my friends in Connecticut, got visits from pal Bethany and her charming hubby Jarrod, and my stepdaughter Jenn, and FINALLY met long-time author pal Alex Bledsoe in person at Robercon (where I also got to hang out with the fabulous Tamora Pierce, which is always a joy).

Terry and Glenn in Connecticut

Jarrod, Bethany, and me

My kid and her two moms (no, not THAT kind of two moms)

Alex, me, and the fab Tammy

Plus, of course, the tarot deck is coming out any minute, so that might end up counting toward this year too.

Mind you, there was a lot of not great stuff too. I lost Mystic and Magic's mother Minerva in March (wow, that's a lot of M's). Had to rehome little Luna, because she couldn't adjust to the other cats (although she IS blissfully happy at her new house and I get to visit often). Angus was sick for months with an eye infection, then Mystic got seriously ill and almost died. (They both got better. That definitely counts toward the "good" column.) I seriously hurt my knee on the first of April, and it is still taking it's slow time recovering, and then I got shingles (which are brought on by stress, so I blame the election, plus all that other stuff...). Plus, you know, life.

Overall, I'd have to say it was a pretty tough year, where the not-so-great stuff often overwhelmed the great. But I survived and have hopes that next year will be better. And in the meanwhile, I still have a lot to be grateful for, including all of you. So thanks! And now, I'm going to do one last giveaway for the year, just because I can. Maybe it will finish off a few other people's years right.

Here's what we've got! A Fire tablet, a set of ALL FOUR BOOKS (signed, of course), winner's choice of one of three book cover notebooks, and a Deborah Blake calendar for 2017 plus a broom pen to write in it with. Four prizes, four winners. Woot!

No, Magic the Cat doesn't come with the prizes.

Winner gets his or her pick!

No, Angus doesn't come with the prize either. But his picture is in the calendar.

As always, all you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter form below. You get credit for anything you've already done, like following the blog, or signing up for my newsletter. And because it is my big end-of-year giveaway, I'm opening it up internationally. There is no purchase required, although of course, if you want to give ME a year's end present and buy one of my books, or put up a review for one you read, I won't tell you not to!

Good luck, thanks for everything, and happy holidays, whichever one you happen to celebrate.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cute Kitty in the Midst of A Horrid Week

Those of you who follow me on Facebook may already know that it has been a tough week here. Last Sunday night at 11:15 I got a call from my beloved step-daughter Jenn to tell me that her mom Jo had suffered a massive heart attack and gone into cardiac arrest at the local hospital. After seven minutes of CPR, they managed to stabilize her and send her to the Bassett Hospital in nearby Cooperstown, which is set up for cardiac patients. Jo has been in the ICU there ever since. Jenn flew out from San Jose late on Tuesday and we have been spending most of our days there since she got here. (Hence the radio silence here.)

Jo is also a friend of mine and a frequent guest at Blue Moon Circle events, as well as being my best friend Ellen's other best friend. (Basically, we are a strange modern family.) And of course, this has been especially rough for Jenn. Jo is slowly improving every day and we are hoping for the best, although it will be a long road to recovery.

But in the meanwhile...I decided I needed to do something to cheer Jenn up.

Again, if you follow me on Facebook (and clearly if you don't, you are missing out on all the News), you will know that as I was returning from my visit to San Jose in mid-February, my friend Ellen, who works as a dog groomer at our vets' office, called to tell me about a little cat someone brought in who reminded her of my recently lost Samhain.

This little cat, who they think is about six months old and only weighs 4 1/2 lbs, was found in a snowbank, almost dead. She's apparently pretty tough though, since she made a full recovery. They were looking for someone to adopt her. I fought it...I swear I did! But it kept feeling like Samhain had her paw in this, and eventually I caved and said I'd take her. But I had to wait for her to be spayed, and for a second feline leukemia test to come back negative.

When I called on Friday to see what they thought about me bringing her home temporarily, I was told that the second test had been done, she'd been given her booster shots, and was ready to go! So I brought her back home (I'd had to skip the hospital for the day to catch up with things at work, so Jenn was coming in later with a friend) and surprised Jenn with a buddy to hang out with in the upstairs bedroom at night. There may have been happy squealing :-)

Here's the newest member of the family: Luna (so called because it looks to me like she has a partial lunar eclipse on her face, and when I was trying to decide whether or not to take her, I pulled The Moon tarot card)

What do you think?

For the moment I am trying to keep her upstairs with the intention of introducing her to the other cats slowly. But she is affectionate and full of beans and has already made a break for it once, so something tells me that isn't going to work. I'll keep you posted.

In the meanwhile, I'd intended to do an overdue giveaway to celebrate the four book deal from Berkley, but it is going to have to be a little more overdue, since I'm pretty much on hospital duty until Jenn goes home on Thursday. (And then I'm going to be madly playing catch-up.) But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it, and soon enough, there will be another fun batch of goodies up for grabs.

Did I mention I also had to replace my furnace unexpectedly? Oh, the joy.

Here is a fun picture from the wonderful Christmas Day we all had together in December.

Jo, Ellen in the back, Jenn, and me on a much happier day

So, that's life, really. Some good stuff, some bad stuff, and always, cats. Thanks to all those who sent their good wishes on Facebook--they were all much appreciated.

Pantheacon 2015!

I normally don't travel much, but this year is shaping up to be a bit of an anomaly. I actually have plans to go to a number of conferences and conventions, as well as one family trip (if we can actually pull it off).

First up is a return to one of my favorite conventions ever--PANTHEACON

Pantheacon is one of the largest Pagan conventions I know of, and it happens every year in San Jose, California in the middle of February. Obviously, the people who run it thought, "What is the best time of year to have everyone flying in from across the country?" and went with that date. *snort*

There are always lots of amazing people to meet up with, workshops to go to, and even a book release party given by Llewellyn that includes my upcoming book, Everyday Witchcraft: Making Time for Spirit in a Too-Busy World.

I usually give a couple of workshops myself, and had originally planned to this time as well, but I'd cancelled my plans due to Samhain's increasing illness, and while I was able to get everything else back into sync after her death changed things, the workshop slots had already been filled by others.

But never fear, you can still find me at a number of events at the Llewellyn Hospitality Suite in Room 1057. And I will be out and about during the conference, so if you happen to see me, be sure to say hi.

One of the best things about Pantheacon for me it always the people I get to spend time with:

Me with three of my favorite people on the planet: my step-daughter Jenn, writing partner Lisa DiDio, and Llewellyn editor Elysia

As you can see, Elysia and I don't get along at all :-)

The amazing Margot Adler, me, and Selena Fox

This was the last time I went, in 2011. I'll be seeing all of these folks again this year, which is a big part of why I'm going! The first time I went, in 2008 as a newbie author, I was overwhelmed to meet some of my own favorite authors. I told you--lots of great people go to this!

Esteemed tarot author Mary Greer, Z. Budapest, and Raven Grimassi

The charming Christopher Penczak, Stephanie Taylor, Ellen Dugan, and me

Me with the brilliant Anne Niven Newkirk, publisher and editor of Witches & Pagans Magazine

I think you can see why I'm excited to be going!

Of course, I'm also happy to be making a quick stop in San Diego in the way, so I can spend a couple of days with my too-far-away family...and I confess (since I know y'all won't tell) that the idea of some days away from the upstate NY cold and blustery winter doesn't hurt either.

Naturally, not everyone is happy about my decision to go...

No, I won't let you pack!

But thankfully, I have great cat sitters to fill in while I'm away. The cats won't even miss me.

I look forward to having a great report to share with you upon my return.

Anyone else planning to be there this year? I'd love to see you!

Best Yule and Christmas Ever

One of the problems with the holidays is that the actual events rarely live up to the anticipation. This year was totally an exception to the rule.

Blue Moon Circle, our families, and friends (included my visiting step-daughter Jennifer, who was a BMC member before she moved to CA years ago) had a glorious Yule dinner party last Saturday night. The house was filled with light, joy, and laughter as we came together to feast and play our traditional silly gift exchange game.

Sophie and Nate dressed up

Sophie, Nate, their mom Robin, Jenn, and her mom Jo

The kids and I with our usual dignified pose

You got to open a gift, but not necessarily keep it

Me, Chris, and Bobbie--friends are the best gift of all

We always manage to cram everyone around the table, even if we are practically in each others laps

If that wasn't enough, Jennifer, her mom Jo, and our mutual best pal Ellen came to my house for Christmas Day. I made (on Jenn's request) Eggs Benedict with crab cakes and homemade hollandaise, with hot chocolate or mocha.

Ellen, Jo, and Jenn

Then we opened presents and delved into stockings (my first!) and generally had a fabulous time together. That alone was a gift without measure.

Jenn is an artist--she gave me a painting inspired by my book!

Her mom was thrilled to get a caricature of Jenn--it looks just like her!

Ellen gave us all headlights...just in case.

My booty and my new stocking that Jenn made and decorated with the name she used to call me as a kid: Mommy Debbie. Cat treats, author goodies, and rainbow duct tape!

I'm pretty tired--it has been a long, exhausting, rewarding month at The Artisans' Guild, and I worked Christmas Eve until after 4. I'll be back to work tomorrow (Friday), but I'll have an awful lot of great memories to carry through into the new year.

A Visit from the Fabulous Jenn

Normally, I try to make the weeks after the holidays as low key as possible: I catch up on paperwork at the shop (usually lots of it, since I'm too busy to do it while we're in the middle of the busy season), start planning the next book I'm going to work on, but otherwise just rest up and try to catch my breath.

This year, I got something even better...a visit from the fabulous Jennifer Holling-Blake.

That's the two of us, a few minutes before she left on Sunday morning, on her way home to San Jose, where she now lives (via a lovely visit with my sister, BIL and their girls in Schenectady). She got in the previous Sunday with her pal Jonah, who lives about an hour and a half from here and was kind enough to get her at the airport, drive her to Oneonta, and then spend the week ferrying her around to see all her various friends and relatives.

Yes, very clever--you noticed that we share the same last name. You probably also noticed that she doesn't look a bit like me. That's because she's my step-daughter, one of the few good things that came out of my brief marriage to her father back in the mid-80's. I met her dad when she was 1, so she doesn't remember a time when I wasn't in her life, and our relationship was so important (to both of us) that I fought to keep it even after the divorce when she was 5. Needless to say, that worked out pretty well. Here's a not very good scan of two pictures from the distant past... No laughing at my bangs, people. It was the 80's.

These days, Jenn and I are closer than ever; she was a member of my coven, Blue Moon Circle, back when she still lived here, and actually ended up moving to San Jose after attending Pantheacon there with me a few years ago.

Jenn goofing around with my editor Elysia. I don't know which one is cuter.

We still talk on the phone at least a couple times a week, but I miss having her here, so it was wonderful to have her visit and stay for a bit. We celebrated her birthday, which was on New Year's Day, along with her mom Jo, our friend Ellen, and Jonah. And spend lots of time just hanging out and playing games (she and Jonah are both serious gamers). And eating, of course. [That's Jenn, Ellen, Jo, and Jonah. You can't see her in this picture, but Magic the Cat is sitting in the chair towards the front, which she stole as soon as I got up to take the photo.]

Now she's gone back to CA, and while I'm not sorry to have my house back (and be able to get back to work), it does seem just a little bit empty around here...

Jenn may not be the child of my body, but she is the child of my heart, and I am lucky to have her.

California Trip--Pantheacon report

Pantheacon 2011 Report
[Note: This is the report I did up for my pal Rebecca at The Magical Buffet blog. She is kindly letting me post it here too, so I don't have to write it up twice!]

I don’t much like crowds. Or traveling. So why do I haul my witchy butt across the entire expanse of the country to go to Pantheacon? Because it’s worth it.

Pantheacon is the largest gathering of Pagans/Witches/Wiccans and assorted Heathens in the country, with well over 2,000 people attending over the course of four days in February. (I heard a rumor that they hit 3,000 this year for the first time, but I don’t know whether or not that’s true.) It is held at the beautiful Doubletree Hotel in San Jose, California, where they give you a warm chocolate chip cookie when you check in. Yum.

This was my third Pantheacon. I first went in 2008, after my Circle, Coven & Grove came out. I had such a blast, I went back last year, and then again this year. My traveling companion from my first visit, my step-daughter Jenn, loved it so much, she actually moved to San Jose after last year’s con, so one of my perks was getting to spend some time with her. I also got to meet up with my fiction-writing partner, Lisa DiDio, who lives in Northern CA and took the train down to stay with me. We had a blast together.

On the official side of my visit to Pantheacon, I got to go to two great workshops (they literally offer HUNDREDS over the course of the 4 days, including classes given by such Pagan notables as Starhawk, and everyday folks who are willing to share their wisdom with others); a fabulous chanting workshop with the amazing Margot Adler, and a lovely, healing Pagan Death Passages ritual with the also-amazing Selena Fox (I had lost my beloved grandmother less than a week before PCon, so the timing was perfect).

Both these ladies are wise and warm and gracious, and I was beyond pleased to be able to spend a little time in their company.


I also took part in two Llewellyn events; a “Meet the Authors” and 110 Year Anniversary celebration (with cake) on Saturday night, and a Publishing Panel on Sunday morning. [I met a great new Llewellyn author, Melanie Maquis, at the Meet the authors event…you are going to want her new book, Bag of Tricks, when it comes out in June. I’m reading an advance copy right now, so I can write a blurb for it, and it is fabulous!]




I also led a workshop of my own, called “Spiritual Spring Cleaning.” There were about 80 people attending, and we had a great time. Raised a lot of good spring cleaning energy, too!

Of course, no trip to Pantheacon would be complete without spending time with my wonderful Llewellyn editor, Elysia Gallo. This year, Lisa and I decided to look for a really fun place to go out to dinner that first night, and we ended up at a Moroccan restaurant called, fittingly enough, Moracco’s. We dragged Elysia out with us, along with my step-daughter Jenn and her friend Madeleine. And, oh, man—the food! If you are even in San Jose, you have to track this place down. It was some of the best food any of us had ever had. We got a variety of things and put them in the middle of the table to share, which made it both cheaper and a lot more fun.



The deserts alone made it worth the trip. And the company was as good as it gets. We had a blast.



That’s Jenn, Lisa, me, and Elysia at Moracco’s.

All in all, it was another great Pantheacon. I got to see old friends, make some new ones, visit with authors I admired, meet a few of my fans in person (some of whom I’d already “met” on Facebook or Twitter), eat some great food, and even learn a thing or two. It was worth pushing myself outside of my comfort zone to do it, and I recommend it highly to anyone with the slightest interest in Paganism. Bring an open mind, as much energy as you can muster, and a few dollars to spend on goodies in the Vendors room. (Pagan chocolates…that’s all I’m saying.) And if I’m there next year, be sure to come on over and say hi!