Book of Shadows Celebration Giveaway

 

I was thrilled to find out this week that my most recent book from Llewellyn, The Eclectic Witch's Book of Shadows, won the COVR award for best book illustration. This is an award given out at a trade convention for Pagan and New Age books and gifts.

 

 

 

The only person more thrilled than me was illustrator  Mickie Mueller (who is also an author in her own right). So we decided to get together and do a celebration giveaway. The prize includes a limited edition double-signed copy of the book, a pen, a bookmark, and a cool key ring created in Mickie's shop. All you have to do is fill in the Rafflecopter form below. 

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COVER REVEAL

 I got the finalized cover for my upcoming Llewellyn book, THE EVERYDAY WITCH'S COVEN: RITUALS AND MAGIC FOR TWO OR MORE and I just had to share it with you!

Isn't it amazing?! Of course, I'm not surprised by how much I love it, since the artist is none other than our own Elisabeth Alba, who did the illustrations for both the Everyday Witch tarot and oracle decks.

The book will be out in January 2023. I can't wait to see what this cover looks like on the actual book.

What do you think? Do you love it?

The Release Day Not Release Day Version

 

Release day for a new book is a really exciting day for authors. We look forward to it from the moment the date is set, and spend all kinds of time and energy trying to get the word out to our wonderful readers so they know when to expect the book. We rub our hands together gleefully in anticipation of receiving our box of author copies from the publisher. There may be cake.

Or not.

As you have probably noticed, this year is not like other years. That’s true for a lot of things, including, alas, publishing. Which is my subtle way of letting you know that while today is the official release day for The Eclectic Witch’s Book of Shadows (YAY!!!!!), neither you nor I are going to be seeing the book show up today (BOOOO!).

This isn’t Llewellyn’s fault, I assure you. There is a country-wide delivery issue, which is affecting a lot of items, including books. So the books are late getting to the Llewellyn warehouse, which means they are going to be late getting sent out to those who have ordered them. (If you pre-ordered, THANK YOU SO MUCH! The good news is that so many people preordered the book, Llewellyn has already ordered another print run, which is fabulous. Thank you all for making me look popular.)

So here’s what’s going to happen. As soon as the books get to the warehouse, they will get sent out to anyone who preordered, or orders now, directly from Llewellyn. So those folks will get their books first. Then they’ll sent them out to Amazon, B&N, and all the other stores that ordered them. Amazon will probably take the longest to get them out, simply because they take longer to process the delivery once it gets to them. But with any lucky, it won’t be more than a few more weeks before the book is in my hands, and yours.

I want to thank you in advance for your patience, and I hope you’ll love the book as much as I do once you finally get it. You know, assuming you’re not just following me for the cat pictures, in which case you’re fine already.

Diana says hang in there, the book is coming soon.

If you haven’t ordered the book yet, ordering directly from Llewellyn will get it to you fastest (although in order to get free shipping you have to spend $30, so you might have to order something else too…like maybe a mini Everyday Witch Tarot deck?). Or you can order from anywhere else, including your local independent book store or New Age shop, and just get it a little later.

Blurb:

An abundant source of magical information, The Eclectic Witch's Book of Shadows is perfect for both Wiccans and eclectic Witches interested in building their own practice from the ground up. This beginner-friendly guide is modeled on a traditional Book of Shadows but is flexible enough to be personalized. With helpful sections on herbs, stones, spells, rituals, and more, this beautiful hardcover book makes practicing Witchcraft easier, simpler, and more fun.

Popular author and eclectic Witch Deborah Blake shares her wisdom on a variety of topics, including candle magic, divination, correspondences, and magical recipes. You’ll meet the gods and goddesses, discover powerful invocations, and explore ways to celebration Pagan festivals and holidays. Extensive color illustrations by well-known artist Mickie Mueller enhance your magical journey, inspiring you to achieve your goals.

Buy Links

Amazon |Amazon Print |Llewellyn|Nook |Booksamillion |Kobo

 

In the meanwhile, I appreciate your patience. And when the books finally do arrive, we can celebrate together. Which one of you is bringing the cake?

 

Blessings, Deborah

One Month Until The Eclectic Witch's Book of Shadows

 

I can't believe we're finally almost there. In less than a month, The Eclectic Witch's Book of Shadows will be out in the world. I'm so excited about this book, in part because it is my first hardcover (woot!) and in part because it is just so darned beautiful, thanks to Mickie Mueller's amazing cover and interior illustrations.

 

 

 So naturally, I had to do one last giveaway to celebrate.

 

I have one signed advance copy of the book along with a cool pen, and I'll also be giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate, so you can buy your own if you so desire. This way we can have two winners! Of course, once the book is out in the world, I'm hoping that everyone who gets a copy will feel like a winner...

 

 

Naturally, I'd love for you to preorder the book (publishers love authors with lots of preorders, in case you didn't know, so you'd be making me look good). Here are a few places you can order it from, but you can also ask your local indie bookstore or New Age store to get you a copy, or even request that your library order one.

 

Amazon |Amazon Print |Llewellyn|Nook |Booksamillion |Kobo

To enter, all you have to do is fill in the Rafflecopter form below. 

 

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Two Months to The Eclectic Witch's Book of Shadows GIVEAWAY

I can't believe the long wait is almost over. My new book will be coming out from Llewellyn on September 8th, just two months from now. I'm so in love with this book, and I can't wait to share it with you.

Isn't the cover gorgeous? Both the cover and all of the full color interior illustrations were done by the amazing Mickie Mueller. The book is my first HARDCOVER too, which is so exciting. Llewellyn was kind enough to send me three advance copies, and to celebrate being two months from release day, I'm going to share one of them with one lucky winner. Signed by me, of course. All you have to do is enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

Of course, I'd love it if you wanted to preorder the book from Llewellyn or Amazon or Barnes & Noble or Books a Million or, even better, your local Pagan or Indie bookstore. (I'll let you in on a little secret: publishers love preorders. Which means they love authors who get a lot of preorders.) And spreading the word is a fabulous thing too.

Either way, I hope you'll enter the giveaway. TWO MONTHS! Are you excited? I'm excited!

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Cancelling a Con

For months now, I have been looking forward to going to Paganicon in Minnesota. (Like, 6 or 8 months...a long time.) Llewellyn, the publishers of my nonfiction books and decks, are located nearby, so I was going to get to go to the Mother Ship at last, meet my editor Elysia's famous cats, and hang out with a bunch of my Pagan peeps.

 

Plus, of course, I was going to do my "Cat Magic" presentation, a ritual, and Llewellyn was going to have a "Meet the Everyday Witch" night in their party suite. I bought swag, people. Lots of adorable swag.

 

But then Coronavirus happened, and I had to make a tough decision. They're still holding the con, but I won't be there. I'm heartbroken, but it was going to mean traveling on four planes, through four airports, and being at a large (ish) convention. I've agonized over the decision for over a week, but I didn't feel that I could risk my health (almost 60 with asthma and other health issues) or that of the medically fragile folks in my close circle, of which there are a number.

 

So today I cancelled the plane, the hotel room, and my attendance. It felt like the socially responsible decision. There is no way to know if things would have been just fine, but with any luck, I will be able to attend at some future time. I'm still hoping that my book signing with Anne Bishop at Flights of Fantasy in Albany is still on for the 28th. That at least is a car ride away, and a relatively small venue.

 

Stay safe out there, people. I love my readers. 

Everyday Witch Oracle Giveaway

So, a funny thing...

The Everyday Witch Oracle Deck (which I worked on with Elisabeth Alba, who did the tarot deck with me) was supposed to come out on September 8th. But it came into the Llewellyn warehouses unexpectedly early...so now it is coming out on AUGUST 12th! That's next MONDAY! Can I get a woot?

But of course, that completely throws off my promotional plans, since I now have less than five days to do what I would have done in a month. On the bright side, if you've been eagerly awaiting this deck, you're going to get it a lot earlier!

I got my author copies right before I left for a long weekend vacation with friends (pictures of that coming soon, probably), and finally had a chance to open one up today. They're soooo pretty! Llewellyn did a great job as always, and Elisabeth's artwork takes my breath away.

The book, the cards, and the cover of the box.

 Naturally, this means I'll be doing a giveaway! I've got one shiny new copy of the deck, plus a fun kitty bookmark (since there are a bunch of cats in the deck), and a broom pen.

To enter, just use the Rafflecopter form below. As always, no purchase is necessary, although if you run out and preorder the book today, it should ship out to you on the 12th!

The giveaway

Here's a link to get the deck directly from Llewellyn: Llewellyn
And here's Barnes and Noble
And Amazon
You can also ask your local Indie bookstore to order it for you.

I hope you love it as much as I do! In the meanwhile, here's the giveaway.

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Little Book of Cat Magic Review and Giveaway

As most of you know, THE LITTLE BOOK OF CAT MAGIC came out from Llewellyn (and me!) last October. Because there were some issues with the way the cover came back from the printer, there were problems with people getting the copies they'd preordered or getting the book when it first came out, and because of that, the book--which has a special place in my heart for obvious reasons (it was the last book that featured Magic the Cat)--hasn't gotten either the sales or the reviews or the recognition we would normally have expected.

This makes me kinda sad.

On the other hand, my Llewellyn publicist just forwarded me this fabulous review, by Anna Jedrziewski, which is going to be in the May/June issue of Retailing Insights.

The Little Book of Cat Magic: Spells, Charms & Tales

Deborah Blake

$15.99  P, 978-0-7387-5323-2

Llewellyn Publications, llewellyn.com

Many people interested in the occult sciences have cats. (Blake points out that no one ever really owns a cat.) Those who prefer dogs might not get this book. Those who already have an established admiration for felines should be bowled over by Blake’s humor and knowledge of cat history and trivia. (Evidence of cats living among people dates back 100,000 years. Egypt is where cats “first rose to power in their attempt to take over the world”. The prophet Muhammed loved cats. In early Japan, only the nobility could afford cats. The first association between cats and witches comes from Greek mythology. In the 1200’s, the Catholic Church officially declared cats evil and in league with the devil, resulting in a global massacre. It was Queen Victoria who rose in their defense, restoring them to their former glory.) Moving on to more serious considerations, this book records cat myths, folklore and tales, and cat deities. It includes volumes of serious information about connecting with and caring for felines. Of course, Blake delivers on the magic component with an indepth chapter on cats as familiars and another chapter on cat divination. There are even cat crafts and recipes. The book contains lots of quotes about cats. I’ll leave you with this one:

Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods.

Cats have never forgotten this. —Terry Pratchett

Isn't that great?! Of course, a professional review is a wonderful thing, but folks who go to places like Amazon and Goodreads like to read reviews by fellow readers like you. So I'd really love it if you read the book (and liked it), if you could take a minute to leave a review saying so. You have no idea  how much this helps. And there are only 13 reviews on Amazon. Sniffle.
You can leave a review using these links for Amazon or Goodreads or B & N (It doesn't have to be long or complicated.)

Of course, if you haven't read the book yet, you can't write a review. So you could go out and buy a copy (you know I'd love that) or you could, I don't know, enter this contest to win a signed copy, along with a cute stuffed black cat and a black cat bookmark.

Either way, I appreciate you giving this book some love. I'm sure that wherever she is, Magic the Cat does too.

All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Yes, you can take credit for things you've already done, like following me on Twitter or signing up for my newsletter. No, there is no purchase necessary, and you don't have to review the book to enter.

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Oracle Deck Coupon Code and Book Signing Event

Hi All and HAPPY SPRING!!!!

Or as we refer to it here in upstate NY, happy "theoretical calendar spring," although today at least the sun is out and the spring birds are singing, even if it is still only in the 20's. Today is not only the Spring Equinox (Ostara, for those who observe the Pagan holidays), it is also the night of the full moon. So it's a great time to do magical work for your goals in the coming months, or for balance in your life, since the equinox is the only time that day and night are in perfect balance.

I meant to do a nice detailed post about my trip to California and PantheaCon, but I came down with the plane plague a couple of days after I got back, and I'm only just starting to catch up with things. Hopefully I'll manage a belated post soon, if people are still interested in hearing about it.

In the meanwhile, I have two quick announcements:

For those of you who are eagerly awaiting the release of the Everyday Witch Oracle Deck in September, the lovely folks at Llewellyn gave me a coupon code to take to PantheaCon, and they are allowing me to share it with you! If you go to their site and pre-order the deck before March 31st using the coupon code WITCHYORACLE19 you can get 20% off! (See how much I love you?)

You can preorder here. Everyday Witch Oracle Deck (Remember that this coupon only works at Llewellyn's website, and only until the end of the month.)

I can't wait!

If you happen to live near the Albany, NY area, I will be taking part in a multi-author book signing event at FLIGHTS OF FANTASY BOOKSTORE on Saturday the 23rd from 6-8 PM. I will be in great company, with Anne Bishop, Julie Czernada, and Kristen Britain. I hope you can join us!

Cover Reveal! Everyday Witch Oracle Deck

As many of you know, illustrator Elisabeth Alba and I have been working on The Everyday Witch Oracle Deck, which will be out on September 8th from Llewellyn. We had such a blast working on the Everyday Witch Tarot (which, incidentally, I just saw was on sale on Amazon for only $19.82 instead of its usual list price of $29.99) that we just had to find another project to work on together. If anything, this one was even more fun!

One of the best parts is being able to do the cover reveal. Llewellyn picked two cards that were both of our favorites, so we're especially excited. So with no further ado...

The kit cover:

The book cover:

And here is a picture of the back of the cards. Four cats, each representing one of the four elements. Which one is your favorite?

 And as a bonus, a picture of Elisabeth with all forty finished original paintings!
(If you look closely at her, you will see that she is busy creating something else...a little human being. Whoo hoo!)

We are both so proud of this deck, and we can't wait for it to come out. We hope you'll all love it too. What do you think of the covers?

Bad News Good News Giveaway

By now, many of you have probably figured out that there is a problem with my new book from Llewellyn, THE LITTLE BOOK OF CAT MAGIC. You may have preordered, and gotten a message that the book's delivery is delayed. Or gone to buy it and gotten a message that said it was unavailable. All I can do is give you my huge apologies for any inconvenience, and try and explain.

It turned out that when the book came into the Llewellyn warehouse, there was a problem with the cover. The printer is working on fixing it, and they're not sure yet if they are going to have to do an entire new reprint, or if the current copies can be used. It might be resolved right away, or it could take a month or two. I can't tell you when you will get it. (Although a few copies have apparently gone out to small distributors and individuals who ordered directly from Llewellyn, they were concerned that the flaw--although minor--would be enough to get the book rejected by Amazon and B&N.)

What I can tell you is that you WILL get it if you have ordered it already or if you order it now. I hope you won't give up on the book, because I wrote it from the heart and Magic the Cat and I worked REALLY hard on it.

In the meanwhile, here is a giveaway to hold you over while you wait. Llewellyn did send me my author copies (which have the same small flaw--the top cover won't sit quite flat) and I'm going to be giving away a signed copy, along with a bunch of cute cat-themed goodies, like a black cat notebook, a black cat bookmark, a broom pen, a fun little kitty and more. The second prize (yes, there are TWO) is an Amazon Fire 7 tablet, in case you don't want to wait for the print copy, and choose to buy the book in eBook form instead. (Since there is no physical cover, all the eBook orders went out on time.)

*For those of you who did get the book in eBook form, if you have a moment, could you put up a review on Amazon (and/or Goodreads)? Because most people haven't gotten the book, there are no reviews at all!

Win a Fire 7 or a signed book with goodies!

 You know you want all this fun stuff, right?

The book, not behaving as expected. Just like a cat.

As always, to enter you simply fill out the Rafflecopter form. No purchase is necessary and one random winner will be picked for each prize.

Again, big apologies from me and from Llewellyn, and my promise that we're working to fix the problem as fast as we can. Thanks for your patience!

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Celebrating the Oracle with a Tarot Deck Giveaway

I'm sorry I haven't been around much. Between wrangling the new kittens and working on the Everyday Witch Oracle deck with fabulous illustrator Elisabeth Alba for Llewellyn (plus trying to get the garden in now that winter finally decided to give way to spring...) I've been a tad busy.

But I have to tell you, I am having a BLAST working on another project with Elisabeth. It's hard work, but so much fun. She has been coming up with some great rough sketches bases on my design suggestions for the cards. (There will be 40 in all.)

Check it out!

So I've decided to celebrate by giving away a copy of the Everyday Witch Tarot deck, which is what inspired us to come up with this project. After all, it has been a while since I did a giveaway, and we can't have that!

Besides, the tarot deck was recently released in SPANISH, which is very cool. Also muy bien! Llewellyn was kind enough to send me a couple of copies of the Spanish version, so if you win, you can tell me if you'd rather have it in English or in Spanish!

As always, all you have to do is fill in the Rafflecopter form below. No purchase necessary, although if you want to tell your friends how wonderful the tarot deck is, I wouldn't mind :-)

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Cover Reveal!

In more cheerful news, I have the cover for THE LITTLE BOOK OF CAT MAGIC, coming out from Llewellyn on October 8th. (No buy links yet, but they should go live soon, and I'll be sure to come here and add them.)

What do you think? Does that black cat remind you of anyone?

I had a lot of fun writing this one, and it is going to be my first HARDCOVER book, so I am pretty excited!

A Year and a Day of Everyday Witchcraft Release Day Giveaway

Okay, so the book actually came out in print a few days early, and some people already have it. (THANK YOU so much to those who have posted reviews! SMOOCHES!) But today is the official release date for A YEAR AND A DAY OF EVERYDAY WITCHCRAFT, my latest book from Llewellyn. As you might guess from the title, it is a 365 day book (well, 366) that is part devotional, part daily reminder to put spirit into your life. Here is the description:

Enjoy the Sacred Wisdom of Witchcraft Every Day
Connect with your witchy self each and every day using quick, easy, and fun practices. This handy book features simple yet meaningful ways to integrate witchcraft into your daily life, inspiring you to take your magic to a new level whether you’re a beginner or an experienced practitioner.
Deborah Blake guides you on a journey through the Wheel of the Year, providing witchy wisdom, affirmations, spells, questions to ponder, and much more. From working with herbs and gemstones to connecting with deities, A Year and a Day of Everyday Witchcraft explores a variety of modern Pagan practices to help you get more in touch with your personal path of witchcraft.

It is the #1 New Release in Wicca over on Amazon, which is pretty cool.

 As are the rankings :-)

So of course, I'm going to have to celebrate with a giveaway, right? I have two remaining ARCs (advanced reader copies), which are almost exactly like the actual book, only not quite. Plus a couple of fun witch's shoe pens for Halloween/Samhain. So we're going to have two winners to celebrate, instead of one. Because that's how much I love you people.

Look how cute!

Magic approves.

 As always, no purchase is necessary (although the author would be very happy if you would leave a review, tell all your friends, and such). And you get credit on the Rafflecopter form for anything you already do, like follow me on Twitter. Happy new book day!

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Good News Giveaway Post!

It seems like I'm spending a lot of time these days dealing with bad news, and trying not to spend too much time ranting on Facebook and Twitter :-) So I'm happy to have a bunch of good things to talk about. So happy, I'm doing a giveaway to celebrate. Some of you may have seen some of this stuff on Facebook, but I'm rounding it all up here today.

I have not one but TWO book cover reveals! One from Berkley for VEILED MENACE, the second book in the Veiled Magic series, coming out on April 18th (less than two  months away!) and up for preorder now.

I love it, don't you? Here's the blurb about the book:

Since Witches came out of the broom closet in the early twenty-first century, they have worked alongside humans as police officers, healers, stock traders, and more. But they aren’t the only paranormal entities in our world…

Witch and police officer Donata Santori is no stranger to magical mayhem, but lately her life has been unexpectedly charmed. Her job as a Ghost Yanker now includes the occasional paranormal investigation, and she’s advancing her magical abilities with the help of an ancestor’s treasured spell book. And while both of her former love interests—reclusive half-Dragon art forger Peter Casaventi and disgraced Shapechanger Magnus Torvald—are nowhere to be found, she’s not averse to being wined and dined by wealthy businessman Anton Eastman.

But Eastman isn’t what he seems, and what he wants from Donata is far more than she’s willing to give. When a mysterious relic, the Pentacle Pentimento, resurfaces, along with Peter’s Dragon father and a shocking Santori family secret, Donata must fight to save herself, her friends, and just maybe the fate of the world from a magic as old as it is dangerous…

 
The second cover reveal is for my next Llewellyn book, coming out October 8th. A Year and a Day of Everyday Witchcraft is part devotional, part book of shadows, and all fun.

Here's the blurb for that one (also available for preorder...just sayin').

Connect with your witchy self every day using small, easy, and fun practices. This book features quick and meaningful ways to integrate witchcraft into your daily life, inspiring you to take your magick to a new level whether you’re a beginning or experienced practitioner.
Deborah Blake guides you on a journey through the Wheel of the Year, providing witchy wisdom, affirmations, spells, questions to ponder, and much more. From connecting with nature to connecting with deities, A Year and a Day of Everyday Witchcraft explores a variety of modern Pagan practices to help you get more in touch with your personal path of witchcraft.

That cat looks to me like he is about ready to get into some trouble...there's something a little dangerous in his eyes.

Speaking of dangerous, DANGEROUSLY CHARMING is up for a couple of awards! How cool is that? The first Rider book is in the finals for "Favorite SF/Fantasy/Futuristic Romance at the Australian Romance Readers Awards (I love my Aussie readers!) and also as "Best Paranormal Romance of 2016" at RT Book Reviews (formerly Romantic Times). That second one is HUGE in the field of romance writing, and I am thrilled just to be nominated.

I've also decided that I'm going to go to the RWA National Convention in Orlando this July, and found out I'll be rooming with the fabulous Maria V. Snyder. So that's one more thing to look forward to. I hope I'll see a few of you there. Be sure to tell me if you're going.

With VEILED MENACE out in less than two months, it is obviously time to start celebrating! Are you with me? I have a few VEILED MAGIC goodies left over, including a totebag, a notebook, and a couple of small things, like one of my favorite witch broom pens. As usual, all you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter form below. And yes, you get credit for things you have already done, like following the blog or following me on Twitter.

Of course, what I'd really love is for people to preorder the books, and put up reviews, and such. But I'm way too dignified to beg. WAY too dignified. *snort* So go ahead, just enter the contest and have fun. (Although if you want to do those other things too...)

Magic the Cat approves of this giveaway.

Good news for everyone!

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