Starting the New Year Off Right (Calendar Giveaway)

I don't know about you, but I'm already behind on 2019...

Which is why this calendar giveaway is going up today, instead of on the 1st of the month. Snort.

One of the things I like about starting a new year is picking out new calendars. I usually get some kind of cat calendars for my main one (all the birthdays, important appointments and convention dates, etc.) and for the small calendar that goes on the wall by my desk. This year it was a black cat calendar, just because, and cute kittens for the small one. I also get the Llewellyn Witches Calendar every year, to keep track of magical things, and whichever almanacs I happen to have articles in, because they send each contributor two free copies. (The spare copy of each one is usually given to a friend as a Yule gift.)

This year I spotted something fun on one of my friend's pages on Facebook and couldn't resist ordering myself one. It is a calendar with hunky Australian firefighters with cute animals. Hey, it's for charity! (Don't judge me.) In fact, it was so cool, I got an extra one, figuring I could give it away. I also have one copy of the 2019 Llewellyn Magical Almanac (with my article on Magic and Cats). So, ta da, GIVEAWAY TIME!

(I love that the colors on the covers just happen to match. It's like I was MEANT to give them both away.)

I'm trying to build my newsletter list, in part because my new publisher, St. Martin's Press, asked me how many people were signed up for it, and I'd kind of like to impress them. It only goes out about four or five times a year, usually with important announcements, and I would never sell or give away anyone's information. So please sign up, okay? Pretty please? You can either use this LINK 
or you can fill in the form at the top left of this blog. Then use the Rafflecopter form to say you did it. Ta da! (Note: If you already get my newsletter, that counts too.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Besides getting new calendars, I'm also trying another cool thing I found on Facebook (YES, I spend too much time on Facebook). This is a simple way to focus on the positive in your life, which after last year I really needed. Plus simple, which is about all I can handle. Just take a jar and a bunch of pieces of paper, as colorful as you want to make them. Then every week, write down something good that happened, or something that made you happy, and put it in the jar. At the end of the year, pull out all the slips and read them, to remind yourself of how much good there is in your life.

Pal Ellen and I started our jars on New Year's Day (the slip of paper already in there says, "Spent New Year's Day with Ellen--Chinese food, Doctor Who, and Scrabble") but everyone in Blue Moon Circle is going to do one. We're hoping to get together for a girl's night in sometime in January to decorate the jars. If not, we'll probably do it as part of our Imbolc ritual.

One last things I'm doing to get the new year started off right is to do something a little different over at my Patreon. The folks who follow me there at the $25 level have as one of their rewards the chance to attend my monthly live online classes, or watch a recording of them later if they can't make it to the live one. I usually do a witchcraft class and/or ritual, but sometimes I talk about writing, or just do an open chat. They're a lot of fun. So this month I'm going to throw it open to everyone, even if they aren't one of my patrons. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to do it on Monday the 21st for the full moon and lunar eclipse, or on Tuesday the 22nd for just a general chat. If you have a preference, say so in the comments! And be sure to check out my PATREON PAGE to find out when the open class is going to take place. I'd love to have you join me!

Tell me, what are you doing to start your 2019 off right?

Harry Dresden Health Scare Saga

It has been a rough week in Casa Deb. If you haven't been following along on Facebook, Twitter, or my Patreon, you  might not know that I had to take Harry Dresden in to the vet early on Saturday morning after Thanksgiving. (On Small Business Saturday, when I had to be to work at the shop by about 9:15 and work most of the day.)

Harry hadn't been eating well for days. At first I thought it was just a hairball, which he's had before, but by Friday night is was clear something was really wrong. He stopped eating altogether and was very lethargic. SCARY.

Not a happy cat

I was at the vet for their emergency Saturday hours at 8:04, right after they opened. Our regular vet wasn't on duty, but the new vet, Dr. Inman, was just lovely. She examined Harry and he had a fever of almost 105 (cat's can run up to 102.5 and be considered within normal range, but 105 is HIGH). All the blood tests came back normal, including precautionary testing for feline leukemia and feline AIDS (whew). X-rays were inconclusive, but we thought maybe he'd eaten a mouse or something that didn't break down entirely. I had to leave him there for treatment for the weekend, but at least I knew he'd be in good hands.

Saturday night his fever was down (with kitty NSAIDS) and he'd had a big poop, so we thought maybe he was past the worst of it. But Sunday she called and told me his fever was back up. More x-rays, more blood tests. Some discussion of possible scary rare illnesses that we wouldn't be able to send out blood tests for until Monday.

Then on Monday, he was better! Fever had gone down and stayed down, and he was eating again. They wanted to keep him one more day just to be sure, but he seemed recovered. I went in to visit him after work and got lots of kisses and wiggling (he'd been so sick when I brought him in, he just sat in my lap listlessly). My friend Ellen, who works at the vet as a dog groomer, called me that night to tell me he'd complained LOUDLY after I left without him, and made everyone crazy. Oops. But still, a good sign.

Happy to be home

So I picked him up Tuesday afternoon. He was definitely feeling better, and much perkier. (I, on the other hand, was a little less perkier after I paid the bill. Oy.) And very happy to be home, even if Ember and Koshka hissed and growled at him because he smelled like vet. I was mostly just really relieved that it was over, because to be honest, I was terrified I was going to lose him too, and after this year, I didn't know if I could bear it.

Then he didn't eat dinner. And barely touched breakfast. So I called my regular vet, and she told me she thought I should bring him back in. (Along with Angus, who has a huge sore on his neck and was supposed to go on Tuesday, but managed to elude me.) Did I mention it has been snowing all week?

So much for my day off when I was going to get lots done. But kitties come first. So back we went, with both cats complaining loudly about the unfairness of it all. (Which was actually a good sign in Harry's case, because he hadn't made a peep when I took him in on Saturday.)

Still no temp, and he looked otherwise good except some redness in his throat, like a human might get with a bad bug. So Dr. Baker thought he'd probably had a virus, which he was still fighting a bit of, and the antibiotic he'd been put on (which would be useless against a virus, but had been a precautionary measure because we had no idea what was going on) was probably making him nauseous. Poor boy. So that's been discontinued, and he's back home again. He only nibbled at dinner, and a bit more later, but I've got my fingers crossed that he'll feel more like eating in the morning.

Huge appreciation to all my Patreon supporters--the money from that will really help to pay these vet bills. More appreciation to the people who have been buying the new necklaces and signed books I've put up on my Etsy Shop. That helps too.

Plus all the folks who have been sending out prayers, good vibes, and Reiki. You all rock.

Here's hoping that Harry Dresden is back to his usual spunky self soon.

It has been a rough week

Guest Post: Elisabeth Alba, Illustrator

Hey, peeps! Most of you know Elisabeth Alba from her illustrations of our Everyday Witch Tarot deck, as well as the upcoming Everyday Witch Oracle deck we're working on now. She's sharing some advanced images and details of the work over on her brand new Patreon page, and I thought that some of you might be interested in what she's up to, so I suggested she guest post here. Take it away, Elisabeth!

Hi Everyone!

Thanks to Deborah for allowing me to be a guest blogger here.

This is a portion of a post I created for my patrons on my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/elisabethalba. It shows the process of the painting, “Listening,” for the Everyday Witch Oracle deck I am working on with Deborah (who is also on Patreon at www.patreon.com/deborahblake), published by Llewellyn Worldwide.

If you're interested in seeing in-depth step-by-steps behind my artwork, please check out my Patreon and consider becoming a patron! I plan on sharing in-depth posts about the creative process behind many of the oraclecards as well as other artwork I create, timelapse videos of painting, videos around my studio, and other goodies like holiday cards, desktop wallpapers, and monthly coloring pages. I'm really excited to have this opportunity to share my art life with you all!
Note from Deborah: I'm following her there and I LOVE watching the process as the paintings come alive! Plus, I can't wait to get the coloring pages.

Here is Deborah's initial description for “Listening”: Close-up on a witch with one hand behind her ear, eyes closed and smiling, listening to a magical wind blowing by. A bird is hovering, perhaps whispering in her other ear. The feeling is thoughtful and attentive.

The deck is divided into elemental suits – Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air. “Listening” is an Air card. My first rough sketch had a generic witch thrown in, white with long black hair and black hat, but after working on the sketches for all 40 cards, she evolved. The biggest fault with the Everyday Witch Tarot was its lack of diversity, and Deborah and I knew we wanted this deck to be the opposite, and represent the many people who use and appreciate tarot and oracle decks. In “Listening,” I painted an Apsáalooke woman. Many Native American legends of crow birds are about how they are the wisest of birds and that they have the power to talk. The Apsáalooke were given their name by a neighboring Siouan-speaking tribe and it means "children of the large-beaked bird," so it definitely seemed fitting to have this card represent a woman of the Crow Nation, as they came to be called in the English language.

Here are the two rough sketches of Listening, side by side:

After the sketch was approved I gathered reference material and also took photo reference of myself wearing a robe. The outfit she is wearing is based on traditional Crow clothing for women - the white objects sewn on are elk teeth! I didn't want her to be completely traditional though, since the deck is for modern witches, so gave it a bit of an update with hair half braided and half down, and a black skirt.

I then did a more refined sketch, figured out what colors I wanted to use, printed my sketch onto watercolor paper, inked it, and then it was finally ready for watercolor!

Here are stages in the painting process:

And finally... the big reveal! Here is the completed painting, ready to be an oracle card!

Thanks for following along on the process for this painting! I will share little bits here and there on social media, but I plan on devoting more time to these behind-the-scenes posts over on Patreon.  Please consider joining me there!

Thank you for the interest in our oracle deck. We are having so much fun working on it!

Thanks from me too! Just for fun, Elisabeth sent me a couple of packs of her new book plates, and we're going to give them away here.

I just love these!

 All you have to do is enter this simple Rafflecopter form, just like always. We'd love it if you'd check out our Patreon pages, but of course, only follow if you want to!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  

Tarot Readings

Most of you know that I have my own (very cool, if I do say so myself) tarot deck out from Llewellyn, the Everyday Witch Tarot  (It's actually on sale on Amazon right now--usually $29.99, now $21.20 just FYI.)

 What you may not know is that I am also a professional tarot reader and have been for many years. I don't do it much these days, simply due to lack of time, but people have been asking about online readings for ages, so I finally added it as one of the levels of my Patreon. And figured out a way to do them online, through the Zoom.US site we use for the live Witchcraft classes.
So if you are a patron at the $30/month level, you will have access to me for a half an hour tarot reading a month (or a half an hour chat about Witchcraft, if that's your preference). That's a pretty good deal, since I charge more than that for in-person readings! (Be aware that there is a limit of 10 patrons at this level, since any more people would cut into the writing time too much!)

Don't forget that signing on at the $30/month level also gets you access to all the previous levels, including the $25/month level that includes the live Witchcraft class and rituals.

If you're interested, check out my Patreon here. (There are lots of lower levels too, if you want to be supportive but can't afford the higher ones.) DEBORAH'S PATREON

And thanks to all who already support me there--I am so very grateful. And so are these guys...

A Snippet from Veiled Enchantments

I occasionally post snippets of my new or upcoming book or work-in-progress for my Patreon peeps. (You can check out my Patreon HERE.) I thought I'd give you a taste of what that was like, and also whet your appetite for the release of VEILED ENCHANTMENTS tomorrow by putting up a little bit of what you have to look forward to.

Enjoy!

Donata stared at the man standing in the hallway in front of her apartment, torn between the desire to slam the door in his face and the equally strong impulse to jump into his arms and kiss him until he cried uncle. She compromised by taking a deep breath and saying with a calmness she didn’t quite feel, “Hello, Magnus. Long time no see.”

Uncharacteristically, the blond giant of a man hesitated, holding back on his usual exuberant greeting. He clearly wasn’t quite sure how to proceed either, although he couldn’t suppress his grin at seeing her.

“Hello, Donata. Aren’t you going to ask me in?” He held out a slightly battered bouquet of flowers that looked like they might have been plucked from someone’s garden and probably had been. Although where he’d found them this far into fall, she wasn’t sure.

She also wasn’t sure if she felt like letting him in. She hadn’t had much luck with men lately and wasn’t really in the mood to deal with another one. But her cat, Grimalkin, settled the question for her by strolling into the hallway and winding around Magnus’s legs, purring madly.

“Traitor,” she muttered, opening the door wider to accommodate her old lover’s ridiculously wide shoulders. Then added to Magnus, looking up all six foot four of him to meet his ocean-colored eyes, “Fine, but consider yourself warned. I’m off men at the moment, so don’t expect me to fall for your charm and the old stolen-flowers routine.”

He chuckled, handing her the blooms, and wandered briefly around the living room before plopping onto the couch and putting his feet up on the scarred table in front of it. “I like your new place.” He paused. “I take it I don’t have to worry about Peter coming in and challenging me for your hand then?”

She gave a small growl through clenched jaws. “No,” she said flatly. “He was around for a bit, but it didn’t work out. He’s gone.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow. “‘Gone’ as in left town, or ‘gone’ as in he pissed you off and you killed him?” He didn’t sound as though he thought either outcome was a problem.

“‘Gone’ as in left town without a forwarding address,” Donata said, grabbing a couple of beers out of the fridge and handing one to him as she settled into the chair opposite him, intentionally keeping a safe distance between them. She hadn’t seen him in over seven months, but they’d always had a dangerously tempting chemistry. “I killed the other guy.”

The eyebrow moved higher. “Is that a joke?”         

A small hand appeared out of nowhere holding its own beer; the hand was attached to a three-foot-tall man wearing a long, neatly trimmed brown beard and matching brown overalls. “Not at all,” the Kobold said. “But it’s okay. The bastard had it coming to him.”

Magnus choked on his beer, sputtering slightly. Ricky helpfully handed him a handkerchief to mop up with. “You killed someone, ’Nata? I’m impressed.”

She rolled her eyes. Only an Ulfhednar, descended from a race of shapeshifting berserkers, would consider murdering a former boyfriend to be a kudos-worthy achievement. “Don’t be. I wouldn’t have done it if I’d had any choice.”

“It looks like I missed a lot in the last few months.” He reached out for her hand but sat back again when she made no move toward him.

Donata held herself stiffly upright. There was no way she was going to go down that road again. She’d learned her lesson.

---

Live Witchcraft Classes and Rituals Online

As those of you already following me on Patreon know, the folks who support me at the $25 level get access to a monthly live witchcraft class, or occasionally, a ritual. (These can be viewed later if you're not available when they go live. Supporters get emailed a link to use.)

Because I had to skip last month due to Life and All the Things, we're going to do two this month. If you're not supporting at that  level, it's not too late to do so!

Our first class this month is going to be Wednesday the 14th at 7:30 and will be on "Spells and Spellcasting." Anyone who is taking part live can ask me questions and we might even cast a spell or two!

Then on Tuesday the 20th I'll do a chat and a brief ritual about Ostara, the Spring Equinox. I'll post any supplies I'll be using ahead of time in case people want to follow along at home. I'll probably do that one at 7:30 (PM, EST, US) as well unless I get requests to do it a bit later. That one might be a bit shorter.

This is a good time to give me requests for future topics, too. Speak up, people!

Here's the Patreon link if you want to check out the various levels and their rewards (so much fun stuff!).

https://www.patreon.com/deborahblake

Also, if you haven't ordered it yet, don't forget that Dangerously Fierce is out!

Live Witchcraft Class and Full Moon Ritual

As some of you might already know, I started a Patreon page a couple of months ago, and one of the rewards (at the $25/month level) is a live class on various witchcraft topics. (This is a pretty good deal, when you consider that back in the days when I gave online classes--which weren't done by video-chat, so they were way less personal or interactive--they often cost at least that much. And you didn't even get to watch a cat wander in and out of the screen...)

I'm going to be doing a special edition this month, on Wednesday January 31st at 7:30 PM est, in case you were curious about it or thinking of joining in. Wednesday is a big day: it's a super moon, a blue moon, and a total lunar eclipse, all at the same time. To give you some idea of how rare this is, the last time there was a total eclipse during a blue moon (the 2nd full moon to fall in a month) was 1866! So not only is there going to be a class segment, I will also be doing an actual live ritual (albeit a simple one, since I will be sitting in front of a computer). The ritual will focus on coming out of the darkness and into the light. Since this theme works for Imbolc as well, if you can't tune in during the class, you can use the ritual for Imbolc instead. (For those who are at this level, the video is always available later in case they aren't around during the time the class is live. Considering we have people in multiple countries and time zones, this is always going to be an issue, alas.)

To follow me on Patreon, you can go here and check it out. There are a variety of support levels, including $1 and $3 levels for folks who just want to be supportive but don't have much of a budget, as well as levels that get you rewards like a spell a month, or snippets of my works in progress, and much more. (There is even a level that can get you a live tarot reading every month or help with your own writing!) Plus exclusive cat pictures, of course. Mostly, Patreon is a way to support the artists/authors/creative folks you like, so they can keep on doing what they're doing. And believe me, we appreciate it.

Check out my Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/deborahblake

I hope some of you will join me at this once-in-a-lifetime class!

IN OTHER NEWS:
I've been working hard on the third Rider book, DANGEROUSLY FIERCE. Expect some big announcements soon!

Witchcraft Classes Starting Up On Patreon

For those who are looking for a little magical study in their lives, the first of my live witchcraft classes is on Wednesday evening. This is available to my patrons who give $25 per month. That amount is right in line with what I would charge for a class at your local pagan store or in person. We'll be holding the class online, using video conference via Zoom. (If you can't join us online, the video can be viewed later.)

Our first class will focus on Yule with a Q&A to follow. The awesome part is that you get to suggest topics for future classes! There is a limit to the number of folks who can sign up for this so if you're interested, pledge at the $25 level on my Patreon page! 

 

 https://www.patreon.com/deborahblake

Come Support Me on Patreon!

I have exciting news! I’ve decided (okay, been persuaded) to start a Patreon page. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Patreon, it is a way to support the authors (or artists, or various other types of creative people) whose work you enjoy. It is very simple. Patrons sign up to make a monthly contribution (as little as a dollar a month) to the “creator” of their choice, and in return get various rewards that are not available to the general public. The greater the monthly pledge, the more exciting the rewards.

Needless to say, not everyone can afford to do this, or will have any desire to support their favorite authors by doing anything more than buying books and leaving the occasional review. That’s just fine. But for others, it is an opportunity to be a part of the creative process, support folks they admire, and get fun and interesting rewards in the process. And those they support get to do what they love and worry just a little bit less about money.

To be honest, the deciding factor for me was the recent insane vet bills for my beloved cats. (Mystic is on a medicine that costs, I kid you not, $300/month. But without it, he wouldn't be here.) I didn’t want to do a Go Fund Me and just ask for money, and I’d already been playing around with the idea of doing a Patreon page, since it allows me to give back to the folks who support my efforts. It’s something of an experiment, and we’ll see how it goes.

But in the meanwhile, here it is. Feel free to follow this link and see what it is all about!

https://www.patreon.com/deborahblake 

Thanks in advance to anyone who jumps on board! *smooches*

Deborah

Patreon!

I'm launching a Patreon page to help support the cats and my writing. (This is a thing where people pledge monthly support to someone who creates some form of art, like writing.) And I'm wondering what rewards people would like for the various levels of support. Here's your big chance, people--tell me what you want, what you really, really want!

I put a poll up at the top of the page, and it will run for about a week. The options there are what I've been thinking about doing, but I am open to suggestions. (The way it works, everyone gets the simple rewards, no matter how much they pledge, and the more you pledge, the fancier the rewards get.) I'm also open to suggestions. So tell me what would get you excited about supporting my work?

What is Patreon?

Come on now, tell me what you want!

ETA: If you click "other" in the poll, leave a comment here to say what it is you want.