Three Months Until The Little Book of Cat Magic is Out

OMG! The Little Book of Cat Magic is coming out from Llewellyn three months from today! That might seem like a long time to you, but considering that the book has been in the works for about two years, it suddenly seems darned close to me!

It was about this time two years ago that my editor Elysia Gallo from Llewellyn sent me a late birthday gift. She had already warned me that it was something I would either love or hate... And when I opened the package, I was completely baffled.

Huh?

Why, I asked myself, would Elysia send me a book of Dog Magic? She knows I'm a cat person. Then I read the card and burst into laughter in the middle of my driveway. Basically, she said, "How would you like to write the Book of Cat Magic? You know you want to. Right?" And of course, she was right. As my agent said, when I ran the idea past her, "It's the Book of Cat Magic! Who else should write it?"

So that's how I came to write what turned out to be The Little Book of Cat Magic. I'm actually pretty proud of this book. It wasn't as simple or easy to write as it seems. But I think people are going to like it. For me, it is special for two reasons. One, it is my first HARDCOVER. (Seriously, how cool is that?) And second, and a bit sadder, is that this is Magic the Cat's last book with me. I just worked on the final proof edits, which require rereading the entire manuscript, and there is lots of advice from her, and mentions of both her and her brother Mystic. I won't kid you--it was tough.

But as my lovely readers reminded me on Facebook when I posted about it, that just makes it Magic's legacy, and her last gift to the world. And to me. That's pretty cool too, when you think about it.

So I'm going to be celebrating for the next three months, as we approach the release date of October 8th, starting with today, at the 3 months and counting down mark. I have found lots of fun cat-centric swag to give away, starting with this bunch of goodies. Harry Dresden "helped" me with the photo shoot. I can see this is going to be a problem...

That stuffed black kitty seems to be moving!

And now he has fallen over.

Quick! Take the picture!

Oh, great. Now Koshka is helping too.

In case you can't quite tell because of the helpful cats, this is a black cat themed goodie bag, with a stuffed black cat, a black cat bookmark, a fun pen, and a black and white duck-cat for the bath or shower. I'm giving away three of these, although accent colors might vary. Mostly just because they are so cute, I can't help myself.

Obviously, I'd love it if you preordered the book (publishers love that too). Here are a few "Buy Links" if you're in the mood.

Buy Links

Barnes & Noble |Amazon |iBooks |Llewellyn  

But even if you don't feel like preordering the book, feel free to enter the contest by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. As always, no purchase is necessary. I'll love you anyway, I promise.

If you can't wait three months to get a look at the book, I will be putting up sneak peeks and snippets on my PATREON for those who follow me at the $5/month level and above.

So tell me, are you looking forward to this book as much as I am?

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Reinventing Ruby Celebration Giveaway

My new novel, REINVENTING RUBY went live on Monday, and I'm really excited about the positive reception it's getting. (Some of you have asked if it will be out in print, and the answer is "Yes, we're working on it. Soon.")

So I asked Magic the Cat how we should celebrate and this was her answer:

Kindle Fire!!!! (Ignore the messy desk.)

Yes, it's giveaway time again! I'll have another one soon with some themed items relating to the book, but I want to give people a little time to read first.

Read me!

As always, just use the Rafflecopter form below. (Yes, you get to take credit for things like following the blog if you've already done it.) No purchase is necessary, although of course I'll love you forever if you actually buy the book. It's also REALLY important to get those first few reviews out there, so if you did read it and liked it, I'd be seriously grateful if you'd put up a review at places like Amazon, Goodreads, and B&N. Just spreading the word is helpful too. Have I mentioned recently how much I love my readers?

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Dangerously Charming Two Week Report and Giveaway

It's hard to believe, but DANGEROUSLY CHARMING has been out for two weeks!

Still pretty shiny

 People have been asking me how the book is doing, and to be honest, the answer is: I think it is doing well, but it is really hard to know for sure. Mind you, I was pretty happy to see this on day two..

Getting to #106 in the SF & Fantasy/Fantasy/Romantic category for Kindle was definitely great. Sales are down a bit since then, of course, now that the first release rush is over (have you gotten your copy yet?) but the reviews are starting to come in, and most of them are pretty good. The bad ones are hardly making me cry at all. If you've read the book and loved it, could you put up a review at Amazon, Goodreads, and/or B&N pretty please? You would have my undying gratitude.

I thought we'd celebrate with a small giveaway: a $10 Amazon gift card. If you haven't read the book yet, you could use it to buy a copy (or catch up with the Baba Yaga series, if you need to). Or, you know, anything else you want, or even buy a copy for a friend!

Thanks so much for making the last two weeks such a success! And keep an eye out, because I should have the cover release for DANGEROUSLY DIVINE, Gregori Sun's story, any day now...

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New Books Celebration Giveaway!

As most of you know (unless you missed it), last week I announced not one, but two pieces of good news. The first was that my friend Mindy Klasky and I are going to be putting out a two-book duo of light paranormal novels together this August. (yay!) The second was that I'd just agreed to write another Llewellyn book, The Book of Cat Magic (meow!).

And just as I promised, here is a giveaway to celebrate! As always, all you have to do to enter is fill in the Rafflecopter form and do one or more of the options offered. You can still get credit for things like "Follow the blog" if you signed up for it in the past, but you only get the points for reviews and book purchases if they are new as of this contest. (Keep in mind that you can post the same review you posted on Amazon to B&N or Goodreads, and vice versa.) You can even get points for pre-ordering the upcoming Rider novel, DANGEROUSLY CHARMING, which I know you were all going to do anyway. (Right? Right?)

Here's what you might win! Your choice of either Wickedly Dangerous (or another one of the series if you already have that one) or Everyday Witchcraft, plus a cool Dangerously Charming notebook, a dragon necklace, and some magnets and bookmarks. Fun, yes?

Cat not included :-)

Of course, you could just leave a comment here and get your 3 points for that. Tell me, have you ever read any of the Llewellyn books? (And do you own any?) And are you curious about Witch Ever Way You Can, which was my first novel?

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Giveaway! Signed Book, Mug, and Dragon Necklace

It suddenly occurred to me that it had been a while since I'd done a giveaway. Gasp! Don't worry, I'm going to remedy that right now.

What are we celebrating? Well, I survived had a great time at RWA Nationals, I just got the cover for the upcoming Baba Yaga novella, Wickedly Ever After (it needs a few tweaks, but I'll share it when it is finalized), and I found out that both Baba Yaga book 3 (Wickedly Powerful) and the non-Baba urban fantasy I have coming out in November as an ebook (Veiled Magic) are up on Amazon for pre-order. And probably other places, too. There isn't any info up yet, but they're there.

Naturally, I'd love it if you would run out and pre-order one or both of them, since that makes me look good to my publishers :-) But you don't have to. As always, all you have to do to enter is pick an option or option from the form below.

But just in case, here are the order links...
Wickedly Powerful
Veiled Magic

 I decided that even though this is a Baba Yaga-themed giveaway, I'd give the winner a choice of one of three signed books: Wickedly Wonderful , Everyday Witchcraft  or Midsummer
The winner will also get a Wickedly Wonderful mug and this cool dragon necklace, in honor of Chudo-Yudo, the dragon in the stories.

Unfortunately, because of the weight of the mug and the book, this giveaway will have to be USA only. But if you are from out of country and want to enter anyway, I'll still send you something cool if you win. (As always, no purchase is necessary to enter.)

Feel free to spread the word, and don't forget that good reviews are the best gift you can give to an author (after buying the books, of course). Good luck!

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Everyday Witchcraft Celebration Giveaway!

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately (see previous post for explanation). But I'm going to make it up to you by doing another big giveaway! Do you forgive me now? I thought you would.

In fact, I'm going to do two giveaways in a row, so be sure to check back at the end of the month to see what the second one is. (I have a surprise for you. No, I won't tell you what it is. That would ruin the surprise!)

This is a celebration giveaway, because I'm happy to say that it looks like my new Llewellyn Worldwide book,  Everyday Witchcraft: Making Time for Spirit in a Too-Busy World  is doing quite well, even though it was released almost a month ago.

Can I get a huzzah?

 In fact, here is what I saw when I looked on Amazon yesterday:

That's right--that says #1 New release!

At the bottom of the page, it looked like this:

Insert more "huzzah-ing" here.

Yes, I know that's not a real word. Never mind.

Those numbers are great for a book in its first week of release. For the end of a release month, they're fab. Of course, I only have five reviews so far, and I'd love to get some more (HINT, HINT, SUBTLE HINT), but over all, I'm very happy. I've also had lots of people writing to me and saying how much they love the book, which of course, makes me happier still.

So now I'm going to spread the happy by doing a giveaway! I'm going to give away one big prize pack with a double-sided tote bag (just one bag, but it has Everyday Witchcraft on one side and The Witch's Broom on the other), plus a notebook, postcard, and magnet, and a cool broom pen. Sorry, Magic the Cat is not included. She was just supervising.

PLUS, I'll be giving away TWO signed copies of Everyday Witchcraft!

As usual, it is easy to enter. You get extra points for doing things like buying a copy of the book and posting a review (which this time you can do every day of the contest, as long as you post it in different places each day, like Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble ). Or you can just comment and tell me if you are excited about the book, love the cover, or just think Magic the Cat is the best prize-putting-together supervisor evah.



And of course, I'd love it if you'd spread the word. On account of you are all teh best readers evah.



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Imbolc Dream Pillow Ritual

Crows and their smaller cousins under the birdfeeder

 Imbolc is a holiday full of contradictions. It celebrates the first stirrings of spring growth deep beneath the surface of the earth at a time when for many of us, winter is still in full force. And it celebrates the returning of the light when the dark still holds us firmly in its grip. But that is the point, really. Imbolc reminds us to look forward with hope, to look for the small signs that spring really is coming, slowly but surely, just as the light grows a tiny bit every day.

If you go outside at night, you will notice that the sky seems different. The day dawns a few moments earlier and the sun sets a few moments later. There may be snow on the ground in many places, but deep below us, the earth IS stirring.

For us, it is still the time of the darkness; time to plan, and set plans in motion, but not yet act on them. In short, it is time our to dream. Imbolc is the perfect day on which to create a dream pillow to hold those dreams safe as we take slow, careful steps to reach our goals.

 If you want, you can start by casting a ritual circle. Or if you don’t feel like being that formal, simply find a comfortable spot, settle in with your materials close at hand, and focus on your dreams and goals for the year.

You will need: Either a piece of cloth or two pieces that can be sewn together to make a square about 2 inches on each side (the size can vary) or if you really don’t like to sew, you can use a drawstring bag. But the act of sewing is a good way to help focus the energy you put into the pillow. Bright colors are good, if they remind you of spring. A needle and thread (if you are doing this where the light will be dim, it is a good idea to thread the needle ahead of time). Small slips of paper and a pen. Something to stuff the pillow with. Optional—herbs that remind you of spring and/or help with dreaming, such as lavender. A white or yellow candle. You can start with the pillow already closed on three sides, so you only have to sew the last side shut after you’ve stuffed it.

Light the candle and greet the gods in whichever way suits you. Take a few moments to think about what your dreams and goals are for the year, then write them down on the slips of paper. All your actions should be slow and thoughtful—don’t rush through this. Stuff the pillow with whatever else you are putting inside, then add the pieces of paper. You may want to say each goal out loud as you place it inside. Then tie a knot in the end of your thread, to cement your intentions. As you sew the last side of the pillow closed (or pull the string closed on your bag), you may want to say “to mote it be” as you place each stitch. Remember that the stronger your focus is, the more powerful the spell. When you have completed your pillow, you can say the following (from my book, Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook, Llewellyn).

Dreams Come True Spell

I wish upon the stars above

And on the moonlight’s gleam

I ask the gods to send their love

And help fulfill my dream

Hard I’ve worked to get to here

This magic time and space

I know my dreams are drawing near

At Fate’s own measured pace

Bring to blossom dreaming’s fruit

I ask from heart and soul

As flowers spring from planted root

Let me achieve my goal

If you want, you can sit for a while, envisioning your dreams coming true. Then thank the gods (open your circle if you have done a formal ritual) and tuck your pillow someplace safe, like your altar or inside your bed pillow.

Magic the Cat living up to her name as she inspects our altar set-up for the ritual.

Happy Imbolc!