COVER REVEAL Giveaway & Surprise Sale!

As most of you know, I am getting ready to switch gears--from focusing on my nonfiction work (like this year's new release The Witch's Broom and my eBook release of Circle, Coven & Grove ) to preparing for the release of my fiction, the novella and first two novels in the Baba Yaga Series.

[Insert minor hyperventilating here.]

But before I start doing all the yelling and jumping up and down and giveaways for the novels next month, I wanted to take the time to say a giant THANK YOU to all the lovely folks who have been so supportive all these years of my Llewellyn books. No, I'm not giving that up altogether, at least not yet...there's another book coming out next year, as well as a Super Sekrit Project in the works that I can't even hint at yet. (But you're going to LOVE IT. Just sayin'.) And I certainly hope that some of y'all will come along with me on this new adventure.

In the meanwhile, here is the cover for the upcoming EVERYDAY WITCHCRAFT, the follow-up book to The Goddess is in the Details (my favorite of all my books so far, and the favorite of many of my readers). EVERYDAY WITCHCRAFT will be out in March 2015. I hope you love the cover as much as I do!

I wanted to make sure you all know how very much I appreciate the enthusiasm you have shown for the nonfiction books, as well as celebrate getting this great cover. So I'm doing two things. One, I'm having one last BIG GIVEAWAY, starting today, Friday the 13th and also the full moon, which seems fitting, and running for the next few days until Tuesday the 17th. There are a few options you can do every day, so be sure to come back more than once. PLUS, as an added gift to all my readers, I am putting CIRCLE, COVEN & GROVE up on a .99 sale starting today and running through Thursday June 19th. So if you haven't gotten your copy yet, be sure and pick one up now! (Sorry Nook peeps--this is only on Amazon. But you can still download it to your computer.)

I'm giving away all sorts of goodies, as usual:

TWO tote bags: one with the Witch's Broom cover, and one that is reversible and has the Circle, Coven & Grove cover on one side, and the lovely Magic the Cat on the other. (I know it shows 3, but that's just so you can see both sides.)

TWO notebooks: one with the Circle, Coven & Grove cover by Mickie Mueller, and one with The Witch's Broom cover (and, as you can see, a black and white version of the CC&G cover on the back).

One Circle, Coven & Grove mug

FIVE swag bundles with a mini-notebook, and some other goodies.

And the last of the Witch's Broom refrigerator magnets. You can see how impressed Samhain is.

But wait...that's only 11 prizes, and this is a Friday the 13th giveaway. Shouldn't there be 13 prizes? Yes, I thought so too. So I guess I'd better give away a signed copy of The Witch's Broom

 and one of The Goddess is in the Details.

*Sorry, but only the swag bundles and the broom magnet are open to those outside the USA. And non-USA folks who win one of the other prizes will get a swag bundle instead. (And my undying affection, of course.)

Do you all feel appreciated yet? Are we having fun celebrating the cover reveal? I hope so, on both counts! So enter the contest, and run over to get your sale copy of Circle, Coven & Grove if you want one. And don't forget to spread the word, please!

So, which prize do you want to win?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Big Huge Contest--Last Day Push and SURPRISE

As most of you know, I have been holding a Big, Huge, Mega Giveaway CONTEST POST for the upcoming THE WITCH'S BROOM book here for almost a week. We're in the end stretch now (1 day 12 hours as I write this, ending at Friday morning 12:00 AM EST), and I have to tell you that this contest has exceeded my wildest dreams. Seriously. I can't believe how much enthusiasm and participation we've had. I've been happy dancing so much I have scared the cats :-)

Here's where we're at right now:
3,037 entries (yes, that's right--OVER 3,000!) Of course, remember that people can earn up to 32, if they actually use all the options.
2,951 page views (holy crap!)
A few fabulous people put up reviews and/or pre-ordered the book (BIG thanks to you folks) and many people spread the word. The book is actually up to #39 in its category, and it isn't even out yet. You people ROCK.

So, now that we're in the end stretch, I've got one more push...

Look what I just got!

Yes, that's the first of the swag for my novel, Wickedly Dangerous. *bounce bounce bounce* That's a fridge magnet, a card, and a postcard. So here's what we're going to do.
IF we can get the contest entries up to 3,500 by the end of the contest, I'll send all the winners (that's right, all TWENTY of them) their very own threesome of Wickedly Dangerous swag too. You will literally be the first people it goes to. Excited yet?

So, what if you already entered? Don't forget that three of the options (tweet about it, share the news, and put up a review for an existing book) can be done every day. Which technically means you could do each of them today AND tomorrow, before midnight EST. And the "put up a review" and "pre-order the book" options are worth 10 entries each, so if a bunch of people do those, the numbers could go up fast. [Already ordered the book? Consider ordering one for a friend!]

Impossible, you say? There's no way we can get to 3,500 entries. Maybe so... On the other hand, I would never have in a million years guessed that we would get to 3,037. Let's see if we can pull off the impossible. Ready, set, GO!!!!

Feline Friday: Magic and the Mug

As most of you know, I have been running a contest here for the last few days to give away a mug with the (extremely cool) cover of my upcoming book, The Witch's Broom, on it. Because the black cat on the cover looks so much like Magic the Cat (Queen of the Universe), I posted a picture with her sitting next to the mug. Some people thought she didn't look that impressed.

 Rebecca Elson, of The Magical Buffet has been to my house a time or two, and met Magic the Cat in person. This was her comment on the blog: It's true, everyone, that truly is Magic being impressed. I've seen unimpressed--every time I visit :-) (Sadly, she's not kidding...she and Magic have a love-hate relationship. Mostly Magic hates that Rebecca won't share her food.)

This is Magic REALLY being unimpressed.

It's true everyone, that truly is Magic being impressed. I've seen unimpressed....every time I visit. :) - See more at: http://deborahblake.blogspot.com/2014/02/giveaway-2-mug.html#comment-form

It's true everyone, that truly is Magic being impressed. I've seen unimpressed....every time I visit. :) More importantly, I gots to get me that mug. - See more at: http://deborahblake.blogspot.com/2014/02/giveaway-2-mug.html#comment-form

It's true everyone, that truly is Magic being impressed. I've seen unimpressed....every time I visit. :) More importantly, I gots to get me that mug. - See more at: http://deborahblake.blogspot.com/2014/02/giveaway-2-mug.html#comment-form

I don't think she cares who wins, as long as she gets treats. But I care!

You have until Midnight EST Friday night to enter the contest. The "tweet about this" option can be used every day. What are you waiting for? And don't forget to tell me what you would drink out of the mug, for extra points. I, of course, would fill it with steaming witch's brew. Magic, I'm assuming would just ask for a mug o' tuna. THE CONTEST BLOG

To preorder the book (currently on sale!) you can go HERE -- the book will be out on April 8th!

WINNER! Okay, TWO WINNERS!

I couldn't believe the response to my previous post on swag, along with a small contest. I got over 650 page views and we had more than 80 entries to the contest. I think you like the swag! (And I guess no one thought I went overboard.)

I was so happy about the response, I decided to pick TWO WINNERS! And if you didn't win this time, don't worry...there will be lots more chances as we close in on the book release on April 8th.

Drumroll, please.....thanks to random.org....the winners are:

LYNN SOREL and PAGE PENNINGTON
Congrats, ladies. They both said they wanted one of the little broom magnets, and so they shall have them! Ladies, email me at magicmysticminerva at yahoo and let me know where to send them.

What do you think...should I do another giveaway next week, or is that too soon?

Happy Friday!

Big News! Title Announcements! Giveaway! Friday!

Boy, do I have some news for you guys! I’ve known about some of this for a while, but haven’t been able to share until contracts were finalized, or other such things.

NONFICTION NEWS:

As some of you will have seen from the poll above [IT WAS A SECRET HINT!], if you ask many people which of my existing Llewellyn books is their favorite, a large majority will name The Goddess is in the Details. And to be honest, it has always been my favorite too. The Goddess is in the Details was my 3^rd book, and is far and away the best seller of them all. When it went to a 5^th printing this year (yay!), it suddenly occurred to me that I had more to say on the subject of integrating your spiritual beliefs as a Pagan with your everyday life. So I pitched the idea of a follow-up book to Elysia Gallo, my fabulous Llewellyn editor, and she loved it.

So I am really happy to announce that I will be writing that book, my 8^th for Llewellyn—which will probably come out sometime early in 2015. No name at the moment, because the one I was going to use is too close to another book coming out soon. I’ll keep you posted. I’m really excited, especially since this will probably be my last nonfiction book.

Except, that is, for a small project I just agreed to take on for Llewellyn as well.

They decided to put out a series of small books on the 8 Sabbats written by various authors (they will probably be sold as “by Llewellyn”). I’m going to be writing the book on Midsummer, and it looks like the series is going to be great fun. Here is the list of books and authors—it’s a great line-up!

Ostara – Kerri Connor

Beltane – Melanie Marquis

Midsummer – Deborah Blake

Lughnasadh/Lammas – Melanie Marquis

Mabon – Diana Rajchel

Samhain – Diana Rajchel

Yule – Susan Pesznecker

Imbolg – Kenny Klein

I’m not sure exactly when these are going to come out, since they aren’t going to be released all at one time, but I promise I will let you know when things get closer. I can’t wait to get a copy of all of them myself!

I’m also really pleased to announce that book #7 for Llewellyn, The Witch’s Broom is now available for pre-order! I hope you’ll all rush out and order one, so that Llewellyn gets the delusion that I’m popular. (Snicker.) Don’t you love that cover? (Magic the Cat thinks it is a picture of her.)

PRE-ORDER HERE

FICTION NEWS:

Lest you think that I have been ignoring the fiction side of things, I have news there too. We finally have official titles for the Baba Yaga novels, as well as the prequel novella which will be coming out in advance of the books. The 1^st book should be out in September 2014 (no final dates yet) and the second one in December 2014. And the titles are (drumroll, please):

Wickedly Magical (the novella)

Wickedly Dangerous (book 1)

Wickedly Wonderful (book 2)

I love these titles—what do you think? All the books will have something like “A Baba Yaga Book” on them, too, so people will know they are part of a series.

The first book is finished, except for final tweaks and copy edits, and the second book has been written and is off to Leis Pedersen, my lovely editor at Berkley, who will undoubtedly have a couple (hundred) revision notes for me within the next month or two.

So I’m going to be a little busy. But I am a pretty happy author, all the same. Thanks for letting me share my news with you! 

I thought I'd celebrate by doing a giveaway :-) I'm going to give a copy of The Goddess is in the Details to one lucky commenter. Just tell me what you think of the new titles, or the book cover, or the news, or whatever! I'll pick a random winner on Tuesday morning to give you all the chance to PASS THE NEWS (pretty please) over the next few days. If I get over 50 commenters, I'll give away TWO COPIES!!!!! [Don't worry--if you win and already own this book, I'll send you a different one. If you don't want a witchy book, I'll even offer you something else cool. Can't be more fair than that!]

Happy Friday!

Guest Post: Morgan Keyes DARKBEAST Giveaway!

If you are a regular reader here (and you are, right?) then you have probably heard me mention one of my favorite authors, Mindy Klasky. Mindy is not only a fabulous author, writing everything from humorous paranormal romance to traditional fantasy to contemporary romance, she is also an amazing editor (who helped me become a much better writer, back in my early days) and an over-all sweetheart.

She is also, as of this year, an author named Morgan Keyes. (Writing is the only business where they encourage you to have a split personality!) With her newest venture, a middle-grade book called DARKBEAST, written as Morgan Keyes, Mindy has given us yet another author (and book) to love.

This book is perfect for the younger reader, but make no mistake, this book is great for the adult reader too. I hope you'll help me to encourage Morgan in her newest endeavor, and spread the word about DARKBEAST. Just as we did with my contest last week, go spread the word online or click "like" on Amazon, and come back here and tell me you did it, and I will give away a book to one lucky reader. And Morgan is giving one away too--let's see what she has to say!

*

Many thanks to Deborah, for allowing me to visit and tell you about my middle grade fantasy novel, Darkbeast.  Due to the generosity of my publisher, Simon & Schuster, I will give away a copy of Darkbeast to one commenter chosen at random from all the comments made to this post by 11:59 p.m. EDT tonight.

In Darkbeast, twelve-year-old Keara runs away from home rather than sacrifice Caw, the raven darkbeast that she has been magically bound to all her life.  Pursued by Inquisitors who would punish her for heresy, Keara joins a performing troupe of Travelers and tries to find a safe haven for herself and her companion.

When Keara strikes out on the Great Road, she doesn't have a lot of survival skills.  She isn't a warrior, capable of holding her own in any physical encounter.  She isn't a shrewd merchant, able to negotiate her way in any fiscal transaction.  She isn't cloaked in the mystery of her religion, protected by sacred vows (quite the opposite, in fact!)

But Keara has a secret stash of knowledge, information so basic to her life that she scarcely thinks of it as an asset.  Keara knows herbs.  She knows which plants can heal and which can poison.  She has mastered harvesting methods and drying techniques.  She has memorized growing seasons, even for rare plants that thrive far from her home.

Keara's herblore is a gift from her strict, demanding mother.  Even though Keara would be hard-pressed to admit the truth, she has absorbed her encyclopedic knowledge through hard work and constant repetition.  Handling herbs has been necessary for most of Keara's life; it's the only way her widowed mother could support herself and her three daughters.

Throughout Darkbeast, Keara walks a narrow line about the power of herbs.  It is never precisely clear whether her plants work because she has some magical powers, or because she retains ancient, practical lore.  Keara might be reaching out to supernatural strength, or she might succeed merely because she has mastered old, forgotten ways.

While writing the novel, I reveled in this ambiguity.  I did not want to give my heroine the "flash" of magical powers – specific spells that she could recite, concrete potions that she could brew.  I wanted a greater air of mystery, a resonating note of the unknown.

To that end, I varied the herbs I mention by name.  Some, like feverfew, are very real.  Others, though, are entirely made up, with properties different from any plants in our real world.  Readers unfamiliar with herblore might not know what is real and what is created.

And that's the way I like it.  Uncertainty is one of the essential flavors of Darkbeast.  As a twelve-year-old fugitive, Keara does not have all the answers about her world.  (Sometimes, in fact, she barely knows the questions to ask.)  I enjoy putting my readers in the same circumstances, at least part of the time.

So?  What about you?   Do you find it intriguing when an author creates magic tangential to real witchcraft as it is practiced today?  Or do you find it frustrating because it runs counter to your own experience?

Morgan can be found online at:

http://www.morgankeyes.com

http://www.facebook.com/morgan.keyes.author

Darkbeast is for sale in bricks-and-mortar and online bookstores, including:  Amazon | B & N | Indiebound

Morgan Keyes grew up in California, Texas, Georgia, and Minnesota, accompanied by parents, a brother, a dog, and a cat.  Also, there were books.  Lots and lots of books.  Morgan now lives near Washington, D.C.  In between trips to the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery of Art, she reads, travels, reads, writes, reads, cooks, reads, wrestles with cats, and reads.  Because there are still books.  Lots and lots of books.

That New Book Smell! GIVEAWAY!

Look what I got today!

*insert happy dance here*

Hot off the presses, the first copies of my new book, Everyday Witch Book of Rituals along with a few cover flats (one of which I will frame and add to the collection on the wall...but the others...)

The book looks AMAZING. And it is huge; lovely and thick, and filled with cats. (And rituals, of course.) The official release date isn't until October 8th (although if you order them directly from Llewellyn, you will probably get it sooner, since obviously, they have copies in their warehouse already!) but I'm going to give away one of my precious early copies to one of my readers. Because hey--why should I be the only one doing a happy dance? I'll also give away one of the cool cover flats, too.

Here's all you have to do to win: spread the word about the book somewhere, then come back here and tell me what you did. This can be as simple as following the link above and "liking" the book on Amazon (or you can go to B & N instead, if you'd rather--they even have a "repin" option for Pinterest). Or you can post about it on Facebook or Twitter or your blog, or anyplace else where someone else might see it. Then be sure and leave a comment saying you did it, so I'll enter you. Let me know if you're rather win the book or the cover flat, or either one. The contest will run through the end of the week (ending at midnight EST on Friday) so you've got plenty of time to enter.

YAY--I love that new book smell!

How to Make an Author Happy (And a contest)

How do you make an author happy? Well, you can buy their books of course..

But posting a great review? Really makes an author's heart sing...

Look, here's another 5 Star review of WITCH EVER WAY YOU CAN
http://www.amazon.com/Witch-Ever-Way-You-ebook/dp/B006HWZPGO

Yay! *does happy dance*

If you read the book and liked it, I'd love it if you could leave a review at Amazon and/or Goodreads. The first five people to post reviews (and come back here and tell me about it) will all get their names thrown in a cauldron...and one of them will win something COOL. (Yes, that's a one in five chance of winning. Not bad, eh? Must be the Christmas spirit getting into me...)

Of course, it would also make me pretty happy if you buy a copy for yourself or a friend. But I know a lot of you are waiting on the Nook version...which has now been delayed by my pal Robin's computer getting a virus. Considering we both have colds, that adds up to three viruses too many!

Hope you're all staying healthy and warm. And as always, thanks for all your support! It really does make this author very, very happy.

CONTEST! Awards celebration book giveaway

As y'all know, I won the COVR "Visionary" Award for Best Wicca/Paganism Book with my latest, Witchcraft on a Shoestring (Llewellyn, 2010).

This seems worthy of celebration, so I've decided to hold a contest for all the lovely folks who have been kind enough to read the book. Here's how it is going to work:

The book contains, among other things, an assortment of inexpensive recipes and craft projects. Tell me what your favorite recipe or project is, or which ones you have done (along with how you did them, or what happened, or any other personal tidbit). The most interesting response will get put up on my website, and the person who submitted it will win a free autographed copy of Witchcraft on a Shoestring or any other of my books.

If you haven't read the book yet (gasp!) you can go to Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Witchcraft-Shoestring-Practicing-Without-Breaking/dp/0738721360 and check the Table of Contents for a list--then tell me which recipe or project sounds like the most fun, and why. (Feel free to buy the book while you're there...)

Contest will run through Friday, so you have plenty of time to think about it, and spread the word (pretty please).

Thanks to all for your congratulations! They warmed this Witch's cold, cold heart :-)

Happy Release Day to Me--Contest & book giveaway!

Happy release day to me!

July first is the official release date for my fourth book, EVERYDAY WITCH A TO Z SPELLBOOK.

[Does happy dance.]

If you ask any author, they will tell you that no matter how many books they have out, it never gets any less exciting to have a new one hit the bookstores. It’s also a little scary. What if people don’t like this one? What if it gets bad reviews? What if no one buys it?

These things rarely happen, however, and I’m in favor of celebration over trepidation. So let’s have a virtual party here at the blog! I hope you’ll join me. There might even be cake…

In honor of the book’s release, I’m going to run a new contest. (This is in addition to the current contest, where to win all you have to do is be the first person to send me a picture of the book out in the world somewhere—at a bookstore, the library, or on your table at home.) There are three prizes:

Prize one is a signed copy of the new shiny book! Yay!
Prize two is a signed copy of my first book, CIRCLE, COVEN & GROVE: A YEAR OF MAGICKAL PRACTICE.
Prize three is something a little different. My publisher Llewellyn always sends me a cover flat of each book—the cover in flat form, suitable for framing. Very cool. Well, this time, they sent me a few extras. So one lucky person will win a signed cover flat of the Spellbook!

Here’s the way the contest is going to run. You can do as little or as much as you have the time and inclination for, and the more you do, the more points you earn. The person with the most points gets prize 1, the next gets prize 2, etc. In the case of more than one person with the same amount of points, I’ll pull names out of a hat to see who wins.

To get one point, all you have to do is leave a comment here. Easy peazy! [And you could still win if that’s all anyone choses to do.]

To get more points, you can do any or all of the following:

Post a link to either this blog or to the book (I’ll put links to Amazon and Llewellyn at the bottom of the page) on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or your blog. 1 point for every place you post it. [Be sure to come back and tell me you did it, and where!]

Buy the book anywhere you like (Amazon, B &N, Llewellyn.com. your local Indy bookstore) then email me a receipt proving you did so. Good for twenty points. And my eternal gratitude.

Keep in mind that you don’t HAVE to buy the book. Ever.

I hope you’ll help me celebrate the book’s release! And thanks for all your support—I really do appreciate you walking the path with me.

Deborah

Here is the Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Witch-Spellbook-Wonderfully-Blessings/dp/0738719706/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277946896&sr=1-1

And here is the Llewellyn link:
(You can still get 15% off until the end of the day June 30th.)
http://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738719702