Updates, Thank You, and an End of Year Blow-Out Giveaway

Well, it has been a hell of a year, hasn't it?

Raise your hand if you're glad it's almost over...

I won't kid you--this was a tough one for me. I lost Magic the Cat and her brother Mystic in early January, then my friend (and stepdaughter's mom) Jo in February, my friend Bethany in October, and one of my favorite artists, Gail, last month. And a friend lost his 10 year old son. Plus I had some unexpected health issues, and frustrations with my writing career, and you know, stuff.

But don't get me wrong. There were a lot of good things too. Time spent with family and friends, including a fun trip to Coastal Magic in February and to Stuart, Florida in September to hang out with my friend Terry (and do research for a book). And I got three new kitties!

On the writing front, I've had a blast working on the upcoming Everyday Witch Oracle Card deck with illustrator Elisabeth Alba, and of course, just signed a contract with St. Martin's Press for a goddess empowerment book for women that I will be starting work on in the new year. I'm hoping to write and self-publish another Baba Yaga book in 2019, too.

I am blessed with great friends, and readers who support me here, and on Facebook and Twitter, and over on my PATREON. I can't even begin to express my gratitude to you all. Authors are nothing without their readers. (Speaking of which, if you've read one of my books this year and liked it, I would be REALLY GRATEFUL if you could zip over to Amazon, Goodreads, or B&N and leave a brief review. Especially for the Little Book of Cat Magic, which only ended up with nine sad little reviews, probably because of the mess that occurred when it came out in October, and for Dangerously Driven, my most recent Riders novella. Pretty please? Thanks in advance!)

As a thank you, I'm going to do one more big blow-out giveaway to end 2018 on a positive note! There are going to be not one, not two, but FIVE prizes, so more people will have a chance to win. Check out this pile of goodies.

All the prizes!

The grand prize is a Fire Tablet! (You know, so you have something to read my books on...). There is also a $10 Amazon gift card (so you can buy more books), and signed copies of A Year and a Day of Everyday Witchcraft (to start your year off right), Circle, Coven & Grove (my first book), and Reinventing Ruby (my contemporary foodie romance). Plus some fun bookmarks and things.

But wait, you might say, two of those covers look different! Good eye. Thanks to my assistant Sierra, we've finally got Circle, Coven & Grove out in PRINT (I got my rights back from Llewellyn when it went out of print, but we hadn't gotten around to putting out a print version with the new cover by Mickie Mueller until now), and changed the cover of REINVENTING RUBY to something we thought better reflected it's romance themes. Don't they look great?

Ta da!

What do you think?

Tell me what the best part of 2018 was for you--and I hope to see you in 2019. Thanks again!

(To enter, simply fill in the Rafflecopter form. No purchase necessary.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Visit from a Long Lost Friend

Okay--she wasn't actually lost. We knew right where she was. But it wasn't here. My friend Kathy, who inspired the fire tower watcher in Wickedly Powerful (and did an amazing job of answering questions about how the whole thing worked, so Sam was as realistic as I could make him) lived here 8-9 years ago. She was a beloved member of Blue Moon Circle, and we all pined when she left to return to Arizona to help out her daughters and grandchildren (and spend some summers up in the fire tower in Wyoming). The last trip she took out here was five years ago, which was WAY too long a time.

Recently, she came back for a two-week visit, staying with me and hanging out with me and a bunch of other Blue Moon Circle peeps. She spent a lot of time bird watching (adding 9 new birds to her lifetime list, some of whom I STILL haven't seen), and we talking (er...ranted) politics, and watched movies, and had BBQs. We even did a Lammas ritual that got some of the gang together again. It was lovely. I couldn't have asked for a nicer house guest or a better two weeks. Even if I didn't get nearly as much work done while she was here, of course. Here are a few pictures from our time together:

Meet Kathy!

She helped out in the garden, since she missed having one, and my knee still doesn't kneel.

Chris and Kathy chatting on the back deck in the evening.

BBQ at Chris's house. She made ribs in the smoker. OMG

Bobbie, Kathy, Chris, and Robin

I have no idea what was wrong with my face in this picture! Maybe I was thinking about her leaving again, since this was her last day.

I hope she doesn't wait another five years for her next visit. The guest bedroom awaits you, Kathy!

Don't Try This At Home

So, you might have noticed that things have been a bit quiet over here lately. There's a reason for this. (Those of you who follow me on Facebook probably already know what it is.) Last Saturday, I tried out my new contortionist act, and it didn't go well.

Okay, that's not exactly what happened. It seemed like a simple plan. I ordered a new futon to replace the really beat up hand-me-down twin mattress and box spring in the upstairs guest bedroom (aka "the room where Luna lives"). I cleaned the room, put Luna and her litter box in the other upstairs room, and when the futon arrived, my lovely friend John came over with his truck so he could help me carry down the old mattresses, take them to the dump, and then put together the futon--mostly in preparation for a visit this summer by my daughter Jennifer, but also because Luna had reduced the already crappy mattresses to this:

Gee, I don't know why Jenn didn't want to keep sleeping on these...

So John and I very carefully carried the top of the mattress down the stairs and put it in his truck. Very carefully, because I have steep, narrow, treacherous old farmhouse stairs.

Nice paint job, huh? I did that. That's the landing and the top three stairs.

 Then we went back for the box spring...and things went HORRIBLY WRONG.

I swear, I was being really careful. I've lived in this house for 14 1/2 years and I know how tricky the stairs are. And yet, somehow, while John was at the bottom of the stairs with one end of the box spring, and I was coming down the top with the other end, I missed a step. (Note how tall the steps are. Old farmhouses. They really are trying to kill you.) So my left foot ended up on the landing, while my right foot was still on the second stair up.

There might have been screaming. (John swears there wasn't cursing, but I'm not sure I believe him.) In short, I twisted/torqued/screwed the crap out of my right knee. Ow.

I could tell as soon as I did it that it was Very Bad. Sometimes you just know. We got ice on it right away. I took arnica. Wrapped it with an Ace bandage while we quickly ran to the dump, and stayed off of it the best I could while we put together the futon. [Which wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but after all this, the damned thing is staying. Jenn, you better love it. I'm just sayin'.]

I was pretty sure I hadn't torn anything, although it can be tough to tell. The knee blew up like a balloon (and not one of those fun, party balloons) but didn't turn black and blue, and my former-nurse friend agreed with me that if I went to Urgent Care, they'd basically charge me a lot of money to tell me to R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevate) plus take ibuprofen, all of which I was already doing. So this has pretty much been my week:

Couch, ice packs, borrowed quad-cane, a bunch of pillows. Watching the unseasonable snow come down outside the window.

I can't drive--hell, I can barely walk--so I had to find people to fill in for me at work. (Which they very kindly did.) Friends have brought me food, helped to feed Luna upstairs (I can get up the stairs, but it ain't pleasant), put out birdseed, brought me an Ace compression bandage, even today, helped me wash my hair in the sink, since I can't get in and out of the large cast iron tub that holds my shower.

My friend John took me to acupuncture on Tuesday, where my acupuncturist (who happens to be a neurologist most of the time) confirmed that I was doing all the right things, and that unless it still wasn't improving in a couple of weeks, there wasn't much point in going to the doctor. Mostly, he said, it was going to take time. Probably a lot of time. Bah.

There have been a few compensations:

Kitties to keep me company, and good books to read. Thankfully, I have a LOT of books on the TBR shelf.

I thought I'd get a lot of writing done, but to be honest, the first few days I mostly just lay on the couch and read. Apparently your body doesn't like it when you throw it down the stairs. Go figure.

I'm finally starting to get a little bit of writing done, and my editor loved the manuscript I sent her for DANGEROUSLY CHARMING, so the copy edits are done on that--whew. Now I'm working on Gregori's story, which we're calling DANGEROUSLY DIVINE, and spending a lot of quality time with ice packs, not getting much of anything done. Sigh.

Did I mention? Don't try this at home, kids.

I think I should do some kind of giveaway. (Even though it will be a while before I can get to the post office to mail it out.) How about the signed book of the winner's choice to the person who comes up with the most entertaining/amusing/clever suggestion for what to do with myself while I'm laid up? Keep it clean, people. I'm injured here.

One Saturday in May

It's a well-known fact that I spend most of my days off at home--usually writing, sometimes working in the garden (more about that in my next post) . But yesterday, the first Saturday in May, was an exception.

My lovely friend Rob owns a store called Imagicka in Binghamton (a little over an hour away from me) and I'd promised him that once the snow melted I'd come do a book signing. (I did one there last year after The Witch's Broom came out, and it went really well; Imagicka is a fabulous Pagan/New Age shop, so the folks who go there are my peeps.) Since the signing fell right after my birthday and Beltane, we kind of went with that theme, and I baked some Beltane cupcakes and brought flowers to give out to everyone who came. One fan even brought me a present (as if driving an hour and a half to see me wasn't gift enough) and another friend of mine drove all the way from New Jersey to see me, although she swore that it was at least in part because she needed an excuse to get out of the house!

Here are a few pictures from the signing:

Me and the lovely Rob. You can see a little bit of how cool the shop is.

Niala, who brought not only a gift for me, but one for my friend Jo who is recovering from a heart attack and is stuck in rehab. Niala said she'd been there and knew what it felt like. How sweet! I have the best readers!

The fabulous April S., who I met last year at RoberCon, with Jennifer and Leigh

My pal Karen who is a Betty (some of you know what that means) and came a long way to see me! As you can see here, I sold a bunch of the novels, too, not just the Llewellyn books.

My best bud Ellen, who kindly does the driving so I don't have to and is generally a good sport. We always have a great time together.

Beltane cupcakes

Beltane flowers, being checked out by Luna

 One of the reasons I like doing signings at Imagicka is that my friends Robin and George and their kids Sophie and Nate live about fifteen minutes from there, on the way home. So Ellen and I got to go hang out with them after the signing and have a fun belated birthday/May Day BBQ. Because of Life Stuff on both sides and the horribleness of the Winter from Hell, we hadn't seen each other since Yule Dinner Party--WAY too long! Getting to spend time with my favorite kids in the world (and their fabulous parents) made the day perfect.

This was us, so there were three different kinds of dessert :-)

The only one not squinting was Nate, who was smart enough to put on his sunglasses.

Sophie showing off one of their new ducklings, brought home that very morning.

One of our patented Aunt Debbie and the kids silly face photos

Sophie showing off their cool fire pit. No, we didn't light it with her on there. Or at all, alas.

Nate wanted me to watch him mow the lawn (with dad George's help)

My beautiful birthday flowers, picked out by Sophie because she thought they looked like fire. Very fitting, since the Baba Yaga book I'm working on right now revolves around fire!

Home again, around 8 PM--the moon looked amazing in the pre-dusk sky. We could see it our entire drive back, even though it was still light out.

All in all, a wonderful Saturday. What did you do this on your Saturday?

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.

Rober-Con and Home Again

I spent this last weekend at Rober-Con, a fairly new SF convention in Binghamton, NY--but not as just a con-goer. I was actually invited to be a guest author and presenter, and took part in four panels, as well as doing a book reading. I'm not going to lie--I had a blast. It was pretty cool to finally be a published fiction author out there in the world.

The panel on Worldbuilding, with Jill Schultz, me, Joshua Palmatier, Laura Anne Gilman, and moderator and con-Goddess Crystal Sarakas

My best pal Ellen and I drove (well, she drove, because I fall asleep behind the wheel after about 30 minutes, which is annoying as hell...especially to innocent bystanders), since it was only about an hour and 15 minutes from my house. We stayed overnight so we could go out to dinner with the con organizer and some of the other authors, and not have to make the drive back and forth. As with most cons, it was exciting and exhausting, and a few little things didn't go as smoothly as you'd like them to, but for an only-two-year-old con, it was amazingly well run. All my panels were well attended, and I had a wonderful time hanging out with the author Guest of Honor, Laura Anne Gilman. Laura Anne and I had never met before, but we had about a zillion author pals in common, which was nice. She was an editor before she became an author, and she knows more about the writing biz than just about anyone I have ever met.

Me, Joshua Palmatier, and Laura Anne--we look pretty shifty here, but it was really end-of-con exhaustion. Laura Anne joked that only two of us had gotten the shirt color memo :-)

 One of the great things about going to a con this close to home was that some of my Binghamton-area pals could come, including my friend Robin and her kids Sophie and Nate (my goddess-children), who had a blast at their first con.

My friend Rob came too, only to feed me to author April Steenburgh's Bag of Death. It got poor Laura Anne, too.

The con took place at the lovely (albeit confusing to get around in) Roberson Museum, which was filled with costumed folks, cool authors, and fabulous vendors. (Yes, I bought some used books--why do you ask?) I had a fabulous time, and plan to return in future years if they continue to invite me.

But one of the BEST moments happened on the trip home, when my friend Ellen managed to surprise me (not easy to do when you're a psychic). We'd stopped in the museum's gift shop on our way in on the second day, and I spotted a cool blue stuffed dragon. I'd been sort of thinking of picking it up as both a memento of the con and as tribute to Chudo-Yudo, the dragon characters in my books.

Alas, when I went back for it at the end of the day, it was gone. And they'd only had one. (I know, because as soon as I saw it was gone, I suddenly realized how much I'd wanted it--you know how that happens--and had the gift shop staff check their inventory. But nope, only one, and it had sold.) So I settled on a cute little black one instead.

He IS cute, isn't he? I'm thinking I might have to have a contest to name him.

 So we're driving home, and stop so I can have a pitstop. And when I get back into the car, Ellen says in a mysterious voice, "You know, I think the Force has shifted in this car." Needless to say, I had no idea what she was talking about... And then she pulled a bag off of the top of this mound sitting between the two front seats, and there was THE BLUE DRAGON!

He's going to need a name too.

 I couldn't believe she'd managed to buy it earlier in the day (the liar told me she was going off in search of a bottle of water) and then managed to sneak him into the car trunk without me knowing. It made me absurdly happy :-)

And now it looks like I have the beginnings of a collection. I don't normally collect things (although I have always liked dragons, and actually have a few already), but I believe I'm going to have to make an exception.

TWO! And clearly just the beginning...

In short, I had a fabulous weekend. I took today off to recover, but tomorrow, things go back to (coff) normal. In other words, I'll be writing.

Book Release Party and Guest Blogs

I had a fabulous Book Release Celebration Party on Sunday (which worked out well, since I could clean the house on Saturday, have the party on Sunday, and recover on Monday!). A fitting 13 people come to help me celebrate this landmark--the release of my debut novel, Wickedly Dangerous.

To be honest, I almost didn't bother to have a party. I'm not much on being the center of attention, and I'm a wee bit tired and burned out from all the promo and preparation leading up to the actual release day, Tuesday the 2nd.

But I finally decided, what the hell, you only have ONE debut novel, right? So I invited a few of the folks who have been so supportive for so long, and who live within driving distance. Of course, they couldn't all make it, but the ones who did brought yummy food to share, and the company was great. I felt very, very lucky. And not just because of this...

Pals Rebecca and Jim brought this amazing Chocolate Guinness Stout cake from their favorite bakery

The gang, cheering for the book (along with my posters sent by Berkley)

More cheering, with me in the middle

My gorgeous sister Sarah came all the way from Niskayuna for the party

I hated to cut into the cake. And yes, that poster has legs.

My charming and handsome pal Rob came from Binghamton. And brought pomegranate mead!

It was a fabulous day...but now I'm back to work. I hope you'll come visit me at a couple of places online where I'm guest-blogging (or just being talked about) today.

I'm the guest of Nancy Hunter at the very cool Eight Ladies Writing blog, which features eight different writers from four states and three continents. Come see what I have to say in my guest blog, and leave me a question or a comment (you know, so they won't think I have NO friends).

Author pal Alex Bledsoe, who was one of the people who read early and gave my publishers a blurb for the book cover, is talking about me over on his blog Alex's Blog. I have no idea what he is going to say...hopefully it will be something nice!

Important Advance Head's Up!
I am going to be doing a live chat and giveaway of a $50 Amazon Gift Card on Tuesday, release day, over at Bitten By Books
Follow this link to RSVP early, and get an extra 25 points towards the contest!

And I'm going to have a special surprise for you all on release day, as well as one last big giveaway, so be sure to come by and say hi! We can have a party then too...but I'm afraid you'll have to bring your own cake!