Big Huge Wonderful News

First of all, some smaller but still great news--I found out last week that Freya, the mama cat I fostered (and Diana's mother) was finally adopted from the shelter. She went to a house with no other cats, which is what she really wanted, and I am sure she is going to make her new person really happy. She was a great mama and a really sweet cat, but after being a stray, she was too defensive with other cats in her territory to be able to stay here, even if I hadn't thought six cats was even crazier than five... So this was absolutely fabulous news, and it made me almost as happy as my other news. Almost.

As many of you know, I lost my contract with Berkley for the fiction books (Baba Yaga and Rider series) about three years ago. Since then I have been diligently writing and sending out partials of various novels (contemporary romance, humorous romance, women's fiction) to various publishers, with no luck. Lots of great rejections telling me they loved my writing, but it is a very tight market, yada yada yada. (I have lots of other author friends in the same position, so I in no way take this personally. Publishing is tough right now.)

I was, in fact, beginning to worry that my fiction career was over, although thankfully the nonfiction is still going strong. (Did I mention that I love you people?) I dabbled a little bit in self-publishing, but I just don't write fast enough to be a success at that.

Last October, my agent Elaine sent out a partial manuscript for a book that was something completely new and different for me. She had suggested that my voice would be a good fit for cozy mysteries. To be honest, I kind of thought she was crazy. But if you have a good agent, you try and do what they say.

Last week, we got word from Berkley's mystery imprint that they wanted the first three books in the "Rundown Rescue" series. So ladies and gentlemen--I'm BACK!

Who is celebrating with me?

Meet Harry Dresden

As you know, I lost my beloved brother and sister cats, Mystic and Magic, within nine days of each other recently. To say that I am grieving would be a huge understatement. My house, which until a few years ago, had five cats in it, only had one. Not only was poor Angus not made to be an only cat (he has always been with other cats, first at the shelter and then here, and was often curled up on the bed with his buddy Mystic), but I was pretty sure they were going to kick me out of the Crazy Cat Lady Union.

Normally, I wait a bit longer to get a new cat after losing one, but the house was SO DAMNED EMPTY. After Magic died, I had already started looking for new cats, although at the time I had planned to wait until after Mystic was gone, not realizing that would happen so soon.

I happened across a cool local rescue organization called Super Heroes in Ripped Jeans when  my friend Ellen and I were at the mall one day and they were there with a bunch of cats. These folks do spay and neuter and find foster homes for both cats and dogs until they can be adopted. They're completely made up of volunteers and funded by donations. So I thought I might look for a cat with them instead of the shelter, when it came time. After I lost Magic, I looked at their pictures of adoptable cats on Facebook and saw a little 4 1/2 month old guy named Ocean. He was black, and the ocean IS my happy place, and I had asked Magic before she died to help me find my next kitties. So I went to go visit him at his foster home.

He ran around for a while with the other kittens there, and then tried to get into the pocket of my coat where it was lying on the floor. His foster mom Kristen and I joked that he was trying to go home with  me already. I explained to her that I really wasn't sure what was happening with Mystic, and I had another couple of cats to see that my friend Nancy had found, so I couldn't promise to take him. But it looked pretty possible, since he was a very sweet boy.

Then he came over, sat on my lap, and promptly fell asleep. I know when I've been chosen.

So cute!

 Here is a picture of me with him. I look terrible, because I'd been weeping for days. But he looks cute.

When I had to put Mystic to sleep the following Friday, the house was so unbearably lonely and empty, I actually went and picked up the then-named Ocean that evening. Luckily, I had already been approved for adoption.

He has been adjusting well, all things considered. He's a bit mouthy, and has a tendency to get into trouble, but he is also sweet as can be and there is no one you would rather have by your side when you're feeling sad. So in keeping with the magical theme of the household, and in honor of one of my favorite fictional wizards, he has been named Harry Dresden.

In the office

Angus spent the first few days hissing and running away, but they are slowly getting used to each other. I think it is going to work out.

Oh, okay.

Harry Dresden turned five months old on the fifteenth, and it is um, interesting, getting used to all that wild young energy after having a house full of older cats for so long. He has two seven month old companions who will be joining him at the beginning of February from a different rescue organization (seriously-- Crazy Cat Lady Union rules!) and hopefully they'll all wear each other out.

In the meanwhile, say hello to Harry!

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!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodies, Good News, and Giveaways

As of Tuesday September 20th, we're two weeks away from the release of the first Rider book, DANGEROUSLY CHARMING! (And not to get you excited or anything, but the print version is on sale right now at Amazon. Click the link to see.) What does that mean? Well, sadly, it means that for the next two weeks you are going to get a whole lot of me saying, "OMG, did you see this giveaway?" On the up side, GIVEAWAYS! But feel free to just wander away for the next few weeks and come back after, if you get bored. I promise I won't take it personally.

The truth is, for those of you who don't know much about the business end of publishing, the advance pre-orders and the sales in the first week that the book is available tend to pretty much make-or-break the success of the book. (Which doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it later, if that's what works for you!) For those of you who have been asking me if Berkley is going to buy the third book in the Riders series (they've already bought the second one, DANGEROUSLY DIVINE, out in November 2017), that first week may well decide it. But that's only part of why I'm doing so much promotional work on DANGEROUSLY CHARMING. I love this book, and I hope you'll love it too, and it is just possible I got a little carried away buying swag and goodies. I'm not quite sure how I'll give them all away. But I'm going to give it my best shot!

So, here is a sneak peak at a few of the goodies I'm going to be giving away both here on my blog and elsewhere :-)

Tote bags and notebooks and magnets OH MY

Specially made Dangerously Charming key chains with little motorcycles

Amazon gift cards

Advanced Reader Copies

All of these are in limited supply, so I'm going to have to pick and chose where I give them away, but I also have two of these:

Not the cat. There is only one Magic the Cat, Queen of the Universe

Yes, those are Kindle Fire HD Tablets!

I'm giving the first one away at Fresh Fiction, in a contest going on all month HERE. The other one will be given away here on my blog at a giveaway that runs the last week, starting Tuesday, September 27th, so be sure to check back.

My lovely publisher Berkley is giving away FIFTEEN COPIES of the book on Goodreads, in a giveaway that ends on the 30th. (USA only, alas.) Check it out HERE

I'm also going to be bopping around the Interwebs, showing up at various places in the next few weeks, almost all of which will also include giveaways. I'll try and remember to keep you posted. But you definitely will want to check out LITERARY ESCAPISM on September 28th, since I've written a short-short story featuring Mikhail Day, just for them. (And you.)

Tune in tomorrow to see what I'm giving away here on the blog next. You know, unless you're bored already with this...

OMG, he's PERTY

 Oh, and the good news part. I can't remember if I shared this here yet or not (between the writing and the promo, I'm kind of fuzzy). RT Reviews gave DANGEROUSLY CHARMING a 4 1/2 star review and named it a Top Pick for October. This is a really big deal, and made me uber-happy. It might have also caused me to get a bit carried away with the goodies... So blame them.

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?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Circle, Coven & Grove--It's Baaaaackkkk!

I have good news for those of you have been asking me how you can get a print copy of my first book, CIRCLE, COVEN & GROVE, which went out of print a couple of years ago. Llewellyn has just re-released it in print, and it is available at AMAZON and a bunch of other places (plus you can now ask your local Indy bookstore to order it for you). Of course, it is still out in Kindle form with its cool Mickie Mueller cover from me, too, HERE.

I'm admittedly pretty happy to have it back, in part because I always had a soft spot for my first baby, and in part because this means I can say that all my books are still in print, which is kind of cool.

Welcome back, baby!

Do you have a copy in print? Or as an eBook? Or are you as excited as I am to see this book is available in print again?

What do you think, should I give away one of my copies?

Some Good News

We're still working on the contract for the Super Sekrit Project, but we're getting closer, so hopefully I can announce something soon...

In the meanwhile, I have a few other bits of good news.

I found out from my agent (who found out from my editor) that Wickedly Dangerous hit Barnes and Nobles romance mass market bestseller list for the last two weeks in a row, topping out at #5 last week! Can I get a WOOT!?

Circle, Coven & Grove is still doing really well (it was at #59 in Kindle Wicca and Witchcraft last time I checked). Big thanks to everyone who bought either one! (And especially to those who put up nice reviews.)

And because I am Just That Nice (yes, I really am) I decided to put up a copy of Wickedly Dangerous for a Goodreads Giveaway. I wasn't sure if people would still be interested in such a thing, but since I got 112 entries today and I haven't even announced it yet, I guess they are :-)

It is open to USA and Canada residents, so if you haven't already bought the book (WHAT???), go ahead and enter!

 
 

    Goodreads Book Giveaway
 

   

       
   

   

     

          Wickedly Dangerous
     

     

          by Deborah Blake
     

     

         
            Giveaway ends October 18, 2014.
         

         
            See the giveaway details
            at Goodreads.
         

     

   

   

      Enter to win

Big BIG News! (Yes THAT Big News!)

In case you wondered what Magic the Cat was looking so secretive about this morning...

I have a two book deal for my novel, THE BABA YAGA, and it's sequel, with Berkley Publishing!

Yes, there is some major happy dancing going on at my house.

As most of you know, I wrote my 1st book for Llewellyn in 2005 and it came out in 2007. Six other books on witchcraft followed, including THE WITCH'S BROOM, which will be out in about a year. During this time, I also wrote seven novels. I spent a couple of years polishing the first one, then two years submitting to agents. And being rejected, over and over again, until happily, I signed with the fabulous Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency. That was three years, one month, and 4 days ago. Not that anyone's counting. (Ahem.) In those three years, we sent out four novels. And they were rejected, over and over again. Usually with absolutely great rejections that praised my writing. But still. Book four, which went out in mid-January, was a modern fairy tale/fantasy romance called THE BABA YAGA.

And thankfully, editor Leis Pedersen at Berkley loved it! (And the idea for the next book in the series.)

 

  

More happy dancing.

The reason I mentioned all of this, rather than just shouting

I FINALLY SOLD A NOVEL, WHOO HOO!!!!

(Although there is a little bit of that) is to say to those of you who are still out there trying to get published...

don't give up! Some day it will happen for you too! And we'll all join you in doing the happy dance too.

Did I mention YAY I FINALLY SOLD A NOVEL (well two)?!

I owe huge thanks to Elaine (YAY #AgentWin). But also to my many writer pals who have encouraged and mentored me along the way--they made the journey a lot more fun and contributed to my ending up here.

So, what do y'all think I should do to celebrate? I'm thinking some kind of giveaway, so everyone can celebrate with me. Because, you know
I FINALLY SOLD A NOVEL! WHOOOOO HOOOOOO!

   

 

Finished! Snow! And Your Feline Friday Fix!

In today's news...

I finished writing the new Llewellyn book, A Broom for Every Witch, last night! Huzzah! (Working title only, of course. These things change.)

Happy dance time!

I'll spend today (and maybe some of this weekend, depending on how long it takes), reading over the manuscript for boo boos [yes, that IS the technical writing term, why do you ask?], and then send it off to Elysia, my fabulous editor. Who started doing her happy dance last night when I messaged her on Facebook to tell her it was done :-)

In other news, they're calling for snow here. A LOT of snow, although not nearly as much as Boston and some of the other coastal areas are looking at. I've seen reports ranging from 6 inches to 16 inches. Er, I'd like to put in my vote for less, please?

On the bright side, I should be home well before the worst of it hits, and have no place I need to be tomorrow, so I should be fine except for the shoveling... And I'm sure it will be pretty. Also, in even more news, it's winter in upstate NY. So, there you have it.

If you live in the area that's being hit by snow, check in and let me know you're okay tomorrow, yes? You know how much I worry.

And here it is, your Feline Friday fix! That's Samhain on top of the pellet stove. She seems to have nabbed it as her spot this winter, and who can blame her? Stay warm! Stay safe! Have a great weekend.

BIG NEWS!

Hey all!

Just a quick note to let you all know that I just signed a contract with Llewellyn for BOOK #7! Huzzah!!!!!

Thanks to my lovely editor Elysia Gallo (who suggested the idea) and my lovely agent Elaine Spencer (who takes care of all that tricky paperwork so I don't have to), I will soon be hard at work on:

A Broom for Every Witch: The Legends, Lore, and Craft of Broomstick Magic
(Keep in mind, this is just a tentative title, and may change before the book comes out.)
The book will probably be coming in some time in Winter of 2014

Of course, I would usually do some sort of big giveaway to celebrate the news...but er...I'm already doing one :-)

So here's a little something special to add on top of that one!

I will give away a copy of the new Everyday Witch Book of Rituals book to someone who does the following:

1) Buys the book and/or tells me they've already bought it and/or emails me a picture of themselves with the book (this can be in a bookstore, if you don't want to purchase the book). Send the pictures to me at magicmysticminerva at yahoo (I will probably put them up here, so let me know if you don't want your picture up, or send me one of your cat with the book instead--lol)

OR

2) Signs up for the upcoming Celebrating Samhain and Ritual Basics Class or tells me they've already done so.

OR

3) Puts up a review of the most recent book or any of my other books (nonfiction or fiction) at Amazon, B&N or Goodreads

4) Follows this blog, if you don't already

Note that it is not required that you purchase anything to take part in this giveaway.

And don't forget to comment here to tell me about 1, 2, 3,or 4 so I'll be sure to enter you! This giveaway is only good until Sunday at 6 PM, when the registration for the class closes. I'll announce the winner then. 

YAY! BOOK # 7!!!!!!! 
     

The Russians are Coming! And Timely Reminders

I got something cool in the mail yesterday from my publishers, Llewellyn. Check it out:

Don't worry if you're having a hard time reading it--it's not you :-) What you're looking at is the Russian version on my third book, The Goddess is in the Details You can click on the link to see what it looks like here.

How cool is that? (Giggle.)

Also, a quick reminder: I will be on the radio (an online podcast, too, or you can listen through your phone at 1-858-683-1309) Saturday night, 9-10 PM EST at http://drjohnradio.com/

And my next online witchcraft class (also useful for those writing witchy characters) starts Monday morning. But registrations closes at 6 PM EST Sunday night, so if you wanted to take it, better go sign up now!
 Workshop Info and Sign Up

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend,
Deborah heading out to the garden

Cool News in Publishers Weekly--Llewellyn and Yours Truly

Some of you have heard me talk about my (not so) sekret project -- something new coming out from Llewellyn right before the next book.

So you can imagine how tickled I was to find out that I was mentioned in a Publishers Weekly article about the new cool thing!

Llewellyn launches eshorts program

Look ma, I'm *famous* :-)

Great News! I'm the Writer's Digest Website of the Week!

*Happy dance*

Okay, I'm calm. Really I am. (No, no--I'm not.) I just got notified that this little blog o' mine was chosen to be the Writer's Digest website of the week! Now, if you are involved even the tiniest bit with the art and craft of writing, you are familiar with the Writer's Digest, the best magazine for writing advice, wisdom, and great interviews. (They also put out many fabulous books for authors and aspiring authors, quite a few of which I own.) In short--they're a writer's best friend.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to get an email from the amazing Brian Klems (follow him on Twitter, he's very clever) telling me that they had chosen this blog for their Website of the Week. If you go to Writers Digest and look at the bottom right of the page, there I am! *Happy dance*

Wow--this really  makes me feel like I am doing something right! (Also, probably, something write.)

On top of this, the website is going to hit 30,000 views sometime in the next couple of days! Holy crap! I might just have to give something away to celebrate. What do people want? A signed witchcraft book? A free download of the paranormal romance? Or a surprise gift...

Thank you all so much for accompanying me on this amazing journey! And thank you, Brian--you made my damned day!  

New! My Own Witchy & Writing Workshop Loop

As many of you know, I have been giving online writing classes for the last few years, usually on loops run by RWA chapters such as the Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal Chapter or the Low Country RWA. I've also done quite a few on Savvy Authors (and will be giving my only regular online writing class there in April). My most popular classes have been "Witchcraft for the Paranormal Author" and "Beyond Fangs: Creating New & Interesting Paranormal Characters."

I think I see a trend here...

But lots of the folks who follow me aren't writers, and there have been numerous requests for me to give classes about Witchcraft, too. *Bows in the general direction of the internet* So, with the help of the wonderful Heather Long (another great author and fellow-traveler at many a blog and loop), I have finally started my own workshop loop, "Deborah Blake Witchcraft and Workshops."

This loop will be dedicated to short workshops (usually 3-5 days in length, since the regular online classes run 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, and take way too much time away from my writing) on the topics of Witchcraft and writing. Most of the classes will be given by me, but there may be the occasional guest teacher as well. We'll be starting out with the requested basic Witchcraft classes, and if those are successful and there is enough demand, I'll add in some advanced Witchcraft, and maybe an abbreviated version of my writing classes as well.

There's even a blog for the workshop here http://witchywritingwithdeborahblake.blogspot.com/ which will give you the latest info, as well as links to sign up and pay for the classes, if you are interested in taking them. Most classes will cost $15. I might even occasionally run a contest to give away a spot, if y'all are nice...

The first class will be held January 23rd-25th (there will always be an additional day after the class when I am available for questions, as well). It is a basic "Intro to Witchcraft" workshop, suitable for anyone who wants to learn about modern Witchcraft. [Note: It really is an intro class, so if you've been practicing for a while, this class probably covers things you know already. Although you're always welcome to come visit anyway!]

If you want to decide if the Pagan path might suit you, need to know the basics for a Witchy character you are writing, or just want to learn about modern Witchcraft, this class is for you. I hope to see you there! Just go to the link above to sign up.

I'd also like to know what other classes people might want me to give in the future. February's class is "The Basics of Spell Casting," but after that, I'm open to suggestions. So tell me--what do you want to learn about that I might be able to teach?

The Nook Version is out! And "Review" Contest

Hurrah!

For all of those who requested a Nook version of my paranormal romance ebook, WITCH EVER WAY YOU CAN--here it is!

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/witch-ever-way-you-can-deborah-blake/1108034353?ean=2940013854659

Be sure to post a review once you've read it, and then come back here and tell me you've done it, so I can enter you in the contest. Contest ends at the end of December, though, so you'd better read fast!

Thanks again for all your enthusiastic support of this book--and me. It really means a lot.

BIG NEWS about the Next Llewellyn Book (and Feline Friday)

I have some very cool news about the next book (#6, in case anyone is counting) from Llewellyn.

You may remember me mentioning it some time ago, when it still had the working title of 50 Rituals for the Everyday Witch. Well, as often happens in publishing, when the theoretically-finished manuscript got sent to my acquisitions editor, the fabulous Elysia Gallo, Things Changed.

Most notably, she looked at the manuscript and said, "Um, dude, this is WAY too long." So it was decided to cut the entire last section--12 rituals for everyday use--leaving us with 38 rituals that covered New Moons, Full Moons, Sabbats, and special occasions (like handfastings, Wiccanings, and the like). And the need to come up with a new title, since "38 Rituals for the Everyday Witch" just sounded lame.

So, I'd like to announce (DRUMROLL PLEASE) that the new book,
Everyday Witch Book of Rituals: All You Need for a Magickal Year
will be coming out in October of 2012 (probably--these things can change too). Yay!

But wait--there's MORE.

Because Elysia and I thought it was a pity not to do something with those other 12 rituals. So we're doing something new, and putting them out as a mini-ebook called A Witch's Dozen. I'm not sure when this will happen; probably sometime before the main book comes out. I'll let you know when I hear more. But isn't it COOL????

*happy author dance* Is anyone else as excited about this as I am?

And here, with no further ado, is your Feline Friday pic--this is little Samhain, snuggling under the covers in her room upstairs (which is colder than the rest of the house). Hapy Friday, and have a wonderful weekend!

A Report on Samhain (the cat, not the sabbat)

As many of you know, my little (6.6 lb) girl cat Samhain has been dealing with Chronic Renal Failure for a couple of years. She is only 6 or 7--an adopted stray, so we can't be sure of her exact age--so she is very young to be dealing with this illness.

She was doing quite well for the first year and a half, but then in March her test results took a drastic turn for the worse, and we went from doing subq fluids at home 3 x a week to doing them every day. Oh, the joy.

Samhain and her roommate Angus went to the vet today for their yearly rabies shots and exams, and her bloodwork. And I'm VERY happy to say that for the first time since March, it had actually improved. *insert happy dance here*

Don't get me wrong: it's still bad. She's still dying. She just isn't doing it as fast as we thought she was. And she clearly hasn't gotten the memo, since she is still eating well and acting as affectionate and feisty as ever. I won't tell her if you won't.

Good News!

Sorry to keep you all waiting to hear the good news. I had to wait until Elaine, my agent, had gotten it posted on the official Publishers Marketplace site.

Here it is:

June 1, 2011

Non-fiction:Religion/Spirituality
Deborah Blake's 50 RITUALS FOR THE EVERYDAY WITCH, a comprehensive guide to a year of magical practice for the modern witch, to Elysia Gallo at Llewellyn, in a nice deal, by Elaine Spencer at The Knight Agency.

Yes, you read that right--Llewellyn just bought my SIXTH book! Yay! *does happy dance*

This will be the third in the "Everyday Witch" books, after Everyday Witch A to Z and last year's Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook (which is selling quite well--thank you, everyone). So for those of you what asked me, "When are you going to write another Witchcraft book?" The answer would be, "Right now!"

Who's got the champagne?

Finished! And good news...

Hey all!

What is a writer's second favorite word?
"Done"
(The first favorite is "contract" of course.)

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that I finished the first draft of the new novel this afternoon! YAY! *does happy dance*

Still have to work on edits with my CP for a few days, but it ought to be ready to go out to my agent before the end of the month.

And I got some good news yesterday:
I will be having a regular column in the Pagan magazine "Witches & Pagans" put out by BBI Media [used to be newWitch and PanGaia]. The column will be called "Witchcraft on a Shoestring," based on my book coming out this September. I'll post more details about this later, but I just wanted to share the good news.

Thanks to all of you for sharing this journey with me!

Deborah