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 Fabulosity of Fans

I have, of late, made the rather startling discovery that I have fans. No, really.

It’s not as though I didn’t know people read my books (I’m pretty sure Llewellyn wouldn’t keep buying them if SOMEONE didn’t occasionally purchase one), and every once in a while I’ll go to a Pagan conference where people have heard of me. But as I got ready for the release of book 7, The Witch’s Broom, it suddenly became clear that a lot of people were excited to have the book come out—not just because it is a cool book (which it is, of course), but because it was a book by me.

I have fans. Wow.

And not just fans, but GREAT fans. In fact, a fabulosity of fans. Yes, I just made up that word. I can do that. I’m an author.

There was so much enthusiasm, in fact, that I decided to reward everyone by having a Big, Huge, Mega Giveaway Contest. Which attracted so many people, many of whom spread the word far and wide, and generated even more enthusiasm, that I had to come to the undeniable conclusion that I had fans. A bunch of fans, even. I already knew I had friends who followed what I was up to, and readers, and such, but…fans. Wow.

Here’s the thing about writers. We mostly spend our time sitting in a corner, by ourselves, writing. Some folks occasionally go out and do a book signing, but unless you are Nora Roberts or J.K. Rowling, or Stephen King, you are pretty happy if ten people show up. For most of us, our interactions with the people who read our books are limited to the occasional comment on Facebook or that rare, lovely email from someone telling you how much they loved your book. I can’t speak for all authors, but most of the ones I know don’t feel any different from anyone else.

Which is why it is pretty cool to discover you have fans. As I’ve spent the last couple of months talking (and talking and talking) about the upcoming book release, I have had so many people say truly lovely things about how excited they were about the book, and how much they loved my previous books, and sometimes even that what I’d written had changed their lives.

It is a pretty good feeling for someone who spends most of her time sitting in a living room full of cats with a laptop on her lap, I’ll tell you. What’s more, I already knew that my readers were the nicest, coolest, best looking (yes, of course you are) people in the world, but I have been truly amazed by just HOW fabulous y’all have been about the book, the contests, and everything else. I feel very blessed.

So this is a thank you love letter to my fabulosity of fans. Thanks for your enthusiasm for my writing, your willingness to spread the word, for buying my books, for generally supporting and cheering on everything I do. You people make my life a better place And I just wanted to make sure you knew that I appreciated it.

So I have one more surprise up my sleeve. A gift, to all of you, to give back something of what you have given to me. I’m not quite ready to announce it, though, so for today, you’ll have to take this love letter instead. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being my fans. Y’all rock.

 *smooch*

A "Thank You" Giveaway!

I've been doing this blog for a few years now, mostly as a way to reach out to and interact with those who read my books, and talk about the writer's life. It took me a while to really get into the swing of things, but this year, I think I hit my stride. Or rather, you all did.

The blog hit 50,000 page views not too long ago, which knocked my socks off. I can't believe that many people actually thought I had something interesting to say! I've got a bunch of great followers (I hope you'll be one too, if you're not already) and people seem to be starting to pass the word along, which is wonderful. And I've had all sorts of fun contests to give things away--including copies of my new book--with a truly enthusiastic response.

In short--damn, you guys ROCK!

You've made me really happy by coming here and sharing my world, whether you show up for the contests, to hear about my writing, or just to see the cute cat pictures. I wish I could give you each a big hug. But since I can't, I'm going to give one lucky person a $25 Amazon gift card. You can use it to buy yourself a copy of one of  my books, or anything else your little heart desires.

Here's how it is going to work:
All you have to do is tell me what your favorite part of the blog is, or which was your favorite post, or anything else about why you come here. On December 31st, I'll end the year by pulling one random commenter's name to be the winner. And one lucky person will start out the new year right...with FREE BOOKS!

If you feel like it, you can do something nice for me: go click "Like" for one or more of my books (they're all conveniently listed on THIS POST ). I read somewhere recently that the "Like" button on Amazon makes a big difference...but only once you hit 50 Likes, which none of my books has yet. Or put up a review on Amazon, B&N or Goodreads.

But you don't have to. All you have to do is tell me what you like about my little blog, and you'll be entered into the contest. My way of saying THANK YOU for all your support, encouragement, and friendship this year.

Damn, you guys ROCK!

Be My Valentine

I may not have a significant other to share my Valentine's Day with, but I have something that might be even better...

LOTS and lots of wonderful folks who come here, follow me on Twitter and Facebook, read (and sometimes even buy) my books, and generally support me in a thousand little ways.

Big Valentine kisses go out especially to the lovely Heather Long (who helped me set up and run the new workshop loop), my agent Elaine Spencer (who works tirelessly to move my writing career forward), Elysia Gallo (best editor on the planet), and Lisa DiDio, best critique partner on the planet.

And many heartfelt thanks to you, my readers. Without you, there would be no point in writing.

Will you be my Valentine? Please say you will!

Giving Thanks

I try to give thanks every day, but on this day--Thanksgiving--I thought I'd share a few of the things I'm grateful for...

I'm grateful for my wonderful family (all of whom, alas, live too far away for me to spend the day with them), my amazing friends (who keep putting up with me, year after year) and my beloved cats--Magic, Mystic, Minerva, Angus and Samhain (who was kind to me today and sat very still for her fluids, even after I stuck her twice with the first, dull, needle).

I am grateful especially for the ladies of Blue Moon Circle, who make my life extra magical, and to the fabu Lisa DiDio, Queen of the Critique Partners, who has brought more to my life than I can ever put into words, much of it having nothing whatsoever to do with writing. Thanks for everything, including bringing out the Uggs when I need my butt kicked :-)

I am grateful for the writers who stir the cauldron with me at Creativity Cauldron--thanks for liking my online classes so much that you never wanted them to end. You make me feel very special.

Thanks too, to the Betties at LucyMarch.com for all the FGBV's, the bacon, the sex, and OMG, the Old Spice Guy. [For everyone not a Betty, and currently confused, well, all I can say is, it makes sense if you're in on the joke.] And I am uber-grateful to Lucy herself, for the community, and for the personal support. You rock, Lucy! (And your little bald Betty, too. And Jenny, whose writing inspires me.)

I am thankful for home, and health, and a job I like (mostly)--in fact, in these days, I'm thankful to have a job at all. Thankful for the food on my table, and those who work and sacrifice to put it there.

Thankful for the creativity that allows me to follow my dreams.

And REALLY, REALLY thankful for my agent, Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency. Together, we're going places.

I hope that whether or not you celebrate Thanksgiving, you will take a moment out to say thank you for whatever good things you have in your life. And know that I am thankful for you--my readers, fans, friends, and followers. You people rock, big time.

Here's wishing you a lovely, relaxing day.