Take my class on writing Witch characters

I am going to be giving an online class in October through the lowcountryrwa (you don't have to be a member of either the lowcountryrwa or rwa to take the class). It costly a measly $16, and is designed to help anyone who writes fiction (paranormal or fantasy) involving a Witch as a character.

Here is a description of the class and my qualifications:

October 2009 — The Real Witch: Witchcraft Basics for the Paranormal AuthorPresented by Deborah Blake
Dates: October 6-29
Deadline: October 4
Course Description:Have you ever wondered about the differences between historical witches and modern-day Wiccans? Are you curious about familiars? How do you create a witch character for fiction? Deborah Blake can answer these questions and many more with her class about witchcraft and creating a character practicing the magical arts. You will learn how to create witch characters for different genres including Chick Lit and Paranormal. You will learn how to create a witch with real strengths and weaknesses. You will learn the basics of Wicca and spell casting. You will learn some of the historical views on familiars. You will learn how to write scenes in which your character practices magic and how the character would create a spell. You may not be allowed to turn an agent into a toad, but you are allowed to create a great character for your book!

Instructor Bio:Deborah Blake is a Wiccan High Priestess who has led her own group, Blue Moon Circle, since 2004. She is the author of Circle, Coven & Grove: A Year of Magickal Practice (Llewellyn 2007), Everyday Witch A to Z: An Amusing, Inspiring & Inspirational Guide to the Wonderful World of Witchcraft (Llewellyn 2008) and The Goddess is in the Details: Wisdom for the Everyday Witch (Llewellyn 2009). She took third prize in the Pagan Fiction Award contest and her short story “Dead and (Mostly) Gone” was published in the Anthology of Pagan Fiction: 13 Prize Winning Tales (2008). She is currently working on a novel featuring a Witch as a protagonist. Deborah lives in upstate New York in a 100 year old farmhouse, where her activities both magickal and mundane are supervised by her five cats.

If this sounds interesting to you, check it out and sign up at http://lowcountryrwa.com

I hope to see you there!

Deborah

interview withe me, part 2

Check out the second part of my pal Saoirse Redgrave's interview with me on her blog http://tinyurl.com/mqrnpo

Comment and join the fun!

Thankful Thursdays & pal Saoirse's blog interview

Well, it's Thankful Thursday, and I'm thankful that my pal Saoirse Redgrave is interviewing me (over the course of the next three days!) at her blog. Please go check it out and comment if you have a minute!
http://tinyurl.com/m7oa4g

I'm also thankful that the heat here seems to be easing up some, that the danged raccoons left me a couple of ears of corn (grrrr), and that I had a few nice days with ex-boyfriend Joe when he came into town for his Dad's funeral. It was nice to reconnect with the family.

I'm thankful that I got to spend a couple of days with my own family last weekend, before my folks got back in the RV and headed back to San Diego :-)

Hope you all are having a wonderful week, and finding lots of things to be thankful for. I promise to try to get to my MUCH belated post about the RWA National conference some time over the weekend...

Blessings,
Deborah

Thankful Thursdays

Online pagan/author pal Lisa Didio does a "Thursday Thanks" blog and lists all the things she's thankful for. I'm going to er...borrow...the idea and do the same. If you're reading this--consider doing the same!
I'm thankful for:
Family
Friends
My cats (yes, all of them...mostly)
Having a job I like
The pest control guy who came and took care of the HUGE hornet's nest in my apple tree
That my 11 year old neighbor who was weeding for me yesterday only got stung a couple of time by the aforementioned hornets and is okay
The Full Moon and the goddess it symbolizes
My regular healing client who not only pays me, but gives me a chance to use my gifts
The internet :-)

Happy Thursday, all. What are you grateful for?
Blessings, Deborah

Getting Ready for RWA Nationals

Well, it is only a week before I leave for the RWA (Romance Writers of America) National Convention in Washington, DC—and I’m madly trying to get things ready before I go.

I am traveling by train with my pal, writer Saoirse Redgrave (13 to Life, St. Martin’s Press 2010). We’re leaving at the crack of dawn on Wednesday, and won’t be back until Sunday night. (Don’t worry—the cats are being well taken care of!) That’s a long trip by my standards, so I am trying to get my “to-do” list done before I go, in case I am really wiped out from a week of networking, workshops and agent meetings (please goddess) by the time I get back.

I am really looking forward to my first Nationals. In part, because of the opportunities to possibly get my work noticed by people who could make a serious difference in my success or failure as a fiction writer (i.e. agents and editors), and of course the fab workshops that will hopefully make me a better writer. But mostly because I am finally going to get to meet up with some of the great folks who I’ve been talking to online for over a year—many of whom have gone out of their way to be helpful and supportive—but never had the chance to meet in person.

Tops on this list: author Mindy Klasky, author Candace Havens, author/agent Lucienne Diver, and author/agent Lois Winston. And then there are the writers I just follow around the web and admire (an occasionally correspond with): Jeri Smith-Ready, Maria V. Snyder and Jennifer Crusie. Not to mention a few agents and editors I’ve been in contact with professionally, like Patience Smith of Harlequin and agent Kevan Lyon. Needless to say, this is just the short-list.

Trying to figure out what to pack is just crazy, and the scheduling is next to impossible. But still, another week and a day and we’re on our way.

I’ll try and blog more often in the week to come, and from RWA itself if I can. Wish you were all coming with me!

Blessings,Deborah

Textnovel.com contest

I recently entered the textnovel.com contest with my paranormal romance/chicklit novel WITCH EVER WAY YOU CAN (winner of the EMILY "Best of the Best" contest earlier this year). If you are interested in seeing a sample of my fiction writing, I will be posting additions to the story every day, or close to it. I'd REALLY appreciate it if you would go take a peek and vote for my story. If you sign up to have the new installments sent to you, I get an extra point, too. Thanks!!!http://www.textnovel.com/stories_list_detail.php?story_id=997

A Spell for Relaxation

Anyone out there actually relaxing as much as they need to? Ha! Didn't think so. Here is a spell I just wrote for my next Llewellyn book, The Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook, coming out next year. Feel free to try it--I hope it helps!

Goddess great
Please grant me time
To put aside
For peace of mind

Relaxing moments
Isles of calm
To sooth my mind
Like nature’s balm

Help me learn
To slow my pace
Allow myself
An hour’s grace

Relaxation
Is the goal
To balance life
And keep me whole

So mote it be