Modern Witchcraft Cover Reveal and Giveaway

I haven't been posting here much, I know. Partially because I'm doing a lot of my posting these days over on my Patreon and partially because I've just been insanely busy with writing, house and garden upkeep, running the shop, and of course, fostering kittens. I owe you guys an update report on the fostering, but this came up first so that one will have to wait until next week.

Because I have to share my NEW COVER with you! I'm so excited about my upcoming book from St. Martin's Press, MODERN WITCHCRAFT: GODDESS EMPOWERMENT FOR THE KICK-ASS WOMAN, coming July 7th, 2020.

Here's the cover copy for the book:

A guidebook to witchcraft as a female-empowering religion, including detailed instructions on how to practice self-care in today's society through goddess worship and magic.
In a time when most formal religions are on the wane, Wicca is said to be the fastest growing religion in North America. What is it that draws people to Witchcraft, and how does a spiritual path with its roots in ancient beliefs and traditions transform itself into a practice that resonates so deeply with today’s modern woman?
There are a number of explanations for the phenomenon, such as Witchcraft's connection to the natural world, or acceptance of members regardless of lifestyle choices. For women, however, the greatest appeal may be the worship of a goddess (or goddesses). No stern patriarchal God here. Instead, Wicca and most other forms of modern Witchcraft embrace deity in both the feminine and the masculine. Suddenly, women can look at the divine and see themselves reflected back. In addition, many women are frustrated, frightened, triggered, and down-right furious with the current social and political environment, but feel powerless to create positive change. Witchcraft can give them a sense of personal empowerment.
There are many different Witchcraft paths and a multitude of approaches to its practice. This book will guide the reader on the journey to connecting with the feminine divine both without and within, and open the door to this magical religion that will enlighten, uplift, and energize their lives.

And here's the cover! Let me know what you think.



I hope you love it as much as I do!

It's already up for pre-order on Amazon (just in print--the other formats will go up eventually). AND I got great news today from my editor! "Good news--we had a nice little three-publisher auction for Modern Witchcraft with Tantor emerging as the winner." That means the book will be available in audio too.

Obviously, we're going to have to celebrate, right? In fact, it's possible I've gotten a little carried away because I'm SO excited about the cover reveal and the audio deal. So I'm giving away a Kindle Fire tablet, along with a fun broomstick pen and a black cat bookmark. As usual, all you have to do to enter is to fill out the Rafflecopter form. No purchase is necessary, although if you want to pre-order, it will make me look good with my new publisher...


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Big Announcement and Oracle Deck Giveaway

OMG. There is so much going on here, I don't know where to start.

Okay, so first of all, as most of you already know, the Everyday Witch Oracle Deck is out from Llewellyn. It was supposed to come out on September 8th--yes, that's not for over a week--but was released about a month early. This caught me and illustrator Elisabeth Alba by surprise, but we're going to make up for it now.

When the Everyday Witch Tarot came out, Elisabeth made a road trip here from her home in Massachusetts. But she just gave birth to a baby in June (I KNOW! Congrats, Elisabeth!), so that wasn't possible this time. Instead, we each signed a dozen decks and sent them to each other, so we now have a dozen each that are signed by both of us. Most of those are going up on Etsy (Etsy listing) but I'm going to be giving away one double-signed copy here as well. In case math isn't your strong suit, that will leave me eleven on Etsy. LOL.

Each set will include the deck (signed by both of us), a special sticker we had made that features the back of the deck, a bookmark, and a postcard. The set I'm giving away here will also include some special surprise. What is it? I can't tell you--it's a SURPRISE.

So be sure to enter using the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post. As always, no purchase is necessary, although if you already have the deck, or win this copy, I'd really love it if you would post an honest review.

Here's a couple of the places you can get it. Amazon and Llewellyn. It is also available at B&N, any other online book seller, and you can request it from your local Indy book store if they don't happen to carry it.

BUT WAIT, THAT'S NOT ALL!

I have news.

I just signed a contract with Llewellyn for a new book. TA DA!

Tentatively titled The Eclectic Witch's Book of Shadows, it is going to be a fun and information-filled "everything you need to know" book for my witchy readers. It won't be out until 2021, probably (I haven't even started writing it yet), but I think you are going to like it.

Can you believe this is going to be my 13th nonfiction book? (My 12th with Llewellyn.) And that's not counting the books that come with the tarot deck and the oracle deck.

I hope you're all as excited as I am.

And now, the giveaway you're really excited about.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Harry Dresden Turns Two!

I can't believe it, but today Harry Dresden turns two! (He is the only one of the new "kittens" I have the actual birth date for.) He is by far the quietest of the three young ones, but he is also the one who comes and snuggles with me in bed at night--not during nap time, though, when he sleeps at the bottom of the bed and the other two snuggle.

He was a rescue being fostered by someone for the Super Heroes in Ripped Jeans organization, the one I'm fostering kittens for right now. I went to visit him when I knew Magic and Mystic were close to the end, and I was looking for new cats to bring in after that happened. (I realize that some people need to wait longer, and I get that. In this case, I was going to be down to just Angus, who had never been an only cat, and my heart was so broken I knew I'd need new kitties right away.)

 The first thing he did was crawl into my coat. Then he hung around for a while as I chatted to his foster mom. There were a couple of other cats in the room, but they didn't pay any attention to me. As I was explaining to his foster, Kristin, that I had a couple of other kittens to look at the next day and while I was leaning toward taking him I couldn't be sure until then, he came over and fell asleep on  my lap.

Kristin looked at me and laughed. I laughed too, since I know that cats choose you. (And the next day, Koshka and Ember did just that.) I told her I couldn't pick him up until Magic and Mystic were gone, since they deserved all my attention right then, and she understood.

Not many days later, I went and picked him up. You can probably tell I'd been crying look like crap, but Harry Dresden saved me from being even more miserable. (I had to wait about 3 weeks to get the other two, because Ember hadn't been fixed yet.)

He's a damned good cat.

About 4 months old

So I thought I'd do a birthday celebration giveaway in his honor, for all the cat lovers among my readers and friends.

Check it out. A signed copy of The Little Book of Cat Magic, a cat candle holder (with candle, because that's the way I roll), a cute stuffed black cat, and a black cat bookmark.

As usual, no purchase is necessary, it is open internationally, and all you have to do to enter is use the Rafflecopter form below.

Happy birthday, Harry Dresden!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Everyday Witch Oracle Giveaway

So, a funny thing...

The Everyday Witch Oracle Deck (which I worked on with Elisabeth Alba, who did the tarot deck with me) was supposed to come out on September 8th. But it came into the Llewellyn warehouses unexpectedly early...so now it is coming out on AUGUST 12th! That's next MONDAY! Can I get a woot?

But of course, that completely throws off my promotional plans, since I now have less than five days to do what I would have done in a month. On the bright side, if you've been eagerly awaiting this deck, you're going to get it a lot earlier!

I got my author copies right before I left for a long weekend vacation with friends (pictures of that coming soon, probably), and finally had a chance to open one up today. They're soooo pretty! Llewellyn did a great job as always, and Elisabeth's artwork takes my breath away.

The book, the cards, and the cover of the box.

 Naturally, this means I'll be doing a giveaway! I've got one shiny new copy of the deck, plus a fun kitty bookmark (since there are a bunch of cats in the deck), and a broom pen.

To enter, just use the Rafflecopter form below. As always, no purchase is necessary, although if you run out and preorder the book today, it should ship out to you on the 12th!

The giveaway

Here's a link to get the deck directly from Llewellyn: Llewellyn
And here's Barnes and Noble
And Amazon
You can also ask your local Indie bookstore to order it for you.

I hope you love it as much as I do! In the meanwhile, here's the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kittens!

So if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you probably already know that I did A Thing. If not, guess what? I did A Thing!

This is the thing...

Four kittens!

Kittens!

Before you get all excited, no, I didn't adopt more cats. I have been doing a little bit of volunteer work for the rescue organization I got Harry Dresden from, the fabulous Super Heroes in Ripped Jeans. They're a small local shelter that was literally started by one woman working out of her apartment, and they are doing amazing work. But they're seriously overloaded, and it is kitten season. So when a good Samaritan found a stray cat and her newborn kittens (and couldn't keep them himself), the shelter was already more than full and all their regular foster homes were also more than full.

I have an upstairs room that is mainly used for storage, and had already prepped it just in case, and decided I could step up. So I took in mama, who clearly used to belong to someone and is very sweet and affectionate, although way too skinny after months on the street

Mama, who I am calling Freya, because we had to call her something

 Initially I just put her upstairs with her kittens in a large box lined with a towel. That was Sunday night. Monday morning, when I checked on her, she had hidden the kittens under a shelf. So I built her a fort from a card table and a table cloth, and moved them back. She seems to be very happy with the new arrangement, and doesn't mind me moving the box out periodically to check on them.

Kitten fort

 Today they're six days old and seem to be doing quite well.

4 days old

 

6 days old

We'll see how it goes. I'll be putting periodic reports up on Facebook and Twitter, but if you really want to track their progress, I'll probably have the most regular updates on my PATREON.

Tell me, have you ever fostered kittens, or any other animals?

Here's where you can see more info about the Super Heroes in Ripped Jeans website Facebook