Category: Uncategorized

Event: What the Hex Witches’ Market

The Witch of the Woods edition of What the Hex Witches’ Market is this Sunday at Dresden Castle, 3775 East Underwood Avenue, Cudahy, WI. Doors will be open from noon until 5, and admission is only $3 (kids 12 and under get in free). I’ll be there, as will Brooke of the Figuratively Speaking Tarot and a plethora of other magic-workers and makers. There will also be workshops (creating your own witch staff, flower crown, and crystal bracelet) and drag performances. What the Hex is a wonderful time, and the venue is gorgeous. I hope to see you there!

New Patreon Post/ Journey to the Water Chapter LIX

“If you were hoping for another chance at the knife, my friend,” Cullen said at last, “I’m afraid your luck has run out.”

Chapter LIX: The Edge of the Forest

With the forest stronghold destroyed, Eske makes a choice. You can read this chapter right now on Patreon.

Event: Spring Spirit Fair in Sheboygan, WI

This Saturday (tomorrow!) is the first of many events I’ll be attending in May! The Spring Sheboygan Spirit Fair will take place at Lakeshore Lanes, 2519 S. Business Dr, Sheboygan, WI. The market runs from 10 in the morning until 5 in the evening, but doors open at 9 so you can book a reading appointment, if that’s your jam. Admission is one non-perishable food item or cash donation to the Sheboygan County Food Bank.

This will be my first time at this market (and possibly my first time in Sheboygan since I was in high school?). I’ll be there with Brooke of the Figuratively Speaking Tarot, as per usual. Hope to see you there!

May Events

Mark your calendars! If you got the newsletter on Tuesday, this is just a repeat of that.

On Saturday, May 11, Brooke and I will be at the Spring Spirit Fair at Lakeshore Lanes, 2519 S. Business Dr. in Sheboygan, WI. The market runs from 10-5, but you can come in at 9 to book appointments with the various readers and body workers. Admission is one non-perishable food item or cash donation to the Sheboygan County Food Bank. (I don’t see us on the list at that link, but we were offered a space after a cancellation).

On Sunday, May 19, What the Hex: Witch of the Woods will be at Dresden Castle, 3775 East Underwood Ave, Cudahy, WI. Doors will be open from noon until 5, and admission is $3 (I mistakenly said it was free in the newsletter). This is one of our favorite markets and is just a good time all around.

On Friday, May 24, I will be venturing back out to Studio Moonfall, 5031 7th Avenue, Kenosha, WI to host an Author Night from 4-7 in the evening. I’d love to see you there if you missed the Book Festival (or even if you didn’t). I’ll probably bring some baked goods.

Lastly, on Saturday, May 25, we’ll both be at Graveyard Gallery’s Animayhem! This pop-up market takes place at Faklandia Brewpub, 3807 S. Packard Ave, St. Francis, WI. It runs from noon until 5pm. If you have prayers, spells, etc. for good weather, please send them our way, as this is an outdoor event.

I hope to see you at one (or more!) of these events! If you have any questions, let me know, and I will do my best to find answers for you. As always, I appreciate you.

Event: Kenosha Book Festival, Chapter One

On April 28 (a week from Sunday), I’ll be at the Kenosha Book Festival at Studio Moonfall: 5031 7th Avenue, Kenosha, WI. It will be open from 10 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, and feature a slate of very cool indie authors (if I do say so myself), food trucks, and special deals. Here’s a link to the Facebook event and here are Studio Moonfall’s other events.

I was a last-minute addition, and I’m very excited to be attending! Hope to see you there!

New Patreon Post/ Journey to the Water Chapter LIII

“His servant is only a child,” I said, “as much flesh and blood as you or I. As for the rest, I cannot say. I can only swear to you that I will spend no one’s blood but my own.”

Chapter LIII: Departing Once More

An old rival, a promise made, and a new journey: Eske sets out once more in the latest chapter of Journey to the Water, now available on Patreon.

Witch-o-Rama Update

Witch-o-Rama Market $3 to enter 40+ vendors 3pm drag show Sunday, March 10, 12-5 PM Blue Island Beer Co. 13357 Olde Western Ave. Blue Island, IL 60406 Music by DJ JINX'D March Intentions: Focusing on Growth, Prosperity, & Creation
333 Creates All Paths to Wellness Angel Tings Bee Batty Studios Boozey Bites Buena Vibra Plant Shop Chubby Tacos Copalli Incense DeeJay's Sea Moss D'Jibbitz FIguratively Speaking Tarot Goddess of Jules Heteha Sorre JulessShoppCo La Nina Chamoy Candies Memento Moira Miel y Canela Moonlight Been Moonlit Crab Nessacities Para Siempre Jewelry Per Eternity Pilsen Chica Botanica Primtentions Prismatic Pumpkins Que Mala Bruja Rosie's Thing Factory Sol y Luna Alchemy Space Whales PRess Sugar Visions TalyInkz Tattoos Tasty Holiday Cravings The Crawlspace ThotBreaker Tres Ojos Unearthly Wisdom Vanessa's Psychic Readings Whimsey Witch ZaZa's Resins Zali4rt

Witch-o-Rama is happening tomorrow, March 10! Unfortunately, I will not be there. I’ve finally caught the ‘Rona. HOWEVER, the fantastic lineup in the second image will be there, including my business partner Brooke of the Figuratively Speaking Tarot. I’m giving her a box of signed books in case anyone is interested while I’m gone.

If you’re in the Chicago area tomorrow, you should go, so I can live vicariously through you!

P.S. I’m fine, I’ve had all my shots, I’m just miserable and contagious. I should be better in a few days.

No newsletter this month

I am working on getting the newsletter back on track, but for now, I’m unable to send it. Google and Yahoo have changed their policies, making it more likely that emails sent from free accounts (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) will end up in a spam trap. MailerLite has made the decision to ban free email accounts from sending emails with their service. I thought I had managed a workaround by using the account the university gave me back in the day, but that is no longer viable. I have to 1) purchase a domain, 2) use that domain to get a new email address, and 3) register and verify all this with MailerLite. At this point, I’m reluctant to add another recurring charge to my budget, but it looks like I’m being forced to do so in order to keep the newsletter running. Prevailing wisdom says that authors need to have a newsletter. Who am I to argue?

In any case, I’m not going to be able to get this sorted out before the month ends in…fifteen hours? So I’ll skip this month and hopefully have a newsletter to send at the end of March. Thank you so much for your patience! In the meantime, MailerLite is maintaining the subscriber list, so you won’t need to sign up again.

If you’d like to help out with operational costs, and are able to do so, I have a Patreon and a Ko-fi. You can also buy one or more of my books! In any case, I appreciate you.

I’m joining the Global Strike for Gaza

Red and white text on a black background: Global strike for Gaza Jan. 21-28 I am joining the Global Strike for Gaza bit.ly/StopGazaGenocide #StrikeforGaza

No song this week! I’m participating in the Global Strike for Gaza in the small way that I can: buying nothing, posting only about ending the genocide, and cutting back on my scrolling (a habit I need to break anyway) to avoid contributing to the ad revenue social media platforms get.

Here’s the URL in the image above in a clickable form for more information.

So, no chapters this week. I’ll put all the petitions I have to share in this post, so as not to bombard your inboxes/notifications. I’ll be back to my regular nonsense next week.

Via Amnesty International: Regarding Palestinian journalists forcibly disappeared
Via the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights: Call on Congress to stop arming Israel
Via Roots Action: Urge your local government to support a ceasefire in Gaza
Via Rep. Rashida Tlaib: No forced displacement
Via Democracy for America: Tell the Biden administration to support a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages now
Via Win Without War: Tell President Biden to de-escalate and negotiate a ceasefire NOW
Via Just Foreign Policy: Stop bombing Yemen

The Book of the New Moon Door: Book Club Discussion Questions

I hope these will help any book club, reading groups, or other nerdy conversations! They are spoiler-free. If you have any other suggestions, or questions you’d like to ask me directly, please leave a comment and I’d be happy to answer them or add to the list.

  1. The story is told from two perspectives: Berend and Isabel. Which point of view did you prefer? Which gave you more insight into the world and the story? Would you have liked to see another character’s perspective?
  2. Which scene stuck with you the most and why?
  3. What do you think happens after the end? Was the ending satisfying, or did you want to see something different?
  4. What are the book’s main themes? Does the author take a stance on any of them(e.g., the value of religious devotion)? Do you agree with that stance?
  5. Are there any unanswered questions or unresolved issues that you wish the author had addressed?

Here’s a PDF version with space for notes:

new-moon-door-discussion-questionsDownload

Some groups like to have themed food and drinks, so here are a couple of harvest squash soup recipes I rounded up:

Butternut Squash Soup by Love & Lemons (vegan)
Copycat Panera Squash Soup by Rachel Cooks (vegetarian)

And here are some cocktails. I don’t drink, so one of you is going to have to volunteer to try them and report back!

Apple Cinnamon Whiskey Smash by Hunger Thirst Play
Smoking Blackberry Sage Margarita by Wicked Spatula

Happy reading!