Tag: song of the week

Song of the Week

The Paul Schwartz Project, “How Many Fools”

Happy Monday! It is now less than TWO WEEKS until Bitchcraft Fair Milwaukee! My friend Brooke, her Figuratively Speaking Tarot, and I will be at booth #116 in the Wisconsin Center. You can find more information (and tickets) here.

I am doing my level best to maintain my posting schedule as I prepare for this event. The next chapter of Journey to the Water will go up on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up here on Wednesday. I am working on The Well Below the Valley also, but that may be the proverbial spinning plate that drops or gets postponed.

I did finish the first chapter of The Tarot of the Gates! Please appreciate my efforts at something resembling time management. That will be up here on October 1. There’s more information here, plus a picture of Shepard the kitten, if you haven’t seen it yet.

Thanks for being here! I promise I’m not scary, and I welcome comments. I’d like to get to know my readers! Please tell me your favorite book that you’ve read recently, or the music that’s making your ears happy these days, or whatever you’d like to talk about.

Song of the Week

Annie Eve, “Bedtime”

Hello again! It’s Monday. Autumn has arrived early here, bringing a full day of rain and some minor flooding. While I wait for my towels to dry so I can sop up more water in my basement, how about an update for the week?

First things first: I have a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door that will be up on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of Journey to the Water will be here on the blog on Wednesday. Both projects will continue until they are done!

However, if you’re looking for something new and exciting, I have good news! My friend Brooke has recently published her first tarot deck, and we’re working on a collaborative book-and-deck project. I am excited to announce that both the (first?) book and the deck will be called The Tarot of the Gates. For more details and some worldbuilding, you can read last week’s post here. The first chapter will release October 1!

Also, in case you missed it, we’re going to be at booth 116 at Bitchcraft Fair Milwaukee! It will be at the Wisconsin Center on Sunday, October 2. I hope to see you there! It’s my first event, and I am both excited and scared, as you can tell by all the exclamation points.

Take care and have an excellent week!

Song of the Week

Billie Eilish and Khalid, “lovely”

Happy Labor Day! In honor of workers past and present, I hope you find some rest today.

Because I don’t have enough projects (ignore the stacks of notes and half-finished drafts; those are my emotional support works in progress), I’m starting something new on Instagram (you can also see it on my Facebook page). My friend and collaborator Brooke started a project called #tarotember last year, wherein each day of September is focused on a different tarot card or suit. Last year, she painted the majority of her deck, the Figuratively Speaking Tarot, while I took some moody pictures and made a playlist.

#tarotember Aug. 31 Fool 1 Magician 2 High Priestess 3 Empress 4 Emperor 5 Hierophant 6 Lovers 7 Chariot 8 Strength 9 Hermit 10 Wheel 11 Justice 12 Hanged One 13 Death 14 Temperance 15 Devil 16 Tower 17 Star 18 Moon 19 SUn 20 Judgment 21 World 22 Page 23 Knight 24 Queen 25 King 26 Cups 27 Wands 28 Swords 29 Pentacls 30 Card Back
This year’s Tarotember prompts

This year, I am introducing the universe for a new and as-yet-untitled project, a space opera set in a galaxy of warring kingdoms and palace intrigue, psychic pilot-knights and lost alien civilizations, and also queer romance and tarot themes! The first chapter, titled “The Knight of Ships,” will release on October 1, after the challenge concludes (and one day before Bitchcraft Fair Milwaukee!). Eventually, this project will be both a book and an accompanying deck, currently titled the Tarot of the Gates. Brooke has painted a few cards for it already, and while she works on other projects, I’m creating placeholder graphics for the challenge. Each day reveals more about the setting, so follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook for some new sci-fi/fantasy goodness.

Don’t worry, I am not abandoning any of my other projects! A new chapter of Journey to the Water will release tomorrow on Patreon, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will appear here on the blog on Wednesday. Also, in case you missed it, Episode 6 of The Well Below the Valley is available on Patreon as of September 1, and you can read a free preview here.

As a final note, Shepard is six months old today, and just as cute as ever:

A gray and orange tabby/tortoiseshell kitten sleeps on a tan and blue striped pillow, her head raised and her paws folded politely underneath her.
A rare moment when she’s sitting still enough for a picture.

I think that’s all for this week! Thanks for being here.

Song of the Week

Loreena McKennitt, “Ce He Mise le Ulaingt?/The Two Trees” (poem by William Butler Yeats)

Happy Monday! I hope you’re well.

This week, I’ll have a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door on Patreon tomorrow, followed by the latest chapter of Journey to the Water here on Wednesday. It looks like Part Two of New Moon Door is going to finish ahead of schedule (to the extent that I even have a schedule), probably before the end of the year. I’ll take a short break after that, and then it will be on to Part Three and the exciting conclusion.

Also, the newest episode of The Well Below the Valley will release on Thursday! If you’ve been thinking of becoming a patron, now’s a good time to do it, since you’ll get access to all five previous episodes as well. Or you could wait until Friday, get all six episodes, and not start getting charged the $3 subscription until October 1 (when you will also receive Episode 7). I won’t tell anyone.

I think that’s it for now. Preparations continue for Bitchcraft Fair on October 2, and I’ll let you know when I have more information about that!

Have an excellent week! I appreciate you.

Song of the Week

Dessa, “Children’s Work”

Good morning! It’s Monday again.

Not much out of the ordinary happening in my world this week: I’ve got a new chapter of Journey to the Water scheduled to go up on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up on the blog Wednesday. I’m also working on the next episode of The Well Below the Valley, and that should be available September 1st.

I also want to remind you that you can come see me at Bitchcraft Fair Milwaukee on October 2! Tickets are only $12 through the end of the month, and then become $15 through the day of the event. I will have limited-edition bookmarks to hand out and signed books to sell!

Thanks for being here. Have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

The Civil Wars, “Sour Times” (Portishead cover)

Hello there. I guess it’s Monday again? Time is a soup.

Let’s see. I’m back on my normal posting schedule, so tomorrow, I’ll have a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door up on Patreon, and the latest chapter of Journey to the Water will be up here on Wednesday. Just so you know, dear reader, you are welcome to give me feedback on either of these projects! If you like them, or if you want to yell at me about them, comments are always open. This is your chance to affect the plot or save your favorite character from doom.

In other news, my bookmarks arrived!

Five bookmarks with the title Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea. From left to right: Eske in the boat against the lind-worm, Khalim doing magic, Aysulu doing horse archery, Eske against the salamander, Eske and Khalim. The reverse side is shown below, with the text "Space Whales Press: queer fantasy & weird tales for the people. Words by Madeline Crane, art by Brooke Marie Miller."

If you want one or more of them for your very own, you’ll have to stop by our table at Bitchcraft Fair Milwaukee on October 2! I’ll update as soon as I know our booth number.

As I’m preparing for this and other, future events, streaming has been the proverbial plate that I’ve let drop. I’m hoping to either pick it back up or start a different project for YouTube (video essays?) soon. Also, I haven’t forgotten about the whole newsletter thing. I appreciate your patience.

I’m happy you’re here, and I hope you stop by again soon. Have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

Rachael Cantu, “Devil’s Thunder”

Happy Monday! This song is brought to you by one of my undergraduate literature classes. We were reading Paradise Lost and our professor was a big Grey’s Anatomy fan (or Private Practice, I guess?). It’s very 2009.

This week, here in 2022, I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water up on Patreon, probably on Wednesday, because I’ll be working at a polling place for the primary election all day tomorrow. (Vote in your primaries, everyone!) I should be back on my usual posting schedule next week.

In case you missed it, I’m going to a convention in October! I’ll be signing books and handing out some gorgeous bookmarks.

I appreciate you! Have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

Dar Williams, “Comfortably Numb” (Pink Floyd cover)

Hi there. Happy Monday.

Last week was busier than I thought, so here’s the plan for this week: Episode 5 of The Well Below the Valley will release tomorrow on Patreon. Going forward, I plan to release episodes on the first of each month. On Wednesday, the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up here on the blog.

In other news, it looks like I’m taking this show on the road in October! If you’ll be in the Milwaukee area and want a signed copy of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea (or want me to sign the copy you already have), stay tuned for more information!

I appreciate you! Thanks for being here. And you’re listening to something that makes your ears happy, leave some music recommendations in the comments! I’m open to any genre.

Song of the Week

Sting, “Fragile”

Happy Monday! Welcome back.

I didn’t end up streaming on Twitch last week. The heat has been making me sick, and all my in-laws came up to help in the garden (thanks guys!), so I was a little burnt out. I do want to get back in the habit of doing it, so I plan to do another stream on Friday. Right now, the plan is to play the indie game Heaven’s Vault and chat about constructed languages.

In addition to that, you can expect a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of Journey to the Water here on the blog on Wednesday. I’m also working on Episode 5 of The Well Below the Valley, in which our intrepid investigators finally travel to Oxford to find out what exactly happened on the late Professor Ragnarsson’s ill-fated field expedition.

If you’re enjoying what you’re reading here, please tell your friends about me! It’s the best way to support me, and it doesn’t involve spending any money. You can also leave a review for Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea wherever you purchased it (and I’m working on getting it added to Goodreads as well).

I appreciate every single one of you! Yes, you! Have an excellent week.

Song of the Week

Nina Simone, “Blackbird”

Good morning.

The new kitten, Shepard, is settling in very well! She’s out of her confinement room full-time now, with only a little scrambling around at night, and Solaire plays with her pretty regularly. He’s not ready to snuggle with her, though, and will bite her toes if she tries.

Two cats sleep back to back on a dark green couch, curled into semi-circles. On the left is a four-month-old gray tabby with orange patches, and on the right is a chunky orange and white cat, who is sleeping on a stack of notebooks because he's weird like that.
This is the closest they’ve gotten so far.

This week, I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water up on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up here on the blog on Wednesday. I’ll also be on Twitch on Friday evening to play a game and chat about writing!

As always, I appreciate you. If you like what you read here, could you tell your friends about me? Word-of-mouth really helps me find more readers! And if you’ve read Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea, you can leave a review wherever you purchased it.

Have an excellent week!