January blogathon: c’est fin! and the best raffle ever!

And now we have come to the end.

I set out to post everyday during January — and I have. I hoped to improve the content of this blog, to better focus it. That’s a quantitative judgment, so the jury’s out on that. This month of daily posting has been interesting, exhausting, exciting — sometimes at the same time. It has forced me to reevaluate the process of blogging, and (hopefully) reinvigorated my excitement about it. I think it will take some time, however, for me to see how it all shakes down.

During this period, my blog traffic has gone up 500%! For that reason alone, Blogathon January has been well worth every post I’ve edited at 1 am, all that Wordpress coding, and obsessing over syntax. But, more importantly, I’ve managed to discover who some of you are, my esteemed readers. After all, a blog is intended as a two-way street, trafficked with immediacy and receptivity. I truly appreciate all of you who’ve read along, commented, and subscribed to my newsletter during this month of blogging.

So that’s that with my end-of-project speechifying. If this was an award show, right now Marvin Hamlish would be cuing the orchestra to push me off the podium.

But wait, there’s more! To lure even more of you readers out of the woods and into the clearing, I’m offering an enticement — and one never before seen here.

It’s very simple. Leave a comment below by midnight EST on February 1, and you’ll be entered into a raffle. What will you win?

1. One winner will get a one question tarot reading with me via e-mail ($50 value).

2. Another winner will win a signed 8 x 10″ framed DOOMED QUEENS giclée print ($45 value).

3. And a final winner will an autographed copy of DOOMED QUEENS ($15 value). I’ll even draw a little guillotine in it for you, to make it all cozy-like.

But that’s not all. If over 100 people leave a comment for this post, I’ll throw in a fourth prize of my Cybele/Mistress of Animals watercolor painting from The Book of Goddesses ($125 value).

Here are the rules: Only one comment per person. The print, original art, and book prize require a U.S. mailing address (sorry, too many problems with customs in the past); if you live overseas, please indicate in your comment if you only want to be entered for the tarot reading. Winners will be chosen at random and announced Wednesday, February 4, on this blog.

So, let’s see how many comments we can generate. Ready, set, go!

As for myself, I’m going to go and stare at something which doesn’t include a computer screen. Or, better yet, put some cucumber slices on my eyes.

• Filed under be-mused, blogs we read, giveaways and raffles, goddesses | 48 Responses

Creativity Friday: measure by measure

Tomorrow is my final day of my January blogathon! With only one more day to go — well, two, if you include my writing this post — I’m slogging a bit. Frankly, after a month of full out posting every single day, I’m tired. Is it February already?

This spirit of ennui brings me to my topic for today’s Creativity Friday: When the finish line is so close yet so far, how does one drag oneself over it? Especially when all you want to do is everything else, anything but, the task at hand?

You would think that, after working my way through so many deadlines, I’d have some words of creative wisdom. Alas, I don’t. I cleave to what a gazillion other people have already written: Break big projects into baby steps. Make a schedule and stick to it. Write lists. Have a supportive work partner to report to. Journal through resistance. And so on, through all of The Artist’s Way and beyond.

These are all worthy suggestions because they really do help get folks meet goals. As for myself, I’m a big believer in making lists. All of my book projects begin adorned with huge progress charts that become more and more dog-eared with notes and cross outs as the months roll on. Also, as I wrote two weeks ago, my work as a writer and as an artist feed off each other, which helps to keep things fresh.

But sometimes that’s not enough. Even with closure so close at hand, I find myself becoming more and more inefficient. It’s probably because I’m bored with what I’m doing, as well as plain exhausted. Knowing that there’s only a little more to go doesn’t spur me as I should. Resistance kicks in.

In situation such as these, what really helps me isn’t working harder, or longer, or being more critical of myself. It’s taking a break with an art form that has absolutely nothing to do with my task at hand.

So, most Monday nights you’ll find me with my cello at an orchestra rehearsal for the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, a community group. For about two hours, I’ll stumble my way through Beethoven and Brahms, revitalizing my creative chops without beating myself over the head. And measure by measure, my harmony is restored.

I don’t think I’m alone in using another art form as refuge from creative pressure. The BSO has quite a few visual artists among its musicians. Whenever we do a fundraiser, the creativity on display is astonishing! As for other artists, a woman writer I know does aquarela, a type of Brazilian dance. An illustrator friend makes quilts and finger puppets — she finds fabric patterns very inspiring — and so on. While these activities may appear to be luxuries when there’s a deadline, they aren’t. They’re food to replenish your Muse.

What about you? If you’re an artist, what restores your creative balance when you’re stressing from pressure? Or when you’ve overdosed on so much work you can’t think straight? Is it another art form? Or maybe a margarita on a beach?

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During January’s blogathon, I truly appreciate all of you who’ve read along, commented, and subscribed to my newsletter as a result. As a thank you, tomorrow’s blog post will include a raffle which is different than anyone I’ve ever held before. Yes, I’ll be giving away a tarot reading (the first time I’ve ever done this), a framed Doomed Queens giclée print, and more. But there’s an original art angle to this raffle, which I’m excited about.

All will be revealed tomorrow!

• Filed under be-mused, creativity, giveaways and raffles | 2 Responses

Favorite books of 2008….

In further Doomed Queens news, guess whose book was included among them in Books on the Nightstand’s favorite books of 2008 list?

Books on the Nightstand features illuminating conversations about books and reading. I’m beyond thrilled to be included among such stellar company! Learn more or listen to their podcast here.

Hey, only two more days to go in my January blogathon! For my final day on Saturday, January 31st, I’m planning a big raffle for my blog readers. One of the items is a tarot reading with me; the second is a framed Doomed Queens print; and the third will be revealed on the 31st.

• Filed under blogs we read, queens | 4 Responses

Doomed Queens bitter wisdom of the day: Cleopatra

“Choose your allies well,
or they will come back to bite you in the asp.”

For my inaugural Doomed Queens bitter wisdom post, who better to feature than Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt? After all, her infamous life and death set the bar high for future queens seeking the sweet frisson of media attention.

Cleopatra was supposedly born in January 69 BC. Without an exact date, it’s interesting to ponder whether she was a capricorn or aquarius. An astrologer could make a compelling case for either. She possessed the tenacity of a goat climbing to the top, but the unconventional genius of a water bearer.

Whenever her birthday, Cleopatra was born into a serpent’s nest of intrigue. Her father, Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy XII, spent much of his reign appeasing the Roman empire, while her siblings plotted amongst themselves — and against Cleopatra. After much familial Sturm und Drang, Cleopatra emerged triumphant upon the throne. As for her rival siblings, they were forcibly relocated to the grave.

What was Cleopatra’s secret for survival? Aside from being intelligent and beautiful, she was extraordinarily skilled in the art of persuasion and seduction. The historian Dio Cassius wrote that “she captured all who listened to her.” More importantly, Cleopatra knew when to get help — and, trickiest of all, how to find it. She certainly wasn’t shy in enlisting her feminine wiles either. To win the support of Julius Caesar, the nubile teenager smuggled herself to him within the rolls of a carpet. Years later, after Caesar met his fate on the Ides of March, Cleo turned her attention to Mark Antony. She invited the warrior to dinner upon her barge, and appeared dressed as a goddess. Locals whispered that Aphrodite was mating with Dionysus.

With the help of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, Cleopatra reigned over Egypt for two decades. However, even good alliances go sour: Antony and Cleopatra eventually ticked off the Roman powers-that-be, and found themselves on the run. Rather than surrender, they chose to die by their own hands. Antony stabbed himself, a suitably martial ending. His partner in global hi-jinx picked a more mythic manner to dispatch herself.

Cleopatra arranged for a basket of figs to be smuggled to her, with two poisonous asps hidden within it. Tradition holds that the queen arrayed herself like the goddess Isis before she died — a smart bit of posthumous branding. Asps were traditionally used for public executions in ancient Egypt and Greece, and associated with goddesses.

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This is the first of an occasional blog series. The text was adapted from my book DOOMED QUEENS: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, from Cleopatra to Princess Di (Broadway Books, $14.95). Learn more or purchase DOOMED QUEENS here.

Oh, and for those of you following my January blogathon, I’m planning a big giveaway for January 31st — only three more days to go! One of the items I’ll be raffling off is a free tarot reading with me.

• Filed under giveaways and raffles, publications, queens | 4 Responses

Doomed Queens: a stroll on the dark side?

There’s one more topic I’ve been meaning to cover during this month’s blogathon (which has another four days to go, but who’s counting?). Based on a recent e-mail I received, I suspect this subject is something which others might be wondering, especially if you only know my art and words from The Goddess Tarot and beyond.

So, here goes.

After so many books and decks about goddesses and other mythic beings, some of you might be wondering why I’m writing about queens now. And not just any queen, but queens who meet bad ends — sometimes gruesomely so.

Here’s my take: There’s nothing pretty about women losing power, especially if it involves a guillotine. However, there’s much to be claimed by looking at the shadow side of female empowerment. By doing so, we can better figure out what not to do, to avoid a similar downwardly mobile fate. And what better cautionary examples to learn from than our blue-blooded sisters from history?

One bright note for today’s women: We’re more likely to lose power from a corporate takeover than from a battalion of peasants bearing pitchforks. But that doesn’t make the lessons of the past any less contemporary. From Cleopatra, we can learn how to be careful when forging alliances. From Anne Boleyn, we see the downside of relying too heavily on The Rules and biology. As for Marie Antoinette, well, remember those peasants?

So what do you think? Is it worth taking a stroll on the dark side, to better familiarize ourselves with the bugaboos out there? Or should we close our eyes and hope for the best? I know what I believe. In the language of Marie Antoinette, mais oui — let us promenade.

With this in mind, I’ve decided to start an occasional feature, in which I offer up some of the bitter wisdom of these ill-fated female power brokers. First up: Cleopatra. Check back tomorrow to learn how to get ahead without getting bitten in the asp. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

To learn more about DOOMED QUEENS, click here.

Oh, and for those of you following my January blogathon, I’m planning a big blow out of a giveaway for January 31st. That’s this Saturday — again, only four more days left!

• Filed under be-mused, giveaways and raffles, queens | 4 Responses