In the midst of this, mucho activity is going on at the gallery. The big news is that our current exhibit, On the Road of Bones: Ghosts of the Siberian Gulag Along the Old Kolyma Highway is closing tomorrow. I hope you’ll join us for a last look at this stunning exhibit! The curator will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the coldest place on earth. We’ll also have refreshments. Here are the details:

Saturday, March 5th, 1 – 4 pm
CLOSING RECEPTION: ON THE ROAD OF BONES
Children welcome. Free admission.

About this exhibit: Through photography and mixed media, this exhibition reveals the secret history and natural beauty of Kolyma, formerly the land of Soviet labor camps and the coldest inhabited region in the world. Stunning new works by young native Siberian photographers Bolot Bochkarev, Nastya Borisova, and Ajar Varlamov trace the remains of the vast highway built across the taiga, tundra, and permafrost of North Asia by Stalin’s prisoners. “On the Road of Bones” juxtaposes the events of the hidden past with the power of the frozen landscape and the contemporary lives of people in the far north. Learn more at OntheRoadofBones.com.

This event takes place at:
Kris Waldherr Art and Words studio-gallery
1501 Newkirk Avenue (entrance on Marlborough Road, across from Rite Aid)
http://www.artandwords.com/events.html
directions

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Our next exhibit opens the following Saturday! Here’s the poster for it:

More information to come very very soon—as soon as I get this long-aborning proposal off my desk!

More to come on this soon, along with news about the Goddess Tarot iPad app. But one can’t be all-work-and-no-play all the time: The Creative Women’s Networking Salon is back from summer hiatus tonight.

Here are the details:

Friday, October 8, 7-9:30 pm
Creative Women’s Networking Salon

Are you an artist, writer, or creative entrepreneur and practioner? Come out and meet other like-minded women for conversation, inspiration, and wine. At previous salons, we were joined by photographers, crafters, publishing people, designers, artists, writers, and illustrators. Suggested donation $5 for food and wine.

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In other good news, my two new Doomed Queens-themed card decks just received a euphoric review from The Magical Buffet, a website where spirituality, politics, and pop culture collide most entertainingly. For example, they titled their article about  my decks,  “We Are Not Amused, Actually We Are.” Fun!

Here’s what they wrote:

If you’ve been a regular reader of The Buffet for any length of time you have no doubt heard me shout about how (insert item/person/event/other) is the most awesome thing ever. Every time I feel I’ve encountered what will surely be the coolest thing to ever cross my experience, something new comes to light. That said, today we will be looking at what is surely the coolest, most awesome, most fan-freakin’-tastic thing ever! The Doomed Queens Royal Playing Cards and the companion Ask the Queens Advice Card Deck, both by Kris Waldherr and published by US Games Systems…. Both “Doomed Queen” decks are unique and so much fun! Alone or together, they would truly make gifts that keep on giving.”

Read the rest of the review here. Learn more about these card decks here.

I have a guest post up on Harrowing Historicals, a month-long celebration of all things spooky and history-oriented. It’s hosted by the lovely Allie (of Hist Fic Chick) and the equally lovely Nicole (Linus’s Blanket). (I was fortunate to have met both of them at Mary Sharratt’s reading  at the gallery earlier this year.) A little about Harrowing Historicals:

Each day of the month at witching hour (12 midnight, EST), Nicole and I will feature a different historical fiction (and a few fun non-fiction!) read that has a Halloween tie-in. Because let’s face it – history is fraught with some scary stuff! Join us for chats on the history of vampires, Queens who died in gruesome ways, what it’s like to consult psychic mediums for historical fiction research, and scary personages like Elizabeth Bathory and Jack the Ripper. It’s going to be an exciting month filled with all things spooky history!”

My guest post is entitled “Let Them Eat … Ectoplasm?” Yup, it’s about the ghost of Marie Antoinette. Thanks to Allie and Nicole for inviting me to participate!

On top of this Allie has also posted a great review of DOOMED QUEENS. Plus there’s a giveaway of sets of Ask the Queens advice cards and Doomed Queens playing cards; info is listed at the bottom of my Harrowing Historicals guest post.

]]> http://kriswaldherr.com/blog/2010/10/doomed-queens-harrowing-historicals-and-a-review/feed/ 0 http://kriswaldherr.com/blog/2010/09/out-and-about-with-the-queens/ http://kriswaldherr.com/blog/2010/09/out-and-about-with-the-queens/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:52:32 +0000 kriswaldherr http://kriswaldherr.com/blog/?p=1304 Look what Thea* found at our local Barnes and Noble this weekend.

And in good company too.

And with a lovely new back cover, including a blurb from the New Yorker review.

My literary agent had mentioned that Random House would be doing a special promotion for DOOMED QUEENS, but I thought it would be closer to Halloween. So a nice surprise!

*Yes, I probably have the only five-year-old who knows what a Doomed Queen is. Good thing she’s more into princesses!

To give you a sense of them, the above image was scanned from the publisher’s catalog page. The first deck, ASK THE QUEENS Advice Cards (above left) offers wisdom for women who want to get ahead without losing their heads. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) If you like to play poker, the DOOMED QUEENS Playing Cards (above right) feature a different female regent on each card except for the kings. The kings include Henry VIII and Alexander the Great. I think they lend new meaning to getting a royal flush. (Again, couldn’t resist.)

Both decks are published by U.S. Games Systems, the publisher of The Goddess Tarot and Lover’s Path Tarot. While I still need to add the decks to my online catalog—another task on my trying-to-catch-up list—they can be purchased from Amazon now.

DOOMED QUEENS Playing Cards

ASK THE QUEENS Advice Cards

You can take the ASK THE QUEENS Advice Cards for a test run here. In the meantime, reviews are starting to roll in:

…They are absolutely stunning…. I had a great time asking the Queens for advice.

… It is a charming deck to work with…. I absolutely love this deck because not only is each card full of wisdom and experience it also tells you a bit of information on that particular queen and a little of the history too.

In late October, both decks will also be featured by Allie at Hist Fic Chick and Nicole at Linus’s Blanket as part of their upcoming Haunted Historicals feature. I’ll be writing a guest post for them on a DOOMED QUEENS-related theme. More info to come next month!

Eye candy Jonathan Rhys Meyers has returned as King Henry VIII (or “Henry 8″ as he’s deemed in this poster), along with his entourage of Doomed Queens in the final season of THE TUDORS. I’m eager to find out how vacuously they’ll portray Catherine Howard (which I’m sure will horrify author Alisa Libby), how stately Catherine Parr will be, and whether the ghost of Anne Boleyn will make the obligatory appearance. I suspect that only Joss Stone’s Anne of Cleves will come out a winner.

THE TUDORS is hardly the stuff of high culture, but it’s a ton of fun. Maybe I’ll even play a drinking game: for every mention of divorce, reformation, or execution, take a shot of your favorite beverage!

The good news is that we don’t have to wait until April 11th to watch the premiere, thanks to the good people at Showtime. Player not working in your choice of browser? You can also view the episode on YouTube here.

Enjoy! And welcome back, Hank!

Next up for my “Most Romantic Week on the Blogosphere” featuring the Love Tarot app, is Mama Donna Henes, an urban shaman and folklorist supreme. Someone commented earlier wondering what an urban shaman does. In Mama Donna’s case, she works with individuals, groups of all kinds, companies, and municipalities to create meaningful, non-denominational rituals for every conceivable occasion. For example, she performs solstice and equinox rituals for New York City; she also presides over the opening of the Village Halloween Parade. She also regularly reads tarot at my gallery’s popular Tarot Salon.

Mama Donna is also the author of several books, including the wonderfully empowering and award-winning The Queen of My Self: Stepping Into Sovereignty in Midlife.* Her blog entry here is adapted from The Queen of My Self — I think it offers a necessary corrective to so much media out there which suggests that a person can’t be complete unless they’re in a romantic relationship. Mais non, ma cherie! After all, our most important relationship with with ourselves.

Today we’re giving away a copy of Mama Donna’s book The Queen of Myself to one blog commenter. Details at the end of this post.

Tomorrow’s post: I conclude the week with a post about what I think is the most inspiring love story. Ever.

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TODAY’S GIVEAWAY: We have a copy of The Queen of My Self! To enter, simply leave a comment for this post. For a double entry, tell us about a an experience where you treated yourself like royalty. (For myself, it was during my recent trip to Montreal. I stayed at a nice hotel, ate at a famed restaurant, and saw intensely beautiful art.

The small print: You have until midnight EST on February 14 to leave your comment. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on this blog Monday, February 15, 2010. Sorry, but the giveaway is limited to U.S. and Canada only.

*If you enjoyed this entry, I hope you’ll become a fan of The Queen of My Self on Facebook. You can also follow The Queen of My Self on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thequeenbook.

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Top art: Isis and Osiris art from the Love Tarot app by Kris Waldherr.

More about the Love Tarot app: Considered to be the most romantic app in the App Store, the Love Tarot app offers gorgeous tarot readings inspired by famous love stories, such as Tristan and Isolde and Cupid and Psyche. This five star-rated app was recently relaunched to include a tarot journal for users to save their readings and other inspirations.

Available in Lite and Full versions, learn more here. Or download the Full version on iTunes now.

Best-selling author Sandra Gulland (Mistress of the Sun).

Urban shaman Donna Henes (Queen of My Self).

Renowned tarot authority Ruth Ann Amberstone (The Secret Language of  Tarot).

And, finally, acclaimed historian Holly Tucker (Wonders and Marvels, Blood Work).

These amazingly talented and inspiring women will be joining me for a week of love-themed posts and special giveaways. It’s all to celebrate Valentine’s Day — and the relaunch of the five star-rated Love Tarot iPhone app, which was recently updated with a tarot journal for saving readings and other inspirations.

The week will be kicked off tomorrow morning with a wonderfully romantic piece by Sandra about the writing of love letters.  (Side note: I’m extremely flattered that she writes that her post was inspired by my illustrated novel The Lover’s Path.) On top of that, we’ll be giving away a copy of Sandra’s bestselling book, Mistress of the Sun. To enter the raffle, all you need to do is comment.

A huge bouquet of thanks to these illustrious ladies for participating in what I hope will be the most romantic week on the blogosphere. And I hope you’ll to “see” you here beginning tomorrow!

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PS: To learn more about the Love Tarot and my other iPhone and iPod Touch apps, please visit my new-and-official app website here.

— Joyce Iris Miller (1930 – 2009)

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The abruptness of my last blog entry suggests that something sudden and unfortunate occurred here in Art and Words land. And it had. My mother-in-law, Joyce Miller, passed away on the evening of December 9th at the age of 79. Since then, we’ve been thrown into a land of bereavement and its aftermath, both emotional and practical.

It’s amazing how much time and energy loss takes. I’m certainly old enough to know loss in my life. But this one has really cut to the bone. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so hard if Joyce’s death had been expected. But it wasn’t — she had a sudden heart attack and died instantly. Otherwise, she was a vital force until the end, full of good humor and joy (as her name suggests). Besides a husband of 56 years, she left behind a daughter and a son — my husband — and two granddaughters.

How can I describe her without sounding like a hagiography? But all this is true — she was simply an extraordinarily generous person who saw the beauty and good wherever she went.

She gave her time and talents to numerous non-profits organizations, including the Library of Congress and the Women’s Democratic Club. She was someone who gathered friends everywhere she went and kept them. Joyce was also the best grandmother to my daughter Thea. Filled with patience and playfulness, she always had some special surprise to greet Thea with every time we visited her in Washington, DC, where she lived. She was always ready to tell a story or to give a hug.

Joyce also loved to have fun and enjoyed beautiful environments. Before her death, we had talked about taking a trip to Monticello and Newport to view the mansions of the rich and famous. She also enjoyed a good gossip and a dry vodka martini, preferably on the rocks with olives. One of my favorite Joyce quotes: “I gave up guilt. It wasn’t that hard to do.”

Joyce Miller was one of my favorite people in this world, and possibly the kindest person I’ve ever met. Last week, we laid her to rest in a grave we covered in peach-colored roses, not far from where John Philip Sousa was buried.

I miss her greatly already. But I feel blessed to have known her.

Joyce Miller with Tom in Rome, sometime in the 1970s.

(You might be wondering why “blogue” instead of the standardly spelled “blog”. Lunaea explains, “It’s just an old-fashioned touch that harkens back to less-hurried (and harried) times. . . . When you visit my blogue, I invite you to take a nice deep breath, absorb things a little at a time, wander in a serendipitous fashion, and generally remember that even in the ultra-speedy world of the Internet, you control the pace of your life.” Lovely, wonderful advice.)

On this stop, Lunaea interviews me about using a tarot app for readings and much more. I hope you’ll take a moment to visit.

In other news, I’m pleased to formally announce that U.S. Games Systems will be publishing four new card decks by me. U.S Games is also the publisher of The Goddess Tarot and The Lover’s Path Tarot.

Two of these new projects are related to Doomed Queens — Doomed Queens playing cards and Ask the Queens advice cards — which will be most likely published in early 2010. The other two are The Sacred World Oracle and a deck which will tie into my new book underway. (Still too early to reveal the details about this, though I’ve posted hints on this blog. One thing I can safely admit is that it’s also royally-themed, like Doomed Queens.)

After so many years in publishing, I don’t count a deal as done until everyone’s John Hancock is on the page. But this week, I signed the contracts for all four decks. Now I’m awaiting countersignature and my copies in the mail and all that.

I look forward to sharing more about these new projects as they develop!