Creativity Friday: Completing the Sacred World Oracle

And then there were none—none cards, that is, to be finished in the Sacred World Oracle. Here’s a first look at the four remaining cards.

The Sacred World Oracle celebrates the beauty and diversity of the earth and its creatures, utilizing myth, folklore, and nature to offer wisdom and guidance. It was created to offer you a simple way to access the wisdom of the natural world, just as humans have done since time immemorial. And now it is complete. All the files—art, text, and design—for the SWO are off to U. S. Games Systems, who will be publishing The Sacred World Oracle soon. In the meantime, you can try a three card reading with the SWO here. Enjoy!

• Filed under mythic living, publications, tarot and oracles | 2 Responses

Publishing Monday: Ack, it’s August!*

As you can see in the above photograph, the Wall of Projects has been quite full this season. That’s the only excuse I can give for allowing this blog to go dormant for a full month. I don’t think I’ve gone this long between updates since, well, I don’t know when. My semi-lame excuse: I’ve been overwhelmed with trying to finalize several major projects before going on summer break.

Did I accomplish everything I wanted to? No. But I got quite close.** A quick recap to bring you up to speed on some of what’s going on in my studio:

1. THE LILY MAID. Goal: To finish revising and workshopping Part 1 and Part 2 (about 75k words) of my novel. Accomplished: Revised all but one chapter of Part 1; Part 2 semi-revised. Once I finish this, I’ve just the last third to edit. On the plus side, I’m very pleased with the feedback I’ve gotten so far on my revised chapters. My readers have been so supportive that I’m feeling so much more confident about my writing these days. And I’ve gained several astonishingly good critique partners and beta readers through the HNS conference and my novel-writing workshop at Sackett Street Writers.

Here’s a post-revision excerpt from the first page of THE LILY MAID, which I’m quite happy with:

A painting undermined my father. And, as you will see by the end of my story, a painting nearly destroyed me. Art is dangerous like that, an unruly thing. I used to consider it as superfluous as those who dedicated their lives to creating it. But I no longer do—I’ve learned this lesson, along with so many others, over the past months. During this period my life has become as foreign to me as another land.

When a life is about to be turned upside-down, there should be some sort of sign so you can prepare yourself. In my case, I received it about a year ago as a communication from beyond the grave. The message was so obvious that I ignored it. I couldn’t believe that fate would be so inelegant.

It was on the first anniversary of my father’s unexpected death in the July of 1888 that my maternal great-aunt Georgiana decided to contact him in a séance. The truth was that my father, while a respected scholar, was not the most practical of men. While Aunt Georgiana was better off than we were thanks to an advantageous marriage, she was reluctant to financially help us from a fear of making us dependent. Instead she claimed my father’s spirit would guide us to some undisclosed funds. His family had been wealthy in Italy, but less so once they’d fled to England for political reasons. Having little experience with the frisson of the darkened room, Aunt Georgiana decided that the Bloomsbury Proper-gandists of Spiritualism would be the vehicle for my family’s liberation. She knew nothing about this group beyond the claims of their London Times advertisement—Novel and Marvelous Manifestations in Full Light. Daily at 3 and 8. The address listed was near the Strand just off Fleet Street.”

2. GODDESS TAROT ANDROID APP. Goal: On the market by the end of July. Accomplished: Almost finished—one last round of revisions and it should be ready for submission to Android Market. The good news is that the app has been designed to work on Android phones and tablets. It’s exactly the same as the Goddess Tarot iPhone app with a few very minor modifications for the Android platform. (On a related note, I’m hoping to put the Goddess Tarot iPad app into production this fall.)

3. SACRED WORLD ORACLE. Goal: Finished and to the published. Accomplished: Three cards left; the booklet text underway. This project is definitely a case of “so very close”—I’ve been trying to finalize it since the end of 2010. Sometimes my time in the studio seems like a giant game of Whack a Mole.

——————-

On top of all this, my website needs a major overhaul, I’ve several design jobs underway—I’m helping the lovely and amazing Sandra Gulland launch her new e-book imprint!—and the new gallery show needs to be hung. I’ve decided this time ’round to present a selection of my books and art—something I haven’t done in some time.

We’re also moving forward with scheduling new events for this fall. Our first event will be a feng shui workshop with author Tisha Morris on September 17th. Spaces are limited; registration is required. Learn more here.

And how was your summer so far? Feel free to post about it in the comment section. In the meantime, I’ll be catching my breath before diving in again.

*So much for my HNS recap “coming soon.” Sigh.

** In tarot, the Nine of Staves traditionally represents a brief break for rest before jumping back into the fray. Completion is so close, yet feels so far!

• Filed under The Novel, art and words, publications, publishing, tarot and oracles, the world around me | 2 Responses

Publishing Monday: PubIt! with a side of Slush Pile Hell

Two things this rainy Monday in Brooklyn:

1. PubIt!* As evidenced by recent actions, Barnes and Noble is desperately embracing the e-book world. No surprise, but Nook displays have gained significant real estate in their retail stores. During a recent visit to my local Barnes and Noble**, a kiosk devoted to the Nook dominated front and center; if I hadn’t known better, I might have wondered if I’d walked into a computer store. Secondly, and more of interest to authors and independent publishers, they’ve launched PubIt!, a self-distribution endeavor.

Here’s PubIt!’s aggressively friendly graphic which greets visitors to their home page:

This pitch appears after they invite you to “Live the Dream.” Which begs the question, What and whose dream?

I’m still digesting how I feel about PubIt!. On one hand, it’s a new distribution channel for independent publishers and authors—what’s not to like? So far, I’ve been distributing my own e-books and apps through Apple and Amazon; I’m glad to have a new market via Barnes and Noble. However, the disturbingly jaunty tone of “Just don’t forget about us when you’re Big Time” makes me want to…. Well, you can fill in the blank.

Someone asked me on Twitter what I think about PubIt! so far. The truth is that I don’t know yet. Though I’ve signed up for an account, I had some problems with registration. I’m set up with New York State with a business EIN (Employee Identification Number). I run my business from a commercial storefront. Regardless, there were issues regarding tax addresses and EIN addresses and other fussy technical stuff that required a telephone call to a rather bored-sounding PubIt! employee. Though he did his best to be helpful, I had the impression the poor guy had spent all morning fielding similar questions.

Several e-mails later, I think I’m good to go with Pubit!. Part of me expects another e-mail from Barnes and Noble announcing there’s still an issue with my account. Time will tell.

2. Slush Pile Hell. Though I discovered this site some months ago, it never fails to crack me up. Billed as “one grumpy literary agent, a sea of query fails, and other publishing nonsense”, it’s snarky as all out. But, like jokes about New Jersey***, I hope I’ve earned the right to indulge in some publishing humor. After all, I started out in the biz reading hundreds of unsolicited submissions for a major New York publishing company.

Based on my personal experiences, I suspect the letters published on Slush Pile Hell are drawn from real life. Here’s one example—what follows is the agent’s imagined response:

Every agent I’ve encountered thus far has been a complete idiot. Let’s see if you can prove you’re different by representing me and my book.

Stop. Your seductive charm is making me feel woozy.”

And another:

Hello dear. I want to present to you my nonfiction work.

Dear? Mom, I’ve already told you that just because you raised me doesn’t mean I’ll give you preferential treatment.”

————————–

* Yes, the exclamation point is intentional on Barnes and Nobles’ part. It! Makes! Publishing! Sound! So! Exciting!

** Yes, I usually support indie bookstores, but they had a book I needed badly and immediately. (Hangs head in guilt.)

*** I spent my formative years in New Jersey. No Snooki jokes, pretty please.

• Filed under be-mused, e-books, goddesses, publications, publishing | 2 Responses

Sacred World Oracle: Five animals to go….

With all the projects going on here—novel revisions, iPad e-books, gallery exhibits, and iPhone apps et al—it’s been some time since I’ve posted any Sacred World Oracle updates. The good news is that I’m closing in on finishing this deck, with just five cards left to illustrate. I’m very pleased that U.S. Games Systems will be publishing the Sacred World Oracle; they’re also the publisher of my Goddess Tarot and Lover’s Path Tarot. If things keep on schedule as hoped, deck will be available in mid-2011.

With five cards left to illustrate, I thought it would be fun to get your feedback: What other sacred animals should I include?

Some background information: The decks is divided into quadrants, each devoted to the elements of earth, air, fire, and water. I’d like to add another card to the quadrants of earth, air, and fire; two cards to water. You can view most of the art here. Or, better yet, try a free reading with the in-progress Sacred World Oracle.

Here’s what I have so far:

Bat
Bluebird
Butterfly
Dove
Dragonfly
Owl
Peacock
Raven
Spider
Bear
Bull
Cat
Dog
Fox
Lion
Rabbit
Ram
Snake
Carp
Crab
Dolphin
Frog
Salmon
Swan
Turtle
Whale
Centaur
Chimera
Dragon
Falcon
Firebird
Horse
Phoenix
Salamander
Scorpion

I invite you to post your card suggestions in the comments below. If I use your suggestion, I’ll send you a copy of the Sacred World Oracle when it’s published. (In the case of two or more people making the same suggestion, a drawing will be held.)

So bring on the animals!

• Filed under mythic living, new projects, publications, tarot and oracles | 5 Responses

Publishing Monday: Out and about with the Queens

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!

• Filed under publications, queens, the world around me | No Comments