You’re invited: The Goddess Tarot app blog tour!

It’s summertime, so I’m currently on the road until mid-August. During this time, I hope to catch up with family and friends who live on the West Coast. Nonetheless, I have my semi-trusty laptop with me and will be posting periodic updates.

Along with this, I’ll be visiting blogs in August to celebrate the launch of The Goddess Tarot app. Already, I’ve gotten some press for the app — check out this article on Brokelyn.com in which I am queried about how to make an iPhone app. But for the tour, there will be much more: articles, interviews, even a podcast, along with giveaways galore!

Without further ado, here is a list of the blogs taking part in The Goddess Tarot app tour:

Monday, August 3rd — Tarot by Arwen

Tuesday, August 5th — New Age Journal

Thursday, August 6th — Only Tarot

Monday, August 10th — The Tarot Dame

Friday, August 14th — At Brigit’s Forge: A Blogue by Lunaea Weatherstone

Tuesday, August 18th — Art NYC: Marshall Sponder on the NYC Art Scene

Thursday, August 20th — Joanna Powell Colbert’s Gaian Tarot blog

Saturday, August 22nd — Owl’s Wings: The Blog of Beth Owl’s Daughter

Tuesday, August 25th — Elizabeth Genco

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BTW, if you haven’t downloaded The Goddess Tarot app yet, here are links to download the free Lite version and the paid Full version. You can find out more about the app’s features and visuals here.

Though it’s only been on the market for a week, already The Goddess Tarot app is garnering great reviews on iTunes. Here are excerpts from what people are saying about the Full version:

I’ve gotten a few tarot card apps so far and none of them can touch the Goddess Tarot for beautiful layouts and smart interactivity. It even has an animated shuffle — so clever!… Be sure to get the full version which has a variety of layouts.”

“Even if you’re not into tarot, this deck is for you. The artwork is enchanting. This is one of my most favorite decks and now it’s even better.”

“This cool app did not disappoint! As well as giving good readings — uplifting without being fluffy — there is also the opportunity to learn about the belief systems and goddesses from all over the world.”

“Kris Waldherr’s lush visuals and intuitive programming make this one of my favorite apps.”

“Beautiful images and soulful interpretations! It offers me a sense of wonder and magick — and it’s conveniently available in my iPod.”

Learn more at GoddessTarot.com.

GODDESS TAROT LITE VERSION	GODDESS TAROT FULL VERSION

• Filed under blogs we read, events, friends and colleagues, giveaways and raffles, goddesses, mythic living, publications, retail therapy, tarot and oracles | 5 Responses

Retail Therapy: Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland

Set in seventeenth century France, Mistress of the Sun is an opulent treasure of a historical novel. In it, author Sandra Gulland pulls off a difficult balancing act: The novel is both impeccably researched and gorgeously written. (As a long time reader of the genre, they usually strike me as being tipped one way or the other. Not so here.)

Mistress of the Sun is the story of Louise de la Vallière, nicknamed Petite because of her diminutive size. However, what Petite lacks in physical stature, she makes up in spirit—Petite was noted in history for her skills as a courageous horsewoman. On top of that, she’s also mistress to Louis XIV, which requires a different sort of courage.

Think it’s easy being mistress to the Sun King? Think again. Petite enters the court of Louis an innocent teenager, but succumbs to royal love-at-first-sight after the couple meets cute in a park. Initially they hide their affair through complicated disguises and discrete assignations. But Petite’s love for Louis forces her to make (to my mind) unimaginable sacrifices that go way beyond her personal moral code—hiding pregnancies under tightly-bound corsets, giving away their children to be raised by others. Even her mother disowns her.

Eventually Louis takes his romance with Petite public, which leads to a suspenseful “third act” that presents all sorts of questions about superstition, religion, and consequences. The court of the Sun King is a complicated place of ever-shifting alliances, where little is as it seems, especially to the pure-hearted Petite. Ultimately, Petite is forced to make a heartrending choice that will determine the remainder of her life. The denouement of this choice is presented in a tear-inducing coda that I adored (and won’t give away here).

Lest you think this is yet another voluptuously detailed romance, there’s a lot of nuance and dry wit here too. Gulland is a master of observation, and at defusing the ridiculousness of royalty. I found myself laughing out loud at some of her passages:

The King scanned the room with his eyes, his expression masklike. With calm dignity, he received the passionate adulation. A woman at the back slumped to the floor and was efficiently whisked out of the room. (Petite gathered that swooning happened rather often.)”

Though Mistress of the Sun is primarily the story of Louise’s life as this king’s mistress, it’s also a recounting of how Louis shaped his mythos into becoming the larger-than-life Sun King we recognize from history; and how this affected his relations with those he loved and was loved by in return, such as Petite. We are fortunate to share in this adulation. Highly recommended!

illustration: “Louis XIV with Louise de la Valliére in the Bois de Vincennes” by Jean Frederic Schall.

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Author Sandra Gulland will be interviewed here about her experiences writing Mistress of the Sun in tomorrow’s Creativity Friday. On top of that, we’ll be giving away a copy of Mistress of the Sun. Details will be posted here tomorrow! However, if you can’t wait, you can buy it here from Amazon.

• Filed under retail therapy, reviews + press | One Response

Doomed Queens news — and another giveaway

As I teased in yesterday’s post, the next stop on the Doomed Queens blog tour has gone live — and there’s a giveaway involved too.

Popin over at Proud Bookworm recently interviewed me about what made me decide to become a writer, my art making process, and all that research which went into DOOMED QUEENS. It’s a fun interview. Best of all, if you leave a comment there before January 28th, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win an autographed copy of DOOMED QUEENS. But wait, there’s more! For an additional chance to win, include in your comment which Doomed Historical figure you’re most fond of.

(Notice that “figure” is specified, not “queen”, though a “queen” can be considered a “figure.” So far, people have left some very interesting entries. I’m very fond of Joan of Arc too.)

In other DOOMED QUEENS news, Urban Outfitters has decided to carry my book in their stores everywhere. (Yes, they do sell books, albeit a very small, unique selection. So this is quite the coup.

PS: Thanks to all who “fanned” DOOMED QUEENS on Facebook and posted reviews on Amazon and BN.com reviews. I truly appreciate it.

• Filed under giveaways and raffles, publications, queens, retail therapy | 2 Responses

retail therapy: Raucously Royal — with a giveaway!

It’s been a loooong time since my last retail therapy post. Well, I guess I have been kind of busy, with Doomed Queens and all. But with the holidays before us, it seems time to resurrect it. Plus, with the Doomed Queens blog tour underway, a host of wonderful new websites and books have come to my attention. (More on the Doomed Queens blog tour in a future post.)

One of these books is The Raucous Royals, which is given life by the prodigiously talented Carlyn Beccia. Beccia wrote, illustrated and designed The Raucous Royals. Accordingly, the book has a remarkable integration between text, design and art — something close to my heart, as anyone who knows my work would concur. The book is designed to look like part tabloid magazine, part graphic novel, part Ye Olde Master homage. Frankly, I’m amazed to learn that this is only Beccia’s second picture book; her debut was Who Put the B in Ballyhoo?, a circus-inspired alphabet.

(Yes, technically these are picture books marketed to children. But I think they’re really for any age — beautifully illustrated books are ageless — though The Raucous Royals is definitely slanted to an older audience than Ballyhoo. Figure kids over eight.)

The core of The Raucous Royals is how history is “a Distillation of Rumors.”* Beccia writes: “Once a rumor is born, it never truly dies. Before television, tabloid magazines, and the Internet, rumors about royalty were started by clever jingles, silly cartoons, small books called pamphlets, and simple word of mouth.” From there, she deconstructs over a dozen rumors from the last five hundred years, starting with Vlad the Impader and finishing with England’s unfortunate George III.

It’s a fun romp, made all the livelier by Beccia’s knowing wit and clever art. All the wives of Henry VIII are there, including Anne Boleyn and her supposed sixth finger. Elizabeth and her cousin Mary Stuart are presented in a Rashomon-like format. I especially liked Beccia’s explanations of some of the stranger health obsessions of times past, such as “The Boil Butt Beautifier.” Apparently Louis XIV was prone to nasty boils on his… well, you get the idea!

A few rumors are lightly glossed over because of the juvenile market constraint. For example, Beccia plays coy in her presentation of Catherine the Great’s supposed death-by-horse. The rumor she offers: “Catherine the great empress of Russia, died after being crushed by her horse.” Um, well, only half the story there. But how else could you explain this to a G-rated audience without tipping toward a racy R rating? It’s a tricky thing — and this is one tale from history that is just too juicy to leave out.

I think The Raucous Royals would make a delectable gift for any history fan, especially if they’re on the younger side. I know if I’d had this book as a kid, I would eaten it up like coffee ice cream, my favorite childhood treat. So highly recommended for the holidays and beyond. I can imagine many a juicy school report being fueled by it. You can purchase it here.

Oh, and for the illustrators reading along, FYI: Beccia’s illustrations were created in Corel Painter and Photoshop, using a Wacom Cintiq. She has an art blog, in which she offers up some of her techniques — a great resource for anyone wanting to know “how’d she do that? — as well as art tutorials on The Raucous Royals official site.

Here’s the giveaway part: Win a copy of The Raucous Royals! Carlyn Beccia is generously offering us an autographed copy of as a giveaway. It will be raffled off in my next author newsletter, which is going out Wednesday. To be eligible for the Raucous Royal giveaway, enter your e-mail at the top of this page by Wednesday 12pm EST.

And may the most deserving subscriber win.

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* Quote from Thomas Carlyle, 1795 – 1881.

Art © 2008 from The Raucous Royals: Test your Royal Wits: Crack Codes, Solve Mysteries, and Deduce Which Royal Rumors are True by Carlyn Beccia. Published by Houghton Mifflin, October 2008. All rights reserved.

• Filed under be-mused, blogs we read, friends and colleagues, publishing, queens, retail therapy, the art world | No Comments

2008 holiday gift guide

In preparation for my new book about queens, I will be completely relaunching my website next year. In the meantime, with the holiday season upon us I thought it would be fun to feature some currently available products*, most of which cost less than $20. Want a bigger selection? You can also browse through over a hundred additional gift choices here:
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\ To inspire a creative friend . . . \ Like The Artist’s Way? Seeking creative inspiration? The Goddess Inspiration Oracle was especially created by Kris to get your artistry flowing. It’s great for creative work as well as personal queries. Includes 120 page book, 80 full color cards and gift storage box and bag. Learn more or purchase for $14.93 \ \ other gift suggestions: \ The Goddess Tarot deck \ Goddess blank journal

For those who adore romance . . . \ Some have called The Lover’s Path the most beautifully romantic book ever published. Like the bestselling Griffin and Sabine, The Lover’s Path includes tucked away love letters, hidden maps and tarot cards, all incorporated within a mysteriously illustrated love story. Full color cover and interior, with gold gilt binding. Learn more or purchase for $19.57 \ \ \ other gift suggestions: \ The Lover’s Path Tarot gift set \ Tristan and Isolde art poster

For a cold winter night. . . \ Hot cocoa or coffee? Maybe some earl grey instead? Whatever your decision, your beverage will be beautifully presented in this Muses oversized mug. Learn more or purchase for $14.99 \   \ \ other gift suggestions: \ Inanna throw pillow \ Cat Goddess sweatshirt

For a goddess-in-training . . . \ This baby onesie gets right to the point: This girl is a goddess, so treat her right! Also available as a tee shirt for toddler and older kids. Learn more or purchase for $12.99 \ \ other gift suggestions: \ Creeping Turtle framed print \ Bless the Beasts cocoa mug

\ To invite beauty . . . \ “Persephone in the Moonlight” is one of my most popular images. This oil painting was originally reproduced in Persephone and the Pomegranate. 16 x 20″ poster on heavy weight semi-gloss paper. Learn more or purchase for $20.00 \ \ other gift suggestions: \ The Book of Goddesses anniversary edition \ A Celebration of the Divine Feminine book

For anyone . . . \ The 2008 Goddess Inspiration Calendar is available in two formats, oversized deluxe and regular. Both editions feature twelve goddesses from around the world printed in glorious full color on high quality heavy stock. \ \ 11 x 17″ Deluxe Edition – $23.95 \ 8.5 x 11″ Regular Edition – $19.95

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*Because of my book deadline, I won’t be producing gicl\uc0\u8730 \’a9e prints or any limited editions this holiday season. However, I’m happy to send you an autographed bookplate for any book, calendar or deck set purchased from this site. Simply e-mail me your inscription and mailing address to e-comment at artandwords dot com.

• Filed under art and words, retail therapy | No Comments