open.substack.com/pub/feralfairyalmanac/p/feral-fairy-forecast
paranormal
Cocktails & Caftans!
Cliffhangers & Cocktails by the Caftan Coven
I was privileged to be interviewed by these two wacky writer witches, and it was pure joy. Go and check out their podcast! I reckon it’s on YouTube, too…
A Literary Game Night Proposal
Have you ever read a physical book with hand-written annotations? It’s a trend, and a great one, I think.
I am considering starting a game night/book club thing where we play some kind of mystery game or other RPG and pass around a book. Everyone would get a turn taking the book home and adding their own notes, and then when the book has been annotated by all, everyone would get a chance to read the other notes.
Then we would pick out a new book and a new game to go along with it. Does that sound like fun? It could also be done virtually, but I feel like in person would be better.
If you’re interested, please leave a comment and any other pertinent info (preferences of book type, game type, in-person or virtual, etc.).
First trip out of the house this year!
Tomorrow is really the first “normal” Monday of 2025, and we just paid a ridiculous amount of money to have our driveway shoveled, so the obvious agenda for today was LEAVING the Treehouse!
We made two stops! One for food, and the other for…food. You can’t go to the grocery store hungry, after all, unless the grocery store has an appealing restaurant within. Ours does not, so we indulged in a little Panera, then we were off to Big Kroger!
How quickly one forgets how tiring the grocery store is! It doesn’t help that I have basically been living in pajamas since New Year’s Eve.
It’s been a very productive time, though. I have worked every day of the year except for today. Tim has been working on his projects, too. It has been bliss! I love being on a roll.
Tomorrow I will have to run some errands, but I think it will be relatively quick on my other “car”:
Happy New Year, all! Hope it’s magical!
Time to give Thanks
Friends! What a season, huh?
I am preparing to send out a newsletter today, and it includes so many swell tidings! A new audiobook release AND an exclusive very cool giveaway just for Red Tash fans. Just my way of thanking you for reading my cozy fantasy mystery series, even though I have been a very slow writer these past few years.
To that end, I was actually looking through my backlist under my three biggest pen names, and it seems I have had a habit in the past of working in fits and spurts. During a “fit,” I would write, edit, and polish multiple works. I really have gotten on a roll in the past, sometimes for months at a time.
It has been my good fortune to know many writers who are able to work steadily at their careers, but until lately, I have not had the luxury of time for that. In October, however, I believe I found the tipping point. I finally have more time to write, an office of my own, a diagnosis of ADHD and the Rx to match, and a female role model I can relate to professionally, even though she’s younger than me and lives a completely different lifestyle.
Who?
Oh, you know who.
Whenever I feel myself at the crossroads of “Should I goof off?” or “Should I try to work for at least 15 minutes?” I ask myself, “What would Taylor Swift do?”
Go on and laugh if you must, but hear me out. She’s achieved all she has by relentlessly making her art her way, diving deeply into her life experience, and fearlessly sharing with the world. Her talent would not have taken her as far as she has risen were it not for her habit of DOING the thing. And, hey, sometimes she cries in between. Finally, a successful woman who is not afraid to show the world that her sensitivity is NOT a weakness, but an actual requirement of being a human being!
Perfectionism has its place, don’t get me wrong—but it has long discouraged me that women have attempted to hide their inherent womanly tendencies in the pursuit of artistic success. It is so backward! Thank you, Taylor, for showing me the way!
And it’s not just Taylor. I made myself an old fashioned vision board to remind me of where I’m headed, and why. I haven’t had to look at it much, because so far I’ve not gotten myself that far off track, but I will share it here in case you are interested in what my dream looks like in collage form. (I used to teach a journaling & collage class, and BOY do I hope my former students have checked out Pinterest’s new collage function.)
Well, that’s all for now. Make sure you’re on the email list! And happy November. I am grateful for you.
October is HERE!
Loving this autumn weather! I had an Autumn in a Cup from Starlight Coffee in Georgetown, IN this morning. YUMMY. 🍁☕️
Tim and I saw our first concert (without kids) in…? Ever? 🤷♀️
It was a magical show! We were spellbound.
If you need a little magic in your earholes, here are replays from my AMP shows from last week:
It’s fall break and we have lots of DIY stuff to get done, but I am going to do shows today, Wednesday, and Saturday, tentatively.
This week begins recording of Miss Fitz and the Hot Patchouli Murder for audiobook. Wish me luck. 🐈⬛🎃🍁☕️
Indie Bookstore, Anniversary, and I Miss Art Bell
Friday was a sweet afternoon! Tim and I went out for lunch for an early anniversary date. Gorgeous day!
After lunch, I did the show, and we spent a pleasant evening planning the weekend.
Saturday, Tim did some light plumbing in the kitchen and bath, and we celebrated this triumph with an outing to Lanesville Heritage Festival.
We’d planned on doing I MISS ART BELL that night, but we were pretty tired, so rescheduled to today. Sis tried to be my co-host, but we could not get past technical difficulties. BOO!
I’m grateful to have had some listeners and a caller, though. It was fun to discuss the paranormal for a bit.
In the future, I would like to schedule shows with co-hosts and do this more regularly. If you are interested in co-hosting or being a guest, get in touch.
