The Proof Pages For My First Book Have Arrived

My wonderful editor Becky Zins sent me the proof pages for Voice of the Trees, whoa, it makes me feel like a "real" writer!  Now, keep in mind my friends, I know, I've been getting paid to be a writer since 2007 when I first submitted an article to Llewellyn for publication and I've been writing articles for them every single year since, and have even written articles for trade magazines and copy-writing for my day job.  The official rule is, if you receive money to do it, you're a professional.  Yes, I've seen my work in print and in the bookstore, which is a really cool feeling, but to see this whole manuscript all laid out with the illustrations in place, elegant titles, and especially the page with all the legal info, well, it brings this project to a whole new level of real!  After all, it's my first frikkin' book, and I think the writing bug has bitten me!

So is my work as a writer of this project over?  Hardly.  The next step is to pour over the proof pages and pick and polish every last aspect of this book and adjust things addressed by my editors notes, so that when it falls into your waiting hands along with it's accompanying deck, it will be perfect!  That is why we need editors, they have a great eye for noticing anything that's amiss, so she sends notes along with the manuscript for minor changes to consider, double check a piece of research, change a redundant word, switch a sentence around for clarity, that kind of thing.  I don't know what we would do without editors, I have many other authors that I consider my friends, and they all agree, sometimes when you look at that line that's been underlined in red you say, "What was I thinking?  Yep, fixing that right now!"  Sometimes we look at our own work for so long, it needs a fresh set of highly trained eyes to catch things.

So is it a daunting task?  Partly yes, but mostly no.  It's been awhile since I wrote it so it's fun to revisit it again, and Becky was my dream editor so I'm honored to work with her and actually looking forward to digging into her notes and tweaking the book.  You can learn so much from a good editor!  The good news is, it's not an overwhelming amount of edits, so I guess that means I did alright, and every author has edits.

So the press date is June 1, so I have to give this project my immediate attention.  I'll be a busy gal, sounds like pizza for dinner this weekend guys!

A Beltane Visitor

Late last night while I was sleeping, my husband discovered a lovely Polyphemus Moth that had fallen from our oak tree and landed on our porch.  My son and I were taking out the trash this morning and we found that it was still there, right in front of the door.  I took a few pics, and noticed it wasn't moving, so I tried to pick it up, and it flapped a bit, but did allow me to carefully cradle it in my hands.  I was worried it may be near the end of it's life since it didn't fly away, so I placed it in my pot of rosemary on the deck.   Apparently they only live a week, and I figured if it was preparing to cross over, at least it would be more comfortable there, and safer too. 

This is where we found her this morning, the males have much bushier fern like
antenae that the females, so I think this one is a female.

I've been keeping an eye on her, so I got to thinking that perhaps she's a messanger of the faeries, and I wondered about what message this moth may have for me to have gotten my attention on this Beltane morning?  I'm going through a transitional period with my employment right now, and find myself trying to decide what direction to turn in for my day job.  Moths have similar symbolism as butterflies; change and rebirth, reinventing yourself,  but moths of course are nocturnal which gives them some slightly different symbolism, more philosophical, being creatures of the night, and the moon, dealing with intuition.

The moth has no trouble making it's way through the darkest hours, and we can learn from that. We can use our intuition, dreams, and our inner knowledge to get us through what may seem like the dark hours of our lives. The moth also indicates a knowing that your needs will be met.

We placed her in the pot of rosemary on the deck.

The moth also is drawn to light, whether the light of the guiding moon, or the dangerous flame, her faith and determination draw her ever towards the light in the darkness.  The moth reminds us to remain determined but careful not to fall victim to blind faith. The moth also reminds us to adjust our course if needed, rather than driving onward ignoring signs along the way. 

I love her sweet little face!

I hope I've made my Beltane visitor comfortable in her pot of rosemary.  I intend to listen to her messages, as I work through these changes in my life and know that all will work out for the best.

Go out, green the fields, live in the now, and enjoy the earth as life bursts forth!
Blessings,
Mickie

Treasures: Black Flowers, Shattered Fingernails, and Emeralds in the Parking Lot!

Hi All,

I found three interesting treasures this week, and I wanted to share with you.

 Treasure 1: Shattered Fashion

I recently tried out OPI nail polish because my sister-in-law told me that is how she keeps her nail polish on for so long. I was the one day wonder with my home maincures, they look good for a day and then turn into a redneck french manicure, all the color chips off the tips! Gah! She told me to use a good quality base coat, 2 coats of OPI color and a good quality top coat and it lasts longer. I was dubious. Ever the bargain shopper, how could expensive nail polish make a difference from my dollar stuff, but I tried it. Guess what? It worked! So I have a couple of colors of OPI now, and I can get four sometimes five days out of a manicure now, totally worth it!

OPI colors: Nomad's Dream topped with Black Shatter

I heard that OPI made something new called Black Shatter. It's black, you paint it over your color, and then it "shatters" right on your nail. I was grocery shopping and one of my favorite checkers had this cool black pattern on her nails and I had to comment, "Cool nails, is that OPI?" She told me it was the new Shatter! It looked so cool, so I ran into Beauty Brands a few days later and picked up a bottle. I painted it over my boss's hot pink toe nails, and it looked awesome! So I painted my fingers and toes with Nomad's Dream and topped it with Black Shatter, it looks totally cool! It has kind of an animal print look to it. It shaters really fast, so you have to be quick, and as my favorite checker told me, "Only one coat." Follow up with a glossy top coat because Black Shatter has a matte finish. This is mine four days later, only one little chip.

Oh, I also learned this great trick, using a crystal glass nail file!  They it your nails really smooth and they never get dull, you just throw it in the dishwasher or run under the tap and dry, and it's as good as new.  so it won't end up in a landfill.  Better for your nails and better for the earth, plus it looks so pretty that if you get a snag you have to fix and you whip out your glass crystal file everyone knows how fancy you are.

Here's the one I use, we put the art on these right in my studio and sell them in our Etsy shop!

Featuring my art, Tatiana's New Dress, here's the link, we have other designs too!

Treasure 2: Emeralds in the Pavement

This second one is kind of funny. It seems like it's rained here in Missouri every day for two weeks or more, and we hadn't seen the sun in ages. The other day this big bright ball appeared in the sky! We were so used to seeing the sky looking a greyish-green, the signature color for skys everywhere during torando season in the midwest. So the sun shone like an old friend, I was so happy to see him that I made any excuse that I could to go out side during work. "I have to check the mail..." "I left something in my car..." etc. On one of my trips, I happend to look down to find that the still damp cracks in the parking lot pavement and noticed a beautiful emerald green color. What was the treasure? Alge.

Alge growing in a crack in the parking lot at work = too much rain!

Alge growing in the cracks in the parking lot, holy cats! That's a pretty good sign that we've had waaaay too much rain! So of course, I ran to the car to grab my camera because I've never seen such a thing except when I visited Seattle WA, and people there don't tan, they rust!

Treasure 3: Midnight in the Garden of Petunias

I went by Hilltop Nursery in O'Fallon today, with my son, they mostly deal with professional landscapers, but this year they opened up a little section for the general public, so we were curious and thought we would pop in. We perused the tables looking at the vegetables and flowers they had to offer. The something caught my eye, a little pot full of black, yes black petunias! I was delighted, I've never seen such a thing. So we kept on moving through the greenhouse and I found a whole bunch of them, the tag said "Black Velvet!"

Black Velvet  Petunias

Then, next to them we noticed some black ones with yellow stars! They are called "Phantom!" Ha! These were so darned cool. So I asked the man running the place how much they were, "Three dollars a pot." A little more than I wanted to spend, but I have already shopped the hardware stores and Walmart in my area and haven't seen these yet, so I picked up three!

Phantom Petunias

The man told me, these are both brand new varieties. I got one Black Velvet, one Phantom, and one that looked like kind of a mix, black with a couple thin yellow streaks. These are really striking, and I wanted to tell you all to watch for these dark beauties!

Phantom and Blacdk Velvet varieties look really nice together!

 That's all for now, my daugter just arrived with two more treasures, my grandchildren Olivia and Rhys, off to play!

Blessings!

Mickie

Whats New: Pre-Orders, My Favorite Actor, and a New Baby!

I'm dropping in from the storm ridden Midwest to catch up and share some great news! You can now pre-order your copy of Voice of the Trees: A Celtic Divination Oracle! I'm simultaneously ducking storm clouds and on cloud nine! I received some sample pages from my editor Becky Zinns last week who has been taking my pages and art and crafting them into a really beautiful companion book that will be paired with the deck. She is doing such a great job, when I saw the pages she's done so far, I got all teary eyed, it looks like a real book! I included many black and white pencil pieces for her to sprinkle around, a fully illustrated ogham chart that she suggested, and even drew illustrations to show instruction for making your own sturdy bag to hold your deck. I'm also pleased to get to share with you the beautiful cover design created by Llewellyns Adrienne W. Zimiga. Pre-ordering from Amazon gets you a discount, so that's a nice bonus, and you'll be one of the first to get one! The last several weeks have been so very busy here I haven't even had a minute to breathe, much less to blog, so here's the quick catch up. For the past several weeks I was running up to my son's middle school to help with the set design for his schools production of "Beauty and the Beast Jr." My son Tristan is my new favorite actor

It was a blast, I got to work with his teacher who is a really cool lady, a few parents who I really enjoyed, and the stage crew kids, who were simply amazing! We painted village scenes, built trees, and made Maurices crazy machine, it was all out of cardboard, and I had some motors from my day job, so it was fully functional, and a bit steampunk. The axe chops, and the gear spins!

I really got to know the cast and crew over those couple of weeks, and I couldn't have been more proud when they did their performances! They did three and each was better than the last, they all earned standing ovations! I'm super proud of them all, but my son especially of course. He's done choir, but never gotten up on a stage to act, and he did a really good job. He was one of the villagers, and a wolf, and that kid was acting it up the whole time he was on stage.

Last, but certainly non least, only days after the final performance, I got a call from my daughter Brittany, to let me know they were heading to the hospital to have her little son, my new little grandson, baby Rhys!

I picked up my little granddaughter Olivia and brought her home to her Grandpa Dan, and raced back up to the hospital to cheer her on. She did great, and he is such a little cutie pie!

He looks just like his daddy The Suburban Caveman, but thankfully without the facial hair yet. They are such a perfect little family, and little Olivia just loves her new baby brother!

So it's been a pretty exciting week full of great things. I'm so happy to have a minute to breathe so I could pop in and catch up on all the excitement. Bright Blessings Everyone!

Book Illustrations Flying Through the Air!

I am very pleased to report that the illustrations for Wandlore: The Art of Crafting the Ultimate Magical Tool by Alferian Gwydion MacLir are all now finished and whisking their way to my dear friends at Llewellyn even as we speak!

I really have enjoyed this project wholeheartedly, I do think that everyone will really love this book when it makes it's debut in July. This authors work is so inspired, one can't help being enchanted by it. Watch for it this July when you'll get the opportunity to read this wonderful book and get a close look at the details in the illustrations, until then, I offer these shots of the finished project upon my old wooden art table right before I packed them up neatly in their sturdy chipboard package and dropped them off for their trip.

So what's next? Well, I'm assisting with the set design for my sons middle school production of Beauty and the Beast, and there will be some new full color art on the old wooden art table very soon. What else is on the horizon, who knows...well, I know, keep your eye on this space and I'll share more soon!

More Sketches for the Wandlore Book

Hi All!

As many of you know, the project that's currently on my old wooden art table is a stack of illustrations for Wandlore: The Art of Crafting the Ultimate Magical Tool by Alferian Gwydion MacLir. I wanted to share some more of the sketches with you, I'm really enjoying this project, his book is simply amazing, and his wands are gorgeous. This beautiful book cover was designed by the marvelous Lisa Novak, and has been my inspiration. Some of the wands I'm illustrating for the book are his design and I also am doing a few "fantasy" wands, using the style of his work, but with my own designs. This evening I'm fleshing out sketches for the "part pages" they will be fully illustrated images of people with their wands in various magical environments. He gave me wonderful descriptions for these, so I think they will be really cool when they're done. Before I get started for the evening, I'll share a few other sketches with you that are complete. Now I need to put them in my portfolio for safe keeping while I dive into the next set of sketches.

Watch for this book coming this July, you can pre-order already even though I'm still working on the illustrations, how cool is that?!

I hope to return to Magical Movie Monday next Monday, but this evening, I must focus on the job at hand. Blessings! Mickie

New Illustration Project: "Wandlore" by Alferian Gwydion MacLir

Well, my day job as a graphic designer for a display company has been very busy, we had some big reports that we had to pull together for our big national client, and much of it was "creative writing" so I bet you can guess who was heading up that project! It was nothing but work, work, work, I even brought it home! Gah! Now it's done, and submitted, so I can get back to my magical world of art, illustration, and sharing with my dear readers!

And on that note, I have an exciting announcement! I just got my contract back from my publisher for the new illustrations I'm doing for a wonderful new book to be published by Llewellyn Worldwide this July. It's called "Wandlore: The Art of Crafting the Ultimate Magical Tool" and it's written by Alferian Gwydion MacLir. This is going to be a must-have book all about the construction, lore and and use of wands in magical practice. Alferian is the proprietor and master wand-maker of Bardwood Wandry, and I'm here to tell you his wands are gorgeous and inspired, each one a true work of art and skill. His wands are made from the wood of traditional sacred Druid trees and in the Druid tradition and Elvish lore, which after years of research to create The Voice of the Trees deck, was right up my ally!

Of course I'll be creating many, many illustrations of his beautiful hand crafted wands as well as various other illustrations for this magical treatise on wands.

Having made my own wand years ago, I have ultimate respect for this master craftsman. I created mine from a combination of wood and herb infused clay to set my stones in, but he works in the true Druidic method, carving each one lovingly from carefully gathered sacred woods. I've not done much work carving wood, but after I complete these illustrations, and finish reading this wonderful manual, I think I'll be inspired to try my hand at it. I have an unfinished staff that I may complete using his instructional book. What can I say, the guy is inspiring! He's a Druid Companion of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, and Chief Druid of Geal-Darach Grove (O.B.O.D.) and he's also a 32nd degree Freemason. He created Bard Woodcrafts in 2001 which is now one of the leading and most respected place to purchase a handmade wand. In short, he really knows what he's talking about.

So you may ask, where can I get this inspiring book? Well, it will be at bookstores everywhere this July, but you can pre-order it from Amazon and be among the first to own a copy! You can actually order it before I finish the illustrations, so how cool is that?!

I have around 30 illustrations that will be in this book, so that being said, I better get back to the old wooden art table!

Check out these links:

http://www.bardwood.com

Wandlore on Amazon

Wandlore on Llewellyns Website