Everyday Enchantments Cover Reveal!

In just one short month, my first book, Everyday Enchantments, will be released through Moon Books.  October 26 is the official release date, but you can pre-order your copy here. In anticipation of this release date, I thought I’d share the official book cover and story behind it.  

When I first started compiling the manuscript for what would become Everyday Enchantments, I always knew what I wanted the book cover to be: a cup of coffee with the hint of magic.  It was the epitome of everyday mysticism in my mind.  A cup of coffee (or tea, as is your preference), is one of the most ordinary objects of our day-to-day lives…and also one of the most universal simple pleasures.  I wanted the image to suggest that quiet moments—like a coffee break—are fertile grounds for ordinary mysticism.

So I got a wonderful designer to take my musings and turn it into this lovely cover.  Then a miracle happened: Moon Books approved my dream cover—something practically unheard of in the publishing world.  

Isn’t it lovely?

I couldn’t be more proud or elated for this cover reveal!   In other exciting news, the reviews are in and readers are loving this collection of mediations on everyday magic.  Read what they have to say:

“This book is truly beautiful. When I read 'Everyday Enchantments is a love letter to the magic of everyday life'. I knew that this was a book I'd fall in love with and I wasn't wrong. The book consists of a collection of short writings providing an alternative perspective on the everyday. Beautifully written and thought provoking, everyone should have a copy of this, or read it at least once! This is a book I will go back to over and over again. Highly recommended.”  ~ Margaret Leonard, NetGalley

“This book appealed to me on my levels. and I felt the stirring in my being with the way the words just flowed from the author. A very good read for those who want to live enchanted on a daily basis.” ~  Christina Blake, NetGalley 

“A lovely thoughtful book with an invitation to step into the magic of somebody else's life.  All the experiences are very personal and culturally related to the authors own life.  However it was a pleasure to dream up all the sights, sounds, and smells of another place and another life.  I especially loved the trip to the herb store and found it all a sensory delight.  Hopefully it will encourage you to see the magic in your own life and what is special and sacred to you.  A delightful read.” ~ Jc. C, NetGalley 

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

Magic is a Hard, Gritty Thing (Part II)

I asked for a new life. In return, I had to bury my seed so deep in the earth it kissed Hell.  It was important that this black disk holding the heart of a hollyhock be warmed by morningstars and forced to carve its way out of the darkness.  This, so that I could know the value of my transformation.

Now, I am uncomfortable with tight spaces and have trouble breathing in the dark, damp underground.  That is the price I paid for freedom.

I dreamed of a book once, too.  One with my name on it and my thoughts in it.  All the Universe expected in return was blood and heartache, time and tears, and that long stretch of purgatory where no one knew what I was doing--or cared--except for the emerging words on the page.  They knew.  They understood.  Felt the relief of stories so long contained finally spilling across naked sheets.

I'm about a pint of blood short now and so have less energy for things that don't understand that my heart is buried inside an herb garden, in a constant state of becoming. I get tired if I'm away from my stories for too long, worn out when I'm asked to ignore the poetry of a Monday or the grace of a slammed door. 

That was what the magic required of me to see my hope eternally bloom.  And I paid the price willingly.  That garden?  It has rosemary and words and ink and lavender in it--but no weeds and no room for nonsense.  I worked hard to make it so.  

I picked out each and every weed and each and every shade with my own hands until my fingernails were cracked and rimmed with black dirt and my hands were bloody from the nicks and scratches of angry ghosts that didn't want to leave such a cozy home.  I have a few crooked fingers now and a predisposition toward dry hands.  But no weeds.  No shades secretly living inside the sunflower's underbelly.  Just an abundant harvest to look forward to.

Magic is a hard thing and doesn't take wishes lightly.  This I know, which is why I hold up deleted pages and crossed-out passages like offerings for another manuscript, another birthing. These tattered narratives will never see the light of day.  They are the willing sacrifices for a better story.  I bind them up and surround them with twigs for kindling.  I press flame to their feet and watch the fire gobble them up because that is what the magic needs if I am to write something that is honest and potent.

Magic is a gritty thing, asking for you to give until it hurts.  That's the only way it knows you're serious and not just looking for a topical solution to soul sickness.  That kind of healing requires long journeys down dark roads and through the caves of memory until all your pains are excorcised and your hair smells vaguely of brimstone and forgetting. 

After all that, it lets you taste the first ripe peach of summer, speckled with morning dew.  Your tongue is coated in sunshine and hard-earned deliciousness.  Juice dribbles down your chin.  Your fingers are sticky with fuzz and nectar.  And in your hand is another hard seed waiting to be kissed by morningstars.

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!