I’m in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for this year’s Left Coast Crime conference. It’s been a while. Two years ago the state of California shut down all conferences in the state, and we all went home after 2 days. So, it’s exciting to be back to meeting, albeit masked, in person.
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As part of my “conference experience” I’m dedicating my blog to the authors I’d most like to meet, based on their books I want to read.
Here, in alphabetical order, are my top 13 authors and why I want to read them.

Daisy Bateman Murder Goes to Market and Dismal Harvest
Claudia Simcoe has left the tech world of San Francisco to start a new, quiet life in the peaceful coastal town of San Elmo Bay. Now she owns a market specializing in artisanal, locally-made goods. But then Lori Roth, one of her market's vendors, is strangled to death with a wire. And all of a sudden San Elmo stops seeming so peaceful. Especially when suspicion for the murder falls upon Claudia.

Things don't get any simpler when a second victim turns up. The body count is rising, and Police Chief Lennox thinks Claudia's the killer. There's friction between her and her weirdo neighbor. Lori's past yields some worrisome questions. A massive pickle jar seems to have played a role in the murder. And as if things weren't complicated enough, Officer Derek Chambers, Chief Lennox's new hire, is pretty cute.
 
Why I’m reading – I love the setting of these cozy mysteries, and I enjoyed the short excerpt I read. Going to start with the first book.

1. Shannon Baker

The Desert’s Share
When rookie agent Michaela Sanchez receives a tip from her sister that someone has gone missing in the Tucson desert, she thinks she’s searching for a lost immigrant. What she finds is the murdered defendant of a high-profile local trial.
 
Lacy Hollander was a humanitarian aid worker, on trial for harboring felons after she sheltered illegal border crossers. When a conflict erupts with a local vigilante group, her murder ignites a political firestorm.
 
Concerned about her sister’s involvement, and taking heat at home from her activist daughter, Michaela takes it upon herself to investigate.
 
But repeated run-ins with the commander of the vigilante group and a series of escalating threats against aid workers make one thing clear…the violence hasn’t ended with Lacy’s death.
 
There is a killer on the loose. And Michaela must untangle the mystery before he strikes again.
 
Why I’m reading – I haven’t read any Shannon Baker yet, even though she lives in my state. I’m going to go back and read her first book in the series, Echoes in the Sand, first. 

Connie Berry
A dream of Death
 
On a remote Scottish island, American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton investigates a brutal killing, staged to recreate a centuries-old unsolved murder.

Autumn has come and gone on Scotland’s Isle of Glenroth, and the islanders gather for the Tartan Ball, the annual end-of-tourist-season gala. Spirits are high until an unexpected turn of events takes the floor.

A recently published novel about island history has brought hordes of tourists to the small Hebridean resort community. On the guest list is American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton. Kate returns reluctantly to the island where her husband died, determined to repair her relationship with his sister, proprietor of the island’s luxe country house hotel, famous for its connection with Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Kate has hardly unpacked when the next morning a body is found, murdered in a reenactment of an infamous unsolved murder described in the novel—and the only clue to the killer’s identity lies in a curiously embellished antique casket. The Scottish police discount the historical connection, but when a much-loved local handyman is arrested, Kate teams up with a vacationing detective inspector from Suffolk, England, to unmask a killer determined to rewrite island history—and Kate’s future.
 
Why I’m reading - This is the first book in her Kate Hamilton Mystery series. Because the next novel I’m going to write (this summer) is based in Scotland, most of my summer reading is going to focus on that country. Call is enjoyable research. 

Pamela Beason 
Borderland

Wildlife photographer Jade Silva’s last text message is a photo of a rare jaguar at the US-Mexico border wall. When Jade vanishes, her fellow Southwestern Research Station volunteer, Sam Westin, agonizes that something terrible has happened. But finding Jade seems an almost impossible mission in a rugged area overrun by undocumented immigrants, Border Patrol agents, vigilantes, construction crews, human traffickers, drug smugglers, and violent cartel thugs. Meanwhile, the ever-increasing militarization of the Arizona-Mexico border is destroying ecosystems and trampling the rights of US citizens. Trying to rescue her friend, Sam is sucked into a maelstrom of desperation, deceit, and danger.
 
Why I’m reading - This is the last of her wilderness suspense series, but it sounds so interesting. Plus, my novel has a lot of border wall conflict, so I’d like to read her version of the area. 

David Boop
Straight Outta Tombstone

Here then are seventeen stories that breathe new life in the Old West. Among them: Larry Correia explores the roots of his best-selling Monster Hunter International series in "Bubba Shackleford’s Professional Monster Killers." Jim Butcher reveals the origin of one of the Dresden Files' most popular characters in "Fistful of Warlock." And Kevin J. Anderson's Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., finds himself in a showdown in "High Midnight." Additional stories from Alan Dean Foster, Sarah A. Hoyt, Jody Lynn Nye, Michael A. Stackpole, and many more. 
Why I’m reading – This anthology is not new but it contains so many of my favorite authors that I don’t want to miss it. Plus, you know, westerns. 

Rhys Bowen
Above the Bay of Angeles
 
A single twist of fate puts a servant girl to work in Queen Victoria’s royal kitchen, setting off a suspenseful, historical mystery by the New York Times bestselling author of The Tuscan Child and The Victory Garden.

Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London Street. In her final dying moments, she thrusts a letter into Bella’s hand. It’s an offer of employment in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, and everything the budding young chef desperately wants: an escape from the constrictions of her life as a lowly servant. In the stranger’s stead, Bella can spread her wings.

Arriving as Helen Barton from Yorkshire, she pursues her passion for creating culinary delights, served to the delighted Queen Victoria herself. Best of all, she’s been chosen to accompany the queen to Nice. What fortune! Until the threat of blackmail shadows Bella to the Riviera, and a member of the queen’s retinue falls ill and dies.

Having prepared the royal guest’s last meal, Bella is suspected of the poisonous crime. An investigation is sure to follow. Her charade will be over. And her new life will come crashing down—if it doesn’t send her to the gallows.
 
Why I’m reading – I don’t read much historical fiction, but this premise is so interesting. Rhys Bowen has written more than 40 novels, and is a Left Coast Crime winner, plus earning multiple Agatha and Maccavity Awards. 

Claire Booth
Dangerous Consequences
 
Elderly tourists visiting Branson, Missouri for a fun time instead become so sick and disoriented they end up in the ER with Dr. Maggie McCleary. She asks the sheriff to investigate and, because he happens to be her husband, Hank Worth readily agrees.

When the tour operator denies responsibility, Hank digs deeper leaving Chief Deputy Sheila Turley to handle a simmering revolt within the ranks. Their policy to eliminate overtime pay has infuriated many long-time deputies. Those fired for insubordination have filed a lawsuit, while those still there sabotage Sheila at every turn.

With pressure mounting, they're called to a hit-and-run accident. But the victim's injuries haven't been caused by a car . . . she's been beaten to death and dumped by the side of the road. And she was someone they knew.

Will the victim's aggressive business dealings come to haunt them all? And can Hank and Sheila save their department from destruction?
 
Why I’m reading – Interesting premise in Branson, Missouri, one of my favorite little, quirky towns. 

Mick Herron
Slow Horses
'The most exciting development in spy fiction since the Cold War.' 

Slough House is the outpost where disgraced spies are banished to see out the rest of their derailed careers. Known as the 'slow horses' these misfits have committed crimes of drugs and drunkenness, lechery and failure, politics and betrayal while on duty.

In this drab and mildewed office these highly trained spies don't run ops, they push paper. Not one of them joined the Intelligence Service to be a slow horse and the one thing they have in common is they want to be back in the action.

When a boy is kidnapped and held hostage, his beheading is scheduled for live broadcast on the net. And whatever the instructions of their masters at the Intelligence Service headquarters, the slow horses aren't going to just sit quiet and watch.
There are bad actors everywhere, and they usually get their comeuppance before the credits roll. But politics is a dirty business, and in a world where lying, cheating and backstabbing are the norm, sometimes the good guys can find themselves outgunned.

Why I’m reading – This book is the first in a series that is now a major TV series starring Gary Oldman.
The latest book in the series is Bad Actors, out May 10. 

Anne Hillerman
The Sacred Bridge

Sergeant Jim Chee’s vacation to beautiful Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell has a deeper purpose. He’s on a quest to unravel a sacred mystery his mentor, the Legendary Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, stumbled across decades earlier. 
 
Chee’s journey takes a deadly turn when, after a prayerful visit to the sacred Rainbow Bridge, he spots a body floating in the lake. The dead man, a Navajo with a passion for the canyon’s ancient rock art, lived a life filled with many secrets. Discovering why he died and who was responsible involves Chee in an investigation that puts his own life at risk. 
 
Back in Shiprock, Officer Bernadette Manuelito is driving home when she witnesses an expensive sedan purposely kill a hitchhiker. The search to find the killer leads her to uncover a dangerous chain of interconnected revelations involving a Navajo Nation cannabis enterprise. 
 
But the evil that is unleashed jeopardizes her mother and sister Darleen, and puts Bernie in the deadliest situation of her law enforcement career. 
 
Why I’m reading – I’ve read most of the Tony Hillerman novels and am ready to jump to daughter Anne. The hype says The Sacred Bridge is Anne Hillerman’s best novel yet featuring Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito, and that Anne has done an amazing job of continuing the series that her father began. 

Molly MacRae
Plaid and Plagiarism

Set in the weeks before the annual Inversgail Literature Festival in Scotland, Plaid and Plagiarism begins on a morning shortly after the four women take possession of their bookshop in the Highlands. Unfortunately, the move to Inversgail hasn’t gone as smoothly as they’d planned.

First, Janet Marsh is told she’ll have to wait before moving into her new home. Then she finds out the house has been vandalized. Again. The chief suspect? Una Graham, an advice columnist for the local paper—who’s trying to make a name for herself as an investigative reporter. When Janet and her business partners go looking for clues at the house, they find a body—it’s Una, in the garden shed, with a sickle in her neck. Janet never did like that garden shed.

Who wanted Una dead? After discovering a cache of nasty letters, Janet and her friends are beginning to wonder who didn’t, including Janet’s ex-husband. Surrounded by a cast of characters with whom readers will fall in love, the new owners of Yon Bonnie Books set out to solve Una’s murder so they can get back to business.
 
Why I’m reading - Plaid and Plagiarism is the start of an entertaining new Scottish mystery series, so I’m starting at the beginning. I’m emphasizing books based in Scotland, remember. 

Also really want to read the latest book, Argyles and Arsenic (March 1,2022), about a 93-year-old woman who decides to simplify her life by throwing a decluttering party at her manor and let her friends help themselves to whatever they want. There’s also a murder by poisoning, one of my favorite methods of dispatch. 

Gigi Pandian
Artifact: Book 1 of the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries
 
When historian Jaya Jones receives a mysterious package containing a jewel-encrusted artifact, she discovers the secrets of a lost Indian treasure may be hidden in a Scottish legend. But she's not the only one on the trail.

From San Francisco to the Highlands of Scotland, Jaya must evade a shadowy stalker as she follows hints from the hastily scrawled note to a remote archaeological dig. Helping her decipher the cryptic clues are her magician best friend, a devastatingly handsome art historian with something to hide, and a charming archaeologist running for his life. When a member of the dig's crew is murdered, Jaya must figure out which of the scholars vying for her affections might be the love of her life - and which one is a killer.

Jaya travels from San Francisco to the British Library in London to a Pictish archaeological dig in the Highlands of Scotland, piecing together the secrets of a lost Indian treasure hidden in a Scottish legend from the days of the British Raj.

Why I’m reading – I’ve read several of Gigi’s books in her Alchemist series, and now I’m ready to try her Treasure Hunt series. She’s a good writer and her subjects are fascinating. I’m also looking forward to hearing what archaeology sites she’s covering in Scotland, as I have a site in my next book. (As you can tell, personal research is the main way I justify reading for fun). She’s traveled to Scotland, so I can’t wait to pick her brain. 

Jason Pinter
A Stranger at the Door
 
Rachel Marin is in a good place. After years of struggle, the single mother has found both a stable, loving relationship and a new purpose: putting her investigative skills to work solving crimes for the local PD. But just as the pieces of her life are finally starting to fall into place, her teenaged son’s teacher is gruesomely murdered, starting a domino effect that shatters her peaceful existence.

When Rachel discovers an ominous email the teacher sent to her just before his death, she knows she must help bring his killer to justice. But soon a figure from her past reappears, threatening to expose Rachel’s darkest secrets if she doesn’t tread lightly. And when her son is recruited by a shadowy businessman who may be connected to the murder, Rachel knows this has just gotten very, very personal.

Someone out there is dead set on keeping this grisly cover-up good and buried, which means if Rachel’s not careful, it’s only a matter of time before her dream life becomes her worst nightmare.
 
Why I’m reading - I read and enjoyed his first book, Hide Away, immensely. It was a true edge of the seat thriller. I’m hoping his next book will be just as scary. 

Gregory C. Randall

• White Rabbit

Fifty years ago, Cate and Joe Davis’s family was torn apart by the Vietnam War, the protests, and the disappearance of their older sister, Bobbie. It left their mother and father dead. It left what remained of their family fractured almost beyond repair. And for fifty years it also left dozens of questions unanswered. 
 
Fifty years later, Cate has become a successful novelist and Joe an important artist. Then the FBI comes to her door demanding to know where their sister is, the sister the two Davis’s believe has been dead for a half century. Joe, damaged by the war, fights to keep what sanity hasn’t been destroyed by his memories, And Cate wants nothing more than to mourn the recent loss of her husband. All because the outrageous truth about what happened that day in 1968 that destroyed their family won't stay hidden forever.
 
Why I’m reading –
I’m a child of the Vietnam era and still enjoy reading about it. This book is said to be packed with twists and turns. Time to find out. 

Do you set annual reading goals?

While my novel draft of Crescent Moon Crossing is with my developmental editor, I’ve had a few days’ break from writing, so I compiled a list of the best books I read this year.

Goodreads has a popular app that keeps track of books that you read each year, if you’d like to try your hand at goal-setting. Don’t be intimidated by the voracious readers there. (Seriously, who can read a book a day? Evidently, a lot of people!) Ignore them, set your own pace, and enjoy!

I always try to read around 20 books each year, and post reviews of my favorites on NetGalley, Amazon and Goodreads. If you sign up on NetGalley as a reviewer, you get to request Ebooks to read for free (and well before they’re published), in exchange for a fair and honest review. Of course, not all of your favorite authors submit their upcoming books to the site, but you can read the ones that do before anyone else. Granted, I’ve found a few DNF (Did Not Finish). But many more gems.

Here are some of my favorites from 2021:

Around the World in 80 Trees
by Jonathan Drori, 2020 (Non-fiction)

This author and environmentalist follows in the footsteps of Phileas Fogg as he tells the stories of 80 magnificent trees from all over the globe. The entire book’s presentation is engaging. I learned a LOT and was thoroughly entertained as well.

The Book of Magic
​by Alice Hoffman, 2021 (Paranormal) 

In the latest book in her Practical Magic series, author Alice Hoffman has finally returned to the Owens family to fill out the family backstory on the mysterious “aunts” Francis (called Franny), and Bridget (known as Jet). And—surprise! They had a baby brother! There’s magic, yes. But it’s set against the historical backdrop of real events like the Vietnam War, draft evasion and San Francisco’s Summer of Love. The whole novel is a comingling of dreamy, lyrical fairy tale and real-life struggles.

Cloud Warriors
by Rob Jung
​2019 (Paranormal suspense)

Anthropology professor Terry Castro, leading a summer-school program in the Peruvian rain forest, stumbles upon a lost tribe of tall, white-skinned warriors from the time of the Incan empire.

Greedy humans being as they are, the problems pile up from that discovery. 

This is Jung's first book, published at 75! I'm impressed.

​The Corpse Queen
by Heather Herrman, 2021 (Historical thriller) 

A macabre historical thriller. Molly Green, an orphaned girl, is plucked from a life of misery and abuse by her newly-discovered and extremely wealthy aunt Ava, the infamous Corpse Queen. She has built her empire by robbing graves and selling the corpses to medical students who need bodies to practice surgical procedures. And she wants Molly to help her procure the corpses.

You’ll learn a lot about the barbaric surgical procedures at the turn of the century.

The Distant Dead
by Heather Young, 2020 (Suspense)

I’d describe The Distant Dead  as a literary mystery. But this book transcends genre. The story begins with a horrific discovery, but expands to explore the weight of family obligations and how drug addiction and tragic decisions can rip those families apart. 

The characters resonate and you will care deeply about them.

Girl in Ice
by Erica Ferencik, available March 1, 2022 (Suspense) 

Valerie Chesterfield is a linguist trained in the most esoteric of disciplines: dead Nordic languages.

Her brother was killed while researching in Greenland, and one of his coworkers asks her to travel to the Arctic to investigate a scientific impossibility. A young girl, found frozen in a glacier, woke up when they thawed her out, and is now speaking a language no one understands. 

If you're willing to fill in the plot holes on your own, this is an interesting read.

The Guide
by Peter Heller, 2021 (Thriller)

You don’t have to love fly fishing the way Heller and his character Jack do to enjoy the mystery, murder and romance in The Guide.  Although if you do love to fish, I’m guessing you will be enthralled by this book.

Heller makes the river a central character, one I was eager to explore. He's a superb writer. I've enjoyed all of his books.

The Keeper of Lost Things
by Ruth Hogan, 2017 (Suspense)

Anthony Peardew is the Keeper of Lost Things. Once a celebrated author of short stories, now in his twilight years, Anthony has sought consolation from the long-ago loss of his fiancée by lovingly rescuing lost objects—the things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidently left behind.

Realizing that he’s running out of time, he leaves his beautiful house and all the collected treasures to his unsuspecting assistant, Laura, the one person he trusts to fulfil his legacy and reunite his lost objects with their rightful owners.  
A sweeter read than I usually do, it hits all the right feels.

The Last
by Hannah Jameson, 2019 (Dystopian thriller)

This breathtaking dystopian psychological thriller follows an American academic and twenty other survivors stranded at a Swiss hotel as the world descends into chaos after a nuclear bomb hits.

As supplies dwindle and tensions rise, the narrator becomes obsessed with discovering the truth behind one girl’s death at the hotel.
But the important question is, who will be with you at the end of the world? And what kind of person will you be?

The Physics of Grief
by Mickey J Corrigan, 2021 (Fiction)

A cover blurb describes The Physics of Grief as, “Good Fellas meets T.S. Eliot for a drink in an Irish pub.”  It’s a good description for this novel’s quirky view of a topic typically shrouded in sadness: death and grieving.

It’s clear that author Corrigan knows people as well as any high-dollar shrink. It’s an original and fast read that will leave you thinking about it long after you’ve finished the book. 

Seasons of Moon and Flame
by Danielle Dulsky (Pagan non-fiction), 2020

The yearning to slow down and simplify, return to the earth, and maybe even “rewild” what has been tamed in ourselves persists even though that dream may seem ever more remote in contemporary life.

Danielle Dulsky shows that even in our high-tech and high-pressure lives, it is possible to manifest your own “year of the wild” and to tap into often-forgotten holy wisdom.

​Stranded
by Sarah Goodwin, 2021 (Thriller)

Eight people sign up for a reality show where they are to spend a whole year on the island of Buidseach, a remote, uninhabited island, surviving with limited resources. Think Bear Gryll's The Island/Survivor/Castaway/Lord of the Flies!

But when the day finally came for them to leave and the boat didn't arrive, the book was still only halfway through so I knew things were going to get worse … and they did...a lot worse.

The Searcher
by Tana French, 2020  (Suspense)

Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a bucolic Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens.

But when a local kid whose brother has gone missing arm-twists him into investigating, Cal uncovers layers of darkness beneath his picturesque retreat, and starts to realize that even small towns shelter dangerous secrets.

Witching Herbs: 13 Essential Plants and Herbs for your Magical Garden
by Harold Roth 2017 (Pagan non-fiction)

An in-depth exploration of 13 essential plants and herbs most closely associated with witchcraft--13 because it's the witching number and reflects the 13 months of the lunar calendar. The plants are poppy, clary sage, yarrow, rue, hyssop, vervain, mugwort, wormwood, datura, wild tobacco, henbane, belladonna, and mandrake.

Roth writes simply and clearly on a vast amount of esoteric information that is not easily found elsewhere.  Each chapter focuses on one plant and includes information on its unique plant spirit familiar, clear how-to instructions for magical projects, and pragmatic information on growing and cultivating.
The author says, “This book is a great choice for intermediate-to-advanced witches who would like to work more closely with the traditional witching herbs, especially the baneful plants with their rather difficult spirits. Working directly with spirits is one of the fundamentals of the Craft." 

This is the book that inspired me to attempt a poison garden. (Still working on that, by the way. He's also made me hyper-wary of poisonous plants.)

The Witching Tree
by Alice Blanchard, 2021 –(Suspense)

Welcome to Burning Lake, a small, isolated town with a dark history of witchcraft and false accusations.

This third book in Burning Lake series starts off with a gruesome murder of a popular Wiccan priestess, dressed up and tied to the train tracks to face her death alone in the middle of a winter snowstorm.

Detective Natalie Lockhart is called to investigate the scene. She gained unwanted notoriety when she and her family became the center of not one, but two sensational murder cases (in Books 1 and 2).

The mystery is atmospheric and Natalie and the other characters in Burning Lake keep the story and its occult occurrences suspenseful. However, be forewarned: The ending leaves the reader completely and abruptly hanging.  I don’t know if/when the next book will be written. Maybe go back and read the first two books in the series while you're waiting. That's what I'm gonna do.

What books are you looking forward to reading in 2022? Give me your top 5 new books and I’ll add them to my TBR list as well.

I’ll slip that list to you soon. I’ve been adding unpublished titles from NetGalley like crazy!

I’ll also have more news on Crescent Moon Crossing next week. The editor’s proof is due back Feb. 4. Then the next round of hard work begins! 

​Until then, good reading.

Family News

My new motto is "Be a warrior, not a worrier." 

Paul has begun his 5 weeks of radiation treatment. 

Baby Max, at three months, has now hit newborn weight at eight pounds.

I've been suffering a series of mini strokes (a bit more than TIA's but no lasting damage that they've found).  ). After an ambulance visit to Barrows Neurological, I’m taking anti-coagulant meds, new diabetes and cholesterol meds, monitoring my blood pressure daily, and have been instructed to go on the Mediterranean diet or something similar. Since Paul is our primary cook, I guess he’s going to be eating more carefully also. Sorry, Ian, no mac n cheese and honey baked ham for the holidays. The sides will be—you guessed it—veggies. And sugar free jello for dessert.

We’ll manage. I want to be around to play with our grandkids, and to get my future books written!  

Positive Book News!
Now the good news. I finished the rough draft of Crescent Moon crossing. I’ll be sending it out to a developmental editor this month, and plan to query agents and editors in January. Whether I get offers or not, this book will be published in the spring. Look for a cover reveal around Valentines.

Then I’m going straight into writing the second book of my paranormal suspense series. Book 2, tentatively titled Stones of the Ancients, will be set in Scotland. I am SO STOKED to write this one!

I’ve been running a slew of promotions to support my existing book, Song of the Ancients. It’s free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, and only $1.99 otherwise. If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer gift, pick up a copy!

I’m also playing around with Pinterest and adding pictures of each of the main characters from Song of the Ancients. I’ve had a visual of Nicholas in my mind for years, and it’s been fun imagining the other characters, especially Sinclair and Rod Standing Bear, the Lakota characters, and well as Samantha and bad guy Nuin Ash. Take a look after the first of the year on Pinterest at writersandy.com. Let me know if the characters look like you imagined them. I’ll be posting character photos from Crescent Moon Crossing also, probably as part of the pre-release publicity push.

Advance Readers Needed
I’d also love to get some Beta readers for Crescent Moon Crossing in December/January. If you’d like to read the book and give comments before it’s released, complete the “I’m interested” form on this website and I’ll get in touch with you when it’s ready for you to read. Thank you! And no, your email will not be shared anywhere, with anyone except me.

Happy holidays to you and your loved ones. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
Blessed Be.

October has been an eventful month. I won’t lie: it’s been tense. Health worries for Ian’s family and for hubby Paul.  
​
First, my son and his girlfriend birthed a new baby boy. The pregnancy was difficult. Mom suffered through months of high blood pressure to make it to delivery at 34 months. But tiny Max was delivered safely, and he and mom are both healthy. 

I came down early from the cabin to help take care of big brother Alex while mom visited the NICU twice a day (and dad daily after work), until they could bring Max home.

For me, it’s been a blessing to get to spend regular time with my nearly 6-year-old grandson. It’s also been a curse because I had to take a writing hiatus for 6 weeks to devote to family.

Paul has had his own brush with the “Big C” as he put it. Further tests reveal he has some low dose radiation treatments in his holiday future, but the prognosis is about the best it could be.

Mercury in retrograde this month slammed me into rethinking and recalibrating some of my most important connections. Unfortunately, Mars ruled my words. I didn’t take the time to tone it down and paid the price. On the other hand, I had the opportunity to make some space in my overly-busy life, and abundance is already filling in some of those vacated spaces. Something big is on the horizon and time is ticking!

I did manage to run a slew of promotions to support my existing book, Song of the Ancients, and dropped the ebook price to 99 cents for the entire month of October.

If you haven’t picked up a copy, or if you want to gift a Kindle copy to a friend, grab it before Halloween!

Now I’m back to writing Crescent Moon Crossing. I expect to have this stand-alone suspense completed in November and hopefully have a cover reveal to you before the end of the year. Then I’m sending the manuscript out to a few dozen agents and editors to see who bites. Cross your fingers!

I’m also playing around with Pinterest and adding pictures of each of my main characters from Song of the Ancients.

I’m also playing around with Pinterest and adding pictures of each of my main characters from Song of the Ancients.

I’ve had a visual of Nicholas in my mind for years, but it’s been fun imagining the other characters, especially Sinclair and Rod Standing Bear, my Lakota characters, as well as Samantha and bad guy Nuin Ash.   

Take a look when you get a chance on Pinterest at writersandy.com. Let me know if the characters look like you imagined them.

If the Pinterest site proves popular, I’ll do book cover ideas and character sketches for Crescent Moon also. 

​I’d also love to get some Beta readers for Crescent Moon Crossing. If you’d like to read the book and give comments before it’s released, complete the “I’m Interested” form on this website and I’ll get in touch with you when it’s ready for you to read.

Thank you!  And no, your email address will not be shared anywhere, with anyone except me.

Next week I’ll share:
 *My Crescent Moon Crossing writing update
* Plans for NaNoWriMo in November
* The best new releases I’ve read this fall.

Don’t forget to grab Song of the Ancients while it’s on 99 cent sale for October!
Good reading ~

As a part of our turning of the wheel toward Mabon and the Autumn Equinox, my witchy group read the next chapter of our current book, Seasons of Moon and Flame, by Danielle Dulsky. It’s a lyrical reminder to stay grounded and present in your daily world, and to be thankful for this bizarre and beautiful life we are living.

One of the author’s practices states: “Know that you are constantly being co-created by a number of forces, seen and unseen. You are in an eternal dance with not only who you were and who you will become, but with everything around you; the environment; our culture; and all that was, is, and will be.”

One of the basic tenants of Native First Peoples belief, and one of its most beautiful, is that everything in life has a spirit and is Wakan, or sacred. We often forget to honor (or even recognize) the primal fore of life, the stream of existence in which we all swim. We move along this stream largely unaware of the larger cosmos in which we are involved and the miracles it bring us without our asking, and largely without our thanks.

Whether or not we are conscious of it, each of us is holding important space in the great shape of things. By attuning ourselves to the rhythm of the natural world, we share its consciousness. We become one with the forest, the rain, the blade of grass, the raven, and the earth. We recognize that all things are inspirited. Wakan.

Some scientists are even beginning to compare new discoveries in physics to shamanistic beliefs.  One is Jean E. Charon, a French physicist, philosopher and author of the book, The Spirit: That Stranger Inside Us. He says, “There are microscopic individualities inside every human. They think, they know, and (they) carry Spirit in the Universe.” He calls these bits of intelligence eons, also known as electrons. "An electron that was successively part of a tree, a human being, a tiger, and another human being will thus remember for all time the experiences it has collected during these different lives. The electron will maintain within itself all of its experiences as tree, as human being No. 1, as tiger, and as human being No 2, to whose organisms it belonged.”

The ancient Celts had a word for this concept, tuirigin (TOOR’ghin), a very precise word for which there is no English equivalent. The nearest we can get to a translation is, “a circuit of births,” according to Caitlin Matthews, a Celtic historian. She says it’s, “not quite the same as reincarnation. In tuirigin, the soul or spirit moves between the otherworld and this world in a series of journeys.”

The Gaelic word for God is Cruithear, which means ‘creator’ or ‘shaper,’ and the ancient people in Scotland, the Picts, were referred to as the Cruithne, “people of the shapes.” Roman accounts, as well as Scottish oral tradition, tell us that the bodies of these ancient ones were covered in elaborate blue tattoos of various animals and other shapes. According to Matthews, it was their way of honoring the sacred world that had shaped them.

How many of us live our lives as ambassadors of the Wakan in all things be it human, plant or animal? When we forget our own sacred standing, we are more likely to behave in ways that are not in line with ambassadorship. Rather than fostering harmony and living an inspirited, co-created life, we may instead create or tolerate discord and destruction. 

The next time you find yourself around strangers, do the following activity, adapted from Frank MacEowen’s wonderful book, the Mist-Filled Path:

Look at all the different people and whisper or think to yourself: “Every man, my brother. Every woman, my sister. Every crying child, my child. Every old person, my grandmother or grandfather. Every wounded soul, my soul.”

The witch’s path, the shaman’s path, the tribal path, the ancestral path. Your path. All are rooted in allowing our spirit to be shaped by the larger universe. Today, be infused with the eternal dance of Wakan.

In 2011 my family suffered tragedy while celebrating love. We were at my stepson’s wedding in one state while my father died suddenly in another.
 
On top of the staggering grief of losing him, and the guilt of not being with him, I also mourned that he left before we could say everything that needed to be said between us. Luckily, we had already shored up our relationship. But there were still so many unanswered questions. There just wasn’t enough time.
 
It’s a common lament. After a decade, I still think of things we didn’t discuss. How proud he would be of his grandson. I’d like to ask him how he trained all of his dogs to freeze in place with one short command, when I can’t stop my Australian Sheppard from running across the street to jump on the neighbor. And we barely got started putting together the Wright and Campbell family trees.
 
 It’s too late for me to ask my parents those questions. My husband’s father died much, much earlier than mine. The questions Paul has could fill a book, despite his mother’s attempts to fill in a lot of the blanks.
 
But it’s not too late to talk with our own sons, and Father’s Day seems the perfect time.
 
We have to approach the youngest one gingerly, testing the waters with the barest hint of parental guidance. He is, after all, not yet thirty, but a new father himself, still in the early stages of pushing away, separating and individuating, casting off our advice with an irritated exhale and a monosyllabic reply. But with a five-year-old and a second son on the way, he’s gonna need us, whether he wants us or not.
 
That’s okay. At some point soon in his life, maybe when this second baby of his is born in just a few months, he will have questions for my husband and me.
And someday, when one or both of his parents are dead, and all those nit-picky but long-lasting questions begin to crop up,  he will find, along with our legal papers and will, all of my journals, which I started when he was in high school, and have added to each year since.  
 
In the meantime, here are some things I’d like to share with my two new fathers, bless their pea-picking little hearts:
 

1. Don’t worry.

It’s a waste of energy, time and emotion. It will tie you up in knots so you can’t sleep. Make you cranky with the people you care about. Worry is fear about the future, but it does nothing to actually change it. Instead of worrying, make the best decisions you can right now. Then let the universe plot your best course.

1. Examination your foundation carefully.

Look deeply at your worldview, what you value, and your personal compass. Then live by it. It will affect every decision you make. Life has a way of uprooting you and tossing you around. Be sure you nail the landing.

1. Choose your friends, don’t just fall in with them.

Your friends will give shape to your life. They will either stunt your growth or urge you on. When you find good friends, treasure them and invest time and effort into keeping them. Be the kind of friend you want to have.

1. Remain a Student.

Look, listen, read, learn. Never stop. Be enthusiastic and curious about a wide range of topics. Find a mentor, a teacher, a spiritual guide. Be open to new ideas and viewpoints for all of your years. Never stagnate.

1. Develop good habits.

Don’t wait until tomorrow to exercise, eat healthy, get up on time, do your best work.  And don’t wait until it’s more convenient to fall in love, save money, or take the time to really listen.   

1. Heal your wounds. No one wants to experience pain, but it’s gonna happen. Acknowledge. Heal.  And don’t fool yourself into thinking the trauma of your childhood has been left in the past. Those shadows grow under the surface, and then, from a random trigger incident, roil up suddenly to engulf you. If you need help with healing, don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for help, including professional counseling. Every painful trial is like an oyster, and there is a precious pearl—a personal benefit—in every one; every single one. Repeat that thought like a mantra.
2. Realize that not everything is about you.

So much of our disappointment and frustration with people, jobs--basically with life in general—occurs because we presume that life should go our way. Often, the way people treat you is about them, not you.

1. Be patient.

Our society is programmed to get things instantly and on demand. But life doesn’t always work that way. Push gently on a lot of doors, and believe that the universe has a plan for you. You can’t know what you’re good at or what you most enjoy without sampling a large number of situations. Learn what you want first, then patiently and methodically work at clearing the road blocks in your path.

1.  Be excited for other people’s success.

Remember it’s not all about you, right?  Sincere support of others will get you ahead faster than stepping on everyone else’s fingers to climb the success ladder. Take time to hear what people really want, what they really think. You will never be called a jerk for listening too much.

1.  Don’t be afraid to follow your instincts.

If you think she may not be the right girl, she probably isn’t. Same goes for the right job, the right moral decision. Of all the voices you hear, your own may be the wisest, but hardest to listen to. Pay attention to that knot in your gut when something is a bit off, and also to the pure joy when it’s just right.

1.  Take risks.

Go boldly into the unknown if that’s where your instincts and a bit of reason send you. It may be out of your comfort zone. So what? As a wise friend once said, “Do what you won’t regret. It’s more satisfying than regretting what you didn’t do.”

1. Take sin seriously.

I am a firm believer in Karma. Every act has a reaction. There is no such thing as “getting away with it.” Even if you don’t get caught. Though forgiveness is divine, sin leaves a stain. And that spot is permanent, even if you ignore it and fake like it isn’t there. Karma, child, is the ultimate bitch slap.

1.  Make time to rest and recharge

When you are young, you think you can abuse yourself continually and still recover. So you fill your days and nights to overflowing. But what you do now will eventually take its toll on you physically and mentally. Develop good sleep habits now. Learn to say “no” when you’re over-extended. Learn to meditate. Get your nose out of your laptop and your phone and walk in nature. To learn pure joy, take a dog with you.

1.  Keep your tribe intact.

As you get older, get a full-time job, get married, have children, it becomes harder to make time for anything outside of your tiny personal bubble. But extended family truly is your foundation, and that foundation includes those who came before, as well as those who will follow you. Cherish your own babies, and the babies of those you love. I am constantly dismayed by people who tell me they’ve drifted away from their children, or their parents. Do your best to preserve your familial ties. Treat your parents as tribal elders. Ask them questions: What do they regret not asking their parents? Is there anything that they wish was different between you—or that they would still like to change? How do they want to approach older age, and eventually death, and is there anything you can do to help them? What music do they want played at their funeral? Do they want a “green” burial?

1.  Honor those you love.  

Honor goes hand in glove with love, a verb whose very definition is doing worthwhile things for someone who is valuable to us. Love them, yes, but more than that, give them the gift of your respect. And not just when they're on their best behavior. Dig deeper, really know them. Respect their core. You will love yourself for doing it.
 
Happy Father’s Day. To my dad. To Paul. And to my boys, who are both fathers now, too.
Blessed Be.      

For more than 5,000 years, humans have built sacred cairns surrounded by one or more concentric circles, with spokes or stone lines radiating outward. Based on the number four (representing the cardinal directions and thought to be situated at energy vortexes), sacred circles were used all over the world for ceremonies, as places of worship and to communicate. Just think about the Native American medicine wheels in North America, the mandalas of the East, the Neolithic stone circles of Europe, and the South American Mayan and Aztec circles to name a few. 

lant a current-day medicine wheel garden, we still begin with the circle—the natural shape symbolic of the interconnections of all life. The round designs feature a central focus and four or more paths that carve the garden into pie-shaped beds.

The wheel can be planted with perennial and annual herbs, or feature only medicinal herbs. Or it can encompass a wide variety of culinary, tea, heirloom or healing herbs, grasses, shrubs and cacti. Medicine wheel gardens are intensely personal, and one’s choice of plants, materials and symbolic ornaments reflects the inner garden of the spirit. Start with selections to suit the soil and climate of your site.

I’m going to plant a mix of perennial flowers and herbs whose color at some stage of development coordinates with the colors symbolic of the related cardinal direction. (See the list at the end of this blog). I’m also going to make this a Mother Goose garden to please my 5-year-old grandson. Remember the Simon and Garfunkel song ‘Scarborough Fair’? The refrain “Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme” gave me the idea to include those classic Mediterranean herbs for both color and fragrance. Since my Medicine Wheel will be located next to Paul’s vegetable garden, I’m hoping he will help Alex pick herbs for cooking. Considering how kids love to touch and sniff, I figure growing gardens and growing children are natural complements, right?

Location and Size
Medicine wheels are sometimes built big enough to walk around in. Some are built with a fire pit, an animal skull, or a peace pole in the center. Some are built with animal totems, others with items that hold particular meaning.  Some mark their quadrants with colored flags, depictions of the four Archangels, or stones of personal meaning or from places of power.  Nothing you choose is right or wrong, just make it a depiction of your life. Here are some guidelines that might help in the beginning:

*Put the wheel in an area that is readily accessible but won’t be disturbed. You want to be able to use it, but not have it be a distraction to other activities.

*Put it in a sacred space. Most of the plants I’ve selected require full sunlight, but you may decide the land under your favorite tree is perfect and select shade-loving plants.

*It’s important to ask the nature spirits to give permission for use of the plot of land you have chosen and to bless it. As you build your communication within this space, your creativity will take on a special quality. With sacred intent at work in your space, all your energies will reap greater reward. 

Gather five marker stakes, a hammer, measuring tape, compass and either string or line for marking. Drive a stake into the ground to mark the center of the garden. Attach string to the central stake and using the compass, locate the four cardinal directions (N, W, E and S). Using your string, find them on the circumference and mark them with a stake. The distance from the central stake to the cardinal stakes will decide the circumference of the garden, which is entirely up to you. The only criteria that should be adhered to be a circle cordoned off into four sections.

 I’m making my own outdoor circle 8’ diameter so it will be big enough to walk around and through in any direction, but small enough that it won’t encroach on the dog’s grassy area. So I will measure my rope length at 4’ and pace the perimeter, marking each direction, and placing a fist-sided stone or another anchor stake every few feet in my path.

Depending on the size of your circle, you will need quite a few stones to mark the entire rim, a central circle and the interior lines connecting the east-west and north-south points on the outer circle, so keep the temporary center pole in place until your medicine wheel architecture is in place.

Once your outer stone circle is in place, you can mark the cardinal directions. Stand at the center of your medicine wheel and find north on the compass. Holding the compass steady so the needle moves as little as possible, walk a straight northward line to your stone circle. Set a temporary pole at this point. Repeat the same procedure to find south and place another temporary pole. Now tie the cord you used before one of these two poles and carry it across the circle to the other one. When you stretch the cord taut, you know you’ve done things right if it passes across the center of the medicine wheel. Place marking stones along the path of the cord as a guide for making the giant interior cross, which will divide your medicine wheel garden into quadrants. Take the same steps for finding east and west on the outer circle.

Clear out the interior of the circular garden by removing any sod or rocks. Rake it smooth. If need be, amend the soil with compost and a small amount of bone meal. Any other soil needs will depend on the plants and herbs you choose. In general, soil should be well-draining and slightly alkaline.

Lay plastic or landscape cloth from each outer stake to the center to form paths and then spread your gravel, rocks, wood chips or other material over the paths. Replace the four directional stakes with large rocks. These represent the spirit keepers of each direction and may be adorned with drawings or artifacts.

Use bricks, wood, smaller stones, or even seashells to edge the bisection paths and outline the circle.

​Now it’s time to break ground, make your plant choices and buy your batches. I am planting four of each species in a simple natural clump to encourage healthy growth. My plant choices are listed below by cardinal directions.

 ​But before you begin planting, light a small dish or wand of sage or cedar or lavender stems and smudge the whole area and yourself. Walk around the whole outer circle of your medicine wheel with this fragrant smudge, while thinking how you project will beautify the area. Establish a new balance here with love and gratitude for the land and all the creatures it supports. 

Medicine Wheel Symbols & Plants

Center –The center of the medicine wheel, the Creator, stands alone. The object depicting the Creator force can be a large stone of any sort, a buffalo or steer skull, or an object of deep significance to you. Some ideas for Center: a small contained fire pit or fire orb; buffalo or steer skull; unusual wood piece; large stone or crystal cluster. The Creator is the beginning of life and its ending, the great mystery within all things. Because the Creator is within everything there are no totems associated with this position.

In my design, the heart of the medicine wheel garden will be the tall decorated peace pole I’m planting at the very center. Here I will offer pinches of sacred tobacco and cornmeal, and offer prayers.

Every person who comes into this garden will be invited to bring a small stone to place at the base of the pole with the thoughts, “I lay here my prayers for peace and understanding.” Soon this central area will become a prayer cairn around the peace pole.

North -Represents Earth, a time of hibernation, the place for mental growth and wisdom. North is the direction of night, and actualization of intentions.  It is the resting place of our ancestors and the gateway to what is coming next. It’s the direction for mental growth and wisdom.

For North I’m using a large piece of white alabaster stone with a raven totem painted on it. Raven is my personal totem, so I’m breaking Native tradition by using her instead of white buffalo. Yes, we get to make those choices for our own wheel. The plantings in the North quarter will be WHITE:  sweet alyssum, asteraceae, and Shasta daisy. With them I’m mixing in the herbs Echinacea (purple coneflower), lemon verbena, garlic chive, bearberry and sweet grass if I can get it to grow.

 East (Totem- eagle) – Represents Air for new beginnings and creativity, finding your voice. It is the spiritual direction. The gifts of this direction include spontaneity, playfulness, inquisitiveness and truth saying.

For East I’m placing a large yellow stone and a smoking pipe made of catlinite (pipestone) Plantings will be YELLOW: Daffodil, Butterfly weed, evening primrose, prickly pear cactus, sunflower, and meadowsweet. To bring in the air element, some butterfly herbs: rosemary, milkweed, tobacco or uva ursi, and verbena. Because the sacred plant for the east is tobacco, the pipe seems appropriate.

South (Totem- Coyote) – Represents Fire, growth and self-assurance and enthusiasm. It is the place to meditate on matters of the heart. Growth here is directed exploration. This is the place to seek your visions and ask Creator to point you in the direction you should go—and then follow it rapidly and with vigor
For South I’m using a serpentine stone and a coyote totem.  Plantings will be predominantly RED: bee balm, lobelia cardinalis, Salvia, borage, begonia, and nasturtium. Herbs will include calendula, white sage and yarrow.

West (Totem-Bear) – Represents Water, emotional growth and experience. It is the direction of emotions. Some believe healing comes from this direction.

For West I’m using a large soapstone and a small bear totem .Flowers will be BLUE and PURPLE: Lavender, larkspur, iris, hollyhock, bellflower and verbena. For herbs I’ll add purple chili pepper, skullcap, chamomile, mint and sage. Also some mugwort for dreaming, and some type of wilderness water feature like this one.
Additional details can be added to a medicine wheel garden to personalize it even more. Things like statuary, orbs, crystals, or other garden art will truly make the space into your own sacred space.

Next week I share some reflections on Father’s Day and Summer Solstice.
Until then, work on those gardens! 
Blessed Be. 

 Night owls in the Western states are in for a treat tonight as the moon enters Earth’s shadow and turs a blood red color during a total lunar eclipse, the first in more than two years visible from the United States.
 
This is actually a super blood moon because the moon will also line up in its closest approach to our planet, and event called a supermoon.
 
Tonight’s event will be visible from Australia, East Asia, Pacific Island and the Western Americas. People on the West Coast of the United States, from Southern California up through Washington State, can expect the action to commence around 1:47 a.m. Pacific time tonight, May 26.
 
In the beginning, the moon will enter only the Earth’s outer shadow, called the penumbra. Any changes to the lunar surface will be subtle at first.
 
Over the next few hours, the moon will travel deeper into the shadow and begin to look like something took a bite out of it. During this phase, it will begin turning reddish. This will start around 2:45 a.m. Pacific time.
 
At 4:11 a.m., the moon will fall completely within the Earth’s inner umbral shadow and its full face will become a deep, dark red. The actual total eclipse will be relatively short, lasting approximately 14 minutes and ending by 4:25 a.m. Pacific time.
 
But the eclipse isn’t over and sky watchers can enjoy watching the process reverse itself as the moon passes out of Earth’s umbra and penumbra, gradually returning to its normal self until sunrise, when it will sink below the horizon for West Coasters.
 
If you’d like to harness the cosmic energy of this super blood moon for yourself, here is some spell working you can do during our lunar show.
 
 Items needed for ritual:

1. A stone or crystal of your choosing
2. Full moon water
3. A drawing of a forked path. This can be a simple sketch, as long as your drawing has a choice of two paths or more.
4. A red or purple ink pen
5. A place where you can view the moon’s eclipse.

 
During a lunar eclipse, we experience a “micro month”. Within one night, we can experience energy similar to a complete cycle of full, waning, dark, waxing and full again.
It’s the perfect time to “eclipse” something you wish to eliminate from your life, and then refill that void with more positive energy.
That’s the magic we will perform tonight: Eliminate the negative as the moon disappears, and add positives to our lives as the moon re-appears.
 
#1 Working – “Eclipse” and Eliminate (During Penumbra thru Full Eclipse)
 
Before the moon begins to be eaten away, invest in it the essence of something you want to be rid of. 
 
Be sure you are not harming anyone else or infringing on their free will by eliminating this.
 
Some ideas to consider:
Personal appearance
Bad habit
Negative thought track
Mountain of bills
Job or a partner you’ve outgrown
Toxic family relationships
“Mother wounds” (or father)
Effects of tribalism, nationalism or tradition
Anything that plagues you and does not serve your highest self
 
Use your mind to invest the problem in the moon by feeling all the dislike or hatred you have toward the problem, and then mentally project it upward toward the moon’s surface, while you say:
 
 “O wondrous Blood Moon Light
I ask your help now, this night.
Help us release unhealthy things
To which we stubbornly cling.
Old notions and ideas,
Things we know are harmful.
Clear them all away
And fortify our lives today.”
 
Stop projecting when you see the first sign of the shadow of the earth falling across the moon’s surface.
 
Watch as the moon, and your problems, are consumed by the great wolf of the heavens. Literally feel them being eaten out of your life.
  
Part 2 working: “A Leap of Faith (In Yourself)”
 
 Now is the time to ponder who you are as opposed to who you appear to be.
 
A leap of faith really means choosing from the soul, not from the ego. Soul choices bring us to the unknown light, where we can learn and thrive.
Ego choices keep us in the familiar shadows.
 
It’s time now to leap fearlessly into the light, even though we may not yet know what challenges it may hold for us.”
 
Get out the stone or crystal you brought with you for this spellwork. Wash the crystal in your Full Moon water and hold it up to the moon as you say:
 
“Stone of brightest blood eclipse moon sheen,
With your power, help me glean
The joys that change can bring to life,
In spite of its initial strife.
Help me learn to stretch and flex,
And understand how life connects.
 
To my growth and to my goals.
Help me accept my many roles
Help me finally to embrace
My soul’s destined highest place.
Open my heart, so I can see.
As I will it, so mote it be.”
 
Hold and rub the stone while you look at the picture of the road that forks in many directions, each leading to your potential future. Examine each path, and visualize where each path might end.
 
When you are ready, ask the Eclipse moon to help you make your selection, by saying:
 “Blood Moon Mother in the sky,
Light my journey from on high.
Guide me with your strengthening glow
So the proper path I’ll know.
The path of true accomplishment;
The path for which my dreams are meant.
And with your guidance, please allow
That I may manifest it now.
And bring it to reality.
As I will it, so mote it be.”
 
Select a path. Write your goal along that route in red or purple pen.
 
As the blood moon eclipse wanes, and the moon begins to return see yourself traveling directly down the correct path to attaining your goal. Keep the map in the moonlight until the eclipse is complete.
 
When you leave ritual tonight, put this map on your altar in plain sight, and keep it there until the next full moon.
 
But first, to seal in the magic of your working, please hold your path paper up to the moon, while you chant until we feel your manifestation is firmly set:
 
 “The proper path I’ve chosen and marked.
I manifest it now, as my new reality!
As I will it, so mote it be!

Will you be joining me for a night of magic? Drop me a message and let me know what manifests for you.
Blessed be.

I was blessed to be able to transform my online Creosote Moon group into on in-person Beltane celebration last weekend. It’s been 16 months since I’ve participated with any of my pagan groups “live” – such a magical change!
​
We made flower head wreaths, feasted and danced the Maypole. 

Every person in our group was able to attend, including two who fly in from Florida. All had completed vaccinations except for the 4 kids, so we felt relatively safe. What a relief to achieve this bit of normalcy after such a turbulent year.
​
This week as I walked the back yard picking vegetables and discovering new blooms (our cactus has two BIG flowers that sprouted seemingly overnight!), I realized that this year is going to be doubly blessed. We planted two full veggie gardens here in the valley…and then we’re transporting tomatoes and any other plants we can, up to the cabin to plant gardens there in two weeks! Yes, it’s a gigantic amount of work. But it’s worth it for this gardening family to be able to remain surrounded by Mother Nature’s bounty for a long, extended growing season. 

We’ve been making trips to the cabin to get it ready for the move. We raked close to 30 bags of pine needles and cones, as part of our forest neighborhood’s fire safety clean up.

​Thank you to the Pinewood Fire Department from supplying collection bags!

In addition to the two vegetable gardens, I will be planting my Druid’s poison garden. I’ve blogged on several of the plants for that garden. Here is my complete planting list:

Black hollyhock (if I can find it)
Belladonna
Datura (D. Wrightii)
Delphinium
Foxglove (digitalis)
Henbane
Mandrake
Mugwort
Tobacco, Azteca (Nicotiana)
Wormwood

We’re also replenishing our pots of lemon grass. The dogs ate this winter’s big pot down to its last inch. 

I never knew animals love lemon grass, did you?

The neighbor also likes to snip it to use in his Thai chicken soup, so we planted an extra pot for Bob, and I’m sure he will have us over for a Thai meal this summer. 

​

The last project will be to expand my gnome garden to also include plants for the fae.

I’ll tell you more about THAT next week.

t’s going to be a really busy planting year! In fact, it will probably take us two seasons, but the plans are all in place.
​
Sparkly garden magic to you!