By Hades, I’ve done it — I’ve finally made a newsletter! 🎉 To you reading this, thank you for being one of the first few to see this!
Let’s get into it.
After living in the same building for nearly twenty-seven years (first moved in when I was five), Brian (my husband) and I have finally purchased our first home together, and have been moved in since May 25th.
To say this move has been good for my wellbeing is an understatement.
The number of bad habits and poor reactions I developed because of the previous place is astronomical; truly, I’m relearning how to live as me again. Happier, less stressed, the anger is dying down slowly — oh gods, the sheer amount of anger that I was sitting on. I didn’t realize I was carrying so much of it, and I’ve not really known what to do with all this extra energy suddenly freed up.
It also means we’re still unpacking and throwing out stuff we just don’t need. We removed eight boxes of donations and garbage this weekend alone. Good thing purging is a type of therapy in our house!
Also, I must introduce you to our girls.
Sammi and Dany are 2-1/2 year old Holland lops, and are sisters from the same litter. We got them as a Christmas gift to ourselves when they were seven weeks old, and we love them so very much. Their personalities are spectacular, and have so much life to them. You’ll see them a fair bit in these newsletters.
The current house to-do list is getting new A/C parts so we can install a unit in the bun room, obtaining more bookshelves, painting both our bedroom and the girl’s room, and enjoying every sunset we see.
After numerous studies, intense periods of observation, and utilizing many precious resources, I have come to the conclusion that the way projects spawn mostly formed into my head is very similar to how one would get stuck in a Portal: a hole in the floor looked cool, and when you poke your head inside to take a look, you trip and fall in, and now you’re stuck forever.
While I do have a small list of what I’m working on posted here already, there’s so much history, love, and memories that are a part of my work – their roots are just as important as the plot they’re built on.
So in this newsletter, I want to talk a little bit about one of my biggest, and longest-standing, WIPs – Women of the Eternal.
I need to give credit where credit is due. WOTE was originally titled War Wine, coined by one of my oldest and dearest friends, Slendy, and is what initially started this book. It was also meant to be a mid to high fantasy, HEA, single book. In fact, this book and an unplanned second book were completed back-to-back during the 2017 and 2018 NaNoWriMo events.
When I finished the first draft, I sat down and read over it all a few times, intending to use the Now What? months from NaNo to work over edits and continuity.
Well, look it over I did, and in all honesty, it was horrifying, And I’m not talking about grammar, spelling, etc – those would come later. I was looking at story creation, and I could tell exactly all the scenes I had been looking forward to writing, and the ones I glanced over. I was Mary Sueing my FMC, and her love interest was a big Gary Stu – it was bad 😂 .
But, that was six years ago.
I have rewritten just about everything I put into War Wine, and made it into Women of the Eternal, right down to its origin story (which was originally only half an idea based on Christianity’s concepts of heaven and hell – my pagan ass finally said “no, thank you”).
Here’s an example of how the tone has shifted since I started writing WOTE.
This is the very first thing I ever wrote for War Wine, almost immediately following the bardic inspiration dropped on me. It’s raw, edgy, skirting the edge of too much purple prose (in my opinion – I try to save that for poetry, aha). I remember wanting to capture the exact images and smells that I was visualizing, and then got “carried away” until it became a whole ass book.
This is a snapshot of the first draft/chapter for WOTE – immiedately it feels lightyears apart. It feels tighter, not giving away everything in one paragraph, but enough to make me want to read more. It’s unpolished, so the edits will bring it to life when I get there, but it’s an entirely different story being told now.
When I decided to go ahead with a full rewrite, I needed to make sure it was really the story I wanted to tell, not just some words on the page that made me feel good (that’s important too, but not the point). I want Espe to find her path, right or wrong, through trial and error. I spoon-fed her everything in the old draft; in the new one, she’s feeding me 😂.
Everyone’s got a way to recharge their batteries – I’m no different.
AUDIO MAGICK
Let me preface myself before I share. I’m a child of the early 90s, so I grew up with Nickelback, 50 Cent, Metallica, Celine Dion, etc, so my taste is very eclectic. I will listen to most things, but while I’m writing, I need either silence or very specific music.
So with that in mind, I have been listening to Eminem‘s new album, Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) on repeat since it came out. I started listening to him with my dad when he first started getting big, and I’ve mostly followed him since then. It has felt a bit surreal having one of my – dare I say – music idols release a new album the same time I finally move out of our old place. I’ve had Fuel, Lucifer, and Guilty Conscience 2 on repeat a fair bit.
I’ve also been listening to Sleep Token – their ability to swing from genre to genre like Tarzan is immaculate, 30/10. I would highly recommend listening to Sugar, Granite, and Ascensionism, if you’ve never heard their music.
alt-J‘s Tessellate and Bear McCreary‘s The Shape of Things to Come have been great mood-setters for writing as well.
READING MAGICK
I’ll be the first to tell you I’m all over the map when it comes to reading – it’s feast or famine, no in between. I’m currently in a famine; I’ve only been reading Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson. Very good read so far, I’m about halfway through. Alaya’s voice for her MCs is so clear and powerful, and the story’s twists are hairpin and exciting! Here’s the synopsis from Goodreads, because it sums it up very nicely:
The dangerous magic of The Night Circus meets the powerful historical exploration of The Underground Railroad in this timely and unsettling novel, set against the darkly glamorous backdrop of New York City at the dawn of WWII.
VIEWING MAGICK
I gradually stopped watching cable TV around 13-14 and haven’t gone back since; there’s this really small but loud voice that tells me I could be “doing something more important” than watch shows (ie gaming 😂). I tried to get back into it by binging on Doctor Who, which worked for a while – until the Bad Wolf Bay episode happened, and then I was heartbroken and stopped watching everything for a long time. But in the last year, I’ve started picking up some shows again. What shows, you may ask? Maybe the House of Dragons, or prayhaps Bridgerton?
Nope.
Anime. I’ve started watching anime.
It started with One Piece. It’s so freaking wholesome and epic, and I won’t go on and on here, but I left off just after the Marineford War arc finished (my poor heart) and haven’t gone back just yet. I’ve now graduated to Black Clover, which I am OBSESSED with, and I’ve started Jujutsu Kaisen a couple nights ago – I finally understand the hype for Gojo 😂
MUSINGS FROM A WITCH
It’s never too early to celebrate the coming of autumn, and I’m taking that to heart. This year, I’m finally having friends over to celebrate Mabon in September. Brian and I will be making the mains: vegan-friendly chili and homemade bread, and potentially some pastries for afterward (still working on that part). I’d also like to have some comfy beverages, and maybe some decorations as well. I’ve never celebrated a pagan holiday before, so being able to do this and in our new home is very special to me – core memory unlocked!
If you made it to the end of this, thank you so much for reading! Writing this has been very cathartic, and I’m looking forward to chatting with you all in the future.
the baleful primal 
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