In case you didn’t pick up on my clues, I’m a witch.
And I mean it, truly. I’m a modern day witch with a bad memory for dates and a frazzled brain. This mostly means I have a lot of crystals and herbs laying around, and occasionally my husband asks me if I’m doing Stevie Nicks cosplay.
After that declaration, it should be no surprise to anyone that I’m into astrology. I’m like, “Oh, ha ha! astrology’s just for fun. I don’t take it seriously.” Then 30 seconds later, I’ll say, “So, the reason why he talks to you like that is because he’s a Virgo. Trust me, I’ve got a whole of Virgos in my family. It’s hard when you have a sensitive water sign soul.”
Anyway, it’s Cancer Season! That means it’s my birthday month. I have a love-hate relationship with those the last few years. On the one hand, PRESENTS! On the other, I have a special day to contemplate my mortality. As uncomfortable as that is, I’ve learned to love being the tender-hearted crab, smother-mother Cancerians are known to be. Why? Well…
The Moon is my BAE!
All Zodiac signs get their own celestial buddy. Most of the signs get planets, but not Cancer and Leo (also Scorpio, depending on what you think about Pluto). We crabs get the Moon, and Leo gets the Sun. Since I live in the south where the Sun is constantly trying to kill me, I think I got the better end of that deal.
I’ve been a fan of the moon, for a very long time. I mean, I’m pretty sure a lot of us have. Who doesn’t love watching it glow in the black of night? I was born under a full moon too. I’m convinced that makes me a werewolf, and no one can disprove that.
Being a fantasy author, means I like to write some pretty flowery things about the moon and magic, but I’m also a giant science nerd. I went to Space Camp when I was in 5th grade and for the longest time I wanted to be an astronaut. My physical limitations and fickle hyperfixations prevented that from ever happening. I’m still a huge fan of space, though.
That’s why having a membership to the Johnson Space Center has made me so happy. Right here in Houston, I can just hop on down and do stuff like touch a huge FREAKING meteorite!
I can also learn about the Artemis missions coming in 2025! As the name suggests, these missions will be moon-related. They’re going to establish the first long-term presence on the Moon, which will be on the south pole. In addition to that, this will bring the first woman and the first person of color to that lunar surface!
Hey, let’s talk about Artemis for a minute!
I like to tell this to anyone who will listen. I once got in huge trouble with my school library for loving a book too much. As soon as it was time to return it to the library, I would check it back out the moment it was reshelved. When they said I couldn’t do that anymore, I tried to hide it at home. My grandma found it and returned it to the library. Traitor.
It was D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths, which is still one of my favorites. I have my totally, legally purchased copy right next to me, because I learned my lesson—If you love a book, just buy it already.
As I’m writing this blog, I’m looking through the portion about Artemis. Admittedly, this is a book for kids, so the myths are pretty watered down. I can see why I fell in love with tales about Artemis from it, though.
Here was a woman who went to her dad and said, “I don’t feel like getting married. I want to hang out with my gal pals and party.” And he just said, “Okay.”
I don’t know what your upbringing was like, but this blew my mind. You can just choose not to get married? You can decide your life is for fun, instead of committing to a fate of being someone’s wife and mother? Granted, I always wanted to be a mom (and I love it), but the idea that a parent would simply let you have that level of freedom stunned me.
Artemis enforced her boundaries too. Just because Zeus said it was fine for her to live that bachelorette life, doesn’t mean men (especially Ancient Greek men) wouldn’t want her to settle down and raise babies with them. But she wasn’t having any of that.
A man named Actaeon just sort of stumbled into the woods at night and happened to see Artemis and her nymphs bathing in the moonlight. He gawked long enough to get caught. The moon huntress turned him into a stag and let his hounds take care of the rest (wince).
You can’t even show a bit of cleavage or thigh on the internet, without some creep saying you’re asking to be assaulted. Artemis would have shut that down. I could use a little of that energy in my life.
Do you like books?
Of course you do. Why else would you have made it this far into my blog?
This September, I’ll be in Salem, MA for the Getting Witchy With It Book Convention. It’s been in the works for so long that I’ve written and published multiple books since I signed up to go. With it being months away now, I can barely contain my excitement!
This is why I was thrilled to find out that many of the signing authors going there are doing a BIG ebook sale. Check out the Getting Witchy Book Sale for some steeply discounted reads!
One last thing…
As many of you know already, the past year has been emotionally exhausting. It took some time to get back into the groove of writing. For this reason, I didn’t publish the sequel to Heroes & Harbingers in June, like I’d hoped.
Well, I’m happy to tell you that Portals & Pantheons will be coming out early this Autumn! I’m busy as a bee making it happen. Prepare for a cover reveal and preorders later this summer!
Did you like reading this? Then, you’ll love my books!
You can find all of my published works, even the anthologies I’ve contributed to by clicking the “Learn More” button below!
