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October 11, 2024 · 11:49 pm

The Cult of the Spider People path to publication )O(

Greetings darklings!!

I am so excited! My novel The Cult of the Spider People is all set for release to the big wide Amazon jungle! This is more than I ever dreamed of. I was on the bus when I received the acceptance email from the publisher in May. I was on the bus tonight when I saw my book covers six months later. Today’s post is about my reflection on my path to publication. 

A lot has changed since then. I have changed since then. My book has changed so much since then. Everything has changed. For the first time in my life, everything that I wished for came true and fell into place.  I am so happy I followed my intuition and decided to submit to Unveiling Nightmares, a publishing company that I never heard of before.  I took the risk which clearly paid off as we can see here. 

I have often asked myself what made me create such a terrifying story. I have reflected on it many times. The only thing I can assume is that it has much to do with my narcissistic ex-boyfriend, a vampire and Satanist. He really broke my heart and I never planned on the witch coven I was a part of to betray and ban me from the coven. I was so hurt and I like to think it is what led me to write The Cult of the Spider People. I am convinced he is the villain Roth, leader and master of the race of the Arachnas in my novel. I am sure I am not the first author to pen a novel based on total heartbreak or passion. Wuthering Heights comes to mind. Great book. Jane Eyre does too. 

Wuthering Heights is still considered a classic to this day. My novel has themes of body horror and monsters but it has themes of love, hope and good overcoming evil, sort of. Looking back, I can’t believe that I penned a love story considering the heartbreak I endured. If I hadn’t endured all that, I may not have written this book. I don’t have too many regrets. 

Heartbreak aside, I have now arrived at this stage: waiting for my book to be released on Amazon and worldwide in bookstores. I can hardly believe it. It is a dream come true and it has been a dream of mine for a long time. I have to now look to the future because I have to help with promotion and marketing. I want my book to win awards too. That would totally rock. 

I printed a copy of my beautiful and sinister book cover art and I laminated it. It looks beautiful. I even printed out the pdf ARC copy of my book and bound it. I just want it to be special which of course it is. Seeing the book on Amazon is going to blow my mind. I have to wait for approval. 

My editor who I won’t name here endured a major disaster: a hurricane and flooding in North Carolina. I felt very upset for him and his family and all the people who live there and are still suffering and just trying to survive. The water is now toxic from the flooding and the hurricane. His boots even melted from the toxic compounds in the water. I feel a mix of joy that my book is published and guilt for knowing what he is enduring. The publisher took the reins, so to speak. That means that she has a lot of work to do. He even worried about my book being out by the release date. I really don’t want him to worry. 

It is unfortunate that some sadness was involved in the creation of my book. The editor is safe and well and so is his family. That is a huge relief. Knowing he is safe helps me to focus more now on the marketing and promotion which is the next step. 

I couldn’t have written this novel without the awesome and amazing support of my friends and people who are in the publishing industry: their wisdom and patience and always being there for me as I navigated my way around getting my book published. They are the ones who really should get all the credit for my novel. My acknowledgements page credits them all. I credit Stephanie Ellis, the editor of Bone Chillers, Fred Rayworth, the Horror Writers Association, and many other people. 

Now having a novel published changes the whole game. This opens a door for me which I was accustomed to being slammed in my face. I worked hard for it and earned it. I have much to do. One thing I know for certain is that I am ready for it. I am ready for change. For the longest time, I felt like I was not shedding an old snake skin but I felt trapped in it. I can throw that husk away, take a deep breath and now feel like I no longer have to secretly envy other published authors now that I am one of them. It must be why I keep crying. This truly is a game changer for me. But I say bring it on!

Dawn Wilson interviewed me for my book. I’m excited to see that when it goes live. Nora Peavy did receive her gift of the beautiful bewitching Witch House and is totally happy with it. I hope it is the first of many interviews, reviews and new opportunities to come my way. 

Tomorrow I am sewing my Arwen dress. I can’t wait to get started on that. I plan to leave the house very early to start sewing at my Mom’s. Sewing will maybe prevent me from checking to see if my novel is uploaded to Amazon every 5 seconds of the day. I need something to focus on and that is perfect. I must be distracted or I will drive everyone around me and myself to distraction. 

I had to improve the quality of my writing and the way I write. I took the time to improve my writing and yet it worked out. I am glad I did. I can’t afford to self-publish which means one thing: improve my writing. That is why I am so grateful for all the wonderful assistance I received. That includes my cat! 

Here is the book blurb:

‘Seventeen- year old Piper and her boyfriend Cory are held captive by horrifying spider cryptids in the savage dimension, Arachnall. The Spider King  tries to seduce her into ruling with him as his queen and makes Cory a soulless slave. Piper must make an impossible choice: help the beleaguered Spider Queen dethrone the Spider King and escape or turn into one of the bloodthirsty monsters.’ 

The Cult of the Spider People is listed as 2.99 for the Kindle and 6.99 for the paperback version. I think that’s reasonable. Oh I can’t wait to see my book on Amazon. This has all been such a dream come true. I am so happy. Clearly being neurodivergent didn’t prevent me from publishing a novel. Nothing will. 

This is only the beginning! 

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(

#horror #halloween #horrormovies #art #horrorfan #scary #creepy #horrormovie #horrorart #movie #spooky #film #horrorcommunity #horrorfilm #movies #horroraddict #terror #dark #s #goth #thriller #gore #cosplay #horrorcollector #cinema

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June 17, 2024 · 5:48 pm

The true value of a Writing Community )O(

Merry meet all,

The Wheel of the Year has spun again. The Summer Solstice is a few days away. My garden is so beautiful and lush. I love the sun and the summer heat. I saved a beautiful arugula stem and flower and pressed it in my Introductory Herbal Course. 

Today’s post is about the wonderful support I have for my novella. I know that I couldn’t have written my novella without them. I owe them everything and I am certainly mentioning them in the acknowledgements. It is so important to have a support system and to be a positive, friendly person with EVERYONE in the publishing world. The publishing world is smaller than you think. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone will remember you if you are pleasant. Everyone – and this also means agents, editors and other more successful authors will remember you if you are totally impatient and toxic to deal with. In other words, they won’t deal with you. You can still be honest but you have to do it the right way. It is NEVER cool to send an editor who rejected you a death threat. You will be excommunicated from the whole publishing world, not just that one editor. That’s because they will talk about you to anyone who will hear. So send the honey, not the vinegar. 

My friends are so awesome. I could not live without them. I could not exist as a writer without them. Alice Walsh and Dave Rimmington are awesome and they live in the same hometown as me. We have all known each other for years. Dave R has interviewed me and supported me. Alice Walsh has helped me edit my writing. My other awesome friends on Facebook and social media are too numerous to mention here, so I will focus on a few. 

Stephanie Ellis helped me shape and rewrite, to refine my entire novella. One great thing about today’s technology is tracking changes. We worked on each chapter and passed the story between us using tracking changes. I love tracking changes now. I have adjusted to tracking changes and now I believe it is the easiest way to edit. Other than red pen on paper. I cannot believe the transformation of my story. I learned how to finally improve my writing and overcome a bad writing habit. This is necessary for a writer to change and grow. 

Fred Rayworth is now helping me with a line edit. Again, I am learning a lot from him. I value all this help and support. I like the expression that it takes a village. It’s true. Even rejection letters can be a good thing. If you do try to keep improving as a writer, then if you are lucky the rejection letters begin to get friendlier, and they invite you to write for them again, take them up on it. They are basically saying: we don’t want this submission but we may take your second story! Few writers take editors up on that opportunity. Editors are human and they may seem like lava snorting demons but at the end of the day, they are human. 

The best advice I can give is be professional, be yourself and be confident. You can’t be shy in this business. You don’t want to be toxic either. Just be yourself and everything falls into place. I have attended many writers book launches and readings long before I had a book published. I attended them to show my support, make friends and get free books!!! They remember you when you show support. They will do the same for you someday. It’s a win win all around. 

I have also lived in Halifax for many years. I know the bookstores and the bookstore staff here at my fave bookshops. I value their friendship. I have visited those fave shops for years now and a certain camaraderie develops between me and the managers. They will sometimes go well out of their way for you. Libraries are also a value to a hopeful writer. I can’t believe how hugely helpful librarians have been to me, whether that has been helping me find books or in printing out sewing patterns. I love books and I love libraries and I value the staffs’ help to me over the years.

I also credit the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia and the hugely helpful horror loving Horror Writers Association. Again, I have been part of them for years. It has taken me a long time to get a book published. I never did it alone. I had all that support not behind me, but beside me. It takes a village! So cultivate those friendships and be good to them and they will be good to you. When your awesome time comes, look at all the friends you will have to celebrate with! I know for myself personally, I plan to have a huge party on the release date here in Halifax- and virtual in October. Better than a sad glass of wine alone. Where’s the fun in that? You tell me. 

Good fences make good neighbours. At least, I think that is how the expression goes. Be nice and be in it for the long haul. Do it for the love! 

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

 

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August 30, 2022 · 11:51 pm

Our Paranormal Future

Merry meet all,

Do you feel it in the air? Do you smell it or taste it in the water? I do. I know many others do because they told me online. But try to feel it in the air. I am talking about this change, something heavy in the air. It is not always heavy but I think that it represents a change, not necessarily for the better. 

I sense a change in the air. It is transitioning to autumn, fall. Yes Samhain approaches. (Which means I need to get my shit together but that is another topic). I just feel like a darkness is coming over the world. I think it goes beyond the Goddess is pissed at us for disrespecting the earth on such a huge global scale. I think that that is part of it. I would be called crazy for talking about this stuff but I can post this here. 

Ok so… I believe we are going to see a lot of change in the near future. If you don’t believe me or in the paranormal, then go read up about Skinwalker Ranch. I do. I also believe that the paranormal has something to do with it – the aliens which I believe exists, and the spirits roaming the earth now also know about the change. Of course, they are just waiting around for us mortals to figure it all out. I not only believe that but I feel it. I imagine or understand it as a darkness growing over the world, like some people say the devil is having his way. 

I sense that if people are being good to the earth that they might survive. If someone or an organization has harmed the earth like the destruction of the amazon rainforests, deforestation, etc, then they are not going to be fortunate. The evil companies will drive us toward a mass destruction of our planet. I don’t even use pesticides in my garden. I did catch a Japanese beetle in a jar from my garden. I tossed the jar in the dumpster. But if I did use pesticides, that would throw off the balance in my garden. Balance can’t be touched or tasted or felt but it exists. I keep a balance in my garden. I grow nasturtiums which attract aphids. That draws the predatory insects to the aphids. I grow the nasturtiums because I know that some bugs want to eat the aphids such as ladybugs. I keep a balance. It keeps the insects out of my apartment and keeps them productive in the garden. I have a beautiful thriving garden.  I work with the energies and the land spirits that are already there. I also offer gemstones, coins, honey, milk to the spirits in the spring and fall. I give thanks to the spirits and the Goddess/ God for the beautiful garden I have. The gratitude I show ensures I can have a good harvest and that they will continue to help me. 

I think we should all hit the pause button and reflect deeply on not what the paranormal is about but why it is suddenly the hottest thing to hit social media. Why is it so huge right now? I believe that it has something to do with what I mentioned above. This is a good time to strengthen relationships with your chosen deity or gods that you follow. It is a good time to strengthen relationships with your mortal friends too. 

Aliens, UFOs, crop circles, cattle mutilations, poltergeist activity etc are so hugely popular now. I am on the fence about Bigfoot but I would believe in aliens way more than Bigfoot. I know that social media connects us globally. We can now have information at an unprecedented rate now and faster than ever before on earth. We all communicate globally within mere seconds or minutes. So this is why we all know so much about the paranormal and many other things of course. I am terrified about aliens. I don’t want to think that they exist. 

The greed, corruption, the huge demand of the earth’s resources, violence, crime, war (Ukraine, anyone?), and apathy sweeping over the planet now is not helping anything. It casts a dark shadow  over the earth. I don’t know what happened in Skinwalker Ranch that ignited all that activity occurring there but it is a great example of what I am talking about here. We have to remember that we are not in control of the earth like we want to believe. We need earth but she doesn’t need us. We can’t live anywhere else. I have zero intention of leaving earth and moving up the stars – where the aliens are watching over us. I serve the Goddess, she doesn’t serve me. I was meant to be here on earth. This is how it works for me. 

Not everyone believes in these things. But for those that do and that includes me! The paranormal is so hot right now. I feel that something is coming, and I also feel that whatever that is isn’t good at all. I mean if all this crazy stuff is happening, there has to be an explanation for it all and that explanation might make you uncomfortable. I am still feverishly curious. You have to admit this is all cool. 

I would love to see all your comments on what you think this is. It is ok to be a skeptic! It’s ok to believe. It is real cool when skeptics become believers. Be good to the earth, be good to your fellow man, and be good to yourselves!

I love this blog post and I have posted a link to it. It affirms what I believe. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2016/06/the-otherworld-is-bleeding-through.html#disqus_thread

I enjoy this post as well: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2016/11/the-veil-is-shredded.html#disqus_thread

Here is a cool link to a paranormal post about Skinwalker Ranch: https://youtu.be/cxjHba9OO0I

Whatever transpires for us in our weird paranormal future, let’s hope it is for the best of all mortals and animals -or amphibians out there. I do sense a darkness coming. It is good to remember from time to time that change is good and that as long as we maintain the balance of life,  we just may be fine. I hope I am wrong but I wouldn’t be shocked if I was right. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

 

 

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