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Autumn’s Lessons

I can’t believe that in a little over a week’s time Smugglers and Secrets the fourth book in my fiction series, Witches of the New Forest, will be out! It’s been an incredible year, with tons of hard work that has been so rewarding. Releasing four books in a year is not for the faint-hearted! I say four books, but really, the first two in the series, Hedge Witch and The Veil Between the Worlds were written almost a year before hand, and then were released within a month of each other. I didn’t want to have people waiting six months for the second book, especially as the first ended on a cliffhanger.

Writing fiction has always been my life’s dream. Ever since I was a thirteen-year-old girl, sitting in my room at my desk and typing away on my mother’s old clackety manual typewriter, I had always wanted to write stories. Tales of magic and mystery, of the Fae, of supernatural beings, of adventure and romance. And now, here I am, nearly four decades later, living the dream!

My books are selling all over the world, with the four main markets being the UK, US, Canada and Australia. I’ve had hundreds of lovely messages, feedback, and reviews for all the books, and I thank everyone that has gotten in touch to let me know how much they have enjoyed the series. (And one or two not so great reviews, but hey, that’s what you get for sticking your head above the parapet. And why is it always from someone in the Pagan community? I think that sometimes people forget this is fiction, in all honesty… I do tire of that old chestnut: you are doing it wrong). All of the lovely feedback has really confirmed that the choice I made to pack it all in and become a full-time writer was the right one. Not to mention actually making a living wage off my writing for the first time ever!

A lot of the income goes straight back into the production of more books right now, as well as advertising, but still, I’ve made more money in the last six months than I have with all my previous non-fiction books put together for the entire year! It just goes to show how much more an author can make by being self-published.

But being self-published is so much more work. You need to not only write your book, but also edit it, and then find a qualified editor to go over it again. You then need to know how to design a cover, and upload all your material onto whatever platform you are using to publish (for me, that’s Amazon and Rakuten Kobo). Just learning how to navigate these platforms is something else! Then there is the marketing, advertising, articles and interviews, podcasts and more to get the word out that you’ve written a book (but in all fairness, even going through a publisher means that the author is doing the lion’s share of this work themselves these days). I’m now in the process of trying out a hardback version (we will see how the printers do, as I’ve heard it can be hit or miss with regards to quality) as well as working on the audiobook version.

For the audiobook, I had a narrator but sadly the sample that they provided was not up to standard, and so the contract will be dissolved and my search continues to find a new narrator. The cost of creating an audiobook (that isn’t “virtual voices”, ie. AI) can run into the thousands of pounds. So, finding the right narrator for this work is essential, given the cost of production. I’ve tried having a go myself, but in all honesty I just don’t have the time, the right equipment and I would need a proper studio to cut out all the background noise from my house, neighbours, and the wildlife around me (right now the stags are roaring – wouldn’t that be fun to show up on an audiobook?).

I’ve had to research all aspects of the above for myself, and then learn how to implement it and tweak it to suit my work. Other things have had to take a backseat in the meantime, such as writing blog posts here, putting up full-length YouTube videos that so many have enjoyed, not to mention my photography. And so, I plan to pace myself a little better in the coming months. I’m feeling the burnout from all the work since 8th November 2024, when all this went live and the first book was released. It will probably be around eight to nine months between each book, rather than the original six months.

This turnaround time gives both me and my editor, Jasmin, more time to go through the text. Editing can take as long as writing the darned thing in the first place! But it is essential in order to give the readers a quality product. I did the best I could before I was able to hire Jasmin. This is why I released a second edition of Hedge Witch, and will be doing so for The Veil Between the Worlds as well. I couldn’t afford an editor for those first two books, but now that I’ve got an income, I have hired Jasmin who has worked with me on Books 3 and 4, just finished Hedge Witch and is currently working on TVBTW. Big shout out to Jasmin – you are a star!

Some people ask if I will ever write non-fiction again. The answer is – I don’t know! If I have a non-fiction book in me, then yes, of course I will write one. It will most likely be self-published, instead of going through a publisher like all the previous works. I am considering writing a book on working with the goddess, Freya, but that may have to wait until this series has been completed before I can turn my attention to that. There are at least four more books planned in the Witches of the New Forest series, so that’s a few years still to wait!

I also have another series planned, but I’m keeping that close to my chest for now. It will be similar to Witches of the New Forest, but take place in another location, with a whole new cast of characters. Watch this space…

As I sit here and type up this blog on my laptop, I look out of my conservatory window and see the golden leaves of the birch trees swaying in the breeze, the jay digging and storing acorns in the lawn, ladybirds (ladybugs in North America) coming out to enjoy the sunshine, and blackbirds chirping in the hedges. Autumn has settled in, and I hope to get out this afternoon to refill the water containers for the deer on the heath, and hopefully after that spend some time photographing the deer rut, if the rain stays away. Autumn is simply the best season, with the heat of the summer gone, the cool breezes and mellow light, the smell of woodsmoke and leaves on the wind. I feel like I’ve already missed the first half of autumn, and so I am going to make a conscious effort not to miss the second half!

It is a new moon today, and that means new beginnings. Autumn always feels like a time of new beginnings for me, which feels contrary to the popular Pagan belief of the season of spring holding that paradigm. Perhaps it’s a relic of my schooldays, when the new year began in the autumn. Perhaps it’s an ancient Viking thing in my blood, who, like the Celts, thought that the new day began in the darkness of night with the setting sun. Autumn is time to take stock, to reflect on the crazy summer energy and then stop, take a breath, and actually learn something from it. It’s harvest-time, not just in the fields but also in our souls. It’s when we take the seeds we have gathered and store them safely over the coming winter months, to plant again in the spring. These can be seeds from plants, or thoughts, ideas, and plans for how we want to live our lives. Either way, it is a time to rest and think. And that’s where I find beginnings. I can see my cat sleeping on the chair in the conservatory, in a beam of sunlight. She knows what autumn is all about.

And so, I will take some time to rest and reflect, even as I contemplate the writing of the next book in the series. I am hoping to release it probably around June next year. We will see how the writing and editing go, and take it from there. I know that this time around I won’t be setting myself a hard deadline like I have for the previous four books. Working to this kind of deadline can be incredibly stressful, which, as a self-employed person who can set their own schedule just doesn’t make any sense! I thought that these deadlines would help me to get the work out every six months, which they have, but also it left me frazzled and a little wobbly (menopause has been a real struggle this year). So, I intend to write, and write well, which takes time. I and my editor will take the time to edit the work as it deserves and as our schedules can reasonably manage. Like everything in life, it’s all matter of checks and balances, of work and rest, of giving and receiving.

I think that is also autumn’s greatest teaching.

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The Struggle is Real

Pagan books sales have gone down radically in the last year and a half, despite the increasing number of books being made available. It seems to reflect what many of us authors have been worried about for several years now. The sales aren’t even made up with e-books, as those have dropped significantly as well. Audiobooks for non-fiction still aren’t that popular either, and the revenue from them has always been minimal. So why is there this sudden and sharp decline in books sales?

When I first started learning about and practicing various forms of Paganism in the early 1990’s, books and events were the go-to places to gather the information that I sought out. The choice of books available in the bookstores was only a handful stuffed somewhere in the “New Age” section. The internet didn’t exist, but you could order books from glossy catalogues that companies such as Llewellyn provided, which wasn’t too bad if you lived in the US but if you lived anywhere else, the shipping fees were astronomical. And so you just had to make do with what your local bookstore provided. If you were lucky to have a witchy type shop near you, the selection was a little better, but shelf space was always at a premium. And we didn’t even bother much with libraries back then, because they would never stock those sorts of books in the first place. Finding books to read was a real struggle, but such a joy when you did find one that resonated with you.

The coming of the internet was a huge blessing for the Pagan community who wanted to connect with others, talk about authors and books and find solace with others when the community was so small and so widespread. Books began to be marketed online, which was a real boon to the publishing industry. And yet, with more people online than ever before, what has happened to book sales lately? Surely they should still be increasing?

Nope. I’ve talked to my publishers, I’ve talked to other authors and everyone is seeing a real downturn in books sales. We’ve been scratching our heads, trying to figure out why. As book lovers ourselves, it’s difficult to fathom how this downturn has come about so suddenly. So here is my take on what’s going on, and how it could very well spell the end of non-fiction books in the coming future.

  1. People can get information for free online. As people are online more and more and there are so many different channels to get information from, why buy a book? You could watch a video, read a blog and receive a ton of information anywhere for free. I know that if I was a youngster just starting out, the majority of my information would be garnered from this form of transmission simply because it is free.
  • People don’t have spare cash to buy books right now. Everyone I know is hurting more and more financially, and if it comes down to buying your groceries for the week or buying a book, you will buy the food. I hope.
  • You can find pirated copies of pretty much anything online. Need I say more?
  • Attention spans are waning. It’s a fact. “In the early 2000s, she and her team tracked people while they used an electronic device and noted each time their focus shifted to something new—roughly every 2.5 minutes, on average. In recent repeats of that experiment, she says, the average has gone down to about 47 seconds.” https://time.com/6302294/why-you-cant-focus-anymore-and-what-to-do-about-it/ (I actually had trouble reading this article, not because of attention span but because four different pop-ups kept interrupting my reading. Oh, the irony.)
  • When a book is released, it is competing will millions of other books these days. With so much choice, it’s wonderful for the reader out there. But for the author? It seriously dilutes the sales. Unless you have a slick marketing team that works for you.
  • Authors can’t afford slick marketing teams. The shift in lots of publishing has been to place the onus of marketing up on the author, as the publishers have to make cuts somewhere just to stay competitive. Most authors aren’t marketers. I spent nearly a decade in marketing for a world-famous music venue here in England. That has seen me in good stead for the last ten years, but even now I’m struggling against a tide of everything that I’ve mentioned above.

The struggle is real, folks. I hope one day that books will have a resurgence, that cosying up with a book on a rainy day will replace hiding under your duvet with your smartphone. There is just something about a book, something that feels like an old friend you can turn to, something that you can hold in your hands, that ages even as you age, the feel of something material rather than something immaterial.

 Go analogue for a while. Slow down. Smell the books along the way. Because who knows how long they’ll be here?

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A Tribute to Scott Cunningham

It’s been 31 years since the beloved author, Scott Cunningham passed on from this life on 28 March 1993. Like many others in the Pagan community, I never knew Scott personally, though I felt that I knew him through his works which were a foundational part of my spiritual path, and which were the tools that opened my eyes to a wonderful earth-based spirituality.

It was the early ‘90s, and a magical Witchcraft shop had opened in Montreal. Melange Magique (The Magical Blend) was located right in the heart of downtown Montreal, on Ste Catherine Street West. I remember walking in and the first thing that I noticed was the amazing smell of handmade incense. It evoked something within me, something that I couldn’t describe at the time, but which I shall never forget and which changed me forever. I wandered the book section, with the cats that lived at the store lounging on shelves and wandering around underfoot. I came to a shelf dedicated to titles on Wicca. I had heard of Wicca only recently, from a course I was taking in college called “Magic, Religion and Science”. I picked up my first book on the subject of Paganism, and it was Scott’s Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. That book literally changed my life. It was the first Pagan book I ever touched, and I am so glad that I did.

Since then, I have read and bought every book that he ever published. And hundreds of other books from hundreds of other authors. Though my path has moved on from Wicca over the years to Druidry and Hedge Witchcraft, I still hold Scott’s words and ideals close to my heart. Yes, I call him Scott, as does everyone who ever read his books. The way that he wrote made you feel like you had a friend on this solitary, seekers path, one that had good advice and common sense. All of us GenXers who got into Paganism came across his works, learned from them and acknowledge (though sometimes grudgingly) that he was a seminal force for so many of us.

I see a growing trend in the last 5 – 10 years or so, of putting down Scott’s work. People say it’s outdated, that we’ve moved on from it, that it holds nothing for today’s Pagan practitioner. I say bollocks. I’ve reread all the books recently, and they still stand up fairly well, considering the time in which they were published. Material was difficult to come by back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, with only a few authors’ works widely available. There is little that I would argue about in his works, even today. Scott researched and tried out everything that he talks about, and so his works come from his own experience. He walked his talk and truly believed in his work and in his spiritual path.

He never claimed that his way of witchcraft was ancient. In fact, at the beginning of Wicca it is clearly established that this is a new tradition, and a new way of working in this spiritual path. He strongly advocated creating and designing your own rituals that work for you, in your particular area, for this was an earth-based path. This is something that I urge everyone to do still, because it means so much to work with your local environment and landscape, wherever that may be.

His style of writing was personal. It felt like he was talking directly to you. He urged the reader to explore, to try new things and not to do it his way, but to use that as inspiration. He also didn’t hold back when he had a strong opinion on certain topics, which I greatly appreciated. He wasn’t afraid to share his opinion, because it came from a strong and valid base of personal experience.

I still have the first editions of his books, because I bought them as they were being released, or within a few years of their initial release. Those early cover artworks, which so many people today often deride or make fun of, were that which sparked me into a magical way of thinking and being. On Wicca, the androgynous man in the robe wafting incense around his back garden by the light of the full moon, that image spoke to me and my romantic soul. I wanted to be that person, that person who chanted the names of the gods under the stars and who connected with the energies of life, death and rebirth that are all around us, all the time.

The woman on the cover of Living Wicca, well, I of course I wanted to be her: summoning or invoking the gods while the deer, rabbits and owls crowded around. And indeed I have had similar experiences over my years of practicing my Craft out in the wilds, calling upon my deities, the spirits of place, the ancestors and more. Never could I have imagined back then that it would become a reality, but it was a starting point and an ideal.

I wanted to know a goddess, a female divinity. I wanted the magic that we all have as children come back and be a part of my life in the present moment. These old book covers demonstrated that to me and more. They are now a backdrop to my life.

The covers have since changed, of course, to adapt to modern fashions and trends. But the contents within those books remain the same. The inner artwork of his books such as Earth Power and Earth, Air, Fire and Water still give me a little thrill. Illustrated by Robin Wood (who did the original covers of Wicca and the follow-up,  Living Wicca), these art nouveau inspired drawings of people working Scott’s spells and rituals were instrumental in making me want to do these practices. This was a spiritual practice that was meant for me, I knew that when I saw these images. And I could do all these things and more. (See Robin Wood’s tarot deck, too, if you love tarot. It’s really, really good.)

I think that many (though not all) of the people who don’t enjoy Scott’s works are from a different generation. They don’t understand what it’s like having to travel miles out of your way to buy a book on any Pagan spiritual practice, because the internet hadn’t been available back then in Ye Olden Days. Comments picked up directly from Aamzon reviews read as:

“A theme with cunninghams books is that they are all tailored to the novice who has never picked up a book on wicca or read about it online.”

Nevermind not bothering with punctuation, but this review fails to notice that Scott’s books were written before material was available online. And there were only a handful of Pagan authors being published at that time, so there was very little material for the novice to read which is why Scott wrote this book in the first place. It’s utterly ignorant of the timeline of the books’ production, its history and the legacy that Scott provided. Sadly, there are dozens of reviews like that online, stating that the information is readily available online, so why buy the book – sigh. Read the boring copyright and publishing info at the beginning of a book, people: it will tell you a lot about a book, when it was written, how popular it has been with different printings, and whether it has been re-published or re-worked. Scott was never able to re-work his books for a modern-day audience, because he died far, far too soon. But I am certain that he would have, and would have enjoyed doing so.

Where do you think all these online sites got the information from, I wonder?

New generations of readers have so much access to material now, that I suppose for some these books may not contain what it is that they are seeking. But for those who want to sit down with an author and their book and really see what it is like working in a certain practice, there is no better alternative than reading a book. So much online material is simply copied and pasted from other sources (many of which derive from Scott’s works) without any heart, feeling or experience behind them. They are soulless.

There are also many reviews from ego-based practitioners, who just want to show off how advanced they are because they are so beyond Scott’s works. Again, sigh.

Is Scott’s work all about love and light? In some aspects, that may be what some people take away from it. But once again, we must remember the context in which the books were written, which is the late 80’s and early ‘90s when Wicca, especially in America, was trying to distance itself from the threat of the “Satanic Panic”. Do the books promote a love for the earth and a way to magically celebrate, work with the energies and reverence the earth? Yes, yes they do. And thank all the gods that they do.

I even recently tried Scott’s simple ritual for the Spring Equinox, taken directly from Wicca. This was going to be an experiment, to see whether this ritual would still have any meaning for me today, someone who has been on this Pagan path for more than 30 years. And you know what? It was lovely. It was a beautiful, simple ritual that connected me to the energies of the seasons, and which brought me closer to the spirits of place where I live.

His spell books such as Earth Power and Earth, Air & Fire Water are still great books for anyone practicing magic today. If you are more secular, then these are the books from Scott that you should read. His books on gems, magical herbalism and spellcrafts are also really good resources for anyone following a Pagan path.

It’s not just about sentimentality, or nostalgia. It’s about an author who changed the face of how we practice most, if not all modern Pagan paths today. His influence is so far-reaching, and yet so many people new to the Craft have no idea of the significance of Scott’s works.  He is a beloved author for many, for good reason. He passed on way too soon from this incarnation, and I would have loved to see what his contemporary writing and works would have offered for today’s magical community.

It would have been wonderful to have journeyed with Scott through many subsequent books, but sadly we only have the ones that date from 1993 and earlier. There have been biographies written about Scott, such as Whispers of the Moon, which I highly recommend for anyone who has been touched by Scott’s work. Written by his friends, it’s a very good portrait of the person and makes him very real, outside of his Wiccan writing. It also demonstrates just how dedicated he was to his spiritual path, and just how much he walked his talk, always experimenting, always trying new things, always progressing on his own journeys. The newest biography, The Path Less Taken that came out in 2023 I found less interesting, and not as well-written though it was written by his sister. In this work she is open about the fact that she never read Scott’s works until after his death, and so knew very little about how he felt about his religion. The writing is disjointed, jumping all over the place timewise, and though most likely written from a place of love, falls short of actually portraying Scott as the magical pioneer that he was.

Would I still recommend Scott’s books to those who are interested in and just starting out on their path of Wicca? Most definitely. I would also recommend Marion Green’s A Witch Alone, Rae Beth’s Hedgewitch, Dorothy Morrison’s The Craft, Silver RavenWolf’s To Ride a Silver Broomstick, Starhawk’s The Spiral Dance and many other books of that generation. I know, I can hear many of you sighing from here. I would also suggest Thorn Mooney’s Traditional Wicca as well as The Witch’s Path, Jason Mankey’s Transformative Witchcraft, Danu Forest’s The Magical Year and anything Ellen Dugan has written, such as Seasons of Witchery and The Natural Witch (alongside ALL of her fiction work, especially the Legacy of Magick series).

Scott Cunningham’s legacy is one that still lives on today. And long may it continue.

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What Is It Like Being A Pagan Author?

What is it like being a Pagan author? Well, it might not be quite what you think! Growing up, I had always wanted to be an author. I wanted to write fantasy fiction, and indeed have written a fantasy book and hope to do more. This year I’m considering trying my hand at some modern, witchy fiction, alongside other books that I am working on. I hope to post up samples up on my Patreon page, along with other writing that I am currently working on later in the year. So, back to the question, what is it like being a Pagan author?

It’s wonderful to be able to share my journeys, my insights and my experience with my readers. To put information out there into the wide world, and have people respond to it is incredible. It can feel like you are setting your work free, to go where it needs to, while at the same time feeling scary as you don’t know how it will be received. But I have had the joy of so many people connecting with me, messaging me, emailing me and commenting here on my blog and on my other social media platforms about how much my work has resonated with them. It fills my heart with joy to know that I have helped, inspired or guided someone on their journey. That in some way I have helped others in this community.

When writing a book about your religion or spirituality, you are sharing a very intimate part of yourself. You are putting this out into the world, and hoping that it doesn’t get destroyed by negativity. You want to be well-received, or else it can feel like sending your child to school and they come home and tell you how they’ve been bullied all day. Putting work out there means sticking your head above the parapet. You are doing something you love, but you have to hope that the outside world will not destroy that love. It takes courage to write.

However, if you are considering becoming a Pagan author, don’t give up your day job! For most authors in any genre, writing is something that they have to do on the side, because the pay just isn’t that great. Until you can sell hundreds of thousands of books, your income will not support this career choice full-time. Many authors, myself included, have other platforms that help to support us, such as on Patreon. I also have a Bandcamp page, where I share music, podcasts, meditations and more as a sideline to my writing. If I was living alone, I wouldn’t be able to survive on these avenues alone. Many people know of my YouTube channel, and again that is an excellent venue for my creativity, but I do not make any money from it, as I refuse to monetise my channel. If I can’t control the type of advertising that appears on there, I won’t do it, and I feel that there is too much advertising in the world as it stands. To think that a MacDonald’s advert could appear in one of my videos just makes my skin crawl.

Royalties paid on books range from the usual 10% net income on every sale (that means that after everyone such as the retailer, the publisher etc. have taken their cut, you then get 10% of what’s left), to perhaps 15% if you sell more than 10,000 copies. Some publishers go up to 20% or 25% if you sell  a whole bunch more, but again that is net income and still isn’t all that much. Audiobooks usually offer the same, but can go up to 25% from the start, depending on your contract. E-books, similar percentages applies.

As a Pagan author these days, you are also expected to do a bunch of marketing. The publishers will initially do a big push at the release of your book (if they are any good), but then it is usually up to you to maintain the momentum. If you already don’t have much time on your hands, using any spare time for marketing can be an issue. Knowledge of all the different platforms is required, and many Pagan authors have to teach themselves how to use them, how to create a “brand” for themselves and more. Again, this is not an easy thing to do, especially if you are not into that sort of thing (most of us aren’t).  It doesn’t always work either, which can result in taking time away from your writing. Getting a publicist can help with this, but the amount that you pay them will usually cancel out, or at least take a huge chunk of any profit you do make from the sales of your book. We are not big-time authors, we are selling to a very niche group of people with very different interests than your popular crime, horror, thriller, fantasy, or romance author.

Essentially you will need to be tech savvy, when all you want to do is snuggle up with some cottagecore.

The time it takes to create a good book is also a factor. It takes me usually a year to research for a new book, and there will always be years of learning before then which are added to the mix. Then there is a year of writing that follows.  A good book doesn’t just happen in a couple of months. After the research and the writing, it then goes through several editing processes. Then there is the discussion of artwork (the book covers and interior artwork), and the correspondence between yourself and your editors regarding these and everything else mentioned above.

It has a lot to do with finding a balance between all these things: between the work that is less enjoyable than writing, and the writing itself. It is also being open to trying new experiences and taking on information and suggestions from others regarding your work. There is an essential task of taking good care of yourself as well, so that you don’t burn out while trying to balance all these things such as the research, the writing, the marketing, the design, the branding, etc. It is essential to take some time out to rest, to recharge and to ground yourself and your practice once again.

Often, as authors we are so busy writing about our spiritual practices that we don’t get much time to actually do them!

These periods of rest are necessary so that you have the energy to go somewhere new with your practice, to try new things and have new experiences. This will allow you to write about these new experiences and lessons instead of just re-hashing all your previous material.

Having a good publisher is for me essential. Self-publishing is extremely difficult, and it a lot of hard work. Publishers usually have much larger platforms to operate from than an individual, and so will sell more books generally. There are one or two self-published Pagan authors who have made it on their own, some of whom are now publishing through well-known companies. Finding good self-published material can be a challenge, as the expertise in editing, design and manufacture usually just isn’t there. Producing your own self-published work requires a knowledge and skill set that most authors don’t have and need to learn. Despite years of working in marketing for a world famous concert hall, my two self-published works still only sell a handful every year. My works with publishers such as Llewellyn sell a great deal more.

I am so grateful to my publishing team at Llewellyn for all that they have done for me and my work. I have published my last two books with them (The Book of Hedge Druidry and also The Path of the Hedge Witch) and am releasing another one with them in the autumn of 2024. Their years of experience and expertise has helped me to create my best work with them. Just with regards to proof-reading and suggestions in the editing process, they are hands down the best. They are also the oldest publisher of Pagan material, and so have that accolade behind them, reaching not only those of us who have been buying their material for decades, but also reaching out to people new to Paganism and all its various traditions. They are a company that has evolved over the decades, learned invaluable lessons and now produce the most wonderful books!

We authors live in a very different world to those authors who were releasing books 20, 30, 40 years ago. We have had to learn to multitask on a whole other level. We live in a consumer culture, and that takes its toll on the writer. We are expected to create content for various online platforms, and not just produce a book. We have and maintain our own websites and social media. Requests to do unpaid work, such as speaking at conference, writing articles for magazines, do interviews for other brands on their platforms: it all adds up. Authors often can’t give enough to meet the demand for free material. I know of authors that have over 88,000 subscribers on YouTube, but have less than 20 people supporting them on Patreon. So many people just want to consume content for free. The books often get lost, or ignored. Who can be bothered to buy and read a whole book when there is so much info out there online for free? Or available via illegal downloading?

That is another issue that authors today face: illegal sharing and downloading of their books on various internet sites. Most of these are scams intended to install trojans on your device, but some actually do offer your book to others for free. I’ve had to tell people to take down my book from their websites, as what they were doing is illegal. If anyone is offering you a pdf version of a book, know that it is an illegal download, and the author is not getting paid one penny for it. If money is tight, there are always libraries and second-hand book shops both in the flesh and online that you can visit to obtain the material legally, and still allow the author the benefit of the sale of at least one book in the process. I’ve written a whole other blog post about that HERE.  

Authors just have to try to navigate living in a world that is all about consumption, rather than conservation. It is hard to live and work in this kind of environment and still preserve the work that we are able to produce. We can’t give enough away for free, and so others will do it for us.

This takes me on to the issue of artificial intelligence.  The upside to all your hard work means that you reach a greater audience of people. The downside is that you reach the wrong kind of people, who are willing to take advantage of your hard work without doing any of their own. As of writing this blog post, I’ve had at least two of my books put through an AI programme to be “rewritten” for someone else to cash in on. And currently there is no law to stop them from doing that. When buying books, please do try to ensure that they are written by actual authors, rather than robots. Check for a website for the author, as well as taking a look at how many books they have released lately. For example, the “author” Mari Silva released four or five books in February 2024 alone. This either means that there is a group of ghost writers going under that name, or that the works have been processed and stolen from other authors using artificial intelligence. The fact that within six months to a year of some popular book releases by real authors in the community, “Mari Silva” then releases a book on the same subject, with similar contents just differently arranged. This deeply suggests an AI theft of someone’s hard work. And with the programmes being so good lately, it’s impossible to tell the difference between a real author and a robot just from reading the work.

Again, this all relates to a culture of consumerism, with its inherent greed, rather than a culture of preservation. We need to help preserve the hard-working authors that do the work, and who usually get paid very little in return in comparison with other forms of employment. We need to support the authors we love, however we can, whether that’s moral or financial support. We also need to buy more books, if we have the resources, instead of getting all our content online through other means.

Of course I am biased in my opinion, because I am an author. But I am also a reader, and I LOVE books. There is nothing like holding a new book in your hands. I remember saving up my pennies in my early days of college back in 1991, and then doing the hour-long bus journey to the witchcraft shop in downtown Montreal where I could buy a new book to help me on my journey. These books and their authors became not only my mentors, but also my greatest spiritual friends. Even though some have passed on from this world these past 30 years, their words still live on and I feel their presence in my life and in my work.

Being a Pagan author is a wonderful career, if you can make it work. It’s not an easy route to success, and it still succumbs to the dream of “overnight fame” and the like. The odds of that happening are similar to being an overnight pop star, or YouTube influencer. You can produce the most beautiful content on any platform, but whether or not it gets picked up is rather random.

However, if you have something to say, if you have a skill to impart, if you have inspiration whispering in your ear to go and write than book, then go for it! And I wish you all the best! Knowing that you can make a difference in people’s lives is worth all the challenges that you will face in this line of work.

Blessings to you all.

Available now, my new book – The Path of the Hedge Witch: Simple, Natural Magic and the Art of Hedge Riding: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Path-Hedgewitch-Simple-Natural-Riding/dp/0738772283

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkI8C2dqmUb-eatjxaDWXmw   Buy my book – Hedge Druidry: A Complete Guide for the Solitary Seeker: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Hedge-Druidry-Complete-Solitary/dp/0738758256

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Another turn of the wheel…

t’s been a year since The Path of the Hedge Witch came out! Where has the time gone? I’m nearly finished writing up the sequel, which hopefully will be available this time next year 🙂 Thank you to everyone who has supported me and my work. All the wonderful comments, emails, reviews and messages make me filled with gratitude for being able to share my experiences with you. Here’s to another year!

(And the audiobook cover)

The Most Important Page of Any Book
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The Most Important Page of Any Book

There are now lots of Pagan books out there, on a huge variety of subjects. Some are new, some are old, some are out of print but still available through second-hand shops and websites. I’ve recently been perusing some older and out of print books on Wicca and Witchcraft, as well as Paganism in general and it’s really hit home just how much one page of a book can make all the difference. In fact, it’s the most important page of any book. And what is that page?

The page at the beginning of a book that has the publishing details on it.

What? Yeup – that’s the bit that I find the most helpful from the start. Why? Because it gives you context. You can find out just when the book was written, so you will see © 2001 Witchy McWitch. These few words give you an idea into the time in which the words were penned, a snapshot in time as to what facts and truths were available, and what were not, and how they were presented. Under that you will see the publishing dates, such as “First published in 2012 by So & So Publishing”. There will be the initial publishing print date, as well as other information to let you know how many printings of this book there has been.  If you are buying the book brand new, this reprint information gives you an idea of how popular the book is, as well as the possible opportunities for correction during subsequent print runs by either the author (if they’re still alive) or the publisher (if at all possible).

So why is this important? Well, information changes, history changes as new facts come to light. Knowing just when a book was written will allow for some leniency with regards to what was known at the time, versus what we now know after decades of research. I can forgive a book that is 20+ years old for not having a good history of witchcraft, for example. With even older books I can be more forgiving. The use of terms such as “shaman” and “shamanic”, as another example, can be forgiven because that was the term being used at the time. If the book hasn’t undergone a reprint recently, or has been out of print for a while, then this information just can’t be changed. And this is, at least to this author, a source of anxiety. I don’t know about other authors, but often when you put stuff out there, it’s out there for good and people can forget the context in which it was written.

People change. Facts change. Views of history change. What is politically and socially correct, changes. But old books can’t change. Not unless a new publishing company picks it up, the author is still alive to consult about making the changes, and everyone is happy to go along with it. But so often I will see criticism and horrendous reviews of old books regarding the information contained within. If you look at the book within context, you will know that it is out of date regarding historical accuracy, and then you might be a little more lenient. But instead people slam the old authors, those who many of us from Gen X and previous grew up with. We know that some of the information is wrong, or outdated, if we have the privilege of being able to keep up to date with the latest books and information (and in today’s growing economic crisis here in the UK, and around the world, we know that people have less and less money to spend). Think about it for a minute. If you haven’t been able to buy a new book on an aspect of Paganism in the last decade or so for whatever reason (no money, no time to read it because you’re working two jobs and trying to raise kids, etc.) you won’t have the most up to date information. But people will still criticise you and the books that you have for it, when it is beyond anyone’s control.

(There is a caveat here – some books do just contain information that was made-up at the time, and the author knew it. Or it was just poorly researched when information was quite readily available at the time. I’m thinking of a certain book written in 1990 that states the ancient Irish peoples carved pumpkins. Yeah. We knew better even at that time.)

Books are a luxury. For sure. Not everyone has the ability to do the in-depth research, to keep up to date with the latest information and the world of academia. For some people it just bores the crap out of them. Some people are doers, not readers. We have to take a look at the bigger picture, and stop cancelling authors whose books are out of print, as well as over-criticising people for not keeping up to date with the latest academia. It’s just not possible for some people to do. It’s utterly beyond their control.

I am so lucky that I am able to search around to find these old books, to add to my collection. I am so fortunate that I am able to buy new books with the latest academic research. I understand my white, middle-aged woman privilege here. Which is why I’m not ranting at others online or in person about the material they present, the authors they like, the books that they’ve read or not read (apart from my small caveat above). Because there’s a whole world of circumstances that I cannot possibly understand.

People are throwing out, or at least recycling old books because some of the information in them is out of date, contains bad history or what not. But as I’m re-reading these old books, every time I pick one up I look at the publishing details, to remind myself of the context. I can then be more forgiving. It doesn’t mean that all the material is worthless – it means that we have learned a lot more since this book was written. Now, if it was a brand new book written in the last few years, I might have a different attitude, but again there are variables: is the book self-published? If so, then there aren’t any external editors to say to the author “Look, this claim that you make has been shown to be false, here’s some research for you to look up” or some such. Circumstances matter.

Acknowledging circumstances help us to live more compassionately.

One last thing to think about is that authors, if they have the good fortune to have kept going throughout the decades, will contradict themselves sometimes. This is a good thing, because it is showing growth (sometimes in the wrong direction, it may seem, but it shows that they are still seeking). I released my first Pagan book in 2012, written in 2011. I am most definitely not the same person I was 10+ years ago. I have said things in my older books that I cannot say today, because my life has changed. I mention in one of my old books that I’m vegan, but I haven’t been vegan for a long time now, for various reasons. But someone reading that book will still think I am, or may even criticise me later on when they read a subsequent book and find my position has changed. The history that my older books contain may not stand up to the test of time. But the message, the exercises, the feeling and the passion hopefully will, as long as people understand the context in which it was written.

Words are funny things. They’re like stones, and if you put too much stock in them, hold too many too close to your heart, they will weigh you down. We have to let some of them go, in order to fly. We have to change and adapt with the times, realise that there are circumstances beyond our control, or that we aren’t even aware of while holding a compassionate regard for the past, and an understanding of just how far we have all come.

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Review of my 2018

What a year it has been! Despite all the depressing and, quite frankly, rage inspiring bollocks from politics around the world, and the growing problem of plastic and climate change around the world, etc., etc., here in this little part of the world, at my home on the edge of the heath near the North Sea, it’s not been a bad year.

Hedge Druid CoverI finished the Big Book of Druidry (as I like to call it) and it was a labour of love. So much work went into that volume, and I hope that it reaches people like The Awen Alone did. I received so many emails from people about The Awen Alone this year, so many wonderful and life-changing stories, and I am so grateful that people took time out of their busy lives to write and share their story.

I also started on another book, veering away from Druidry and into the realms of the Hedge Witch. Stay tuned!

All this writing, combined with an incredible heat wave over this summer, meant that I was much more sedentary that usual, which has resulted in a sluggish body and a few extra pounds that I can feel in my joints. So, this last month I’ve already started to be more active, doing yoga and going for 5k walks as often as I can, and already I can feel my strength returning. I will be teaching intermediate belly dance classes beginning the second week of Jan, so this will also add to my physical activity. I resolve to keep this up over the next year, to be a healthy and as active as I can be, and to enjoy the beauty of nature right outside my doorstep no matter what is on my plate, or whatever the weather.

While writing the new book I’ve felt a shift in my own practice as well. I feel a returning to the path of the witch, where it all started for me 25 years ago at Melange Magique when I was a 19-year old investigating the book shelves of that wonderful shop, in between fussing the cats that freely roamed the aisles and lay upon the counters. With a lot more experience and knowledge behind me, it has given it an entirely new flavour. I have always been a witch, but I had to study to become a Druid. This is the basis for the current work I am writing, which I hope to finish next year.

It’s also led me down side paths that again were explored many years ago, but never fully completed. I’ve felt a call to honour the Germanic and Scandinavian deities that are a part of my heritage, and so my research and practice into the culture, folklore, mythology and more has been re-awakened. While looking at some witchcraft practices for East Anglia to use as examples in my new work, I realised just how similar some of these were to those of north and western Europe, such as the practice of a high seat in seidr. In fact, the art of seidr has intrigued me greatly, and I feel that this will complement my own practice of hedge witchcraft nicely.

Druid College UK logo (194x114)Druid College continues to be successful, and due to a high demand for online courses, next year we are putting Year 1 on hold in order to create an online course. This will consist of video and audio material, a downloadable book and online meetings with others on the course. We hope to have this available by 2020, fingers crossed! Our current Year 2 students are doing so very well, and it is indeed a great pleasure to be working alongside such people. After each weekend session, as soon as I get in the car with Robin, we both say how wonderful the people are that have chosen to work with us, and how blessed we are by those that have chosen to join. They bring so much, and I am eternally grateful that these first four years have been as good as they are, which is to say, brilliant!

There have been a few bumps in the road this year, which have given me lessons of experience to work from in the rest of my life. Having to say goodbye to my 16-year old cat last December was so very hard, to make the decision to end her life rather than have her suffer days or weeks of pain as her chest was filled with water due to congestive heart failure and she had trouble breathing, eating, walking, movement of any sort. That was the first time I had to make that kind of decision, and  although I doubt it will be any easier should there be a next time, and it took a long time for me to get over it even though my baby girl passed quickly and painlessly, I know it was the right thing to do in that situation. I suffered all winter long from having to make that decision, and my new boy Barnabus was a ray of light during that troubled time.

bullying-1As well, I had a difficult experience of another sort, when a peer decided to attack me on social media after I had contacted her to request permission to use two verses of an Irish poem she translated. To this day I still have no idea what set her off, but the vitriol of the attack was shocking, and the attempt to destroy me and everything I do quite mind-boggling. It brought back old pains of bullying when I was a child, and affected me on a physical level as well as mental. I realised this when I was walking down my street to the village shop, and in the middle of the street my heart started pounding and I felt very unsafe, like bullies were just waiting around the corner. I had to remind myself that I was 43 years old and no longer a young teenager, and no one was going to physically hurt me. It opened my eyes to the old scars that never truly heal, and I have learned how to better deal with such experiences. Namely, don’t read posts like that on social media, don’t get involved and don’t read all the uninformed comments either! Let the haters hate, there’s not much I can do about their behaviour anyway. As long as I am physically safe, and emotionally okay with a good support network of family and friends, that is what really matters, not what strange people say.  I’m still working on compassion for people like that though. It’s not easy.

seidr album coverBack to the creative front, I hope to add more to my Bandcamp page over the next year. I started an album called Seidr, which will contain the songs and chants that come to me in my work over the next year. Perhaps there will even be a blog post or two about the practice of seidr, but in the meantime there is an excellent video by Professor Jackson Crawford on the subject. (I have a total nerd crush on this guy!) There are also some good books, such as The Nine World of Seid-Magic by Jenny Blain, and The Norse Shaman by Evelyn Rysdyck. I also hope to record more podcasts for the page and its subscribers, as well as record the audio book for The Hedge Druid’s Craft. The Awen Alone and The Crane Bag are already on there as audiobooks, so do take a look if you’re interested. All of these will be/are available to subscribers, as well as any new material in the coming year, so you really do get your money’s worth!

So, for this winter I shall be investing heavily in hygge, being more physically active, exploring new paths and learning from past experiences. I hope that 2019 will be a good year for you all, and see you all in the New Year!

Love,

Jo. x

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Escaping…

Right now, I’m in “book jail”, as Jhenah Telyndru so wonderfully describes it: when you are working so hard on a project, and it’s pretty much all that you can think about. I’m currently working on my 7th book, and this one’s a big one for Llewellyn Worldwide.  However, today I thought I would get out and check on the progress of autumn in my area, because before you know it, it will pass you by! Sometimes it’s just nice to do something different creatively, so…

Here are some of the moments, captured on camera.

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A quiet moment in the beech wood…

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A crow going to join his mates…

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This year’s youngling!

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A proud mama…

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The last of the heather…

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A majestic hawk…

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A moment with the Old Oak

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The incredible autumn skies…

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Going for a canter…

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Harvesting the carrots

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Wonderful news!

A lovely thing arrived in the post this afternoon – my fully signed contract with Llewellyn!  It’s an honour and a pleasure to write for this publishing company. My very first book (Scott Cunningham’s Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner) started me on my journey down the Pagan path around 25 years ago. Since then, many Llewellyn volumes are displayed proudly on my bookshelf, and in 2019 my book will be joining them!

More details to come, but for now, that’s all that I can say 🙂