THE CHINESE CALENDAR “In the perception of the smallest is the secret of clear vision; in the guarding of the weakest is the secret of all strength.” Lao Tzu New Moon Blessings, and Happy Chinese New Year! In 2020 the Chinese New Year begins on the new moon on January 25, and ushers in the
I can’t believe I reached my goal and read 52 books this year. I was always feast or famine in my reading – banning myself on deadline, then bingeing and getting no work done – so I hoped the #bookaweek challenge would help, and it kinda did! My first December book was House of Wishes by Jenn
I’m rushing to get ready for the Mind Body Spirit Festival, and haven’t had a chance to update the Blessed Bee Books store, but if you’d like to buy The Swan Maiden now, you can send a payment to me at www.paypal.me/sconneeley and I’ll post it out to you... The Swan Maiden paperback within Australia
Litha : Summer Solstice : Fruition The summer solstice falls around December 21 or 22 in the southern hemisphere – you can check the timings for where you live here – and June 20 or 21 in the northern hemisphere. It’s the longest day and the shortest night of the year, with the sun rising
Yule : Winter Solstice : Rebirth The winter solstice falls around December 21 or 22 in the northern hemisphere – you can check the timing for you here – and around June 21 or 22 in the southern hemisphere. It’s the longest night and the shortest day of the year, and marks the transition between
A few people have asked about ordering autographed copies of my books for Christmas gifts, so I thought I should offer a few specials. Order any of the below from my Blessed Bee Books shop and I'll post them out asap. Order Into the Fire, Into the Storm and Into the Air and get a
Face Your Fear Most people say I’m brave – I’ve travelled solo through Brazil, crawled into ancient burial tombs in the dark, broken a publishing contract and returned my advance to go indie, interviewed Guns ’N Roses, Foo Fighters and Metallica, and worked out with Jillian Michaels... But there’s one fear that still cripples me
November is NaNoWriMo month, where I write feverishly to try to hit 50,000 words in 30 days. I made it, but it did unfortunately limit my reading. I did skim-read Public Speaking for Authors, Creatives and Other Introverts by Joanna Penn(45/52), in preparation for my first public speaking event (I was terrified!), and it was
Welcome! I had a wonderful time chatting with my sweet friend Lucy Cavendish today on her magical podcast The Witchcast. Thank you for your interest in my books – I hope you enjoy Into the Mists and The Swan Maiden. * * * To download your free copy of Into the Mists, click here. It
In October I attended three mini workshops (and some great panels) as part of the HNSA (Historical Novel Society Australasia) Conference – by Kate Forsyth, Meg Keneally and Alison Goodman, so I read the latter’s Lady Helen novella in preparation (41/52). And I really enjoyed it, so I bought the first book in the series, The Dark
I’m so excited that Into the Air is almost ready for release – the proof copy of the paperback is due tomorrow, so I should be hitting print on Monday or Tuesday! If you would like to pre-order before then (November 5) you still can, and it will come with the ebook free, plus a
Beltane : First Day of Summer : Growth Beltane, the festival of love and fertility that marks the end of spring and the start of the heat and energy of summer, falls in early November in the southern hemisphere, and early May in the northern hemisphere. In 2019 it falls on the eve of November
Samhain : First Day of Winter : Death Samhain, the festival of the ancestors and the dead that marks the beginning of winter, falls in early May in the southern hemisphere and early November in the northern hemisphere – and on October 31 in popular culture, where it is celebrated as Halloween. This year in
My favourite book this year is Harp of Kings (39/52) by my favourite author Juliet Marillier (with her Beautiful novel and Madeline Miller’s Circe very close second). It’s the first in her new Warrior Bards Trilogy, so now I’m impatiently waiting for book two! It’s such a beautiful, magical, mysterious, action-packed, adventurous, enchanting and hope-filled
I’m so excited that Into the Air is almost ready for release. To celebrate, every pre-order made by Friday September 27 comes with the ebook free, plus a free gift. It might be a gorgeous print of the beautiful artwork that graces the cover – Light and Dark by the awesome Selina Fenech – or
Equinox Blessings To You – September 23 Today is one of the two days each year of harmony and balance, when the sun is directly above the equator and there are twelve hours of light and twelve hours of dark. Ostara Wishes! The spring or vernal equinox, also known as Ostara, is celebrated between September
Circe is one of my absolute favourite books I’ve read this year, and author Madeline Miller’s previous book The Song of Achilles (32/52) is as beautifully written and almost as wonderful (it’s just obvious that I would lean slightly to goddesses and witchcraft rather than warcraft)... While walking through our gorgeous park and visiting the
July was all about high tea book launches (thanks Kate Forsyth!), and falling for audiobooks, thanks to Juliet Marillier’s audiobook exclusive last month (well played Audible!). I’ve been listening to Michelle Obama’s Becoming when I walk each night after working out, or if I’m driving on my own, and I’m loving it. I’ve been reading
Imbolc blessings to my friends in the southern hemisphere. Spring has sprung! Last night on my walk I saw jonquils, and friends have seen snowdrops 🌿💐 Wishing you all the joy, new energy and awakening as the light returns, and you plant the seeds of what you’d like to grow in your life 💕 And
I read some wonderful books in June as part of my Book A Week Challenge – although two have to be kept secret for now (yes, it is killing me – one is by one of my favourite authors!). But I will post about those two as soon as I can... Juliet Marillier broke my
