A Spark of New Beginnings at the Fall Equinox

Sooner or later, the wheel turns for all of us ...

According to the Witch’s Wheel of the Year, we’re entering Mabon or the Fall Equinox. We’re descending into darkness as the seasons change. The days are getting shorter, and already we can see the end of the year approaching.  

This is a time of year for some to slow down and prepare for sweater weather. For me, this season has always been one of my most productive. 

Maybe it's because I’m a Virgo, born in September, but fall is always a busy time. This year is no exception. You may have noticed I’ve branded my newsletter with a new name: Dark Thoughts. It’s a fun play on my subject matter as a writer, not a commentary on my state of mind. In fact, I’m very excited to announce that after years of self-publishing through my own imprint, I’ve signed on with SparkPress to publish three books. Spark is a hybrid publisher, meaning I still contribute financially towards publishing my books, but I am now part of a professional publishing house with a sales team and others with critical expertise. 

And so, next September, we’ll begin by re-releasing the first book in my urban fantasy trilogy, and then in 2025, we’ll publish the second and third (final) installments. (Stay tuned, our heroine Olivia works to elect a woman president.) The entire series will have a new name, and the books will have all-new covers and even titles. I will save those reveals for another time, but I am beyond thrilled to be a part of a publishing house and a community of writers. 

We’re a year away from all of this, but there is much to do between now and then. It has been an enjoyable, if slightly steep, learning curve as I have navigated all of the back-of-the-house activities publishers undertake to sell a book. It brings into sharp relief the reality: Publishing is a business. We writers think of ourselves as creators, but in the modern-day industry, we also need to put on our business hats and get serious about helping sell our books.

My publisher, Brooke Warner, an esteemed member of the Bay Area publishing and literary community, recently wrote a thoughtful post about the continuing bias against indie authors. The truth is that readers don’t discriminate; they want to read good books. Many writers who opt out of the traditional publishing system have built fantastic platforms and fan bases—and created wonderful books. I’m a product of the alternative system, and my standalone novel 48 States, named one of the Best Indie Books of 2022, proves it’s possible to publish acclaimed writing without an agent. 

I’ve been reading a lot about witches lately. Beyond being source material for some of my novels, it’s also of personal interest. (I’ll explain why that is in a separate post.) The Witch’s Wheel of Year took on personal significance after losing three parents in the last two years. My father died in April 2021. My mother passed away in December 2022, and my mother-in-law died in April. 

That kind of loss leaves its mark. You may have noticed I haven’t published a newsletter since January. But the wheel of life turns. And, with luck, we eventually emerge from our grief. For me, the healing begins and ends with writing. It is the one thing I do that connects me to this earth in the same way roots anchor a tree. I’ve come around the bend, ready to start fresh with a new publisher and all that comes with it. I hope you will join me on this new adventure and help me celebrate the milestones along the way. Thanks, as always, for reading, and please send me a note and let me know what you’ve been up to.