After much deliberation, I've decided to close Quill's Occult Supply on Etsy.
This wasn't a flippant decision, nor one based on monetary reasons. On the contrary, the shop was doing quite well and I was finding it difficult to get orders out in a reasonable amount of time. After over 1,000 sales and over 530 followers, I was enjoying interacting with customers but not feeling able to do justice to their trust with my shipping issues. My other projects--including manuscripts still in the pipeline for publication--were suffering while I tried to keep all these separate plans orderly. As you can imagine, it didn't work very well.
So let's talk about where we're at now...
What's Happening to the Shop?
Quill's Occult Supply is no longer with Etsy. I'm relieved about this for the above reasons but also because they've been cracking down on their new rules about metaphysical products in a firm but totally random fashion, and it was starting to eat away at my listings. I had a rather devious trick planned to ensure that customers still got to hear all the details about what my products can accomplish and how to use them (Etsy's main grumble was the descriptions; absolutely no insinuation that magic actually works is allowed), but it was looking like a long-shot that they still might pick up on. If that was the case, I could end up banned from the site and lose everything without warning.
So, instead, we're hitting the road! From my love of working Comic-Cons with the indie comic book group with whom I collaborate, an exciting plan has sprung to offer the same wares of the former Etsy shop to customers in person at live events aimed at the Pagan and magical community! All your favorites will be there, plus live tarot readings and magical advice for getting the very best from your situation.
What About This Blog?
To keep with the new goal of streamlining my public practice I've chosen to switch things up around here, as well. Monday Quick Links, Wednesday Witch Tips, as well as the long Friday articles you're used to will be replaced with shorter, quick-read pieces once a week plus event schedules, photos, and observations from traveling in the magical world. Hopefully this will be as exciting an adventure second-hand as I'm sure it will be for me!
In the meantime, I'm going to bring back some of the older posts you may have missed, dust them off, and pop them on the front page for you to enjoy. So look for this old/new content every Friday. It's sure to be a grab bag of unique snapshots from my earlier days!
What's Replacing Them?
The biggest excitement of all of this is that moving my schedule around this way will give me the time I need to really focus on my manuscripts! Though I indeed have a possibility of professional publication, it is a very long process that has not yet garnered much. So I will be putting all my efforts into another edit, plus illustrations and cover art for all four of them and then to a local bookbinder to create for you a homebrewed edition of my work. I believe very deeply that these manuscripts are able to provide some of the renewed vigor and beauty that the magical community is sorely needing. I write for the intermediate to advanced practitioner with a solid education and a willingness to experiment. I bet this sounds familiar to many readers!
Naturally, I'm hard at work making these books beautiful enough for all of you to enjoy at every event I attend. I don't know how long this will take, of course, so bear with me as I dig through the mountains of unused material from earlier drafts, work up countless hand-drawn illustrations, and play around with just the right wording to get these new books out to the world in the best possible version of themselves. It's just another trip we'll take together.
Something else exciting that you'll see with me at events will be a custom quarterly magazine. If you find yourself missing the articles of Ex Penna or are just in the market for more bite-sized magic than a whole book, I know you'll love what this new exclusive mag will provide! It's as yet untitled but the focus is clear: modern, upbeat, snappy articles with ideas and spells throughout for a fresh take on the magical life. You're going to want to grab a copy of this a.s.a.p.!
Also note that one of my newer projects will be stepping into the spotlight now--The +1 Pencil--a side-business my husband and I have of drawing custom RPG character portraits and painting minis. We are both gamers and also have lots of friends in the geek community (and I mean that with both respect and also a noogie) and the demand for quality representations of player characters is pretty damn high. Minis are fun to shop for and dream about painting, but actually doing it--and doing it well--requires more than patience; it's a skill requiring a steady hand, careful attention to detail, knowledge of color theory, and practical experience with portraiture. In short, it's really hard and worth the money for someone else to do it for you. lol
My work in comics is also a part of my life to which I would like to dedicate more of my time. Deerborne, who you'll remember from her first issue available at the shop (and the piece that I both write and illustrate), has a lot more story to play out, as do the MixmeN, the neo-futuristic fantasy taking place on a defunct prison planet (in which I am the illustrator). There's so much to explore in these stories that I really want to get more time to dig around in their respective universes! Happily, with this shift, I can.
As you can see, now matter what comes and what goes, I will still be available for the same purposes, just in a different space. You can write me anytime through this blog, Facebook, Twitter, or by email and I will faithfully respond. In time, I'll have a printed catalog available for old-school mail order and possibly a stand-alone website from which you can find Quill's Occult Supply alive and well online. In the meantime, however, I can't wait to come straight to you, in person, with armloads of spells to enliven and enrich your life!
Thanks for traveling with me, from the first beginning and onward into this second one.
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