The
Library
LATEST PUBLICATIONS and NEWS:
09/26/2000: NEW WEEKLY SERIAL
"An Online Course in Dreams", a weekly series of articles to teach the reader how to "be awake all twenty-four hours and stop sleeping through your life!" Begins with dream recall techniques and moves on up through interpretation, incubation, lucidity, all the way to full-blown shamanism.Live Psychic Network too were soliciting submissions in the misc.writing newsgroup - I'm telling you, what a great ng to pick up new gigs in! The current contract involves per-word pay and all electronic rights go to LPN; meanwhile, all print rights stay with me. I do intend to use them. So while you're waiting for the book to be published, you can read it in weekly "lesson" format at www.livepsychicnetwork.com
??/??/2000: WITCHVOX EDITORIAL MOVED TO PERMANENT DISPLAY
"Care And Feeding Of Your Local Journalist," an editorial. The Witches' Voice, posted Monday, November 8, 1999.Ironically enough, it wasn't until I visited an evangelical rant-n-rampage site (know thine enemy and all that) that I found this out. ESP Ministries, a one-man army led by Ben Alexander against the Forces Of Darkness™, used to have a couple of pages devoted to the Dangers Inherent In Wicca/Witchcraft. They were odd pages -- Mr. Alexander mainly used The Witches' Voice for an example of What The Witches Are Up To, and ended up portraying Wicca in a much better light than he probably intended. He also quoted a bit too much to not be guilty of plagiarism, and lied quite a bit to boot. But as he was listing the titles in WitchVox's "White Pages" section—a collection of resources for Pagans who need to deal with lawyers, policemen, judges and journalists—he mentioned this article by name.
Apparently, Diotima found it useful enough to move to permanent display in the Press Kit section of the White Pages. Reading it over, I think I should offer to give it a face lift before too much more time passes, but I can't deny I'm flattered.
STILL NO WORD FROM MERCURIAL
"Gods Online (SSL Not Required)", an article with editorial leanings. Includes sidebar: "How To Build A Virtual Shrine". Accepted for publication in Mercurial Magazine's "Life In Cyberspace" issue.Buddhist? Hindu? Christian? Jew? Good witch, bad witch, indifferent? We got what you're looking for. Step right up.
Mercurial's premier issue is still up on the website, with only a server-side-included datestamp to give the illusion that anything has changed since this time last year. No answer when I inquire about my article, but it's probably time to inquire again, and to withdraw it if I can think of another editor who'll give it a better home.
OTHER WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR
"An Online Course in Dreams", a weekly series of articles featured at Live Psychic Network.
"Be awake all twenty-four hours—stop sleeping through your life!" Course begins with dream recall techniques and will continue up through interpretation, incubation, lucidity, all the way to full-blown shamanism.
Live Psychic Network too were soliciting submissions in the misc.writing newsgroup - I'm telling you, what a great ng to pick up new gigs in! The current contract involves per-word pay and all electronic rights go to LPN; meanwhile, all print rights stay with me. I do intend to use them. So while you're waiting for the Llewellyn to publish the book, you can read it in weekly "lesson" format at www.livepsychicnetwork.com
"Be awake all twenty-four hours—stop sleeping through your life!" Course begins with dream recall techniques and will continue up through interpretation, incubation, lucidity, all the way to full-blown shamanism."Deadline Performance," a personal essay, or perhaps a short-short. Soon to be featured at "The Ink Blotter: A Writer's Sanity Break" (a department of InkSpot: Writing Resource, Writers' Community).
The nearly true story of one gawdawful morning under the shadow of a looming due date.
The first draft was just a morning no-think exercise. Rereading my scrapbook amused me enough to revise it and send the second draft to David Shields as part of my audition packet required to get into his class (see "Study Spell for the Urban Pagan" and "Dear You"). Getting paid cash for this third draft proves you can recycle for fun and profit.
I'll let you know when a fourth draft gets anthologized (we can always hope!).
"Care And Feeding Of Your Local Journalist," an editorial. The Witches' Voice, originally posted Monday, November 8, 1999 as part of the community essay series. Moved circa Sept. 2000 to the White Pages Press Kit.
"A recent media incident makes clear that even the Pagan population, level-headed as we usually are, occasionally overreacts. If the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, we certainly get full marks in that department. But it's also said that attitude is everything, and our attitude could stand a little improvement".
I've been writing more letters to various editors this year than in my life about Wicca and Paganism in the media. I suppose Millenium Fever makes everyone want to participate in a little religious warfare just to show willing to whatever God plans to drop in for New Year's. This is probably my first Letter to the Pagan Community In General, though.
"Study Spell for the Urban Pagan", a personal essay. PanGaia, Autumn '99 issue.
Sacred space is where you make it.
Written originally for a "creative non-fiction" class taught by David Shields at the University of Washington, this piece started as one long gripe about my living quarters in Seattle, and unexpectedly became a tongue-in-cheek praise song for the Goddess Who Speaks With A Million Voices.
"Hieroglyph Divination", a researched thesis. Green Egg, issue 124 (October/November 1998).
An argument for the use of Egyptian hieroglyphic phonemes in a divination and magickal system similar to that of the Elder and Younger Futharks.
I wrote this during the 97/98 school term at Rogue Community College, not for a class this time but specifically for the announced Egyptian Magick topic in Green Egg. You could probably call it my first seriously scholarly publication, though the research is mostly just an excuse for my own imagination. I should dedicate this publication to my mother-in-law's collection of historical and anthropological books. It's Impressive.
"Passengers", a short story. Odds 'n Ends, Spring '98 issue of Rogue's Gallery, the literary magazine of Rogue Community College. Best in fiction winner.
All he wants is a quiet ride home from work. What she wants, nobody knows, but it has something to do with his sanity in a jar.
At last! My favorite crazy finally saw press. $25 for the weekend didn't hurt, either. Those wiley lit mag editors waited until after I'd fulfilled my obligations at the We Made It To Press celebration and reading to spring it on me: "Hey, don't leave the microphone just yet; we've got something for you!" Can't complain.
"When Humanity Isn't Enough: Overview and Meditation", an article on were-beasts and shapeshifting. Circle Network News, Winter 1997/1998 issue. Special section on Mythical Beasts.
A human body won't do? Wear another for awhile.
For those who want to know, this article was written almost entirely during the New Orleans to Austin section of our latest road trip back in October. The toolkit included my outdated Compaq laptop, car juice converted into AC and back into DC again, and a friend's just-in-time e-mail account (we're always talkin' deadlines, y'know).
"Dear You", a personal essay. Roofbeam, Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 1998. Grand prize winner of the "Tell A Sad Story" contest.
Things are fragile. They break sometimes, or they change into unacceptable forms. But we can't stop hoping that this time, just once, love will stay perfect.
"Dear You" was a memoir assignment for David Shield's creative non-fiction class at the University of Washington. It's more or less biographical, except for the important bits and the sad ending. I made those up. I'm now married to the recipient of the letter, and crossing my fingers for the rest of my life.
(Unfortunately, what was once a gorgeous web site has now disappeared; www.roofbeam.com has been constantly hacked to redirect from one referrer program to another. I am attempting to find out what exactly happened to Mark Wondra's labor of love.)
"Twice Told Conspiracy Theories, or, "Look at the cute kitty!", a short essay. The Raven Chronicles. July, 1997. on-line
"A Mirror's Lies, A Moment's Rainbows", a short essay. The Raven Chronicles. Spring, 1995. paper
It is possible to look in the mirror and not see yourself there. If it's happened to you, you know what an unsettling experience "A Mirror's Lies" describes. As for Twice Told Tales, that's also real. Most of that essay is true and actual, if not completely accurate.
"My Vacation: February 10-15", essay. First published as a Student Feature at The Gathering (www.takeme.com).
"Pentagrams in Daylight: The Anti-Defamation Struggle", originally an essay published in takeme.com's Halloween Special.
I used to be a staff intern for The Gathering @ takeme.com. In addition to "Wisdom From the Vortex", the weekly dream interpretation column I've since relocated, I'd spin off an essay from time to time.
The inevitable finally happened, though, and you can no longer read my publications there. After remaining orphaned in cyberspace for several months following its financial demise and the ritual laying-off of all editors and interns, The Gathering has at last been taken off the air. Sorry, guys. I should have saved more of my files and Kevin's graphics. Maybe I'll ressurect the essays from my floppy and publish them here? . . . We'll see.
"And On The Seventh Day", excerpt, a short story. SCRIBENDI, Honors Review of the University of New Mexico. Spring, 1996. paper
"Between", a poem. SCRIBENDI. Spring, 1996. paper
"One Tuesday morning, the angel Samiel awoke to discover that he'd been fired."
I misread one of Neil Gaiman's sentences in the introduction to his miscelleny, Angels and Visitations, and ended up with the idea of an angel's demotion. It was one of those things that stuck around for a long time before finally materializing in a last-minute academic panic. Classroom deadlines are ever the progenitors of inspiration. Thank you, University of Washington's Creative Writing program.
On the other end of the inspirational spectrum, something that never happened (to my knowledge) was the launcing of an e-zine called Insomniac Express. As per the would-be editor's instructions, I stayed up much later than I should have and scribbled something. It ended up in SCRIBENDI several years later.
"Last Week's Rhododendron", a short story. Solstice. Summer, 1994. paper
I went to sleep one night with the resolve to make a story out of whatever I might happen to dream. I ended up dreaming of a the front page of a newspaper. Section: U. Headline: "Rhododendron". All I had to do was figure out why... "Last Week's Rhododendron" was also my first paid publication. For that, many thanks to the kind people at Solstice somewhere in southern California...
"Traces In A Fast Food Restaurant", a poem. The Morpo Review v1i1. January 15, 1994.on-line
I heard about Morpo Review once day in misc.writing while I was still in high school. At the time, the editors seemed unhealthily obsessed on the subject of cattle, but for all that, the 'zine turned out to be a pretty fun read.
The Byline, monthly campus newspaper at Rogue Community College
- Volume 16, Issue No. 2 -- Thursday, November 13, 1997: Students air laundry -- Clothesline art tells a tale of abuse (and other stories not listed here)
The Daily of the University of Washington
- Monday, April 29, 1996: Not just child's play for Greeks
- Wednesday, May 1, 1996: New Bible study out to explore sexuality's role in Christianity
- Monday, May 13, 1996: Artist challenges audience's perspectives
- Friday, May 24, 1996: Dancing for the love of children
- Tuesday, May 28, 1996: Mock trial builds students' confidence
- Tuesday, October 8, 1996: Two Spanish Civil War vets honored
- Thursday, October 31, 1996: Dispelling the myth of witches
- Wednesday, November 6, 1996: Tree stump near Denny converted to throne
- Wednesday, November 6, 1996: New College of Engineering dean seeks student involvement
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