 When it comes to crafting your story, one important aspect is picking the right name for you character. There are many things to consider such as the meaning of the name, the time period and the setting.
For example, you are unlikely to find a Lola in medieval times or have a character called Nigel who was born in 2015. Nigel is in fact a name in danger of going extinct. Of course there has been a huge revival in recent years of older names being used for babies - Alfie, Archie, and Doris for example. These are all easy to check in the lists of most popular baby names by year. If you write fantasy books, you may want to choose unusual names for your characters or names that represent what they are. For example naming a werewolf Nuntis. Of course there are no hard and fast rules. You can just as easily call your werewolf Bob. Picking names can be a fun thing to do, but remember that not every name needs to be unique. Having a John or a Sarah is perfectly fine for a side character or person who only pops up once in the story. It makes more sense to have a mix of names, unless your story is set in an entirely different world. Baby name sites are a great place to look and there are lists on places like Pinterest. You also want to be aware of the names you choose to be sure they do not all sound the same and end up causing confusion for the reader. Jimmy and Johnny are very similar. As are Jan and Dan. So unless it is important to the story to have similar sounding names, avoid them. If you have siblings and opt for names that start with the same letter, make sure they are distinct - Prue, Piper and Phoebe come to mind. Names are important, but don't agonize of picking them. I do see people panicking because they can't find the perfect name. Choose a filler name for now and come back to it later. Never let anything stop you from writing that story. Happy writing!
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 Happy New Year!
Can you believe its 2025? Crazy to think its been 25 years since the millennium. I feel old. What are your resolutions for the new year? I don't make any personal resolutions, but I do make resolutions regarding my writing. The key is to be realistic. Its very easy to make crazy goals when its January and you have the whole year ahead of you. But before you know it, months have passed and you are no closer to obtaining your goal. For me, I have so many books I want to get written. Too many in fact. Normally I would fill out my calendar leaving no room for time off. I had to stop doing that in the last year or so, due to chronic pain. It is not sustainable. So instead, I have five short stories for anthologies in 2025 and I am going to write 3 books this year. Of course, if it goes well, I will likely add more to that, but I will wait and see how I go. Writing is one of those jobs where it can take a long time to complete. It can get frustrating, but it is worth it when you hit publish on that book. Here is some advice for the year ahead. Always be realistic about your goals. Don't feel bad if you don't hit certain targets - life can get in the way and we all need rest. Celebrate the wins and reward yourself for you hard work. If you need help, don't be afraid to ask. Never lose your passion for writing. It is okay to step away from time to time, but always remember why you fell in love with writing in the first place. Good luck for 2025!       Here are a few book recommendations to keep you entertained over Christmas.
Thanks for joining us for our Witch event. We will have brand new events for you in 2025!  Winter Solstice/Yuletide Jar Spell Introduction: The Winter Solstice, also known as Yuletide, is a winter celebration with Neolithic and Germanic origins. It’s held on the shortest day of the year with both the least amount of daylight and the longest night. Since Yule is a celebration of the sun, rebirth, and renewal, candlelight and fire are featured in many rituals. One way to welcome in the season is by creating a jar spell to help celebrate and also set your intentions for the coming year. The ingredients and steps listed below are general guidelines to create the jar spell. However, you are welcome and encouraged to modify them in any way to make the spell hold more meaning to you. When in doubt, do what speaks to you. Ingredients:
Preparing Your Space & Spell Circle
Ending the Ritual
 Erin Casey (she/her) is an urban fantasy writer and author of The Purple Door District series. The first completed trilogy follows the stories of parahumans (werebirds, vampires, werewolves, fae, witches, magi, etc.) living in safe havens called Purple Door Districts.
An advocate for mental health, she openly talks about her struggles with depression/anxiety/ADHD/CPTSD/eating disorder on her social media platforms and supports the LGBTQIA+ community. She firmly believes in supporting fellow authors be it through offering writing lessons, literary tips on social media, or providing encouragement to those seeking to find their creative voice. And, of course, she’s a devoted bird mom to six feathered kids. To learn more about her and her books, visit erincasey.org.  I was a huge fan of witches as a child. One of my favorite movies growing up was The Craft. I started reading up about witchcraft and I loved learning about the different types of herbs, crystals and spells. One of my favorite elements of witch stories was that of familiars. My first series features a witch called Tempest Knox who has a black cat as her familiar. She is shocked to learn that he is actually a witch who was cursed to become a cat by one of her ancestors. It was great fun writing those characters. Familiars are said to be animal companions to witches. They were supposed to guard or help a witch. While they looked like animals - cats, birds, frogs etc, - they were said to be spirits or demons who worked alongside witches. Nowadays we know that witches work with nature and many witches choose to take care of animals of all varieties. My favorite animal is obviously a cat! I have had a few cats over the years and they all had very different personalities. In an upcoming book, I plan on writing about a different kind of familiar - a fox. There are so many cool idea that can be incorporated into stories and I think it helps to connect with readers if they are animal lovers too. If you would like to find your animal familiar, then try this spell courtesy of Wicca Academy. Summoning a FamiliarSummon Familiar SpellIf you do not have a physical familiar and are interested in summoning one, you may try this spell. You will need: A dream journal A photo or figurine of an animal that embodies your characteristics An amethyst or azurite crystal Instructions:
https://wiccaacademy.com/get-to-know-your-familiar/  About the Author
Kat Gracey writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels featuring her two favorite supernatural beings - witches and werewolves. She currently resides in the UK, where she enjoys yoga and catching up on her favorite shows. You can learn more about her books via her website: www.witchesandwerewolves.co.uk  Potions & Margaritas is set in a magic bar although Cal, the bartender, doesn't know it at the beginning of the story. And as the bartender, Cal needs a signature drink. I chose lavender margarita which is nicknamed "Midnight Moon" because it had spooky feels that were suitable for a magical bar, but also the aspirations of being liked by thousands. With her magic powers, Cal creates it in such a way that will sooth any temper as all her drinks. If you're ever near Eclipse, give it a try. On the house! https://www.thepurplepumpkinblog.co.uk/lavender-margarita-purple-cocktail-for-halloween You can find Maria's book here -books2read.com/margaritas  Ancestor and Deity Offerings Made Easy Not that long ago, I found everything about offerings really confusing. It wasn’t so much what to offer—that seemed easy enough—but how long to leave offerings for and how to dispose of them once their time is up. Naturally, the information I found online was contradictory with different people saying different things. How are you supposed to figure out the right way to make offerings when everyone tells you something else? Well, fortunately for you, here’s yet another post weighing in on the subject… though hopefully this one will clarify things rather than raise more questions. What are offerings? If you’re only familiar with offerings in a church context, where a collection goes around and everyone offers money, don’t worry—deities and ancestors generally don’t care about cash, though exceptions exist. If you’re more comfortable offering a few coins every day/week/month, you can do that, but please don’t feel you have to (especially if money is tight). To put it simply, you might make an offering to a deity, an ancestor, or another spirit in exchange for a favour. They give you the strength to get through a difficult situation, you share a slice of your favourite cake in return. It’s really no different to when a friend does you a favour and you want to do something nice for them to show your gratitude! You might also compare it to having a job: you work all day and in return, you’re paid. In a way, offerings are a simple exchange. Having said that, I much prefer to think of them as an exchange between friends, or something you do because you want to without expecting anything in return. It’s okay to make an offering just to make an offering. In fact, I recommend this. We’ve all known someone who only talked to us when they wanted something, and it probably didn’t make any of us feel very valued. I’ll be the first to admit that I probably lack reverence, but my personal take is that, if you see deity or ancestor work more like a friendship than worship, you’re off to a good start. Think of offerings as presents. Just as you might give a little gift to a friend to show that you’re thinking of them and appreciate them being in your life, you can make offerings to deities or ancestors (and whatever else feels right to you - if you want to make an offering to Nature in a more general sense, don’t let anyone stop you). That’s really all they are: gifts to show you care. Offerings don’t need to be expensive, but it’s always good practice to not gift something the recipient hates. If your best friend’s birthday is coming up and you know they’re allergic to flowers, you’re not going to gift them a bouquet. If you’re unsure what the recipient likes, you can’t go wrong going with your instinct. As with all gifts, it’s the thought that counts as long as you mean well. In most cases, you can also do some research to figure it out, but more on that below. Naturally, you will never find your offerings have disappeared overnight because an ancestor or deity has spirited it away while you slept. Think of them instead of spiritual offerings. The recipient enjoys the essence of your offering. If you leave your ancestor’s favourite fruit on their grave and it’s gone the next day, it’s because a wild animal has sniffed it out and eaten it (with gratitude, I’m sure). Your ancestor probably won’t be angry about this unless they really hated wild animals, and it saves you the question of when and how to remove the offering, too, so it’s not a problem. Who are offerings for? Usually (read: in my experience), when witches speak about making offerings, we make them to our deities or our ancestors. However, not all witches work with deities or honour their ancestors, so if that’s not for you, don’t worry. Maybe you’ve always felt drawn to bodies of water and want to show your love to a nearby river or lake? That’s fine. Perhaps you’ve always considered nature to be your happy place and want to leave an offering to all of nature in a general sense? No problem. Maybe you’d like to work with this ancestor or that deity, but you don’t know how to begin? An offering is a lovely start. (It’s also more polite to not start that kind of relationship by saying, ‘Hello, I know we’ve never talked but I need a favour now.’) Just like offerings can be a nice way to start working with any type of spirit, they can be a nice way to end a relationship. Whatever your reason may be for no longer wanting to work with a deity or an ancestor, making one last offering and showing your gratitude for your time spent together ends it respectfully. Imagine working with someone for however long, and then one day they just disappear on you! No one likes that kind of uncertainty. Nicer to let them know what’s happening and why. What to offer But WHAT do you offer? Does it have to be valuable, like money? Does it have to be incense? Well, that’s entirely up to you. Making an offering to an ancestor can be the easier place to start, especially if you knew that person when they were alive. For example, if your ancestor loved a glass of whiskey every Friday night, you can offer them a glass of whiskey every Friday night. If your ancestor loved roses, you could offer them freshly cut roses, petals, or even a spray of rose perfume—and it doesn’t matter if they’re shop-bought or home-grown. It doesn’t have to be anything physical, either. If your ancestor loved a particular piece of music, for example, you could play them that song. Personally, I love making tea for my friends when they come to visit, so my go-to first offering is a cup of tea. For me, it’s easier to get to know someone over a shared cuppa (provided they aren’t a complete stranger and I actually want to get to know them)! Making an offering to a deity doesn’t have to be difficult, either. You’ve likely got your reasons for wanting to work with that particular deity, so making a related offering is a great start. If you want to make an offering to a particular deity or an entire pantheon but don’t know where to start, there’s plenty of information online and in books. It’s good practice to research the person/people you’d like to work with at least a little. You can get creative, too! For example, if you’re thinking about working with a deity related to animals, perhaps you can adopt that animal in their name, volunteer at a shelter, or, if you already have that pet in your life, you could offer their shed fur. How to leave your offering This also depends on your preference. Some people have an altar where they can leave their offerings - this works whether you’re working with a deity or an ancestor. Leaving an offering to an ancestor on their grave is also a great option; however, when you’re leaving anything in nature, always make sure it’s biodegradable and not harmful to any animals who might be around. If you can’t have an altar (or just can’t be bothered - I don’t judge), there’s nothing wrong with subtlety. You can light a candle for a deity, and if someone asks you why you’re burning that candle, you can just say it’s because you like it. (Don’t leave burning candles unattended; that’s a fire risk.) Most people won’t question something as common as this, however. I assure you no deity is going to be offended if you do what you can - as I said above, it’s the thought that counts. An honest offering is always better than one you don’t really care about. (Think gifting a friend something small you put a lot of thought into compared to giving them the first socks you found because you had to give them something.) When is the offering… done? This and the adjacent question of ‘… and what do you do with it?’ were my biggest hangups. Using a cup of tea as an offering sounds easy enough, but how long do you leave it out for? An hour? Until you’ve finished your own? Until it’s gone off? And once the offering has served its purpose, what do you do with it? Throw it out? Drink the tea yourself? These questions are also where I found the bulk of the conflicting information. Some will tell you that you can safely throw the remains in the bin, others that this is the most disrespectful way to dispose of an offering. Some will say you must bury offerings, but what if your offering isn’t perishable? Crickets. Some will tell you it’s best to consume the offering yourself, others that you must never do this because it was meant for someone else, not for you. There are different schools of thought on this, and the best answer - like so often - is to do what feels right to you. If you’re not comfortable consuming an offering once it’s done its thing, you can throw it out or maybe bury it if it’s biodegradable. If you have a compost bin or heap, that’s an option (but do your research - not all food is fine to go in the compost). If you feel that the offering is now done and exhausted, you can throw it out. Another option is to consume the offering yourself, the thinking being that it is infused with the deity’s or ancestor’s energy, so by consuming it yourself you’re taking some of that energy into yourself. This is what I do, too. I hate wasting food or drink, and I’m not about to wash a perfectly good (if now cold) cup of tea down the drain. When you’re leaving food, you don’t want it to go off (would you be thrilled to receive rotting food?), so leaving it for a day or even just an hour is perfectly fine. It’s common in some traditions to invite your ancestors or deities to dinner, so cleaning up their plate when you clean up yours makes perfect sense. The important thing is that you do whatever you decide with respect. You can likely find out what the commonly done thing was for the deity or pantheon you want to follow. It’s fine to adopt the original tradition into your practice, and I would argue that it’s another way of being respectful. How long to leave the offering for in the first place depends. You can simply leave smaller candles and incense until they’re burnt out. Larger candles you can snuff out and light again another time, and scented candles can be a great way to share a scent you love with your ancestor or your deity - especially if you know your ancestor loved the same scent! Whatever you decide, you can always thank the offering for its now-ended service when you remove it. That way, you remove it on a physical as well as on a spiritual level. If you make an offering and know you can’t leave it for long, you can clarify this when you leave it. Don’t overthink it As with everything, be honest in your approach, be yourself, be genuine, and I’m sure your ancestor or deity will appreciate no matter what you do. *** To learn more about Sarina and her books, visit her website at sarinalanger.com.  About the Author
Sarina Langer is a dark fantasy author of both epic and urban paranormal novels from the delightfully cloudy South of England. She is as obsessed with books and stationery now as she was as a child, when she drowned her box of colour pencils in water so they wouldn’t die and scribbled her first stories on corridor walls. (‘A first sign of things to come’, according to her mother. ‘Normal toddler behaviour’, according to Sarina.) In her free time, she has a weakness for books, pretty words, and spends what’s probably too much time playing video games. She believes that the best books are those where every ray of light casts a shadow  Growing up, I did not come from a religious family. We learned about religion in school - only one - and it was made to seem that it was the only one that mattered. As a pre-teen I had a hard time with it because people always seemed to fight over it, rather than try to follow it. It didn't speak to me and as I got older, I started reading about other religions. I cannot remember what age I was, but I do remember thinking to myself if other religions think that they are the 'right' one then who is right? Everyone? No one? Rather than being a scary thing, it actually felt quite freeing because I came to the realization that beliefs were just that - our own personal beliefs. If the ones I had been taught didn't speak to me, then maybe another would. I kept reading and I learned about Wicca - it was around the same time that Charmed came to TV and while I knew that was fantasy, it does have elements of Wicca in it. I loved the subject and it spoke to me in a way that other religions didn't.
I started practising at 13 and I have now been practising for 25 years! Wicca works for me because I have always had a deep respect for nature. I love that it works with nature and shows us how we are all connected. There is an emphasis on not harming others, but other than that you are free to take your own path. I find it empowering to be able to perform a ritual (for example) that can help you in a job interview. Rather than hoping or praying that you get the job (as no doubt the other candidates are doing too) the ritual works to bring out the best in you, to help you project your best self in the interview. It also teaches you that if you do not get the job, then it is not meant to be. There is no blame and something better will come along soon. I read many books over the years and researched online. I do keep my own Book of Shadows which I had specially made about a decade ago. There are many elements of Paganism in our current holiday already and it is not too hard to incorporate certain rituals into your year. If you are interested, there are so many great resources available, but don't stress too much about having all the supplies or space to work, as I see this quite frequently. It is about intention and enjoyment. Work with what you have and have fun.  Creating a Spell – Kill the Procrastination and Complete my Projects Before writing my novella Justice for an anthology I researched spell craft. Writers really do want to get it right when plotting their stories and sharing characters who might be from diverse cultures, careers or ways of life. I was intrigued by the process. I think we’ve all been exposed to ways of focusing on improving our lives in some way. Most have heard of The Secret or words like affirmations. There are a ton of self-help books to help improve how you feel about yourself and your world around you. Even James Clear’s book Atomic Habits teaches an approach to improve the results you get by creating strong habits. How do you bring about change in your life? Set goals and make a list of action items to get there? This is, in a way, announcing your intentions. Focusing on what you want and what steps you need to take to get there. In spell craft they use the word manifesting. Manifest what you want to have, or not have, in your life. Then they also build a ritual of sorts to define what they want to come about and announce it to themselves and the universe. This is commonly known as ‘casting a spell.’ There’s lots of lingo and obviously there’s whole books written about the subject. I don’t want to leave the impression that dancing in the woods, naked at midnight is what gives the spells their power. There are tools you can use when you cast your spell and even the timing of when you perform your spell. But the paramount ingredient for a spell’s success is the intention of the person casting it. The power comes from within. The witch is where the energy originates from and focuses to achieve the spell’s results. One of the ways I understood this was that we all breath. In and out, through our nose or mouth, sometimes we’re conscious of what we are doing like when we are doing yoga or meditating, but other times we aren’t even thinking about the fact that we are breathing. We just naturally know how to breathe and don’t have to focus. We all have this manifesting energy in each of us. But think about when we blow out a birthday candle. We direct our breath and force to the candle. We pucker up and basically point our breath to the base of the flame. This is how the tools and timing come into play. The tools, herbs, timing, crystals all just add a little ump by helping the practitioner to pucker their lips and direct their energy to a certain goal. The color green is associated with money in the USA. Thus, a spell for abundance could take advantage of this symbolism and utilize a green candle. Pink has an association with fertility and forgiveness. Blue is used for healing. Timing can also add umph to your spells. The waxing moon phase helps you to take action and manifest something into your life. The waning moon phase is more about decreasing, removing, or stopping something. Even days of the week are associated with certain themes. Success is associated with Sundays, waxing moon, or blue moons. The best time for healing is Thursday or Sunday, a full moon or blue moon. I was having trouble working on a particular project. Now, I’m a grown woman. I know perfectly well that I’m not going to get this multi-step goal met if I don’t even start it. Or if I do one thing and then avoid the project for two or three weeks, I’m not going to get anywhere fast. To top it off, I knew very much when I was procrastinating. I felt it was time to try to build or craft my own spell for this situation. Now one of the first things is that you have to really zero in on what you want to happen, what results are you shooting for. More importantly, why. What outcome do you really want? This is serious stuff, spells gone wrong make up many stories. Spending a day or two kicking around thoughts before you even start pulling the words and items together is worth the effort. How was I procrastinating? That was easy to identify. I was spending too much time either watching TV or on Facebook. The harder question was why was I doing this? For the writers out there, are you seeing some parallels? Outlining before you start writing helps to see if there’s enough conflict, spice and moving parts. Is this complex enough to be a whole novel? Or is it a short story? One thing I pulled inspiration from was a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin. “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” I wasn’t under a strict deadline on the project. It was a self-assigned type of thing. But at the end of a day when I hadn’t made any progress on it, and only wasted time on Facebook I felt I had really let myself down. I mentally beat myself up for not being productive. This wasn’t being kind to myself either. “To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.” – Robert Marley Another thing I grasped upon was from Glennon Doyle “The secret is to not allow the fact that you can’t do everything keep you from doing something. Something, then rest.” This was similar to a Mark Twain thought… “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” I was getting down to the nitty gritty now of what approach I wanted to take. Rhyming is another of those things that increases your bang for your buck. I’m not particularly good with poetry. But I cobbled a little bit together looking at some other spells and also writing some starting sentences and then looking up words that rhyme with _____ using Google. You always want to personalize your spells to you and your situation. I wanted to start with gratitude. Working on a higher frequency is when manifestation happens. I’m grateful I have the resources to write this book. Should I need to improve my craft, I know where to look. Steady progress with the ease of water gently flowing. I witness my words on the page and progress growing. Release doubt and unease from my mind, My slow state I leave behind. Procrastination, I command you to leave me today. Magic of night, magic of day banishes all roadblocks away. Empty now all negativity And leave only action and clarity. I work with speed upon my deed. With only the highest good and harm to none This is my will, let it be done. This is tricky spell as it is doing two things simultaneously. I’m directing gaining productivity but also sending away the procrastination. In witchcraft if you want something done quick, you use fire. I will be utilizing two candles. A blue one as this color represents stimulated thinking, clarity, and concentration. This candle I will anoint with cinnamon and use sandalwood to cleanse it. Cinnamon for concentration and Sandalwood for productivity. These can be small, even birthday candles or tealights can work here. But do practice safe use. You may not have a cauldron. But a safe container such as a metal bowl or large candle holder will work. Ashtrays are also appropriate here. I will use a black candle to banish procrastination. It will be anointed with banishing oil. Pepper, salt, rosemary, and clove are the main ingredients here. I will also take a small piece of paper to represent the things I want coming and going. For procrastination I will draw a TV screen and Facebook logo. This doesn’t have to be illustrated level art. Just something that represents the thing to you. For the progress angle, I’ll draw a picture of a computer monitor as I type my novels with a computer. I will also draw a picture of a book – showing the completion. For the ritual portion I will light the candles thinking about what they represent and what future I want to come about. Freedom from self-recrimination and pride in my actions resulting in progress. I’ll recite my spell three times. When speaking the lines about the progress I will focus my attention on the blue candle. When banishing procrastination, I’ll focus on the black one. Then I will pick up the respective paper representations and light them from the appropriate candle and place them in the fire safe container and watch them burn to ash. I will reflect on the freedom I will feel when the problem is gone, and I can create a product that makes me feel proud.  About The Author
Felita Daniels is an emerging mystery author. She grew up reading all the classics. Her flagship series is The Anthony Group novels. The Case of the Sad Sons and the The Case of the Cheated Charity. She’s already working on The Case of the Bankrupt Bar due out in 2025. Writing Rachel and Artemis’s novella Justice has been a treat, and she has more up her sleeve for these two. Find out more about her writing at https://www.facebook.com/authorFelitaDaniels Hello, I'm Lyra and I was born in the north of England. My mother practiced witchcraft as I was growing up so my sisters and I were taught from an early age to connect with the earth, make altars from outside elements, use natural herbs to heal and to honour our creativity. Practices I'm passing on now to my children. I've always felt drawn to the moon, the divine feminine and stories of witches so incorporate these loves into my art, along with the passing of each season. My hope is that people see themselves and their magical path in my paintings.
Lyra's beautiful artwork is available through the link below. |
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About the Author:S. K. Gregory is an author, editor and blogger. She currently resides in Northern Ireland. “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” 
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