A good friend of mine (who shall remain nameless, so, don’t ask) has begun posting in earnest over at a new community blog:

Infidels of Every Denomination

They’re just getting off the ground, so they don’t have their “about” page up yet (or a fancy schmancy URL, for that matter), but the general name of the game is legal stuff as it pertains to not-so-mainstream religions. With a (surprise!) liberal slant, no less. Not-so-mainstream religions are dear to my heart, as many of you know.

Have a gander, keep an eye out — I expect great things.

I just noticed that the folks at Scryptic whipped up the following descriptive jpeg to promote my column this week:

Okay. Love that.

No sign of The Magical Almanac 2006 yet (technically, it’s not due out ’til Tuesday), but I snagged a copy of The Tarot Reader, and sure enough, there I am. I’d forgotten that I’d written that bit on one card readings.

Have I mentioned that I have five pieces to bust a move on for the Weschcke clan for next year’s almanacs, all due by September? Despite what some folks grumble about Llewellyn (boo!), I don’t pull these things out of my, well, butt. Must pace self.

There are some wonderful pieces in the Tarot Reader this year, including a piece by James Wells on going pro, and a really neat essay by Lady Mary K. Greer on the Waite-Smith minors. Now, rumour has it that Pixie was the one most responsible for the breakthrough of illustrated pip cards, but Mary makes a wonderful argument for Waite’s involvement and intention to have them illustrate some classics of mystical quest literature. The Wands cards as de Troyes’ Prose Perceval? Ooo! Ooo! Ooo!

I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be a part of the Tarot Reader almanacs.

This, from the email wires:

John Crowley, author of three volumes of stories and nine novels, including the World Fantasy Award-winning Little, Big; the three-volume tragi-comic-historical-pastoral series Aegypt, The Translator, and Lord Byron’s Novel: The Evening Land, which is exactly
that: the novel Lord Byron should have written, but didn’t. and Mary Anne Mohanraj, the author of Bodies in Motion, a set of Sri Lankan-American linked stories. She is working on The Arrangement, a contemporary threesome novel. Wednesday August 17th at 7pm at KGB Bar, 85 East 4th Street (just off 2nd Ave, upstairs.)

http://www.lcrw.net/kgb

I wonder if “a contemporary threesome novel” is what it sounds like.

So, last night I was doing a little boning up (ha! I kill me!) on that crazy old skool demonology temptress, the succubus.

Now, you’d think that such a titillating topic would be well-worn ground on the Internet and in the arts at large. Nay, but not so. Googling and plugging in my library card number over at the Nipple’s special digital collections turned up a poem here, a Matheson novel there, GHOSTBUSTERS… but not, much to my chagrin, any dramatic medieval accounts of the terror in action. I can’t help but sadly conclude that the succubus is nothing more than an old wives’ tale, which lives on primarily through two dozen some-odd run-of-the-mill video games.

And then, there are the whack jobs.

Behold, exhibit A. Then there’s this guy, who is convinced that the threat is real and that no one is safe (note: speaking of safe, I suggest that you wait ’til you’re at home before checking out his photos page). Lastly, there’s this movie here:

One night, the succubus tries to make love to Larry, but Linda is not asleep and catches the she-beast only to rip off the mask of a charming visage to reveal Yves-Nine- a girl who works at the local Burger King® and will do anything for money. By using mirrors and invisible wires, Yves-Nine has been masquerading as the succubus by hire of Jackie and her no-good husband. It is revealed that Jackie has a drinking problem and the ex-cons go back up the river.

Just when things have settled down to a comparative calm, the lid of the trash can flies open, and the discarded Kleenex® box holder is back in action. The legend was true after all!

Yeah.

So. If anyone has any good folklore leads on the succubus, feel free to pass ‘em along. Otherwise I’m just sort of, uh… scrapin’ bottom.

That’s it on the puns for the evening.

I started THE HISTORIAN on the way to work this morning. Shortly after sitting down at my desk came a spontaneous daydream. Leland stands in what passes for our living room with the phone in his hand. “LITTLE, BIG is on the line and wants to know why you never call or write anymore. He sounds pretty mad. Should I tell him you’re out of the country?”

Normally I’d ask, “What does it all mean?!”, but, of course, I know exactly what it means.

So many books, so little time…

Confession: dystopian political horror stories really aren’t my thing. They’ve never been my thing. There are exceptions to this, of course; some of Mr. Wood’s stuff has the flavor, as an obvious example, and it’s no secret that I adore Mr. Wood. A not so obvious example, perhaps, is V FOR VENDETTA.

I love V. Always have. I could take you to the exact park bench I sat on when I flipped the last few pages of the comic book for the first time, even (for me, this is really saying something). So I’ve been keeping an eye on the goings-on with the upcoming movie. Behold, the trailer.

OH MY GOD…

Just had to get that out of my system. Carry on.

And now, a few words on the non-writing part of writing:

A few months ago, I had the great pleasure of attending a brief workshop with fantasy writer Jeffrey Ford. He talked extensively about the importance of time. As a writer, time is what you need most. Loads of time. Chief among the activities that you’ll need to make time for is daydreaming. Stretching out on the couch to think is a part of Jeff’s day. Sometimes, his wife complains. Response: “Hey baby, I’m working!”

Personally, I feel a lot better when I’m Writing Something. Writing Something makes me feel all cuddly, as if it was equal to actually Getting Something Written. But “cuddly” can be a dangerous feeling.

More here. Archives here.

We were away this past weekend, out in the wild woods of Connecticut, scouting out possible locales for our wedding next year.

We found a few. One of them is especially nice. Another one kind of channels Girl Scout camp, which will probably not go over well with the relatives. We’ll see.

We’re back now.

I’ve fallen behind on my reading over at the Sur La Lune discussion boards, which means that I missed this:

Instrument of the Devil

by Todd E. Sullivan

This correlation between musical instruments and moral states appealed to early Christians. Medieval society invoked music to rationalize the constant intrusions of warfare, plague, and death. In literature and folk lore, the sound of pipes frequently accompanied Death on his gruesome rounds. During the Middle Ages, string instruments enjoyed quite different affiliations. Ecclesiastical artists commonly selected the soft-toned vielle, rebec, or lira for symbolic representations of goodness and the divine. Saintly figures, angels, and cherubim often held these mellow-sounding instruments in hand. Thus, the ancient Apollonian stereotype was retained for centuries in Western Europe.

Was noodling out a reading schedule for Endicott en route to work this morning (in addition to freelance work for Llewellyn and SPX projects to finish, must pace myself). I get in, and lo and behold, Midori has just posted the recommendations for spring/summer 2005. Way to go, Midori!

Lots of great stuff in there, including a few of my contributions (look for my initials). Defintely check them out, and consider picking up a book or two. They’re all well worth it.

So many books, so little time!