photoshop on my behalf
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.
August 1st, 2005 at 3:33 pm
I can understand your booing the criticisms of Llewellyn, since you contribute things to them, but frankly some of the strongest criticisms I’ve heard are pro-author. My impression is that, compared to other occult publishers, they don’t pay very well. That’s bad.
On the other hand, they have a fantastic distribution network — which is no minor point for someone looking to establish a name in publishing.
The most common criticism, of course, is the quality of their stuff, but I think almost everyone agrees that they’ve published some great stuff, by great authors. They’re just not consistent. Frankly, this is probably something that could be said for any publisher, including Penguin (their translation of The Mabinogion comes to mind — you can publish a better translation! really!). But because Llewellyn has a rather limited niche (and that great distribution network), it’s far easier to criticize.
August 1st, 2005 at 3:44 pm
Hrm. I don’t know anything about the book publishing end of the pay scale, so I can’t speak to that, but, if it’s true, it’s a very good point, indeed.
My response is really in reaction to the knee-jerk criticism of the content. Yeah, they’ve published some weak stuff, no question. But I’ve had my eye on them, and they’ve improved considerably over the past several years. And the Tarot line is really top notch — Barbara Moore & co. do a fabulous job, IMHO.
Consistency is still a problem overall, but I think they’ve been getting a lot better. And their new(ish) teen fiction line is a lot of fun, too.