first sprinkle of stardust

hi magical people,

i’ve been wanting to start a blog-type-thing for a while now.

over the last few years, social media—namely instagram, my main platform—has become super draining for me. my readers used to follow me to keep up with me & my work, but only a small percentage of them are even being shown my posts these days. (once, when a post of mine was seen by a lot more followers than usual, instagram actually locked me out of my account due to “suspicious activity.” the irony.)

being that social media is one of the best ways to get the word out about your art, it’s been frustrating & even a little scary for me as a full-time author. not only did i lose that, but i lost the valuable relationship i once had with my readership. wasn’t that the point of social media—to connect?

i’ve pretty much come to terms with the fact that there’s little i can do to change it.

when my poet-spouse, parker lee, decided to re-start their newsletter, i thought, that would be such a cute & whimsical way to keep up with my dedicated readers.

i did once attempt to create a newsletter via tinyletter a few years back, but that ended pretty quickly. to be honest, i didn’t really know what i was doing, & it ended up creating issues with my email server that i won’t bore you with here.

with stardust notes, i know what my objective is. not only do i want to connect with you all by giving you exclusive news & writing updates, but i want to let you know what i’m up to & what i’m thinking in a way i don’t do on social media anymore. i’d also love to do collective oracle card readings plus provide some witchy tips. let me know what else you’d like to see in this space.

anyway, welcome to my first newsletter!

what’s being published next: the you are your own fairy tale series bound collection (december 6th, 2022)

goddess, i’m so excited for this!

this bind-up contains all three books of the “you are your own fairy tale” series so many of you have already read & loved: break your glass slippers, shine your icy crown, & unlock your storybook heart. there’s also a newly written introduction, but never mind that because i know the real reason why we’re all drooling over it . . . that gorgeous cover art by jessica roux! (the lovely interior illustrations by janaina medeiros will remain intact.)

the original release date was november 15th, 2022, but due to shipping delays beyond my or andrew mcmeel’s control, it was pushed to december 6th, 2022. believe me, no one is more heartbroken about this than i am. my birthday is november 13th, so it was going to be my own personal 31st birthday gift.

hey, at least it’s still coming out!

i fought really hard to get this published the right way, so it would mean the absolute world to me if you would preorder it. <3

what’s soon to be announced: a tarot deck (hopefully 2023)

if you frequent my instagram stories or virtual book events, then you’ll know that i’ve had a 78-card tarot deck in progress for quite a while. in fact, i came up with the idea 3-4 years ago & had to wait until my writing schedule cleared up a bit to even think about pitching it to andrews mcmeel, who did eventually pick it up for publication. i spent the entirety of last summer writing the art descriptions & guidebook.

well, guess what, besties?

the art is almost finished!!!

at the time i’m writing this, janaina has ~16 cards left, so i should be able to tell you more about it soon-ish. (if you see release dates posted anywhere online, take it with a huge grain of salt. no one knows for sure when it’ll be out just yet.)

what i’m currently writing: make your own magic: a beginner’s guide to self-empowering witchcraft (winter 2024)

a few months ago, i announced that i was given a publishing deal with running press to write my first non-fiction witchy book, make your own magic, which i’ve been working on tirelessly this summer. i would say that it’s the most difficult book i’ve ever written, but i’d be lying—that award goes to the tarot guidebook.

it’s actually a lot easier to write than i expected it would be. as grueling as the writing process was, the tarot guidebook was a really good steppingstone to help me write about all things witchy.

what i expected to be a simple how-to witchcraft book (which is perhaps why it was turned down by a number of publishers during the pitching process) has slowly transformed into something really personal & special to me. although i still have a little over a chapter left to write, i’m so excited for new & aspiring witches to get their hands on it already. it’s the book i wish i had when i was confused af about magic.

i’m told this book will be out winter 2024, followed by a young readers’ adaptation in fall 2024 (luckily, i don’t have to do much for this one because running press is going to help adapt it with some input from me). as soon as i have some firm release dates, i’ll send them your way. there may or may not be a related project i’ve been keeping under wraps, but i can’t talk about it until i’m given the go-ahead!

lúnasa (lughnasadh) was august 1st.

just like i’m enjoying the sunflower i harvested in the photo above (hehe), now is the perfect time for you to enjoy your first harvest of the year—all the things you’ve accomplished as well as all the failures that taught you something important.

sit & think about one thing that you’ve achieved so far (or haven’t). light a gold or yellow candle to honor this shiny gift. no matter what happened, you tried. you survived. that alone is worth recognition. it’s been a rough couple of years of being a human, has it not?

believe in your own magic oracle card pull:

what a lovely message. the garden card tells us that “something lovely will grow from this.” in this patch of dead flowers, there’s one that’s absolutely glowing & thriving. sometimes it can seem like everything in life is going wrong, but i think we all need to be a little more patient with our respective journeys. eventually, something is bound to go right. it has to; bad luck can’t last forever, after all. you’ll just have to wait it out a little longer. when it finally happens, you—we—are going to be amazed.

laced with love,
amanda