Tomorrow will bring the equinox where the day and the night are equal in length. With it the end of summer is officially here. In the northern hemisphere we’re getting ready for the coming winter and bring in the harvest. These little chipmunks are stuff themselves full and gathering as many nuts and seeds as they can to get ready for the coming cold months.

It’s been cold and rainy for the last few days, the temperatures have been far below normal for over a week. I guess that’s why I’m thinking wintery thoughts. Summer seems to have flown away far too fast even for my tastes.

This coming weekend (September 24) I will be giving a workshop and signing books in Columbia, MO at Peace Park. If you’re in the area, please swing by and say hello.

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Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send your colored image (less than 1mb) to coloringpage@handcraftedpagan.com and I’ll post it to my blog!

Looking for a great book to teach your child about the meaning behind the equinox holiday of Mabon? Try Smoky and the Feast of Mabon by Catherynne M. Valente – click the images!

Comments Off | Tags: chipmunks, copyright 2011 Wendy Martin, equinox, free coloring page, Mabon

It’s hard to believe it’s already Memorial Day weekend. It’s a raw 55°F outside. I have a long sleeved shirt and a sweater on. We may even have to turn the heat back on overnight.

Tornadoes slammed through Missouri yesterday and there are more forecast for today as well. So far my town has been one of the lucky ones without major damage. My thought and prayers turn to the unlucky ones, most recently in Joplin, where the death toll keeps rising. I have friends nearby and am so very thankful all of them are safe.

Normally, during May, I am hard at work on the road.

Not this year. I decided last fall to stay home and work on creating a new body of work and improving my health. So far, so good. Although neither the body of work nor my physical body are where I want them to be, I do see progress on both fronts.

I only have one event scheduled for this summer. It’s local, in St. Louis, and I’ve been going to this event for around 13 years. Only the last 6 have I been there as an author. It is still amazing and unbelievable to me that my first book came out so many years ago. I am truly blessed by my publisher and my fans.

In book news, that first book: An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child entered it’s third printing last month. And my most recent book: The ABCs of Lesser-Known Goddesses – an Art Nouveau coloring book will hit the book stores in June.

I received a proof copy from the publisher this week. They promise me I will have a box of freshly printed books for my St. Louis appearance on June 11, 2011. I will be signing all my books and giving a workshop at the 19th Annual Pagan Picnic on that Saturday. The Picnic is a 3 day affair, with a music concert on Friday night and the actual fair on Saturday and Sunday. Last I heard it was the biggest festival of its kind in the nation. Pretty amazing.

I hope those of you in the St. Louis area will come out and see me, say hi and see what I’ve been up to!

For those who want to down load the hi res PDF of the free coloring page please sign up at my newsletter.

Have a great and safe weekend!

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It’s almost time for me to be back on the road. This month’s appearances are:

Tulsa, Oklahoma: OPHA Pagan Pride Days — Sep 11, 2010 – Sep 12, 2010

http://www.oklapha.org/paganpride.htm

Columbia, Missouri
Mid Missouri Pagan Pride Day — Sep 19, 2010

http://www.midmopaganpride.org/

Southern Ozarks, Missouri
Soule Fest — Sep 30, 2010 5:00pm – Oct 3, 2010 5:00pm

http://www.wolvenwold.drak.net/sf2010.html

If you are in any of these areas, I’d love to see you. Please come by. In Tulsa I will also be doing a reading of my newest book “Smoky and the Feast of Mabon” written by Catherynne M. Valente.

Speaking of “The Feast of Mabon,” it’s been getting rave reviews since its official release on August 21.

There are two 5-star reviews over at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Smoky-Feast-Mabon-Catherynne-Valente/dp/0979683467

MidWest Book Review says “…”Smoky and the Feast of Mabon” is a lovely book that teaches children to appreciate the gifts of each season, but particularly fall, and not to mourn the passing of beautiful flowers or plants because they give many good gifts in their endings, and in their endings is another beginning. “Smoky and the Feast of Mabon” is enhanced by spectacular illustrations which bring the magical child story new dimensions. “Smoky and the Feast of Mabon” is written particularly for children ages 5-9.”

The book is available now for purchase at your favorite retailers. If they don’t have it, ask them to stock it for you. Please buy your copy now so you have it in time for Mabon on Sept 21. You can also purchase directly from the publisher at http://magicalchildbooks.com/smoky.html

If you head over to the publisher, you can also get a free teaching guide for “The Feast of Mabon.” It’s perfect for classroom, home school or Spiral Scout activities. http://magicalchildbooks.com/smokyguide.html

Hopefully, you have had a chance to download your ABC Goddess coloring page which was sent out earlier this week. This leave us 3 more letters before the series is complete.

Until next time, may the Lord and Lady keep you safe and bless your harvests, whatever your crop may be.

Blessings,
Lyon

Comments Off | Tags: Columbia MO, rave book reviews, Smoky and the Feast of Mabon, Tulsa OK

I cannot believe it’s been months since I was able to sit down and work on a coloring page Goddess. Between getting the art for my newest book done and touring around the country and dealing with family stuff, I have been running full tilt since January.

I have a full page of things to do on my to-do list, but I am happy to say I have marked off the ‘U’ installment coloring page for the ABCs of Lesser Known Goddesses. This Goddess is from India and is called Ushas. She’s a dawn Goddess which seems perfect for the beginning of May and spring in full bloom around us.

These ABC Goddesses coloring pages are now available in a beautiful collection coloring book directly from the publisher. Visit their web site to order your own copy or visit your favorite book seller.

The newest book “Smoky and the Feast of Mabon” by Catherynne M. Valente is done and even though the ink is barely dry, you can grab your very own copy directly from the publisher (http://magicalchildbooks.com) before it is available anywhere else. So far it’s been getting rave reviews. My friend Ginger Doss said the art fills her heart to overflowing with peace and contentment. I can think of no higher praise. Please head over to the web site and get your copy now. (And if you are into soul sister music Ginger’s new CD “Hand and Hammer” is coming out this month!)

The final appearance for for me in May is at the Heartland Pagan Festival in Kansas, May 27-31. I will be signing books and giving workshops for the kids! Please stop by and see me if you are there.

Bright Blessings,
Lyon

Comments Off | Tags: free coloring page, Heartland Pagan Festival, Smoky and the Feast of Mabon

June has been an extremely busy month. It feels good to finally be able to get back to my normal crazed schedule.

My first event of the year was Memorial Day weekend in Arkansas. I returned to the lovely land of Pyrth Annwn for WytcheHaven Weekend #10. As always, my hosts, the lovely Rio and the wonderful Brennan, went above and beyond to see to my comfort and needs. Since I was still weak from the events in the winter, I was surrounded by my own harem of burden boys. I didn’t have to lift, drag or haul anything. I was even reprimanded for raking leaves from in front of my book booth. I do do like being spoiled.

Early in June, I received word from the publisher that my first book, ‘An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child,’ was selected as a finalist for the 2009 COVR (Coalition of Visionary Resources) Visionary Awards. Three finalists are chosen from all entries for each category. The winner for each category is announced at the INATS (International New Age Trade Show) West held in Denver, CO. This year’s Awards Banquet is on June 27th. I will be flying out to Denver to accept the finalist award and hopefully a winning trophy. I am very honored and humbled for my book to be chosen for this prestigious award.

My second event for this year was the St. Louis Pagan Picnic in mid June. (June 13 & 14) Now in its 18th year, it is the largest free Pagan event in the Midwest. St. Louis is in my backyard and personal stomping ground. It is always a pleasure to meet and greet all the local Pagan community members who over the last 5 years have gone from being strangers to fast friends.

Above is a copy of the coloring page installment for June. “O” is for Opet. An Egyptian Goddess, Opet is the subject for “O” in the ABCs of Lesser Known Goddesses.

These ABC Goddesses coloring pages are now available in a beautiful collection coloring book directly from the publisher. Visit their web site to order your own copy or visit your favorite book seller.

In addition to the newsletter, please friend me on LiveJournal, MySpace, GoodReads, LinkedIn or FaceBook. The publisher also has a fan page on FaceBook, become a fan today.

I recently gave myself a daily challenge with a 30 minute daily doodle. Watch my progress on my illustration blog.

As always, my books, ‘An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child,” “Aidan’s First Full Moon Circle,” “Watchers,” and “Rabbit’s Song,” are all available from the publisher, on my personal website – magickware.com, at your favorite online or brick and mortar bookseller and possibly even you local public library. I know times are tough all over, but dollar for dollar a book is one of the best deals for your entertainment budget. Consider buying one of the above titles for your family or friends. Or ask your local librarian to add them to the children’s section collection.

In closing, I thank each and everyone of you, whether you have purchased a book or not, for joining me on this wonderful and wacky trip of mine. It is because of your unending support that I am living my dream. Your friendship is a true blessing and I am honored to have it.

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I am finally moving back into the swing of things. Our ‘N’ addition to the Lesser Known Goddesses is the Goddess Nike. A winged Goddess, she plays a lyre at hero’s and winners celebrations. These ABC Goddesses coloring pages are now available in a beautiful collection coloring book directly from the publisher. Visit their web site to order your own copy or visit your favorite book seller.

This coming weekend, Memorial Day, I will be returning to Wytchehaven in beautiful Salem, AR. I am very excited to be going back to this private land. The Strawberry River and the howling of coyotes in the evening stirs something deep inside me. And this time, Mama Dragon, my co-author Trudy Herring, will be making an appearance there as well. We will have great fun telling stories of coyote, raven, crow and rabbit to all the kids, big and little!

I want to thank any of you who made a purchase to help me pay off some of my medical expenses. Every little bit helps. I still have several thousand dollars yet to pay off, so if you were planning on making a purchase for yourself or a favorite little one, not only will you be getting a quality Pagan kid’s book, but brownie points as well. Remember, put the coupon code into the shopping cart on check out to get a discount! http://magicalchildbooks.com

In other news, Rabbit’s Song received a 5-star review from the Midwest Book Review. A major review publication, MBR is extremely hard to get into. We were beyond thrilled when we heard the news. To read the review in its entirety, go to either the amazon or B&N page of Rabbit’s Song and scroll down to the reviews. You might even take a moment to add your own review of any of our books. It’s easy to do and helps spread the word.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend! Be careful to not get too much sun and I’ll see you next month!

Blessings,
Lyon

Comments Off | Tags: free coloring page, Magical Child Books, Rabbit's Song, tour appearance

Mabon Greetings All!
Thanks so much for your continued interest in my books and career, I feel like I have quite the cheering squad at this point. So I am especially thrilled to share my latest news with you – I have just finished the art for my first collaborative picture book. Written by SJ Tucker and Trudy Herring, “Rabbit’s Song” is an engaging tale of mythical proportions. Trickster God comes to Earth to find animals to teach His lessons to man. Based on SJ Tucker’s wildly popular ballad by the same name off of her CD “Blessings,” this picture book the work of several years of intensive conversations between the three of us.
This book is truly a dream come true for each of us. For me, working with such talented and loving people has been a wonderful blessing. The combination of each of our talents has pushed me to create what I consider some of my best illustration work so far.

Meanwhile, the demand for An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child has been astounding. I realized when my child was born in 1994 there was a need for Pagan children’s books in America, a need that is only just beginning to be met. When An Ordinary Girl was first released in 2005, there were hardly any books for the young Pagans. I receive frequent emails from parents thanking me for giving them a tool to help explain their Paths to their children. I am happy to report that there are now several more Pagan children’s books available. I hope that this small trickle will increase to fill this niche with quality books for our youth.

AN ORDINARY GIRL, A MAGICAL CHILD
Written and illustrated by W. Lyon Martin
Magical Child Books — Trade Picture Book – Available NOW!!!

An Ordinary Girl follows Rabbit, a young Pagan child through the wheel of the Year. Readers follow along with her as she celebrates Wiccan holidays, rituals and spells.

The next book in the series “Aidan’s First Full Moon Circle,” is an interactive picture book. With hidden pictures in the main story, children get to help a friendly squirrel gather acorns for the coming winter, all the while learning the basics of a Wiccan nighttime Full Moon gathering.

And don’t forget my latest book:
Based on a poem by Kelley Magee, “Watchers” is a bedtime story filled with subtle Pagan symbols in the illustrations. The hero, Thomas, is worried about the eyes watching him in the dark. He hatches a plan to capture them only to find out what he fears is really there to protect him.

All books are available on the publisher’s web site: http://magicalchildbooks.com , amazon and other online book stores or your favorite book seller.

At Magical Child Books you can see inside pages of the books, read reviews and even find teaching guides.

Plus, as a special bonus for people placing pre-orders for Rabbit’s Song, you will receive a MP3 file of Trudy and SJ reading the story. This is a limited time offer and is only available for those placing pre-orders for the book.

Visits:
To invite me to speak at your school or event, learn more at http://magicalchild.handcraftedpagan.com/workshops/ or email me at lyon@handcraftedpagan.com.
To view my current schedule of events, go to http://magicalchild.handcraftedpagan.com/bio/appearances/ .

Bright Blessings,
Lyon

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July is half way through. Time just seems to go faster and faster as I get older.  This month features the letter J and the Goddess is Jerah, a Semetic Goddess. These ABC Goddesses coloring pages are now available in a beautiful collection coloring book directly from the publisher. Visit their web site to order your own copy or visit your favorite book seller.

I joined a new blog group this week called Watercolor Wednesdays. The members have to be watercolor artists doing children’s book illustration. Every Wednesday we receive a prompt for a new painting. This week’s prompt is “this little piggy.” We are to let our imaginations run wild, and mine is working over time. So much so I haven’t been able to decide what to do yet.

Work on Rabbit’s Song is moving along smoothly. The rough layout for the cover has received approval and I am busy finalizing all the changes and tiny details. The publisher will be making the book available for pre-order as soon as the cover receives final approval. The authors and I will all be appearing together in Tennessee for a pre-release party. All the books pre-ordered before the mid October event will be signed by all three of us. I am very excited about this.

I’ve decided that watching the scale inch up over the summer has got to end. I got my bike out of the basement and dusted off the cobwebs yesterday morning. I rode out to the post office and back in the morning. It actually felt kind of good to be doing something just for me. In fact it felt so good that I decided to ride the bike down to A Visual Impact in the afternoon to get my hair cut. (Check out the logo — I designed it for them.) I arrived at the shop without incident, got my hair cut and started on my way home. I took the main drag home (fewer hills) instead of taking the side streets I traveled on my way downtown. That was a mistake. Not only was the traffic heavier, the folks in the cars seemed to think they needed to honk their horns at me as they drove past. The side of the rode is not in good repair, so it was tough going. I gritted my teeth and struggled on until I cam to the rail road tracks. The tracks cut across the road at an angle. I was attempting to pedal my sorry self across them and avoid the worst of the potholes and road debris when a car swooshed by rather closely with horn blaring. It startled me and I took my eyes off the road momentarily to see the car rush past only to have the front tire of the bike catch in the track and get stuck. Needless to say, I kept going and my bike didn’t. OW! I now have a nice pair of matching road rash on my right knee and left leg. I wear leather biking gloves, so my hands are undamaged. A good thing because I used them to stop my face from landing in the gravel by the side of the road.

Suffice it to say, I won’t be traveling that section of road again!

Comments Off | Tags: art nouveau, free coloring page, girl, Goddess, line art, semitic

If it’s been a while since you’ve been by, you’ll notice the web site has a completely new look. Things have finally slowed down enough for me (or maybe I am getting more organized?) to spend some time updating and redecorating the place. I could be in nesting mode or something, I have been renovating and painting the real life house as well.

Since I am an artist and not a programmer, some of the things I still want to do are really giving the old brain pan a work out. I will get them figured out eventually. After all, other people have managed to get such things done on their sites, it’ll just take me while to get that light bulb going off over my head. Now that’s an image.

I am so thrilled with my progress through my to-do list for this week. I have managed to cross off nearly all the items I needed to get done. The last item on the list is the pencil rough for Rabbit’s Song. When I finish it up it will be scanned into the computer and sent to the people who need to approve it. I am half way there, so getting it out by Thursday should be no trouble.

On Friday I head out to Ozark Avalon for a very full 4th of July weekend. The land’s wardens are being handfasted on the 4th. On Saturday I will be giving a craft workshop of Sparkling Spiral Mobiles. On Sunday morning the very popular Family Story time is to occur. I have been rereading and memorizing some of my favorite childhood animal myths and adding the re-tellings to my line up of picture books. The kids love to be read to. I am just amazed at their faces when they hear new stories. I am reminded why I became a picture book author in the first place.

The only thing I didn’t do this week was check my calendar for appointments on Monday. So, all things being equal, I forgot about an appointment yesterday. Der. My daughter was scheduled to have her braces removed. You think she might have remembered as it was her mouth. Oh well, I was able to reschedule for next week. I had better NOT forget again.

Also next week, I have an appointment for an interview. I will be heading into the city to have my entrance interview for Voices for Children to be a child’s advocate in the court system. I’ve spoken to the director several times on the phone, she said I most likely will be accepted into the program. Training starts in August.

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