I don’t know about all of you, but my November has been quite full. In fact, it’s been so chock full it got away from me when I stopped to regroup. When I came up for air it was already the 24th!

The month started with my leap into trying to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. November is National Novel Writing Month. http://nanowrimo.org Thousands of aspiring (and published) authors from around the world drop everything to attempt writing a 50,000 word novel in a month. I didn’t make it this year, but my word count is double what I managed last year, so I am pretty pleased.

Next up, I was invited to be a guest speaker at the Annual Fall Conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Missouri chapter. I spoke about the process of creating art for picture books from start to finish. See below if you’d like to have me speak at your school, club, group or event. I hold workshops on the publishing process, as well as teaching Pagan centered crafts or workshops.

Right about the same time, I was given my first case as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. http://www.nationalcasa.org/ It’s a volunteer position, but a lot of work. I speak for a child in the foster care system to make sure his/her needs are met and that he/she is placed in a loving, safe and permanent home as soon as possible after being brought into care.

With the recent Thanksgiving holiday just past this week, it only seems fitting to thank each and everyone of you for supporting me in my dreams and career. Without your emails, comments and yes, book purchases, I could not continue to live my dream of writing and illustrating fun and entertaining books for children.

Yule is just around the corner, and many of us are tightening our belts until it hurts. Still, we do want to give gifts to our loved ones. Please consider adding one of my books to the list. Dollar for dollar books are a better investment than most other forms of entertainment. Do your part to help support your local
businesses and buy locally and through independent retailers and booksellers whenever you can. Magical Child Books has made locating your local independent book seller easy. At the bottom of each book’s web page (along side the link to amazon) is an buy Indy link. You click on the link and type in your zip code and the 5 closest book stores to you will be listed with all their contact information.

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

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.

AIDAN’S FIRST FULL MOON CIRCLE
Written and illustrated by W. Lyon Martin
Magical Child Books — Trade Picture Book - Available NOW!!!
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 Full Moon gathering.

WATCHERS
Written and illustrated by W. Lyon Martin
Magical Child Books — Trade Picture Book - Available NOW!!!
Based on a poem by Kelley Magee, this book 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.

Due for release to booksellers in FEBRUARY 2009
RABBIT’S SONG
Written by S. J. Tucker and Trudy Herring; illustrated by W. Lyon Martin
Magical Child Books — Trade Picture Book
Is currently only available for purchase through the publisher’s web site. A limited number of autographed copies (S.J., Trudy and my signatures are all there for you!) are still available. Buy before December 13th to assure delivery in time for Yule gift giving. 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 a special story available no where else.. This is a limited time offer and is only available for those placing pre-orders for the book. The MP3 file will be removed from the servers on February 14th, the official release date of the book.

At Magical Child Books you can see inside pages of the books, read reviews and even find teaching guides. You can even leave your own reviews in the publisher’s shopping cart if you want to share your own views on the books.

Freebies:
This month’s coloring page is “L” of the ABC’s of Lesser Know Goddesses. Leucothea is a sea Goddess known for fostering the baby Dionysus. Go to the group’s web site to download this and previous coloring pages. If your budding artist sends me their masterpiece after coloring it in, I’ll post it on my blog. (Please keep files under 1 MG please.) Remember the monthly coloring pages are archived at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/magicalchildnews/. Let me know if you have a favorite Goddess who you think will be a good addition to the pages. We are only half way through the alphabet, so any letters we haven’t covered (M-Z) are still open for suggestions.

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/. NOTE: Due to my current involvement as a CASA, I am limiting appearances in 2009 and 2010.

Note:
Again, I appreciate your continued interest in the milestones in this amazing career of mine and hope you’ll invite your friends and family to learn more about my books and enjoy my free downloads by sending them to the links above. Of course, I don’t want to bug you, so if you’d rather not hear about these things, you can always unsubscribe. But I sure hope you’ll stick around to share
this exciting trip!

Bright Blessings,
Lyon

Children’s Book Writer & Illustrator
http://www.handcraftedpagan.com

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day.

Magical Child Books

I started off the month right on track, I planned to write about 2,000 words a day, because I know there would be days when I would be too busy to make time to write. I was on track until about the middle of the second week, too. And than, as it usually does, life happened.

I was assigned my first case as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). It is a rather complicated scenario and the more investigation I do the more complicated it becomes. I have spent several days each week in the last few weeks just making phone calls and tracking down info. I have received so many faxes, I have to go out an buy another roll of film for my fax machine. I was hoping to wait until January when the stores send out 50% off coupons and I can make a big purchase for my needed office supplies. I rerolled the film, but that’s just a band aide for the immediate future. There have also been several trips up into St. Louis to meetings and such, which because of the drive, the time spent and such, have left me with no energy left after preparing dinner for my family and making sure the house doesn’t fall down around our ears. So several nights I sat staring at my computer screen and not a word being written because my brain refused to function.

Last week, my printer also decided to misbehave again. This has been an ongoing problem since I purchased the damn thing and no one wants to take responsibility to replace the monstrosity which arrived damaged and needed a service call before I could even use it! So the service guy was here again last week, to fix it, and again could not fix it.

I finally found an electrician who wasn’t going to cost me $150 to walk in the front door. My daughter’s room now has a light switch and a new light fixture replacing the old crayon shaped ceiling fan we installed when she was 6. The ceiling still needs to be sanded and painted but if we don’t look up, it’s not noticeable so most likely will wait until I am more ambitious. While the electrician was here, I also had him rewire the studio with grounded outlets and bring the room up to code. The new outlets are on their own circuit on the breaker box as well, which should help save us from having to replace electronic equipment should we have another storm like last August’s.

AND my dentist finally talked me into getting a mouth guard. I have been grinding my teeth since I was a small child and it has gotten to the point where it’s causing me trouble. Because of the way my lower jaw is shaped what should have been an hour visit turned into several hours long visits until the guard fit properly. I wore it for the full night last night for the first time. I think it’s the first time I can remember not waking up with my jaw muscles in knots.

But all of this “life” has really crimped my writing time. So no NaNoWriMo award for me this year. I am very proud of my 13,000+ word count and may even continue to work on my story in spite of the fact I won’t be a NaNoWriMo winner this year. As a picture book writer/artist I have had to work to keep my word count under 1,000 words, so a novel of any length is quite an achievement for me. And it’s been fun to get on a roll and find I’ve written another scene and finished a chapter without struggling for perfection. I still have no title for my story, but it no longer matters. I won this year no matter what else happens this month. I have a really cool novel started and may even see it to completion some time in the near future.

I have a November coloring page in mid sketch calling to me, so I must skiddaddle off and finish that before it become December and I have to do a coloring page for next month! This year has streamed by entirely too fast!

Oh! BTW! My 4-year-old granddaughter Mykayla is in love with your “Watchers.” In a weird twist, her mother painted her bedroom with fairies, and Myk freaked to the point of nightmares. She somehow became convinced that fairies were bad, and she was afraid of her room.
We read “Watchers,” talked about her fear, and she then became convinced that fairies and guardian angels are one in the same. I’m thinking that as misconceptions go, that’s one we can live with for awhile. Ha!

Hugs,
Mari

If you’d like your own copy of Watchers, (or any of the other books) it’s available from the publisher (you can have it autographed!), amazon or your favorite local bookseller. Magical Child Books Store.

Read the story behind the story while you wait for your copy of the book to arrive.

Many of you have already received multiple notices of the upcoming Benefit Auction for Beltana and her Family. Since the last post, listing the items to be auctioned, we have receive several more exquisite items. Although the following list looks familiar, please take the time to look it over and make note of the changes. Thank you.

This is one last, final reminder (at least from me!) Come one, Come All! This saturday, November 8, 7-11 PM… 4271 Delor, St. Louis Mo… at the IAFF Local 73 union hall.

This is the auction you don’t want to miss… By now just about everyone knows we’re trying to raise money to help Beltana and her family. Every dollar we raise at the auction will go to Beltana. Some of the items on the auction block are:

Jewelry, both local custom made pieces and numerous ones from Ireland.
The jewelry is comprised of silver, saphires, rubies, topaz and more.
A variety of men’s and women’s festival clothing, including tie-dyes.
Total retail value of the jewelry and clothing exceeds $3000.
Gift certificates for events and services from Ozark Avalon and WyldeHaven.
Concert tickets to the Pageant.
Art work from Pam Burton, Mickie Mueller, Carey Oxler and others.
Music collections from Celia, Ginger Doss & Bekka Kelso, and others.
Unreleased music and videos from our own Sooj (Skinny White Chick.)
A custom made dagger from Govannan.
Numerous signed book collections including from MR Sellars & Laurel K. Hamilton
A custom made, full length, hooded cloak made by Lyon Martin.
Custom made candles from Bear’s Den.
Much, much more………………

Total retail value of the auction items exceeds $5000. The starting bids will be determined by the value of each item. Starting bids range from $5 to $300.

There will be live entertainment from Ed Frances & friends….. Pickin’ Lickin’…
Belly Dancing…….. And a psychic will be on site doing readings.

There will be food available, non alcoholic beverages… and an open bar of beer and wine. The open bar will be available for a donation of $10, which is less than you would spend on an average night out.

This is your chance to do some early holiday shopping….. or find something wonderful for yourself! The starting bid on most items will be 50% of it’s worth….
This is potiential bargain time.. not to mention our cause… to help Beltana and her family in their time of need, helping her to keep food on the table, the utilities paid and clothes for little Bela’. There is no admission fee… so please join us for a very good time and a very good cause. Bring your love and healing energy….. as well as your wallets, check books and generousity.

If you’re coming from a long distance and need a place to stay, please contact us as soon as possible so we can make the necessary arrangements.

A major thank you to everyone who generously donated items to make this auction possible, Zettl Photogaphy for printing the flyers, IAFF Local 73 for donating the use of the union hall, the Riverfront Times for advertising the event, and many, many others for their help.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Blessed Be,
Robynn
(314) 368-0371

As bedtime books go, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd (HarperCollins, 1947), remains one of the gold standards. But author/illustrator Michael Rex thought the classic tale could use a healthy dose of spookiness, so he set to creating Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody (Putnam). Apparently, plenty of parents and kids were ready to follow Rex down the parody path, because the book has hit bestseller lists and now has 100,000 copies in print, since its August publication.

read the full story

Join the Magical Child News Yahoo group to download this and previous coloring pages.