The Alchemy of Summer
By Laura Bickle
Summer is some weird alchemy.
The sun shines fully upon where I stand in North America, chasing away the short, grey days of winter. I can expect a full twelve hours of glorious sunshine. I’m awoken by birds and go to sleep when the frogs and cicadas do. It’s buzzing and teeming with life, light, and sultry green plants.
The seasons have their own alchemy and magical associations that mimic the ebb and flow of life. I use the Tarot a good deal in my work, and those correspondences are present every time I shuffle the deck.
Take fall. Fall is tied to cups, water, blue skies and oceans that mirror that blue. Fall is associated with water, with tides of emotions. I tend to fall in love in autumn, more than any other season. I also associate writing with school (which always began in fall), and try to participate in National Novel Writing Month in November. It helps keep my mind
off of shortening days and draining daylight. But the daylight eventually wanes, and I find that my work creeps along. It changes, even as the fields go fallow.
Winter is often associated with swords, with grey days and ice queens, with the element of air. Air traditionally corresponds with winter, with movement of the mind and intellect. I can incubate some pretty good writing ideas in winter, when the snow’s on the ground and night falls fast…well, when I’m not tempted to go to bed early and hibernate.
Spring belongs to pentacles, to earth and things that flower. It’s the smell of freshly-upturned earth in a garden, the smell of cherry blossoms, the shaking off of snow. It’s about planting and cultivating new possibilities, prosperity. I’m an optimist in spring.
After the sluggishness of winter, I’m ready to implement the new ideas I dreamed about while I was hibernating in winter.
Summer is the season of wands. Wands are associated with the power of creation, with fire. The sun blazes down on a green and verdant earth at the peak of its power. The grass is warm under my bare feet, and I luxuriate in being able to hang laundry outside.
I write a lot about fire, and I was born in summer, so it’s not surprising that it’s my favorite. I love the light, the shimmer of heat on pavement, everything about it. I look forward to driving with my windows down, letting the wind scrape through my hair. I
love wearing sandals and painting my toes.
Most of all, I enjoy writing during summer. It feels like it did when I was back in school, scribbling on summer vacation. This time of year, I’m usually juggling more than one project in summer, watching drafts ripen along with the tomatoes in the backyard.
Everything is lush, bursting with sweetness. And I find that it’s the best time for me to create.
How does summer affect of your creative projects?
Do you read more in summer?
Read different things?
Or is another season your favorite?
-
Laura Bickle has worked in libraries, criminology, and technology for several years. She lives in the Midwestern U.S. with her chief muse, owned by four mostly-reformed feral cats. Writing as Laura Bickle, she's the author of EMBERS and SPARKS for Pocket - Juno Books. Writing as Alayna Williams, she's the author of DARK ORACLE and ROGUE ORACLE. More info on her urban fantasy and general nerdiness is here:
-
EMBERS
By Laura Bickle
Anya Kalinczyk #1
Pocket Juno Books
Mass Market Paperback, $7.99
ISBN: 978-1439167656
April 2010
“One of the most promising debut novels I’ve read in a great while… I’d highly recommend this book to anybody who reads fantasy. It reminds me in many regards…of another exceptional first novel…Emma Bull’s seminal War for the Oaks, and there’s not much higher praise that I can give.” —Elizabeth Bear on Tor.com
Unemployment, despair, anger--visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit's unease. A city increasingly invaded by phantoms now faces a malevolent force that further stokes fear and chaos throughout the city.
Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters. Anya--who is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern--suspects a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient entity that will leave the city in cinders. By Devil's Night, the spell will be complete, unless Anya--with the help of her salamander familiar and the paranormal investigating team --can stop it.
Anya's accustomed to danger and believes herself inured to loneliness and loss. But this time she's risking everything: her city, her soul, and a man who sees and accepts her for everything she is. Keeping all three safe will be the biggest challenge she's ever faced.
A free excerpt is available
here.
-
DARK ORACLE
Delphic Oracle #1
Pocket Juno Books
Mass Market Paperback, $7.99
ISBN 978-1439182796
June 2010
DARK ORACLE is a scientific, paranormal read that takes readers on a wild chase. A subtle romance lends to the entertainment this read offers. Tara is a strong female who has many stories till waiting to be told. An interesting new series that is not quite like anything else! (4 stars) -RT Book Reviews
Can an oracle change the future she sees?
Tara Sheridan swore off criminal profiling years ago. By combining Tarot card divination with her own intuition, she narrowly escaped the grasp of a serial killer who left her scarred for life. She put down her cards and withdrew from work and society. Now, Sophia, a member of an ancient secret society connected to the mythic Delphic Oracle, asks Tara to find a missing scientist who has unlocked the destructive secrets of dark energy. Tara resists— she fears reawakening her long-buried talents and blames Sophia’s Daughters of Delphi for the death of her mother. But, grudgingly, she agrees to search for the missing scientist, Lowell Magnusson.
Tara travels to Las Alamos National Laboratory, the location of Magnusson’s disappearance. She meets the serious, impatient, and highly attractive Agent Harry Li— and re-encounters her old partner, Richard Corvus. Corvus is now chief of the Special Projects Division, a position Tera might have held, had she not dropped out of investigative work. Corvus considers Tara mentally imbalanced and not to be trusted—but it may be Corvus who is untrustworthy.
Tara’s investigation and Tarot cards tell her Magnusson’s daughter, Cassie, may hold the key to her father’s plans, and that they both are in grave danger. Meanwhile, Corvus and the Daughters of Delphi have their own plans...and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Read a free excerpt
here.
-
Win a SIGNED Copy of “Embers”
+
A SIGNED Copy of “Dark Oracle”
To Enter:
Answer all or any of the questions Laura asks in her guest post.
Extra Entries in The Comments WILL NOT COUNT!
INTERNATIONAL!
Extra Entries:
- +50 Write a Blog Post about the event
- +25 Add the event button to your blog {Grab the Button HERE}
- +10 Google Friend Connect Follower {Follow Publicly}
- +10 Networked Blogs Follower
- +10 Subscribe to The Blog by Email {Form near the top of the Right Sidebar}
- +7 Follow me on Twitter {@larissa_sarah}
- +5 “Like” Larissa's Life on Facebook
- +5 Be my friend on Goodreads
- +1 For spreading the word {+1 per link - Twitter, Facebook, etc – Please add links to the Form of the Giveaway you are entering}
- +1 Add all your entries! {including this one!}
Don’t Forget to Vote for the Theme for
My TOP 5 Sundays Post on the Poll at the left sidebar!
Check Out The OTHER BHSV GIVEAWAYS:
Check Out My Design Blog:
Great Anti-Piracy Badge Up for Grabs!
*Great Freebies Available!
&
Sign Up for…
Thanks so much for tuning in and I’ll see you soon!
xoxo,
Top 5 Sundays!
![[Bookish-Haven-Summer-Vacation-Banner%255B2%255D.png]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/-13ym5ATTaQc/TgvEKIRtIAI/AAAAAAAAHcE/qkRmMEK4P-E/s1600/Bookish-Haven-Summer-Vacation-Banner%25255B2%25255D.png)
%5B4%5D.jpg "n353449 (1)")
