Late in 2023 I experimented with pulling one card for each month of 2024. For February, I pulled the 8 of pentacles.
This card represents diligent, patient work. Whenever I considered it during last month, it reminded me to keep working on my projects even when they felt slow to progress. It encouraged me through discouragement, reminding my ADD brain that I can keep going when things got boring and repetitive.
Maybe more importantly, the 8 of pentacles offered warnings. Don’t get pulled in too many directions. Do I need to narrow my focus? More like, where do I need to narrow my focus? Be careful of perfectionism. Where do I need to embrace good enough?
These warnings were especially prescient in light of my February therapy sessions. For several months my therapist has gently suggested that I might also have OCD, and last month I finished an evaluation with her help that says, yes, I’ve got it, slap those letters down like another PhD!
This could be its own post in the future, but for a long time I’ve wondered how much my thought loops were ‘just’ anxiety or a result of something more. Through the lens of OCD, the 8 of pentacles offers a hand out of the sometimes incessant thought loops (and ensuing compulsions). I don’t have to constantly obsess over xyz. Obsessing and engaging in compulsive, repetitive behaviors are actually not going to solve the problem and I can take a step out of them without fear of whatever it is I’m frantically trying to avoid keeping me in its grip. Granted, sometimes taking a step away is nearly, but not completely, impossible, at least at first. It often gets easier with better tools.
The 8 of pentacles offers the reminder to lift your gaze. Put down the tools, just for a bit. You can take a break. At this point in the year where winter turns to spring, this card feels like a good transition, marking this seasonal shift. We’re coming out of our winter burrows, ready to bask in the sunlight.
For March’s card I drew the page of wands. How fun! Signifying new beginnings, especially of a creative kind. This feels very spring-ish, doesn’t it?
I am sifting through various possibilities for the rest of this year that require a lot of big-picture thinking, but which also mean I need to take time for the present.
I do want to share more specifics about my writing and publishing goals for the rest of the year. Things are blossoming!
The Secret Heart of Maeve MacGowan
Yes, the book I talked about a lot last year! I’m publishing it in the 3rd quarter of this year.
I have shared this before; thank you for bearing with me as I repeat myself and find the balance between my slow writing pace and my uncontainable excitement. I had to take my time with edits; Maeve’s story started appearing on the page almost 4 years ago. But, I finished my own edits this winter and will be sending it to my editor this spring.
Even though publishing takes a lot out of authors1 and this would mean publishing two books in one year (something I’ve never done), the themes in this book are so important to me, and I feel strongly that now is the time to share it.
Writing
I’m keeping it simple. I’ll keep working on the sequel to Double Alchemy and the sequel to A Land of Light and Shadow. You can expect updates throughout the year.
Riona Beck
What’s this? Another book? Yes and no. This is my pen name for short, sweet, and steamy folklore and fairy tale inspired romance. Undine Press is the imprint name, but I decided to go with a pen name as well so searching for my books doesn’t get confusing.
The first book, Crystalline, is a Cinderella/Frog Prince-inspired novelette featuring a mid-to-plus-sized, neurodiverse FMC and an MMC who reads romance novels. I will publish it this spring.
If you like quick, feel-good, open-door romance, this book is for you.
When you sign up for Riona Beck’s newsletter, you’ll get to read the first 5 chapters of Crystalline before it’s published.
This is the last time I’ll talk about Riona Beck/Undine Press/Crystalline here, as I want to focus on my other books and content. If open-door romance isn’t your thing, don’t worry–The Purple Vale will remain a closed-door/MG/YA space, full of fairy tales, folklore, and neurospicy musings.
Books–this is the last time I’ll share book deals like this here in the Purple Vale. Going forward I want to highlight books I have read, especially those from other indie authors.
Double Alchemy is featured in the group sale for $1.99 for this month, so if you haven’t grabbed it, now’s a great time.
Click on the images to learn more about each book.
Friends, thanks for reading this far. I hope you have a wonderful spring. If you’d like, share something you’re excited about for spring!
see Kaitlin Curtis’ excellent series on publishing sustainability.
Page of Wands is such a wonderful, spring pull! And wow, looks like you’ve got a lot of inspiration and creative fire already!
I love that cover preview!!!