Occult book production schedule (2019-2020)
I have been asked these questions more than once, so I am just going to post the answers here for everyone to see.
What is my planned occult book production schedule? What order are the planned books going to be published in? And what is the basic format going to be?
Let's start with the last question first, shall we?
*One of the reasons that this series has been delayed so long is that my current writing voice does not sound like the standard tone that other occult writers use, and I kept trying to make my writing sound more like the standard. Silly me--all that accomplishes is a gigantic case of writer's block. Of course, it should be noted that my existing fans are going to expect my regular voice--they know that I do not sound like a Llewellyn writer,
**Thanks to the existence of a Golden Dawn lodge here in Denver that I am not involved with, I am no longer obligated to serve as a Golden Dawn/RR et AC officer. I can return to the original purpose of EOEW (Bast Temple) which was to make ceremonial magic accessible to Wiccans and other pagans.
***Yes, yes, I know--real occult books have to printed in small numbers, preferably in hardcover, and made impossible to find at a reasonable price. Blame my publishing strategy on all that horrible dubious erotica I used to write--I see no reason why the buying habits of occult readers would be different than the behavior of other genre readers. In other words, I believe that I can reach more people by going wide with reasonable prices.
The first is Opening the Tradition: Performing Esoteric Initiation Rituals Using Limited Resources. This is the expansion of the Golden Dawn Three Officer Script book. Long story short--when I originally published this is 2007, I was more concerned about getting the reduced officer script for the Golden Dawn Neophyte (0=0) out and available than I was in writing a commentary for why and how to do it. Honestly, I did not expect there to be any questions about it. Once you learn of the existence of such a possibility, the rest should be simple, right? Yeah, I know--not everyone has my background, or my daring to work without a safety net. So I am expanding this one by 50k--some stuff that I thought about adding at the time (but I was too busy to write up--university and all); some based on questions I have gotten from those interested in working the ritual. Hopefully, this will be done by September 2019.
The second is Walking the Wheel of the Year: Magical Images of the Wiccan Sabbats. This is another ritual script that I am adding 50k words of commentary and instruction to. This is an example of how I applied the Hermetic ideas of magical images and astrological magic to the symbols of Wiccan magic. At latest, this will release Spring 2020--I am aiming for Fall 2019 (but have other things in the fire that might get finished first).
Green Muse: Invoking One's Creative Genius. This one is for the creative writers and artists, as well as those who want to work with daemons and spirits set over the arts. This will probably be the book that I make my case for the occult community to accept medical marijuana as well as regular medical treatment for mental illness--not that it is going to change the behavior of certain Big Name Occultists who use such matters to justify the expulsion of members who have proven to be troublesome critics of their own behavior--oh the stories I have heard.
Dark Fairy Garden Magic: Backyard Necromancy. A combination of a witch's garden, necromatic daemonolatry, and working with the honored ancestors. Or as at least one Golden Dawn authority will call it, "Why Morgan is no longer allowed to be a member." (For those who don't know the story, I have been duly informed that binding a serial rapist is black magic, even if my religion says that it is an allowable magic.)
Laughing Wicca: Useful Eastern Tradition Ideas for the Modern Witch. This will be my wild attempt explaining how the Wiccan idea of karma has very little to do with how karma is thought of by the Eastern religions.
Mysteries of the Successful Egyptian Scribe: Advice for Occult Writers. I think that this idea is summed up by the title, right?
Then there is a long list of topics that I have no title or basic idea what the book would be about, but I am sure will happen sooner or later, including but not restricted to the following subjects:
Modern Egyptian magic
Love and relationships
Kabbalah
Tarot
Runes
An archive book of some of the teachings from the long-closed Hathor Temple among others
A public ritual "how-to" manual
How to write about magic in fiction
*Place your bet now on which of my occult books gets the honor of receiving the attention of an urgent memo telling cult members to one-star it into invisibility.
Now in all fairness, I should mention that I write under many pen-names in several different genres. Occult writing is not my primary source of income. Think of my occult writing as me fulfilling my teaching duties without having to worry about people understanding my accent--that and I learn interesting things as I try to teach others. Occult writing for me is a passion--not something I seek to do for a full-time livelihood. Therefore, the "day-job" writing takes priority.
In my case, the day-job is writing science fiction. Currently, I am working on a novel set in an universe I call "Icarus--Above a Dark Earth." It should be noted that my occult studies and experiences color some of the plots and symbolism I use in my fictional universes.
For more about the Icarus universe, check out this post I wrote on the dedicated blog for that particular science fiction universe.
Another factor in how rapidly and in which order the above projects are completed in, will be my own occult studies and work, as well as the the questions that I encounter on the internet and receive from friends. A good conversation at an Occult Garden Party has the potential to inspire another book. I tend to follow the inspiration provided by lodge, coven, family, and my friends, much like I was having a conversation with the entire universe. And ironically, the more magic that I am doing, the faster I seem to write about the occult.
But hands down, what will ultimately determine what gets done first will be the influence of my muse and genius. This is a direct result of the environment I first starting writing in, as well as habits I developed as a blogger and magazine columnist. I tend to write stuff in five hundred to thousand words blocks after thinking about the subject for hours (most of my editing and re-writing actually takes place in my head--blame it on working on short stories in between orders at Burger King early in my writing career). My brain has to become too full to keep the words in, so to speak. And I bet you thought it was easy to be a writer, right?
What is my planned occult book production schedule? What order are the planned books going to be published in? And what is the basic format going to be?
Let's start with the last question first, shall we?
Planned format of upcoming occult books
The planned format is a series of fifty-thousand word books, divided up in five ten-thousand word sections. The style will be the more humorous conversational tone that I have adapted over the last couple of years.* And the focus for the most part (with a couple of exceptions) will be the what one of my critics call "Wiccanifying Golden Dawn"--which should be described more as "borrowing Golden Dawn toys and tools for the use in Wicca."** The series of books (which will be published under the umbrella series name--Occult Garden Parties) are going to take the form of ebooks as well as printed books done though Createspace.****One of the reasons that this series has been delayed so long is that my current writing voice does not sound like the standard tone that other occult writers use, and I kept trying to make my writing sound more like the standard. Silly me--all that accomplishes is a gigantic case of writer's block. Of course, it should be noted that my existing fans are going to expect my regular voice--they know that I do not sound like a Llewellyn writer,
**Thanks to the existence of a Golden Dawn lodge here in Denver that I am not involved with, I am no longer obligated to serve as a Golden Dawn/RR et AC officer. I can return to the original purpose of EOEW (Bast Temple) which was to make ceremonial magic accessible to Wiccans and other pagans.
***Yes, yes, I know--real occult books have to printed in small numbers, preferably in hardcover, and made impossible to find at a reasonable price. Blame my publishing strategy on all that horrible dubious erotica I used to write--I see no reason why the buying habits of occult readers would be different than the behavior of other genre readers. In other words, I believe that I can reach more people by going wide with reasonable prices.
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| Coming in September 2019, I swear. |
2019 Production schedule
There are two books that are at the front of the production schedule, for the simple fact that they are both expansions of ebooks I currently have available, and because I had years to think about what else to write in connection with their topics.The first is Opening the Tradition: Performing Esoteric Initiation Rituals Using Limited Resources. This is the expansion of the Golden Dawn Three Officer Script book. Long story short--when I originally published this is 2007, I was more concerned about getting the reduced officer script for the Golden Dawn Neophyte (0=0) out and available than I was in writing a commentary for why and how to do it. Honestly, I did not expect there to be any questions about it. Once you learn of the existence of such a possibility, the rest should be simple, right? Yeah, I know--not everyone has my background, or my daring to work without a safety net. So I am expanding this one by 50k--some stuff that I thought about adding at the time (but I was too busy to write up--university and all); some based on questions I have gotten from those interested in working the ritual. Hopefully, this will be done by September 2019.
The second is Walking the Wheel of the Year: Magical Images of the Wiccan Sabbats. This is another ritual script that I am adding 50k words of commentary and instruction to. This is an example of how I applied the Hermetic ideas of magical images and astrological magic to the symbols of Wiccan magic. At latest, this will release Spring 2020--I am aiming for Fall 2019 (but have other things in the fire that might get finished first).
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| Magical image of Ostara. |
2020 and beyond production schedule
Beyond these two expansions of existing books, I have ideas for several other books--some more developed than others.Green Muse: Invoking One's Creative Genius. This one is for the creative writers and artists, as well as those who want to work with daemons and spirits set over the arts. This will probably be the book that I make my case for the occult community to accept medical marijuana as well as regular medical treatment for mental illness--not that it is going to change the behavior of certain Big Name Occultists who use such matters to justify the expulsion of members who have proven to be troublesome critics of their own behavior--oh the stories I have heard.
Dark Fairy Garden Magic: Backyard Necromancy. A combination of a witch's garden, necromatic daemonolatry, and working with the honored ancestors. Or as at least one Golden Dawn authority will call it, "Why Morgan is no longer allowed to be a member." (For those who don't know the story, I have been duly informed that binding a serial rapist is black magic, even if my religion says that it is an allowable magic.)
Laughing Wicca: Useful Eastern Tradition Ideas for the Modern Witch. This will be my wild attempt explaining how the Wiccan idea of karma has very little to do with how karma is thought of by the Eastern religions.
Mysteries of the Successful Egyptian Scribe: Advice for Occult Writers. I think that this idea is summed up by the title, right?
Then there is a long list of topics that I have no title or basic idea what the book would be about, but I am sure will happen sooner or later, including but not restricted to the following subjects:
Modern Egyptian magic
Love and relationships
Kabbalah
Tarot
Runes
An archive book of some of the teachings from the long-closed Hathor Temple among others
A public ritual "how-to" manual
How to write about magic in fiction
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| Meet Homer Milton Dante for the very first time. |
Factors that will determine speed of completion and the order of finished books
Let's be honest here--one of the factors that will determine the speed and choice of projects will be the book sales numbers. If one of the books turns out to be a roaring success, then I am more likely to produce similar books in the future. Oh, don't look at me like that--book sales are my primary source of income; after all, I am a professional writer. And no, making money as an occult writer is not evil--in fact, it is far less evil than being an internationally known head of an esoteric tradition--you know the type that are lawyer-ed up, trademark happy, and have a legion of fans ready to give me one-star reviews*; some people just cultishly love them, right? Okay, maybe not a good example. No one chooses to become the sole leader of an esoteric tradition just for the money--the esoteric traditions are so lucky to be ruled by enlightened leaders with absolutely no interest in profit and monopolies. I am the only occultist alive whose attention can be gotten by waving a big bag of money (properly sanitized, of course) at me. But in my defense, I am a professional writer that started out writing dubious erotica and dating strippers.*Place your bet now on which of my occult books gets the honor of receiving the attention of an urgent memo telling cult members to one-star it into invisibility.
Now in all fairness, I should mention that I write under many pen-names in several different genres. Occult writing is not my primary source of income. Think of my occult writing as me fulfilling my teaching duties without having to worry about people understanding my accent--that and I learn interesting things as I try to teach others. Occult writing for me is a passion--not something I seek to do for a full-time livelihood. Therefore, the "day-job" writing takes priority.
In my case, the day-job is writing science fiction. Currently, I am working on a novel set in an universe I call "Icarus--Above a Dark Earth." It should be noted that my occult studies and experiences color some of the plots and symbolism I use in my fictional universes.
For more about the Icarus universe, check out this post I wrote on the dedicated blog for that particular science fiction universe.
Another factor in how rapidly and in which order the above projects are completed in, will be my own occult studies and work, as well as the the questions that I encounter on the internet and receive from friends. A good conversation at an Occult Garden Party has the potential to inspire another book. I tend to follow the inspiration provided by lodge, coven, family, and my friends, much like I was having a conversation with the entire universe. And ironically, the more magic that I am doing, the faster I seem to write about the occult.
But hands down, what will ultimately determine what gets done first will be the influence of my muse and genius. This is a direct result of the environment I first starting writing in, as well as habits I developed as a blogger and magazine columnist. I tend to write stuff in five hundred to thousand words blocks after thinking about the subject for hours (most of my editing and re-writing actually takes place in my head--blame it on working on short stories in between orders at Burger King early in my writing career). My brain has to become too full to keep the words in, so to speak. And I bet you thought it was easy to be a writer, right?
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