Dear Jane – ‘The book keeps gathering steam, brewing up its charms & spells.’ #CailleachWitch

‘As far as Drew could tell the only fast moving thing now was the river that flowed from the mountain.’ 
I’ve made it to Chapter 25, and the book keeps gathering steam, brewing up its charms and spells.
Love, Tamara. 

Dear Tamara, thank you for your latest postcard. A joy as usual. And for taking me on your journey of reading my book. I love to see what words you’ve chosen. And now we’re almost at the end. I will miss your selections. Much Love, Jane.

‘I have come back to things that are impossible to do… apart from painting and gardening, I am good for nothing. My greatest masterpiece is my garden.’ – Claude Monet

And the reviews keep coming too. Like this incredibly thoughtful one from Amazon Canada… ps Please leave a review if you’ve read the book. With enough reviews Amazon will start promoting it to other customers. To Amazon a one word review is every bit as good as one like this. Reviews like this one are most helpful to potential readers, and lovely to read of course. In short, your review matters. Every review matters.

Meanwhile, I read an interesting article this morning EMBRACE YOUR WILDISH NATURE. Those of you who’ve read my book will recognise this central theme. I call it wild nature but it’s the same thing.

“Your wildish nature is your whole self at home in the natural world. It is your empowered, honest self that lives intuitively and in balance with nature.What Is Wildish Nature? Wildish nature is the nature we have abandoned on our quest to conquer nature. Wild nature is. It is what we come from, it is ancient wisdom.”

Read it HERE

Other themes in the book? Agency, power, freedom, the self, identity, belonging, home, society, the sibling relationship, family, culture, the call of the wild versus civilisation. To name a few.

In other news, I’ve been having fun making picture quotes for promotional purposes. Like this one…

‘Honor went to the window, opened it wide as was her habit, whenever the walls closed in. And leaning out into the pitch black she listened. The night was rich and ticking with life that nourished and maddened her. But there it was! Her name again, clearer now. She left the house. Now the wind sang a different tune, turn back, it seemed to say, before it’s too late. But she wouldn’t. She was the haunter now, the hunter, like the moon above her. And this was her terrain…’

This weekend… this weekend I’ll be giving a workshop, reading from my book, and taking part in an author q&a as part of Fright Fest in beautiful, historic, Ardagh. I’d love to see some of you there.

Here’s what we’ll be getting up to… WRITE YOURSELF FREE Taster Workshop – Are you living your creative potential? Is your writing/creative practice the best it can be right now? Have you found your unique voice yet? Your style? For this workshop Jane will be sharing simple and inspiring ideas and exercises towards your next level of writing and creativity. From beginner to fearless. Suitable for all levels and artistic disciplines. No experience necessary to take part. This workshop is based on Jane’s WRITE YOURSELF FREE Creative Writing course, soon to be available as an Ecourse. Get ready to banish all that’s holding you back.

That’s all for now but if you’d like to read more I updated my About Me section this week HERE

I almost forgot! I’m starting a special monthly newsletter exclusively for subscribers. If you haven’t already just enter your email address in the space provided on the home page. The monthly newsletter, my inspiration list, is launching soon. Each month I’ll be gathering my most inspiring finds in one place to share with you. Think of it as life and creativity fuel. A feast of inspiration.

Much Love, Jane. Brewing up charms and spells.

 

 

Dear Jane, it was the landscape, wasn’t it? #CailleachWitch

Oh Jane! I loved it, there was such a sense of urgency, from the opening to the finish. It was dark and moody and all the things I expected it to be. I could really visualise the landscape as it seemed to be the main character of the book, the house and the sisters second. It was captivating and now that I’m finished, I might just go for a walk to shake off the mist! Well done. Aisling.

Dear Aisling, thank you for these wonderful words. You know you can never shake off the mist. It’s a part of you, like the wind, like the mountain. This landscape, is the closest thing to me I’ve ever found. Much Love, Jane.

Cailleach~Witch is now available on Amazon, click HERE

Dear Jane, I don’t want it to end…

Dear Jane, it’s everything everybody’s been saying already. I don’t want it to end. And I was afraid to start it because everyone said about not wanting to put it down. So yesterday the only times I left my bedroom was twice to eat and once to check the mail for my daughter but I had a final interruption at night when I had to attend a meeting. I can’t remember the last time I sat and read a book. So this is evoking all sorts of excitement. Of going into another world. And sharing in this new family that you have created so realistically.

My daughter who had stopped by told me that she’d gotten the mail and it looked like there was a book and she left it on the couch for me and I was so disappointed I was working a second job that night that I was afraid to even touch it but I couldn’t help it. I stopped by the house to rip it open anyway and just hold it in my hands even though I knew I couldn’t open it or start turning the pages yet.

Just came back in to my room to grab the book again. The weather is perfect the time of year is perfect. Isn’t it hard to believe that these words took years to put down on paper but it takes only hours or days for us to relive and get into this other world. And feel a part of. When I read about the three sisters in strength and I just got done with the Dana Ellen part. I went back to your dedication page to count how many sisters you had and that reminded me of your three daughters and the strength your family holds together. I do see a lot of you in these words. It’s incredible. And so are you. To have this within you and to be able to share it with others.

For a long time you were always with me every morning being the first thing I got to share in… your pictures, your words, your love of color.. I’m exited for your success. excited to share in your world you created. Excited to see these words come full circle and affect so many. It’s just the beginning.

Kay. 

Pine City, Minnesota.

Dear Kay, we are separated by distance but united by words, thank you so much. It makes the world feel very small and even warm. We have the book! Can you believe it? After all this time…

With Love, Jane

Painting by Paul Emile Chabas

My novel Cailleach~Witch, a fast paced modern gothic mystery, is available on Amazon HERE

13 Signs You’re one of the Fae (The Fairies)

“Are you a witch, or are you a fairy?

Or are you the wife of Michael Cleary?” – Irish children’s rhyme

Poor Bridget Cleary, in 1895 she was burned alive by her husband in front of witnesses because they believed she was a ‘changeling’ a fairy substitute for the real Bridget, abducted by the fairies.

Changelings, puca’s, the banshee, the Tuatha de Danann (Irelands mythical race), the fae, I grew up with these, and I write about them now.

My first novel Cailleach~Witch tells the story of a family of women with special abilities or powers, such as healing, second sight, and communication with the other world. In Ireland they would be known traditionally as Bean Feasa meaning Wise Women. It’s a modern gothic story with paranormal elements. Inspired by Irish folklore, mythology, and the landscape I grew up in. 

Fairy trees and forts (Whitethorns, and any circle of trees) are protected by law in Ireland and there’s not many people would feel comfortable with damaging as much as a twig in case it would bring them bad luck. We think we don’t believe these things but superstitions run deep. This wonderful quote illustrates this quite well…

‘While walking in Sligo in the early 1900s, WB Yeats asked an elderly man he met on the road if he believed in fairies. “I do not,” replied the man, “What do you take me for? What kind of eejit would believe in the little people or in witches and goblins and leprechauns? Don’t be ridiculous. I do not believe in them. Not at all…” There was a pause. “But they’re there,” the man concluded…’

Our rootedness in superstition and folklore is so woven in our collective experience it is largely unconscious. I needed minimal research before writing the book and was pleasantly surprised to find support for every idea I’d included. Even with artistic license of fantasy it would make you wonder. The latent knowledge that lies inside us and might never be brought forth. Where did it come from? 

Among the characters in my novel are otherworld creatures but also humans with close ties to the otherworld. There are people with what you might call ‘the look.‘ Much like some people remind me of birds there are some I would call fairy people, a look, but also a vibe, a ‘way of going on,’ which is a definition of culture in itself is it not? My idea of what they are is almost certainly not mine at all.

Stories, imagination, popular culture and our subconscious all play a part. Check my list below, I’ve adapted it from some of my characters and from the stories of my youth. See if you are or you know a fairy woman or a man. Word to the wise, elf on the shelf it isn’t…

‘The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.’ – W.B. Yeats

13 Signs You’re One of the Fae…

  1. You’re tall and slight of build with sharp features.
  2. You have black, red, or fair hair. 
  3. You have small intense eyes.
  4. You’re ‘different’ in many ways, indefinable, eccentric, aloof.
  5. More still than quiet, with an intense quality/presence.
  6. Your favourite mode of transport is mist and your movements are both awkward and graceful.
  7. You feel more affinity with landscape and elements than people.
  8. You don’t quite fit and it shows.
  9. Lover of art, music, dance, and beauty.
  10. Free spirit.
  11. Both youthful and ancient.
  12. Lover of trees.
  13. Shy, kind, but with a cool/detached streak, possibly playful, and wise…

Does this sound like you or anyone you know?

If this is a subject that speaks to your soul you will enjoy my gothic fantasy novel Cailleach~Witch. It’s available now on Amazon. You can find it HERE And if you’ve read this far, thank you. Perhaps you’d like a FREE story, a re-telling of Rapunzel from the witches point of view. Get it HERE

~ Readers Love Cailleach~Witch (The Cleary Witches Book 1) ~

‘This is genre-bending stuff, that weaves together fantasy, fairy-tale and Gothic to deliver a fast-paced, atmospheric thriller. As with many Irish writers (e.g. John McGahern, who incidentally comes from the same county as Jane) the sense of place and tradition is very strong. The atmosphere is broody and foreboding, while the plot moves quickly, forward and backwards through time, with many unexpected twists and turns. I was reminded more than once of Daphne du Maurier, especially Jamaica Inn: Cailleach too creates a beautiful and desolate setting for love, tragedy and maybe a new beginning.’

‘A tale of magic, forbidden love and a family curse. Reading this book I was swept away to a dark mountain in the west of Ireland where the Cailleach lives. This is a beautifully told story of three sisters who must return to the home of their aunts where they have to break free from the curse of the Cailleach. An enchanting read of forbidden love, family secrets and dark magic. It was hard to put down and come back to the real world. The story had me under it’s spell right until the very end.’

‘Spellbinding, unconventional storyline spread acrossa group of strong women and across generations. Dark, light, complicated. Honestly the most refreshing story I’ve read in ages. If you like something a little different in your pot of fairytales, this is for you.’

‘This book is a spell – a spell cast with a deep understanding of humanity, its relationship to nature and to women who embody the power of difference. It is not a singular story, it is a multiple of lives woven together to compose a larger story and the author has done this weaving with great dexterity.

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What people are saying about Cailleach~Witch on Amazon…

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