Saturday, March 31, 2012

An Hour of the SexWitch LIVE!

I've got lots of good news for you, and some sad news.  First the sad news.
 
My 16-year old cat, Cosmos, took a turn for the worst last weekend.  The vet and I had suspected she might have cancer, but at the time I took her in a few weeks ago there wasn't any evidence.  It was just a possibility. 
 
But she stopped eating again last weekend, and this time it was clear she had fast growing cancer.  She and I talked about it, and she told me she was ready to go.  So I released her.
 
 
Cosmos passed into the Fey Realm on Monday afternoon with the help of my very kind vet.  To the end she was such a sweet precious kitty!  I had a lovely Fey funeral for her with charmed rose petals, silver bells, and Fey chants.  The top of her grave was covered with azalea blossoms.
 
I didn't bury her in my regular kitty cemetery with my ferals.  Instead I buried her next to the place where I do my Esbat and Sabbat rituals in the forest with my Fey.  That way I can keep her close to me. 
 
On Tuesday the violet clover bloomed next to her.  Since it's spring I've been able to place pretty flowers on her grave every day.  Today, she got wild pink roses from my garden.  Very fitting for the beautiful tuxedo kitty that she was in this lifetime.
 
Okay, are you ready for the good news?  ~~drum roll~~  On Thursday I finished the 261 page poetry book, "Cats, Daffodils & Dragonflies: Mystical Nature Poems (1987-2005)."
 
WOOT!!!!!
 
Alex has it now, and she'll be designing the cover soon.  I found some awesome stock cat photos for the cover.  Can't wait to see how Alex works her design magick with one of those. 
 
Look for this book to come out in Kindle for $0.99 in April.  I can't tell you how wonderful it will be to have all my mystical, empowering poems back in print again for my fans.  ~happy dance, happy dance~
 
That means three books of mine will have been published in the last 11 months: "A Vampire's Kiss" (May 2011), "Truly Naughty" (December 2011), and "Cats, Daffodils & Dragonflies" (April 2012).
 
Now I can kick back and enjoy editing "A Vampire's Desire."  Not that I ever stopped.  I haven't.  I've been editing it every day while I've been working on the poetry book and the next memoir, "Deliciously Naughty."  But now I'll only be working on two books at once instead of three.  Two books is normal for this multitasking SexWitch.  Three isn't.
 
Whew!
 
Ready for more good news?  The interview with Mackenzie Knight on "Unearthly Encounters Live" was a major hit on Tuesday night (Blog Talk Radio).  We had a freakin blast!!!  Much to my surprise and delight, the show lasted an hour, and chatty slut that I am I talked the entire time.  Yes, I did!
 
Here's the link in case you missed it: 
 

Mackenzie had so much fun she invited me to come back.  We're thinking August.  So look for another wild party on her show when the SexWitch returns.  Uh-oh... ~wink~
 
BTW, I have a fan club now.  I do!  Jim Weeder enjoyed the radio interview so much on Tuesday night he created a "Laura Stamps Fan Club" group at Pagan-Place.  I was totally flattered!  It's been a lot of fun to talk about my books and career and what I do every day as a novelist, as well as answer questions from fans.  If you're at PaganPlace check it out and join:
 
 
My next Blog Talk Radio show is April 27.  Kat Holmes will be interviewing me on "Kat's Writing Pen" for 30 minutes.  I'll have more info about that show in a few weeks.
 
Guess what?  Monday is my birthday.  Hard to believe I'll be 55 on April 2, but that's what my driver's license says so it must be true, right?  Many thanks to those of you who have already sent cards and gifts.  I love you dearly!!!! 
 
Some of my fans have been asking what I plan to do during the daylight hours on my birthday.  I have no idea.  But when it gets dark I know exactly how to celebrate.  I'm jumping my yummy magick man, Michael.  We've been spending evenings splashing around in his bathtub this week.  I've gotta say impaling myself on his tasty "candle" sounds like a damn good idea to this birthday girl.  Duh!
 
~crazy in love grin~
 
See ya....!
 
Laura Stamps
Romantic Pagan Erotica Novelist
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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Fey Orgies & Sore Pussycats

Hope all my Pagan readers had an awesome Ostara.  Mine totally rocked!!! 
 
I've been looking forward to Ostara since the end of January.  That's when invitations went out to the Ostara Ball my mother, Titania, threw this year. 
 
Dear Goddess, what a party!  As you can imagine, a Faerie ball quickly becomes an orgy.  I mean, we do have our priorities. ~sex obsessed grin~
 
I actually passed out in the Seelie Court from excessive sex with Michael.  I've never done that before.  Yum!  I woke up the next morning with a sore pussycat and hip joints.  Ouch!  Thank the Goddess, Michael has an amazing tongue for pussy repair.  Purrrrrrrrr....
 
Oh, how I love my sweet magick man!  ;P
 
In other news, if you're on Twitter or Pagan-Place you know I spent three days last week at the vet with my 16-year old kitty, Cosmos.  She had stopped eating and was down to 6 pounds.  Yikes!  The vet gave her an antibiotic shot for a sinus infection.  Then she took x-rays, which didn't look good.  Neither did the lab work when it came back the next day.  I really thought I was taking Cosmos home to pass over to the Fey Realm.
 
I dusted her food with slippery elm herb to make her throat feel better, and added my fav herbal antibiotic (goldenseal) to her water.  Much to my surprise she began eating like a horse, and gained a few pounds.  I've also been doing Fey healing treatments on her every night. 
 
So far so good!
 
For those of you who love my radio interviews, the next one is coming up on Tuesday.  I'll be appearing on "Unearthly Encounters Live!" at 8:00pm.  Mackenzie Knight has done a stunning promo for this show, and you can check it out here:
 
 
Speaking of interviews, I did one earlier this month I'm really proud of.  I met an incredible woman on Google + (Te-Erika Patterson) who created an empowering website for women called "My Savvy Sisters" (http://www.mysavvysisters.com).  She asked for an interview, since I'm such a lemons-to-lemonade kinda chick, and I was honored to do it. 
 
Even though my novels are very empowering I never get the chance to do that kind of interview.  So this one was a real treat for me.  
 
Te-Erika's questions were fabulous!  If you didn't get a chance to read it on Te-Erika's site, here it is in its entirety.
 
Enjoy, and next week I'll have more info for you about my Blog Talk Radio interview on "Unearthly Encounters Live!"
 
~smooches~
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
She's Got Skillz: Pagan Erotica Novelist
 
Laura Stamps
 
 
"My Savvy Sisters celebrates women who love to showcase their personalities through the creative arts. This Pulitzer Prize nominated Pagan Erotica novelist is one of the most intriguing women we have had the chance to encounter.  In this interview we get to know her in a very profound way as she shares some of the obstacles she had to overcome in her quest to share her erotic writing, the importance of lust and love, and why she believes Paganism empowers her life.  She calls herself a SexWitch, but don't be afraid, her writing casts spells like the Good Witch of the West."  (Te-Erika Patterson)
 
 
1.) If someone asked you to describe yourself in one sentence what would you say?
I'm the Hooker with a Heart of Gold.
 
2.) Those who love you the most love you because...
I'm a sweet Beta and all heart.  I also never back down.  When lemons come my way I make lemonade.  Period.
 
3.) What led you to begin writing erotica with such an interesting slant?
I'm a Wiccan Faery Witch, Otherkin Fey, and a sexual sorceress.  That makes me a SexWitch, which is how most people on the web know me (the "SexWitch").  Sex is not only my career, but I have a raging hot libido, and I'm kinky as hell.  As a novelist, I thought it was time someone wrote fiction that portrayed Pagans realistically.  Not to mention Pagan men are some of the sexiest in any universe.  Yum!  For many people Witches, vampires, shapeshifters, and Fey are "paranormal."  For those of us who are Pagan and half human (Otherkin), those kinds of beings are "normal."  So my career choice was a natural for me. ~lol~
 
4.) Briefly Describe paganism and why it empowers you as a woman?
There are lots of different Pagan paths.  Some are spiritual, some aren't.  I'm a Wiccan.  Wicca works for me because we follow two rules: 1.) The Wiccan Rede (do as you will as long as it hurts no one) and 2.) The Rule of Three (whatever you say, do, or think will come back to you 3-fold).  I'm a royal Seelie from the High Court.  The Seelie are known for their code of honor, so being Wiccan jives well with that for me.  Most Pagan paths are feminist in that we worship one or more Goddesses from a variety of pantheons.  When people ask me about Wicca, I tell them it's a peaceful, feminist, nature religion.
 
5.) What is the most misunderstood aspect of your lifestyle and how do you help people to understand it?
Today is a good example.  A woman I know found out who I am (the best-selling Pagan Erotica Novelist in the world).  She's a funde Christian.  We have always gotten along well.  Today she treated me like the Devil's Spawn.  I can understand why she thinks that.  There have been waaaaaay too many false rumors spread about Pagans for the last 2000+ years by the major religions.  Plus, I live in the Deep South Bible Belt.  When she decides to talk to me again I will tell her: 1.) Pagans don't worship the Devil (or Satan) because we don't believe in him and 2.) Christianity invented the Devil, not Pagans. 
 
As a Wiccan, I'm what they call a "White Witch."  We go around doing good all day.  I often say a White Witch is the best friend you could ever have since we live by the two Rules I mentioned above.  Just imagine how different the world would be if the major religions lived by The Rede and the Rule of Three? 
 
6.) Can you describe the process behind organizing and writing your books? What inspires you?
I write 3 fiction series and one nonfiction Memoir series.  "The Witchery Series" is the main fiction series.  It is the only one that is not erotica.  That's because romantic erotica didn't become popular until after 2005.  The first book in this series (The Witches of Dixie) is an anthology of the first 4 novels and novellas in this series written from 1997 - 2003 and published by other publishers who eventually went out of biz (like many publishers do). 
 
When I sold the series to Trytium Publishing in 2007, he put those 4 books together in one book.  That novel is the only one of mine with no sex or romance because of the time period in which it was written.  Instead it is very empowering for women and incredibly magickal.  It's actually one of my fans' favs.  The next two novels in that trilogy were published in 2007 and 2008 with Trytium.  The second is a romance, and the third is erotic romance.  All the other series ("The Rune Witch Series" trilogy and "The Manigault Vampires") are erotica and spin-off series from this one.
 
My novels are all character-driven.  The same cast of characters wanders through each one no matter the series, so readers never feel lost.  All are Pagan and empowering, containing real spells, chants, and rituals.  Because my books are character-driven I allow my characters to tell their story.  They rarely follow an outline so I don't use one.  They determine how long a book will be. 
 
Because I started out in this biz 24 years ago as a poet, all my novels are handwritten in one spiral notebook after another until they are finished.  A novel usually takes a month to write in first draft this way.  I just figure out the hero/heroine, the plot, the climax, the ending, set the scene for the first chapter, and let my characters tell the story.  Several universities collect my papers and archives, and they love the handwritten notebooks.  Then I begin the tedious process of editing.  That usually takes 8 months for a novel because I am a meticulous editor, and my readers expect a high level of quality from my books.
 
7.) What role does romantic love play in your life and work?
Love is my magickal energy and my destiny.  Love is the most powerful form of energy in any universe.  Romantic love is everything to me.  My novels are all romantic.  I'm a very sexual woman.  I want to be loved and appreciated by a man.  Lust and sex go together for me.  I can't and won't separate them.  And I won't settle for less.  
 
8.) How do you define success and how do you suggest other women define it?
Success is any goal you achieve, large or small.  I was an artist before I changed careers at 30.  I had always been told I had writing talent when I was in high school and college but I am also dyslexic.  Painting was easier for me, and I won lots of awards for it.  My paintings are still sold worldwide by my fine art publisher in California (Haddad's Fine Arts, Inc.) as prints and posters. 
 
But by the time I was 30 I gave up the struggle and taught myself how to write.  That is success because it took 4 years.  Since then I have published 53 books with various publishers.  My stories and poems have been published in over 1000 magazines and anthologies, including the 2004 anthology "Open My Eyes, Open My Soul" edited by Yolanda King, Martin Luther King's daughter.  In that book my poems are next to those by Maya Angelou, Muhammad Ali, and Stevie Wonder.  I was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 2005, and my resume of awards and honors is over 80 pages long.  That is success for a dyslexic.
 
In 2009 I went with an agent who also had Donald Trump as a client.  I was trying to reach the next step in my career.  I was approaching 50 and tired of working my cute little ass off 24/7.  Instead he killed my career.  By the time I dumped him in 2010 I was just about ruined.   He had let me go 16 months without a new book being published, and I lost almost all my fans.  My income was down to $30 a month in royalties.  At the same time my husband fell in with a bad crowd, and my marriage crashed.  It was the kind of complete and total disaster some women never recover from. 
 
What did I do?  I stopped talking for a week while I took a look at what had happened.  It scared the daylights out of everyone close to me.  Then I said, "Fuck this shit!"  I hit the ground running and I took control again, working my ass of until 4:00am every morning 7 days a week for 18 months.  I went into ebook, built up my fan base, and became the best-selling Pagan Erotica novelist in the world.  Now my books spend more time on the Kindle bestsellers lists than off.  I was blessed by the small group of fans who did stick with me.  I was blessed to met an incredible woman with the techy skills I needed (Alex), and she helped me enter the ebook market with my company, Kittyfeather Press.  I also re-signed with Trytium for paperback rights of "The Witchery Series" after my exagent bought my contract out the year before.  That is success for a woman whose career and personal life were destroyed by clueless Alpha men.
 
In 2011, I burned out twice from exhaustion, my fiancé died, and by the end of the year I had met and fallen in love with a wonderful sweet man.  My goal this year is to cut my schedule back to humane hours and make room for my incredible love life with this man (Michael).  Each time I get closer to this goal that is how I define success at the moment.
 
In April I will be 55.  I'm a runner and an organic vegetarian and model in my trashy panties for the covers of my Memoir Series.  It's been a helluva ride, and it ain't over yet!  ~wink~  Like I said, success is any goal you achieve, large or small.  Women achieve both kinds every year.  And every time we do we should celebrate because we're AWESOME!!
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
Laura Stamps (c)
Romantic Pagan Erotica Novelist
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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

A Big Surprise from the SexWitch

The Winds of Change have been blowing this week, and the energy is Chaotic.  Eeeek!  Endings are in the air, and the whisperings I have heard are telling me the future will be a bit different than we thought.
 
But you know me.  No biggie.  I'm just believing the future will be even BETTER than I imagined.
 
So Mote it Be!!
 
Kinda like my relationship with the love of my life, Michael.  It just gets better and better.  That sweet magick man truly owns my heart.  ~swoon~
 
Okay, back to business.  As usual I've been a very busy SexWitch since my last blog post.  I have several fun surprises for you.  I do!  But you'll never guess the last one, so don't even try.  ~grin~
 
First, you may have noticed two new pages at the top of this blog in the button bar.  Cool, huh?
 
Here's what happened.  I guess Blogger didn't renew it's deal with Flickr for the widget that allowed me to run my gorgeous book covers across the top of this blog, because they disappeared a few weeks ago.  
 
Yikes!  What's a SexWitch to do?
 
Create a page just to showcase my colorful, naughty covers.  Of course!  And that's exactly what I did.  
 
So I created the "Pagan Books & Series" page.  Every day readers all over the world discover my sexy Witchy books, and I receive comments and tweets asking which one they should read first.  When I lost my cover widget I realized this was the perfect opportunity for me to create a page for the proper reading order of my books. 
 
As many of you know, all my books and series are related and take place in the same city with the same cast of characters.  "The Witchery Series" is the main series, and the other two ("The Rune Witch Series" and "The Manigault Vampires") are spin-off series.  This page gave me the opportunity to show exactly how they relate to each other.  A much needed addition to this blog. 
 
But that's not all.
 
I've been planning to create a page on my books site for my online radio interviews.  After I created the page for the reading order of my books, I thought...WTH!...I'll just put that page on this blog, too. 
 
So I did. 
 
That new page is called "Online Radio Interviews," and you'll also find it at the top of this blog in the button bar.  If you miss one of my slutty interviews you can go to this page at any time and listen in.  
 
Alrightyyyy!
 
Speaking of that, I'm scheduled to smut up two more "Blog Talk Radio" shows with my lusty self.  Kat Holmes and I set the date for my next appearance on "Kat's Writing Pen."  That show will air on April 27 at 6:00pm.  I'll give you more info about it next month.
 
This month I'll be appearing on "Unearthly Encounters Live!" March 27 at 8:00pm.  Mackenzie Knight has done a stunning promo for this show, and you can check it out here:
 
 
Ready for some more good news?
 
Knowing me and what a high energy chick I am, it won't come as TOO much of a surprise when I tell you I'm working on 3 books at the moment.  I am.  The 5th book in my memoir series ("Deliciously Naughty"), the 2nd novel in the vamp series ("A Vampire's Desire"), and my Collected Poems ("Cats, Daffodils, and Dragonflies").
 
I've gotta admit the poetry book is as much a surprise to me as it is to you.  But as readers google me, looking for more of my novels, they also discover my published poems and ask me about my poetry books. 
 
Unfortunately, all those books are out of print for various reasons.  Many because those publishers went out of biz. 
 
The last book ("The Year of the Cat") bit the dust in 2009.  When that happened I knew at some point I needed to gather my published poetry books, chapbooks, and broadsides into one big ebook.  But it hasn't been a high priority.
 
Now I'm sure some of you are thoroughly confused.  You're thinking: poetry by the SexWitch?  I must be kidding.  Nah, it's for real.  And there's a lot of it.
 
Believe it or not, before I moved my fiction to the genre market (romantic erotica) I was a successful literary novelist and poet for 18 years.  That's where my 80+ pages of awards and honors come from, including a "Pulitzer Prize" nomination and many "Pushcart Award" nominations.
 
Since I'm getting requests for books of my poetry this year, I've decided to DO IT!  And if everything goes according to plan that big poetry ebook will come out in May.  It's called "Cats, Daffodils, and Dragonflies: Mystical Nature Poems (1987-2005)."
 
Now I'm sure you're thinking: mystical nature poems from the SexWitch?  I must be kidding.  Nah, it's for real.
 
My fiction is romantic and erotic, but my poetry was mystical and empowering.  I wrote poetry for readers of all faiths (Pagans, Christians, Catholics, Buddhists, Taoists, New Agers, you name it).  In fact, I always tell readers if they like the lyrical style of writing in "The Witches of Dixie: Book One of the Witchery Series" they'll love my poetry.
 
Cool surprise, huh?  See, you never would have guessed.  ~lmao~
 
I'm gonna leave you with two of the poems from "Cats, Daffodils, and Dragonflies."  These two poems were published in books and magazines in the 80s. 
 
Enjoy, and Happy Humping Day!  Yes, it's Wednesday, my fav day of the week for obvious reasons.  Yes, Michael and I celebrated early this morning with wild monkey sex in several Realms.  Purrrrrrrrrr...  I do love that man!
 
~smooches!~
 
~~~~~~~~~~~
 
WILD CHILD

She runs.  When the moon
summons its white coin for
the night sky, when trees flame
like raisin candles trimmed with
dark birds and leaves, she runs.
Past elm and linden, her arms
wreathed with butterfly wings,
dancing like a curl of smoke
treading the surf of wood
sorrel, honeysuckle, and mullein.
Mountain-bound, she calls to me,
her energy exhilarating, no risk
to great.  I need her but dare
not too much, lest I sink for a
time in the scarlet lake of her
restlessness.  And at daybreak
this part of me, furry and wild,
dashes through the door to lean
her fevered cheek against my
skirt as I comb bits of twig and
fern from the tangled beach of
her hair, and she presses her
dearest treasure deep in my
pocket: fertile seeds of courage. 
 
 
LISTEN
 
The pinewoods whistles as if
it were a steaming coffee kettle,
leaves crackling like cotton
sheets on a clothesline, an
emerald tide rippling without end.
Listen, the moon is afire, her
pale cup a cameo pinned to the
suede collar of the morning sky.
Red geraniums laugh a riot of
blossoms.  Clouds rub against
one another, preening, twittering,
perched in the warm, hazy cage
of a blue canary day.  Listen
how the wind licks the city,
crunching stacks of pampas grass
like saltine crackers.  Spangled
lilies smack their gums, devouring
pennies from the sun, while tree
frogs rehearse graveled songs,
chanting to the lemon meringue
of the moon.  Listen, it's June.
 
 
Laura Stamps (c)
Romantic Pagan Erotica Novelist
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