Ripped from Today’s Headlines

Even if you couldn’t make this morning’s Tarot for Writers Meetup, you can play with the exercise we used — creating fiction from today’s news.

We started with an article from today’s New York Times — Supporters Rally Around a Queens State Senator Accused of Domestic Violence.

Then we pulled two cards at random to represent the senator and his girlfriend. Synchronicity was on our side, because those cards turned out to be the Hierophant and the Star. (You can see them here.)

Finally, we combined the news report with the symbols and imagery on the cards, in order to develop character sketches for a fictional story based on the Times’ account.

If you’d like to page back through the transcript of this morning’s session, you can find it still online in the Tarot for Writers Chatroom.

Season’s Greetings

Seasons Greetings 2008

Happy holidays! I made you a video greeting card.

I danced the Macarena with my dog because that’s how I roll.

Here’s a fun way to spend the next two minutes of your life: mix and match your own customized “status report,” based on your birth month, birth date, and the color of your shirt.

Post your result in the comments section.

First, pick the month you were born:

January——-I kicked
February——I loved
March——–I karate chopped
April———-I licked
May———-I jumped on
June———-I smelled
July———–I did the Macarena with
August——–I had lunch with
September—-I danced with
October——-I sang to
November—–I yelled at
December—–I ran over

Now pick the date of your birth:

1 ——— a birdbath
2——— a monster
3——— a phone
4——— a fork
5——— a snowman
6——— a gangster
7——— my mobile phone
8——— my dog
9——— my best friends’ girlfriend/boyfriend
10——- my neighbor
11——- my science teacher
12——- a banana
13——- a fireman
14——- a stuffed animal
15——- a goat
16——- a pickle
17——- your mom
18——- a buffalo
19——- a Smurf
20——- a baseball bat
21——- a Ninja
22——- Chuck Norris
23——- a noodle
24——- a squirrel
25——- a football player
26——- President Bush
27——- David Letterman
28——- an Ipod
29——- a surfer
30——- a llama
31——- a homeless guy

And now pick the color of shirt you’re wearing:

White———because I’m cool like that.
Black———because that’s how I roll.
Pink———–because I’m crazy.
Red———–because the voices told me to.
Blue———–because I’m cute and I do what I want.
Green———because I think I need some serious help.
Purple———because I’m AWESOME!
Gray———-because Big Bird said to and he’s my leader.
Yellow——–because someone offered me a million dollars.
Orange ——–because my family thinks I’m stupid anyway.
Brown———because I can.
Other———-because I’m a Ninja!
None———-because I can’t control myself!

Feeding the Giant

I just added my blog feed to my Amazon profile. If this works, it’s going to be amazing! I’ll be able to update my Amazon blog at the same time I update my regular blog … and my guilt and shame for not updating on Amazon will disappear forever.

Here’s the link to my Amazon profile. Let’s hope this works!

Coming Soon: The Tarot for Writers Book

The Tarot for Writers Cover

My next book, Tarot for Writers, is already available for pre-order on Amazon.com! It’s a complete guide to using tarot cards as a tool for creative writing, with explanations, spreads, prompts, and practical suggestions for using the cards at every step of the writing process.

You can see the amazon listing here:

http://www.amazon.com/Tarot-Writers-Corrine-Kenner/dp/0738714577/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218394501&sr=8-1

I have to tell you, I’m a little surprised … because I’m still finishing the manuscript! It’s just bizarre to see a book advertised in one window on my computer, and have a draft open for editing on another screen.

A lot of people are surprised by the time it takes to publish a book. I finished the first draft of “Tarot for Writers” in October, 2007. I remember that I mailed it to my publisher, Llewellyn Worldwide, on October 24 — my daughter Emily’s birthday.

I didn’t have a contract or anything … I simply sent the book on spec. Once it was at the publishers, it took a few months for the acquisitions committee to decide they wanted it. First they had to send it around to outside readers for their assessments, and then the sales department had to determine whether there was a market for the book. Llewellyn ultimately gave it a thumbs up in February, 2008.

I polished the manuscript a little and submitted a second draft in April. During that time, a committee of editors and graphic designers developed a cover — the groove-tastic red image you see above.

Since then, my editor has given the book a preliminary once-over, and she’s come up with a list of suggestions for improving the book. I have to admit, they’re pretty good … and as I go through the manuscript, I’m finding some room for improvement, too. I’m adding more examples and writing samples, and clarifying some of the instructions.

Even so, I think this book is the best thing I’ve ever written. Usually, by the time I get to this point, I feel terrible about my work. I worry that I’m making huge, glaring mistakes in both my content and construction. I worry about confusing my readers, or sickening them with my sense of humor and writing style. I worry about missing final deadlines, and I worry about looking fat in my author photo.

Not this time. In fact, this book has led a charmed life, and it feels like it practically wrote itself. Actually, I researched it like crazy — but it was just so much fun to put together that it didn’t seem like work. Other writers and friends who have seen the early drafts and tested the techniques I’ve developed think it’s pretty good, too.

The next step is production, when my editor will do a thorough line-by-line review, and a designer will develop a custom look for the pages. That process is scheduled to get underway on August 18, which means I’ve got a week to finish everything on my end. (I keep telling myself, “No problem!” … but then I waste time by looking it up on Amazon!)

After that, I’ll see page proofs. At that point, there’s very little room for change. Basically, it’s a final chance to catch any mistakes. I really have to do my best to catch them now, this week, so we don’t have to make changes at the last minute.

Once everything is done in production, the book will go off to a printer – probably in China. It should be in the publisher’s warehouse in January, 2009, and in bookstores by February.

You can pre-order a copy now, if you like. Amazon even has a special offer, which will lock in the low pre-publication price they’re advertising of $13.57. Apparently, the cover price isn’t set in stone yet … but I think it’s going to be worth every penny. In fact, I’ve already pre-ordered my copy … because I read somewhere online that it’s going to be good.

Llewellyn’s Flickr Images

Queen Oonagh

Originally uploaded by Llewellyn Worldwide

Llewellyn has posted 200 tarot card images on Flickr, here. So far, they’ve got images from the Fairy Ring tarot, the Celtic Dragon tarot, and the Llewellyn tarot — along with links to their free online tarot readings.

Ning, ning, ning!

In my head, it rhymes with, “Ding, ding, ding!”

View my page on Readers Studio NING

Happy Birthday, Pamela Colman Smith!

Pamela Colman Smith — the artist who painted the Rider-Waite Tarot deck — was born 130 years ago today.

Mystic Faerie Workshop

I’m organizing a workshop with Barbara Moore, the author of the Mystic Faerie Tarot Guide. The workshop will be held in Minneapolis, but I’m trying to think of an easy way to get it on the internet, too.

Should I try to videotape it and upload it to the web? I’d like to, but it seems like there’d be a pretty steep learning curve. Should I tape record it and simply upload the audio, like a webcast? I have a digital recorder and software for something like that. I’m just not sure what I might try.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Here are the details about the workshop itself:

The Mystic Faerie Tarot Workshop

Saturday, February 16, 3 p.m.

One of the Twin Cities Tarot Meetup’s newest members, Barbara Moore, is also one of the country’s leading tarot experts — and she’s agreed to conduct an exclusive workshop for us on her newest publication, the Mystic Faerie Tarot. This is really exciting! I think we’re lucky to be living in an area that has so many movers and shakers in the tarot world!

Barbara is the widely acclaimed author of three tarot books: What Tarot Can Do For You, The Gilded Tarot Companion, and, of course, the Mystic Faerie Tarot guidebook .

The Mystic Faerie tarot is an enchanting deck, featuring beautiful watercolor artwork by fantasy artist Linda Ravenscroft. Barbara helped plan and develop the deck, which features a magical faerie tale for each suit and original faerie-themed spreads.

During her workshop with us, Barbara will focus on some of the unique spreads she’s developed — including a few that aren’t in the book. She’ll also have signed copies of the deck and book available for purchase.

To guarantee your place at this workshop, please use the PayPal link to pay in advance. There’s even an incentive to RSVP right away: the first three people who register and pay for this event will get a free Mystic Faerie Journal.

Barbara’s Bio

The tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore’s personal and professional lives for more than a decade. She served for several years as the tarot specialist for Llewellyn Publications. She is a Certified Tarot Reader through the American Tarot Association and she has spoken at tarot conferences around the United States. Barbara’s articles on the tarot have appeared in several tarot publications and in Llewellyn Publications’ “New Worlds of Mind and Spirit” magazine. She also sat on the Tarot Journal editorial board. Barbara’s own education in the tarot has been broad and enlightening. She has studied under renowned tarot scholars Mary K. Greer and Rachel Pollack, and she has taught the tarot to all manner of would-be tarot readers.

The New Room

I’ve mentioned in the last few posts about my move to a new office. I didn’t actually “move,” in the end … I expanded, by leasing the space across the hall from my reading room.

On Saturday, I hosted my first meeting in the space — a Tarot Meetup. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures during the meeting, but I remembered to take a couple of shots afterward:

Do you see the black bookshelves in the back of the room? Those are the ones that I wrecked my right hand to put together. (It’s much better now, by the way.)

The chalkboard came from Craigslist. The black stacking chairs did, too. They were a steal.

I put some pictures of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on top of the bookshelves. A classroom just isn’t a classroom without a couple of presidents.

Here’s a view of the other side of the classroom. My tarot reading room is right across the hall; you can see my sign on the door.