S.J. Reisner's Blog, page 75

Another Lifted Blog Prompt

Yes, I’m lifting blog prompts again. Can’t help it – I run across them and think to myself, “Hey, I have something to say about that.”

Today’s lifted blog prompt is about a writer’s image.

As the ‘celebrity’ networking, blogging, twittering rules go — don’t talk smack about others, don’t be a downer, don’t constantly talk about things you dislike or bad things that have happened to you, don’t get too personal, try to make others feel good about themselves, and respect others. These are relative...

A Woman’s Worth

In the past few days I’ve found myself in several discussions about what it means to be a woman in the United States.

Evidently some conservative women now believe that us liberal feminists (neither of which are bad words unless they escape the lips of a conservative) are down on stay-at-home-moms and are somehow marginalizing the job of being a wife and mother all because some women rolled their eyes at Mitt Romney’s wife running around the country speaking to issues of “working mothers”.

The...

Who’s Your Daddy?

I think I posted once, many months ago, about how we can sometimes end up guilty by association. With social networking, and especially with people like me who use social networking to reach the widest audience possible, I have no doubt many of us are unfairly judged by who we may have chosen to “friend” or even “unfriend”. I have people on my FB who are members of certain groups disliked by other groups, and FB friends who are ex-members of this group or that group. Today, in a group I help...

Leading Horses to Water…

One thing I've learned over the years is you really can lead horses to water, but you can't make them drink.  This is especially true when it comes to teaching whether you're training someone for a job or apprenticing a student in magick.  Sometimes the only thing you can do is share the information and let the other person take that information and use it to accomplish whatever it is they seek to accomplish.

Now in some instances you can actually show someone something, but after that the...

Into Darkness

 Into Darkness by Audrey Brice

Magus Elizabeth Tanner has been gifted some cursed magickal items. While trying to break the curse, she and her boyfriend Michael become suspects in a murder they didn't commit. To clear their names they must find the real killer by delving into a dark bdsm underworld where sex magick and the Daemonic meet. Will they be able to find a killer, clear their names, and escape their descent into darkness?

Read an EXCERPT here.

Please note the links below will begin...

Fly-By-Night Competition

I thought I would write a post about competition because I've talked to a few writers recently who are concerned with the sheer number of people who are currently writing for publication. They're afraid that when they finally do publish, their work will fall to the wayside, destined to languish in obscurity amongst the avalanches of published books available.

In all honesty, this could happen. However, you wouldn't be able to blame it on all the fly-by-night authors out there.

First let me...

The Current Model

Kristine Katherine Rusch wrote a brilliant article about the problems the publishing industry is currently facing in trying to adapt to the quickly changing climate of ebooks and the huge influx of indie authors.

She's right. Many of us who grew up in the scarcity model of publishing (I love her terminology) did have a difficult time transitioning to the new way of thinking. I know that once I changed my thinking not only did I find more success with my writing, but my only use for a...

Finding the Write Place

I used to sit at the kitchen island and type my little eyes off, but as I got older that became somewhat uncomfortable. Bar stool chairs hurt my rear and I often found my feet falling asleep. Since I have a laptop I thought to myself, "It goes on your lap, silly. That's why they call it a laptop."  So I started leaning back in my favorite living room chair to write. It was after several months of this that I began to notice a slight problem. See, as a writer there are a few job hazards...

The Essence of Creation

The Essence of Creation is the Path of Ptah. It is the path all magicians traverse whether they realize it or not. It's the same path artists, musicians, writers, and others who create also travel. It is the path of becoming;  of manifestation.  Those who create manifest their own will. They create their own realities and destiny.

Real magicians create.  It is this creation that is the biggest argument for the modification of magick. Well that and the premise As Above, So Below. After all, if ...

Keys of Ocat: A Grimoire of Daemonolatry Nygromancye

This is the official announcement.  Coming from Nephilim Press…

Keys of Ocat: A Grimoire of Daemonolatry Nygromancyeby S. Connolly

The Keys of Ocat reveals the never before published Saturn rites, seals, and theophantic gate opening rituals of Ocat, the abyssal gatekeeper of the dead. Behind His gates dwell the Daemons of death including Euronymous, Balberith, Bune, Hekate, Frucissiere, and many others. These blood magick rituals, talismans and seals will aid the advanced magician in conjuring ...