Waiting...waiting...and scheming

apple blossom on the Cortland tree

Yes, a new batch of books have been ordered and yes, I continue to take orders and make a nice fat list of who gets a book from the second batch. I haven't heard the ETA of the shipment but suspect it will be about a week.

So I am catching up with the other work of being a subsistence farmer in Appalachia--harvesting herbs, veg, berries and processing all that for the winter.

Also, eating it.

The beautiful kale keeps producing prolifically and I am happy for it.  And the big patch of blackberries in the yard has to be picked pretty much every day.  Tomorrow I start processing apples--they will be cleaned, peeled, chopped and frozen for hard cider a little later in the season.

Mmmm cider.

And I am booking some book talks here and there.  I'm waiting to hear from Malaprop's and Blue Ridge but have a gig at City Lights in Sylva at the end of August.  Lots of sweet reviews are flowing in and there may be one in Rapid River, in the August magazine.

I'm already scheming about how to spend some time in the high country, talking to old folks and to practitioners of the kind of work I do.  Drinking some strong coffee and setting on the porch.  I hope I can make that happen sooner rather than later.

If you are waiting on a book--thank you for your patience.  And if you'd like to order a book, well, let me know.

and I peeked around the corner--there were more people

Hi, all. I'm trying to get my life back to what passes for normal and catching up with blogging is one of my happy chores.  I wanted to tell you all about the launch party on Friday night--it was worth all the nail-biting of publication to be in that happy crowd, reading from this little book.

I arrived with husband, daughter and friend around 5 to set the bookstore up for the party. We set out food on the table that Lewis had set in the back and put the iced tea in the fridge to chill a bit longer. People started arriving soon after and all the chairs were filled when Patrick introduced my near 6:30.  I talked for a bit about the making of the book, read a couple of passage and then answered questions.  When everyone was tired of hearing me talk, I went to a different table and started signing books.

I had no idea how many people were around the corners of the shop--people I couldn't see from my perch in the front of the chairs.

That was especially nice.  In a way, it must be sad for famous authors who only scrawl their name in the front of the book.  I knew many of the people who stood in front of the table and it was my delight to say something very specific to them about how we knew each other. It was like signing yearbooks in high school--except: no high school.

We sold out of the first printing of this first edition but more are on the way from the publisher. And now I can think about more ways to get the word out about this little book.

I've had some nice reviews from friends and colleagues--

"Nearly finished reading Staubs and Ditchwater by Miz Byron Ballard. I love it SO much. Practical, powerful home-grown wisdom."  Rose


 "Love the book! I can hardly put mine down. I certainly hope you'll be writing another. 


Funny, thoughtful, and informative. Not to be missed. A must have! Thank you so much!" 


Mari

Today is the Day

and it's a good day for a launch party, don't you think?  I'm supplying many of the treats so my friend Star and I will be chopping up vegetables for a nice tray and I'll make some ham biscuits and sweet tea.

The Moon Pies were acquired yesterday.

In addition to catering, I've also been thinking about what to say when I'm introduced tonight.  Who I want to acknowledge and thank, what I can say about the journey from practicing folk magic to writing about it.  I have a little list of people--some of whom will be there--but I want to have it in my head about what I say about the process.  I could trust to chance--but who knows what would come out of my mouth?  I think I'll be too excited and freaked out to be wholly reliable.

Orders are now coming in and I am filling them as quickly as I can. My dining room table has become the Staubs and Ditchwater Order Fulfillment Center and I'm grateful to have such a nice problem.  I've mailed out almost all of the pre-orders--I needed a couple of addresses but those are in hand now and the remaining 3-4 will go out today.

I've had the enviable position of wondering if I'll have enough copies for the launch tonight.  Accent on Books only has one copy left of the ten I left on consignment, and I only have 35 copies left of the initial print run.  The publisher is ordering more on Monday, so running out of copies tonight would be kind of nice actually.  Especially if we run out as the last person who wants one today gets her copy.

If you're out and about this evening in the Asheville area, come by the store at 854 Merrimon Avenue and have a snack and a sip of tea with us. I, for one, am planning to have fun.

Signing and Mailing

At my little table, signing the pre-sells.

I've been feeling like a "real" author these days.  Which is funny considering I've been writing for years, have been published in all sorts of places and had plays produced locally ad regionally. But there's something about holding a little book in your hand--one that is all yours--that feels different.

All the people who believed in me enough to pre-buy the book--even before it went to the publisher--deserved a little something extra.  So I made handmade bookmarks as a thank you.  Each bookmark has a pendant that is a red dirt talisman.

So preparing the books for shipping was about signing them, creating a bookmark, making a cute shipping label, wrapping the book in tissue paper, tucking the bookmark in, popping it into a mailer, then going to the post office.

Which I did today.  Well, the post office part.  A really nice postal worker named Rick chatted to me through the whole--one by one--process. It was a great pleasure to have them on their way to the good folks who were waiting for them.

There were several to be hand-delivered and I've started that process, too.  But for now, I am focusing on Friday's book launch party.

It's in My Hands---and Out the Door

I picked up a couple of boxes of books from the publisher a couple of days ago and am now fulfilling those pre-pub orders.  I thought I was more or less ready but am finding that there were several more things I could've done to get ready for this wild rush.

I had acquired padded  mailers and counted them out.

I had printed out labels, but hadn't addressed them.

I had started the red dirt talismans but still had to pour the liquid resin in.

I had designed the bookmarks but hadn't figured out the text. Or printed them out.

I had chosen a date for the launch party but hadn't created a poster.

It's been a bit hectic--but in a nice way--around here.  I'm spending the rest of today tucking a wee bookmark into each book, signing it to the person who purchases it, wrapping it in some tissue paper and sealing it into its mailer.  Then the label. Then the post office.

And it is all great fun.

Launch Party info

Accent on Books is pleased to celebrate H. Byron Ballard's book "Staubs and Ditchwater: a Friendly and Useful Introduction to Hillfolks’ Hoodoo" with a launch party on Friday, June 15th at 6PM. The book is Ballard's first and is published by Silver Rings Press. Ballard will speak about the process for creating "Staubs and Ditchwater", read a little from the book and copies will be available for purchase. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact the bookstore at 252-6255 or info@accentonbooks.com. Accent on Books is located at 654 Merrimon Ave, in north Asheville.

Announcement of Publication--Ta-da!

Silver Rings Press, an imprint of indie publisher rENEGADE pLANETS pUBLISHING, Candler, NC, is pleased to announce the publication of “Staubs and Ditchwater: a Friendly and Useful Introduction to Hillfolks’ Hoodoo” by H. Byron Ballard. Ballard, a popular blogger and essayist, is a western North Carolina native whose work has appeared regionally and nationally.

The book—part memoir and part instructional primer—is an entertaining introduction to southern Appalachian folk magic.

Ballard leads local and regional workshops on these traditional practices and techniques. After much thought and conversations with a wide range of people, she decided to share some of this information from, in her words, the fading traditional cultures of the southern Highlands. She found that there is a hunger in both the dominant culture and in her spiritual community for authentic information on this subject. She did some research, talked to some home-folks and created a series of workshops based on what she’s learned and practiced over the years. This little book—drawn from the workshop series-- gives the student a good over-view of techniques, history and a glimpse into the culture from which they all flow.

Available June 15, 2012, this book may be ordered through the author at www.myvillagewitch.com, byronotthepoet@gmail.com.

Ballard is a witty and engaging speaker, so if you’d like to book a reading with her, she’d love to discuss that, too, at byronotthepoet@gmail.com. 828.216.8961

Green Folders Full of Information: Press Packets Are Us

Hi, all!  A quick note to give you the update on the little stinker of a book.  We checked out the proof earlier this week and had a few things to tweak.  I am hopeful it will be uploaded to the printer in good time--perhaps before the weekend.

Last week I spent many days enjoying myself at the Pagan Unity Festival in middle Tennessee.  I talked about the little book and handed out my hand-made handouts--colorful tracings of my hand with the book info in the palm.

It's one of my little jokes.

Before I left for the festival, I created some fat press packets to deliver to a couple of local bookstores.  They contain a press release, some bio information, a photo, reviews/blurbs of the book and ordering information, a Moon Pie--all tucked into a pretty green folder.

They are great fun to make.  I'll create a half-dozen more and send them to stores out of the area.

I'm starting to arrange library talks--one so far. I hope they'll host me at the Enka-Candler branch since that's where I grew up.  And at the West Asheville branch--where I spent most every Saturday morning.

We designed the shipping label for the books that are being mailed out and I'll start prepping those tomorrow.  I pre-sold several more copies at the festival and need to make a few more of these super-cool bookmarks.

In other words--so far, so good.

Got It Covered...sort of

 It seemed so simple. Easy. Gentle.

This lovely cover was designed ages ago by my formatter and friend, Dio.  I even have it on a 7-day candle that I use for my Village Witch displays.

But it was a little stinker, as we say around here.

When the "back matter" had been added and the allowance made for the spine, there was a problem with the trim line and the text being too close to it.

Mercy.

So it took some time to solve that little dilemma.  And I worked on my patience for a bit.

la la la  drum, drum, drum (imagine me with my elbows on the table, gazing out the window, drumming my fingertips...)

I have so much to learn about patience and trust and this little book has been an awfully good teacher.  I hope you learn as much from reading it as I have from going through the process of publishing it.

Lawsy.  Keeps my gratitude spout wide open though.  Nice to remember there are good people and great kindness in my little corner of the big world.

Trailer Trash? I Don't Think So

Donna of Authentic Hearts Productions is a member of our women's marketing collective, To Market, To Market.  At a recent meeting she asked if I'd be interested in creating a book trailer for the little book.

Would I?  Yes!

Now, what the heck's a book trailer?

So I did some research (which included watching many book trailers) and discovered that it's a promotional opportunity, very similar to a movie trailer.

We set up at Accent on Books, a great indie bookstore. Here's Donna, making some stills before we started the video part.

I did several mini-tutorials on different aspects of my work and even did a little plug for the book.

The stuff Donna got today will go to her editor-friend and I'll post the bits and pieces when they get to me.

It was great fun!

Back in the Saddle...again

I was out of town all last week and have spent the last 36 hours catching up on correspondence and sleep.  The little book is having its cover tweaked and I am holding myself in patience.

I don't do that but so well, to be truthful.  But I think it's a book worth waiting for and I want it to be as right as it can be.

I am very grateful to my formatter and to my publisher--both of whom are keeping me sane and assuring me it will come out.  It really, really will.

Writing a book is a very interesting process.  I do a lot of writing, in all sorts of places.  But when I started this project, I really wasn't sure I could finish it.  I mostly do short pieces, you see, and this was a lot of material to fit between two covers.

The last minute adjusting and rewriting of one of the chapters was an adrenaline rush and it also leaves me with a portion of the book that will feel a little new to me. I think that will be delightful.

There are a couple more manuscripts in my personal pipeline.  One is nearly finished--Earth Works: Ceremonies for a Changing Earth. That's its working title. And I'm thinking it would be fun to do a flip book based on my workshop The Joy of Hex: the Nine Levels of Willful Bane.  The first half of the book could be that and then you turn it over and there's another book at the back. It would be the opposite--workings on nourishment, self-care and blessing.

I'm partial to the word "wort" for that title.

Getting Organized

An outdoor display of Village Witch products and such. Note my comfy chair in the background--it has a canopy!

I bought a little green spiral notebook a couple of days ago and am making lists of where to go and what to do and...well, all that stuff.  The little book is finishing up getting formatted and I still don't have a photo for the inside. But I am very, very grateful for the wonderful comments people have made for the back of the book.  I feel a little like Sally Field at the Oscars that time--you like me!

One of the lists in the green notebook is a to-do list--making a marketing plan, a media kit, finish printing labels so I can ship out the books as soon as they arrive.

Another page has a to-go list.  I know I want to have a launch party at my old bookstore Accent on Books but where else could I go to talk about the book and sell a few copies?  Waynesville, Mountain Home, Johnson City, Sylva?  How far do I want to drive and how many times do I want to talk about this?  I'd love any suggestions from you, generous readers.  Do you have a favorite bookstore that hosts events?

So, tomorrow morning I'm getting a haircut, picking up printer cartridges and folders (for the above-mentioned media kit) and thinking about putting out an edition of my newsletter "From the Edges and Hedges" focused on the little book.

a Photograph

In this age of immediacy and instant gratification, making a photo of the author isn't such a big deal.

Is it?

I am hoping to achieve this task today, if the weather cooperates.  We'll do some shots in the garden and near the hive and perhaps at the workbench (that's why a need some sunshine--our porch is pretty dark on a cloudy rainy day).

My book designer says an action shot is best--wrapping an egg or whupping up some hoodoo. With everything about this book and about my public persona, I am striving to be honey without being condescending, to be real and not pander to a stereotype I detest. So, no poke bonnet. No corn cob pipe. No brown jug with XX on it. Over at the Facebook page, I'm going to post a few choices and let you all pick which one to use.

The book formatting is nearly complete, I think.  The rewriting went well and it's a stronger book for having done that. Oddly enough, I am already thinking of the next one and when it should be released and all sorts of things I've learned in this process.

Next on the list is a media packet for potential bookstores. Avec photo.

Probably not one of these, I'm thinking:

I'm Back-pedaling as Fast as I Can

Oops, roadblock!

Not really. The formatting is almost finished and one of my readers said she felt like the last chapter ended too abruptly. It was like hitting "a brick wall."

Yikes!

In practicing this non-attachment, I do still have moments where I am very...er, attached. Or so it seemed last night when I couldn't think of any way to do more or better or...anything with that chapter.

And then I went to sleep and that was refreshing.  When I woke this morning, I sat down here at the computer and started the addition/rewrite.  Finished it up at noon and sent it back to the formatting Fae.

Whew!

But in an odd way, it made me feel like a "real" writer (which I am, of course). Those final edits can be challenging, as many writers will tell you.  Just when you think it's safe and ready to go out into the world, there's a sudden abrupt halt, and maybe a change of direction.

All tidied up for now and non-attachment setting lightly on my shoulders. I finished up the mini-bio and what's-this-book-about text for the back cover and re-read the beautiful kind blurbs that others have written about the little book.

Cheered me right up.

Bit by Bit

I still have some writing to do!  Yep, there's a little paragraph that needs to be put together for the back cover and I'm going to get that to my formatting Fae, Diotima, sometime tomorrow.  Several sister-writers have given me very kind blurbs about the book and they will also be on the back cover.

The cover!  We still have a few of the incidentals (Glossary, Bibliography) to do, but it's all very close.

How blessed I am with good friends and allies.Together we're spinning quite a tale with the little book.

This spinning wheel is part of the Old Bethpage Village Restoration project.

Goodness! Before you know it, we'll be booking launch parties and book signings.

Revisiting the Essays

This little book has alternating chapters. There are chapters on folk magic and in between there are essays--most of which have been previously published.  I included the essays to give readers who may not be from around here a sense of what our culture is really like.  Not what they think it is from Deliverance or the Beverly Hillbillies.

In editing tonight, I got the chance to read those essays with a fresh set of eyes. It was nice to enjoy the stories in them and to remember what prompted me to write them in the first place.

In the midst of this editing, I'm remembering how much of my self and experiences have gone into the making of it.

That must be why I'm so excited to think of it being published.  I hope you all are, too.

Recycling Mailers and Digging Red Clay Mud

Hi, all!  We're having some good soaking rain here in the southern highlands and it means the garden has to wait a bit.  I got broccoli planted on Friday but still have cabbage and romaine to set once the ground is not a mud hole.

When you get to read this little book, you'll find that I do my best to stick with traditional Appalachian materials but occasionally I make a little "borry" from another hoodoo tradition.

Brick dust (or redding) is one example.  Redding has a lot of practical uses for protection magic and for healing.  But here in the mountains we didn't and don't use a lot of bricks, except for important buildings in the community--courthouses, churches and the like.

But what we do have in abundance is dense red clay soil--the bane of laundry-doing mothers everywhere.  So instead of grinding up bricks to make redding, I'm digging wet red clay--red clay mud--drying it naturally and then putting it through the mortar and pestle to grind it fine.

With all this rain, it's a perfect time to harvest red clay--and there's a nice patch of it just across the road on the empty lot.

A rainy day is also a good day to peel old labels off these nice recycled mailers.  Those of you who have pre-ordered the little book--and thank you!--will see it arrive in a pre-used, padded manilla mailing envelope--courtesy of Accent on Books.

It's something you'll read more about in the little book--using what's at hand, what's readily available and what's inexpensive.

There's my mason jar of redding, with its funnel cap, courtesy of my friend Ebiaz.

Mailers...Next, Labels

The little hoodoo book is being published by a local publisher--Silver Rings Press which is an imprint of Renegade Planet Publishing. It's owned by a friend of mine and I'm helping out by handling the pre-orders for the book.

I actually love it. I get to interact with the very first people who are interested in owning my book.  I get to blog about the process and set up a Facebook page and start to think about a limited book tour.

Today found me at Accent on Books--the lovely indie bookstore where I worked for 15 years--to ask about used mailers.  Yep, I picked up a big pile of padded mailers to ship my book and its special bookmark to the folks who have ordered it. I'll need to pull the old shipping labels off and put on my nice green Village Witch labels.

Then I wait for the book to finish its formatting journey and head off to the printer.  I think I have enough to keep me busy, don't you?

some of the practical parts of Sunday's Willful Bane workshop

Talismans for Luck...and some special bookmarks

This is one of the Travelling Talismans I make for clients and friends.

One of the things I love to do is make red clay talismans--red clay/redding is a "borry" from other hoodoo traditions. You may have heard it as brick dust but I decided to try my hand at making red clay dust. Red clay is a near-ubiquitous part of our mountain land...in fact, there's a nice shiny patch of it in the empty lot across from my house.  I'm planning to raid it sometime tomorrow.

I'm going to create a special bookmark that has a red clay talisman attached to it, for all the people who pre-order the useful little book.  An extra incentive to get an order in before the official publication date.

Moving Forward & Backward in Time

The idea for this little book came from a series of workshops I did last year on traditional Appalachian folk magic.  I've taken practices I remembered from my childhood in the mountains--practices I still practice, as a matter of fact--and put them into a fun and useful form.  Then I invited folks here in Asheville, North Carolina to learn a little about these old ways.  They aren't fancy but they are effective and people seemed to have a good time learning about them.

That's the backwards in time part.

The forwards in time part is that so many friends and colleagues have like the Facebook page for the book and I am terribly grateful. I've started the process of the pre-orders and tomorrow I will spend some loving time sending a note to each person who wants a book.  I'll promise them a unique bookmark--it has a red clay talsiman on the end.  I'll get their mailing address.  And I'll give them the PayPal info so they can do that part, too.

I figure we don't really understand time and so I may move back and forth for a while here as I catch you up with where I am now and we walk together into the future life of "Staubs & Ditchwater."  Thanks for starting out with me on the journey.

 This is me, being silly at the HillFolks Hoodoo: Divination workshop.

a new blog about a new book

I do regular blogging on another site as Asheville's Village Witch. Now, I'm making a blog about the process of creating my new--and first--book.  It's called "Staubs and Ditchwater: a Friendly and Useful Introduction to HillFolks Hoodoo". The book is being formatted now and will be available soon and I thought it would be fun to chronicle what happens after the writing is done.

Here's the cover: