Category Archives: Announcements

Published in Scavenged Rituals Volume One

My article “The Field Ritual” has been published in Volume One of the new occult zine Scavenged Rituals. The article is an expanded and updated version of this one that I published on Augoeides back in 2016. The Field Ritual is a general or foundational ritual that combines elements from the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram and Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram according to the “field model” that I teach my magical students.

The zine also includes a number of other excellent innovative articles covering aspects of ritual practice from various other contributors, with a fresh look and high production value. I already am looking forward to Volume Two!

Scavenged Rituals does not appear to be available from any of the big online platforms at the time of this post. You can order a copy here.

MASTERING THE THIRTY AIRES SEPTEMBER 22ND!

MasteringTheThirtyAiresFrontBackAll of you have been so patient with me on this, and believe me, I appreciate it. It’s finally time.

Mastering the Thirty Aires will be released September 22nd. Not next year, this year. Like in three days. If you want to pre-order from Amazon, you can do so here. This is Book III of my Mastering Enochian Magick series and covers the system of the Aires or Aethyrs, the final major component of the Enochian magical system received and documented by John Dee and Edward Kelley in the 1580’s. As with the previous two books in the series, I stick with attributions drawn from the Dee diaries themselves but also include various modern techniques such as pentagram and hexagram rituals within the context of a straight-forward ritual template.

The original system of the Aires or Aethyrs was not intended to serve as a sort of scrying map for “rising on the planes” and the like. It certainly can be used in this way, and Aleister Crowley did so to great effect as recorded in The Vision and the Voice. The original intent was for the system to be a complex and highly powerful system of political magick. The various Aires are linked to particular Parts of the Earth, and by opening the corresponding Aire followed by the corresponding Part, the magician can influence events within that region.

The system is interlinked with zodiacal attributions, and thus can be thought of as the zodiacal portion of the Enochian material, with the Heptarchia Mystica comprising the planetary portion and the system of the Great Table the elemental portion. Thus, with the release of this book, my Enochian series now covers the full set of fundamental qualities employed in the practive of the Western magical tradition.

Again, thank you all for hanging in there. It’s been a long road getting here, and I hope you all will find that it was worth the wait.

Written in Blood

My paranormal vampire mystery novel Written in Blood, co-authored with Sheila Marshall, is now available from Moonfire Publishing. Written in Blood is my first collaboration with another author, and I enjoyed the process of putting the book together. It took longer than I expected to get it out and available to readers, but over the last couple of years things have been pretty slow in the publishing industry. At one point we were discussing turning the book into a series (The Northern Vampire Saga, which I still think is a cool title for a series), but for now it is available as a stand-alone novel. 

Here’s the synopsis:

David Killian is an ancient vampire with the power to write the fate of the Northland in his own blood. When he writes the ideal lover and companion into life, he summons artist Kristie Slay from Chicago to the little town of Castle Danger on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Kristie is drawn by the town’s mystery, and the surprise of a new love springing from her past. But she carries with her a hidden secret that may lead to both their undoing.

Interestingly enough, if you drive up the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, you will in fact pass right through the town of Castle Danger. It’s very small, practically an intersection with a couple of stores, but the name is practically begging for some sort of paranormal mystery to be set there. So that’s where we decided to set much of the action of the book. Some of it also takes place in the two of Two Harbors, which is about ten miles down the highway from Castle Danger. Castle Danger is an unincorporated township, so police, fire, and other government functions are handled by the larger town of Two Harbors, the county seat of Lake County. The little town shares its name with the Castle Danger Brewery, which is actually located in Two Harbors.

So if you like vampires, like paranormal mysteries, and would like to explore the unusual setting of Minnesota’s North Shore, pick up your copy today! Click here for ordering information.

What Haunts Us

whu_pic_smallerFor the last couple of weeks my publishing company, Moonfire Publishing, has been finishing up the rollout for our latest title, What Haunts Us by Loren Niemi. Loren is a storyteller who performs all over the country, and What Haunts Us is his first-ever published story collection.

This book was challenging to produce, but if I don’t say so myself the result is pretty outstanding. From a literary standpoint the narrative style comes from performance storytelling, which gives it a fundamentally different feel than your standard anthology of short stories. Some are adapted from existing folklore and others are entirely original compositions. This is a work that has been long in the making, as Loren has been performing for more than forty years. You can check out his website here for more information about him and his background.

One of things we learned in the course of producing this book is that publishing a title directly through Ingram is not nearly as difficult as some authors make it out to be. You do want to have the latest Adobe stuff like Creative Cloud, but if you do the process can be streamlined quite efficiently. I was pretty solid at putting books together for CreateSpace and the new KDP paperback production works pretty similarly, but the advantage with going directly through Ingram is that bookstores are actually willing to order copies through them. Even with Amazon’s “expanded distribution” that’s not really an option.

Loren will be performing tomorrow evening, Wednesday February 27th, at Tillie’s Farmhouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota. If you are local to the area, come by and check it out. It promises to be a good time with opening music starting at 6 PM and Loren’s storytelling starting at 7 PM. He also travels around the country, with his upcoming events posted on his website. If you get a chance to see him, you should – there aren’t a lot of storytellers around any more, and Loren is an excellent one.

Mastering the Thirty Aires Submitted!

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It took a lot longer than I ever expected, but my draft manuscript for Mastering the Thirty Aires has finally been submitted to my publisher. Editing and book production usually run around six months or so, which means that the book should be available sometime next fall.

Mastering the Thirty Aires completes my trilogy of books on the mostly-Dee-purist-with-some-additions system of Enochian magick that I have worked out over the last twenty-five years. It focuses on practical results, and uses what I consider the best interpretation of the material in the Dee diaries for attributions and powers of the all the spirits and other components of the system. It deals with how to use the Aires and Parts of the Earth to effect political change, and also includes some valuable and practical material on zodiacal magick.

I’m looking forward to making this final piece of my base Enochian system available to the public, and will keep you all posted when I have a release date. Thanks for your patience, and I think you will like the final result very much.

Twin Cities Book Festival This Saturday!

tc_book_festivalThis Saturday, October 14th, I will be appearing with Moonfire Publishing at the Twin Cities Book Festival brought to you by Rain Taxi. Click the link for more information about the festival, including directions, maps of the site, and the event’s programming schedule.

The festival will be held at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and runs from 10 AM to 5 PM. Moonfire Publishing will be at table #205, with information about upcoming titles, current titles, submission guidelines, and more. If you are local to the Twin Cities area, or for that matter just passing through, I hope to see you there!

Yes, She Is

promo_5_I_am_resistance_jpg“But you aren’t doing yourself any favors passing around made-up garbage!” I exclaimed “The Resistance has to be about the truth. We can’t just fight the president’s lies with more lies. Have you lost sight of that?”

“Of course not. I’m just trying to be thorough. You do make a good point, though. You’re right that spreading more lies won’t help us.”

“America was founded on the principle of liberty and justice for all,” I continued. I was surprised by the intensity I heard in my voice. “That should be the focus, not baseless rumors or wacky conspiracy theories. Look at everything the president and his administration are really doing. There’s plenty to criticize!”

“Well said,” admitted Felix. “Well said, indeed.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “I don’t mean to pick on you, really. I guess I’m just passionate about the truth.”

A sly smile crept across his face. “I want you to try something. Are you game?”

“Depends on what it is,” I replied. After the whole rubber mask exchange, I had no idea what sort of weirdness he had in mind.

“Take a moment, pretend you’re on television, and say ‘I am the Resistance.’ Can you do that?”

I considered. “Sure, why not?”

“Then go ahead!”

I took a deep breath, centered myself, and spoke the words. “I am the Resistance.”

“I just got chills, Sophia – that was so great!”

I said it again. “I am the Resistance.”

As things eventually turned out, truer words were never spoken.

Trump Card – it’s a terrific novel, I guarantee it. Click here to find out more… #TrumpCard

Kek Will Not Stand

“Godfrey launched into some sort of incantation that I couldn’t understand, swirling the wand in the air as he intoned what sounded like nonsense words. ‘You do know that ‘destroying me’ never ends well, right?’ I pointed out. He ignored me, lost in his conjuration – or whatever it was supposed to be.

“Alan glanced at me dubiously. ‘He’s waving a stick at us.’

“‘I think it’s supposed to be a magical stick,’ I pointed out weakly.

“‘There!’ proclaimed Godfrey, lowering the wand. ‘Her power is entirely neutralized. Now get her!’ Perhaps the funniest thing about the Sons of Kek was that once they set up their memes, their plan always seemed to simply consist of ‘Get Her!’ I wondered if any of them had seen the original Ghostbusters film.

“The six Sons holding the memes remained in place, while the other six charged at us. Tim and Alan adopted karate stances as they moved in, trying to position themselves to defend me. Each landed a solid punch on the first Son to reach them, knocking two of the six attackers to the ground. Two more engaged me directly. As they reached me I could feel the pendant practically burning against my skin.

“I decided to try something I had only seen in the movies. I punched with both hands at once. Each of my fists collided with the face of an attacker, and down they went in a heap. Godfrey’s eyes widened as he witnessed the move. ‘But… but…’ he sputtered. ‘That’s not possible!’ He started chanting again, this time violently rending the air with the eclipse wand. I still felt nothing besides the heat of the pendant.

“Tim and Alan were exchanging blows and blocks with the last two attackers as I stepped out from between them and walked a few paces away. ‘I’m over here!’ I called. As the last two Sons disengaged and turned to strike me, I repeated the double-punch move. Both dropped hard on the ground.”

Trump Card – it’s a terrific novel, I guarantee it. Click here to find out more… #TrumpCard

Trump Card. Yes, Trump Card!


So it’s finally here. This project has been consuming my life for the last several months. But I’m finally done. I have a whole box of copies sitting in my living room, and they look great.

Trump Card is my satirical take on the popular Young Adult Dystopia genre based on current events, particularly the Donald Trump administration. It tells the story of Sophia Sanders, a high school girl from New York with an unusual birthday. When a mysterious pendant transforms her into a “winner,” she becomes a contestant on the reality television series Junior Apprentice in order to oppose the Trump agenda.

While the nation looks on, Sophia and her team compete to win the coveted Junior Apprentice title. A brutal and mysterious brotherhood along with its enigmatic leader stands against her, hell-bent on destroying her chances of bringing the Resistance to life. Sometimes, the only thing a girl can depend on is magick – and a little luck.

Trump Card is available in print, Kindle, and ebook editions. The print version is also available from Amazon and other retailers, but I get the best royalty percentage if you order directly from the CreateSpace link there. If you’re a fan of dystopian fiction, or just find Donald Trump amusing in a horrifying sort of way, check it out!

Pathless Void Print Edition Now Available

pathless_void_cover_smallSo I finally figured out how to get through the whole CreateSpace process, and the print edition of my novella The Pathless Void is now available. For those of you who were asking about a print version, this is it. From the proof it turned out quite nice, and I think you will enjoy it.

I also did some additional edits as I was putting together the print edition, and the ebook versions on Smashwords and Kindle now reflect those changes as well. I think Kindles update automatically, but I don’t have one so I’m not sure. If you bought the ebook already and need to do something to refresh it with the updated version, now would be the time for that.

The print edition should be available on Amazon in a couple of days here along with the ebook, but if you really want to support my writing you should buy it directly from the CreateSpace link above. That gives me the best royalty percentage, since if I sell through Amazon they get a cut of the profits as well.