I’m going to be at Thought Bubble this weekend - a massive comics event in Yorkshire. This is why I’m sending out the newsletter a day early. Tomorrow I’ll be on the road and having adventures and time off and doing fun things.
I’m going to have copes of Hopeless, Maine prose titles New England Gothic, and The Oddatsea with me for a mere £5 each.
Over on the blog I’ve reviewed a fascinating book on Icelandic Plant Magic and I’ve started considering lay Druidry as a possibility - I think this is going to be an important topic for me moving forwards.
I’ve ventured into the illustration side a bit on the Hopeless, Maine website and this week had a go at creating an image for The Squid and Teapot column my father writes. I’ve also had a go at some sealife - https://hopeless-maine.co.uk/2023/11/05/hermits-2/
My substack shoutout this week is for the awesome Bitter Karella who does the most delicious comedy horror. Also known as The Midnight Pals, if you read horror, you should definitely give this a look. If you like the idea of Clive Barker taking snarky potshots at HP Lovecraft, and Mary Shelley with a switchblade, this is definitely for you.
Last week I went to see chaphop star Mr B - he’s very good. I hadn’t seen him live before. if you’re not familiar with his work and would like to be cheered and amused, he’s on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@sgtrock70
On Sunday I had the pleasure of watching my brilliant partner - Keith Errington - reading at Stroud Short Stories. He was one of ten winners picked to read on the night.
https://stroudshortstories.blogspot.com/
You can get this speculative and gothic novel as an ebook from my ko-fi store. Free, or pay what you like https://ko-fi.com/s/eff87fb145
I love the way your art is progressing - and I love the term lay Druidry! For so long, there has been an unspoken assumption in the Pagan community that everyone eventually wants to be clergy (priest/ess/ex, Druid, whatever you want to call it). But that's an unreasonable thing to expect from everyone. And it's absolutely not historically accurate - who do people think attended all the rituals run by Druids and temple clergy back in the day? Being a member of the congregation, so to speak, is a perfectly legitimate way to "do spirituality." I'm glad to see more people discussing it lately.