Book Release Tomorrow!

The Honeybee Bakery is named after Honeybee the Cat

The second Magical Bakery Mystery, Bewitched, Bothered and Biscotti, is officially releasing tomorrow. It’s the story of how Declan and I found a dead body in Johnson Square and the tattoo that led the spellbook club to an ages old secret society and ultimately to a murderer who was after more than a man’s life.

Here’s what Kirkus Reviews said about the book – and my author, Bailey:

“Cates is a smooth, accomplished writer who combines a compelling plot with a cast of interesting characters that are diverse and engaging without falling into simplistic stereotypes…Overall a light, clever and engaging read. Cates’ second Magical Bakery mystery is a charming addition to the food-based cozy mystery repertoire, while the story’s magical elements bring a fun, intriguing dimension to the genre.”

Now, how nice is that? Thanks, Kirkus!

I also wanted to let you know that Honeybee the Cat is over at Killer Characters today talking about what it’s like to be a witch’s familiar. It would have been nice if Mungo had volunteered since I’d love to know what that little dickens is thinking sometimes. Most of the time I can figure it out, though. He’s not exactly subtle.  Ha!

~Katie

Jack Os!

Time to carve those pumpkins and light them up. Everywhere I go the orange orbs leer at me from doorsteps and windows and ledges. Some are downright works of art, intricate designs carved with special tools. Some aren’t even faces, but spooky houses, cats, spiders or whatnot. But I like the classic toothy grins best.

Halloween is the witches’ New Year – a time of reflection and gratitude for the past growing season, and  a time to get ready for the coming dark season of winter. It’s also a time to remember those we’ve lost. Otherwise called Samhain (pronounced Sow-un), it’s the sabbat that falls right between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. And for centuries the Jack-o-lantern has been part of the celebration.

But did you know the original Jack Os weren’t carved from pumpkins? They were mostly carved from turnips! If turnips weren’t handy then beets might be used. But pumpkins were more plentiful in America, and larger, too. Whatever they were carved from, Jack Os were often used as lanterns to light the way on Samhain night. Some people also put them in windows and around homes to scare away bad spirits. Some even believed that the light flickering out from the carved holes could identify vampires.

And the name? Well, Aunt Lucy told me a story about  ol’ Jack. Apparently he was a bit of a thief and lazy to boot, but he was a clever man nonetheless – enough so that he fooled the devil into agreeing not to take him to hell when he died. Problem was, he was enough of a scoundrel that he couldn’t get into heaven either. So after he died, the devil gave him an undying ember from the netherworld which Jack put into a carved turnip to light his way. To this day he wanders the earth with nowhere else to go.

All I know is that I love the soft light glowing from within a carved pumpkin and the faces people choose, whether they’re funny or dorky or scary or freakish. My appreciation of Halloween pumpkins was almost eliminated by a little incident recently, though. Who knew a pumpkin could be so dangerous?

Sorry, though. No spoilers.  My author insists. You’ll just have to read about that story in the upcoming Bewitched, Bothered and Biscotti, which will be out at the end of the year. But if you want to know a little more about how Halloween figures in the book you can check out Bailey’s guest post on Sirens of Suspense tomorrow, October 30.

~Katie
p.s. – If you can, go out and enjoy the full moon tonight! This one is called the Hunter’s Moon  or the Blood Moon. I only hope it doesn’t make tropical storm Sandy too much worse than it already promises to be.

Release Day!

Hi all,

Today is May Day, also known as Beltane. What a perfectly auspicious time for Brownies and Broomsticks to release! And Bailey is guesting over at Terry's Place today, talking about just that and giving away a copy of the book. Just comment on the post to enter.

You can find the first Magical Bakery Mystery on shelves and online, and the ebook is available on Nook, Kindle and Apple ibooks.

~Katie

Humble Parsley

I grew up thinking of parsley as that pathetic limp sprig of green on the edge of restaurant dinner plates or tasteless dried stuff that had been sitting in the kitchen cupboard for a year.

Since then I’ve gained a new respect for his humble herb. 

Of course, parsley has been around for a long time. Even before people ate it they recognized its ability to deodorize. Greeks wore it in wreaths and used it in funerals. 

Ah, but it was those crazy Romans who figured out that chewing a bit of parsley disguised the smell of alcohol on their breath. It’s also a classic way to freshen breath after eating pungent foods like onion and garlic.

That’s why it was on the edge of all those restaurant plates: not just a bit of green that looked nice, but to eat a bit of at the end of the meal so you didn’t walk out smelling like garlic bread. At one time it was also placed among food to protect it from contamination. What kind of contamination, you ask? I have no idea. But the reason it’s a good breath freshener is because of the extremely high chlorophyll content.

The Latin name is Petroselinum which translates to “rock celery”, because parsley will grow in rocks and walls. It’s a biennial, which means it grows for two years then dies. Nowadays parsley oil is used in shampoos, lotions, soaps and perfumes. Dried, it can be used as a dye for food and fiber.

But what about its use in hedgewitchery? Well, first off NEVER cut/harvest parsley if you are falling in love because it’s said that it will end the affair. Antithetically, it is supposed to promote lust and fertility! Go figure. Traditionally parsley has been added to bathwater for purification as well as to prevent misfortune.

So there you go – one more plain Jane herb with a long history and many varied uses. And did I mention it tastes pretty good, too?

~Katie

New Moon and Win a Book

Tonight is a new moon, which is a great time to set new intentions for your life and reaffirm ongoing ones. Just be sure to think in terms of growth – which will be reflected by the increasing moonlight over the new two weeks. So if you’re trying lose weight, for example, set the intention of having more willpower, eating more healthy food, and exercising more rather than focusing on less weight. Then you can reframe the intention to reducing when the moon is full.

For me, at least, it can be easier to think in terms of increasing! Money, love, creativity … or luck! So one thing you might want to think about is winning a copy of Brownies and Broomsticks. The nice folks over at Penguin have set up a Goodreads Giveaway to that effect – and there are 20 copies on offer. So pop on over and enter!

Good Luck! ; >

~Katie

Happy Spring!

Today is the first day of Spring. The Vernal Equinox!

And Oestre!  But I’ll get back to that.

This is the day when the hours of light and the hours of darkness are equal. From here it only gets lighter until the Summer Solstice. In mythology, this is when Persephone returns from the underworld as a young girl, greeted with joy by her mother, Demeter, goddess of grain and crops. In ancient times, winter fires were extinguished, the hearths, grates and ovens cleaned, and brand new fires were lit for the new year.

Symbolic? Yes. But also practical – and perhaps the origin of spring cleaning.

This is the time when spells to find balance in your life, to cleanse your mind, body and environment of outdated or negative influences, and to infuse your life with fresh, hopeful intent. Invite crocus, tulips and daffodils into your home and light candles in pastel colors. Lavender is a lovely scent for this time of year, as is lily of the valley oil.

Okay, now a bit about Oestre. That’s pronounced a lot like “Easter” by the way. In the old times she was the goddess of Spring, celebrated on the Equinox. Spring has a lot to do with fertility and new growth. What’s a nice, fluffy symbol of fertility? Rabbits, of course.

There is a pagan tale in which a bird wanted more than anything to be a rabbit. Oestre granted the bird’s wish. Grateful, the new rabbit, still able to produce bird eggs, returned every Spring during the goddess’ festival and laid beautiful eggs as gifts to express her gratitude for Oestre’s generosity.

Cue the Easter Bunny!

~Katie

Tools of the Trade: Pentacle

Thanks to the talented ladies in my spell book club, I learned there’s a lot more to this five-pointed star than I thought! (I’ll be introducing the spell book club members soon.)

Okay, so here we go: A pentacle is a five-pointed star with a circle around it. The circle represents unity and infinity. The star is sometimes said to represent the five points of the human body: arms, legs, and head (think Leonardo DaVinci) though in some traditions the five points may be associated with love, wisdom, knowledge, law and power – or spirit, air, fire, water, and earth – or even birth, initiation, consummation, repose and death.

Of course, there are more associations, since pentacles have been around since ancient times and in many cultures including Arabian, Greek, Chinese, and European. Also, they’ve been part of most major faiths. For example, to medieval Christians the five points represented the five wounds of Christ and the symbol was thought to protect against demons. Pentacles were first documented in Mesopotamian writings. Wow.

The pentacle (or pentagram if the symbol is drawn) has been sometimes misunderstood, but in magical traditions, especially Wicca, it is an important symbol of protection. It’s often used in magical ceremonies, can be worn as an amulet, or even hung over the door of the home to protect those within.

When used to work magic it’s usually on an altar and the spell is worked over it – so it may be a pentagram drawn on glass, or the practitioner may have an altar cloth with a pentagram woven into it. Pentacles can also be placed at each of the four compass points much like candles would be when casting a circle. In addition to magic and protection, they’re used for meditation.

The symbol’s power is considered feminine, which is one reason why so many pentacles are made of silver. See, silver is a feminine metal which is ruled by the moon. Some pentacles are made of copper, however, which is ruled by Venus.

In the tarot this symbol appears in the suit of pentacles (sometimes calls coins or discs). And since they are connected to the element of earth, astrologers associate pentacles with the earth signs of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn.

Whew!

~Katie