One of the best ways to get your work in front of people is through readings. I’m not talking about tarot readings - this is about reading excerpts from your book, silly! Even if you’re the shy type, this is something to embrace. Seriously.

Think of it like this: it’s your opportunity to read from your book to a live audience. Once people hear you reading your words in your silky smooth voice (or Midwestern twang like yours truly), they might just be intrigued enough to plunk down the cheddar.

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In this series, I interview mystical authors about their writing practices. I’m delighted to introduce you to Fernie of Golden Mirror Fortunes. He’s a fabulous fortune teller, dear friend, fellow Gemini - and his first book, The Joy of Tarot, is about to drop soon! Yay! Check out his answers to my nosy questions.

1. When did you first realize you wanted to write?

I think I always knew I wanted to be a writer! I remember in 4^th grade, my language arts teacher, Mrs. Klein, had us create our own books, and I drew the illustrations and wrote the story as if it was going to be the next fantasy best seller; suffice to say that while I got an A for the project, the NY Times sadly did not reach out to request a copy for review. Beyond that, when I began Golden Mirror Fortunes, writing was not a huge part of the picture. I wanted to tell fortunes, I wanted to meet people, I wanted to open a store and be like a Charmed sister. However, I started doing readings for some gorgeous people (like Lisa Stardust and Theresa Reed), and they saw something in me that I hadn’t quite taken notice of: a talent for words and writing. Of course, as a Gemini sun, I absolutely love communication and language, so after a bit of hemming and hawing, I got to work on writing – and I’ve never looked back!

2. Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?

As a means to answering this question beyond just a resolute “YES!”, I’d love to chat a bit about a piece I wrote. My first article to be published nationally was in Cosmo magazine and was a personal essay on my queerness and its relationship to Dia de los Muertos. This was an exercise in exfoliation; I got to write about things that were hidden deep within my soul, things that I don’t know that I’d thought about or felt ever in this deep way, and it felt like I was scrubbing myself clean of some cloud of dust that had been obscuring my shine (even if just a little). While I’d always seen communication as spiritual – I mean, we are said to be communing with spirits, after all – it wasn’t until I’d submitted that essay that I felt like the act of writing was not just spiritual in nature but actually could be a spiritual exercise in and of itself. You’ll see this in my upcoming book, The Joy of Tarot, as some of the calls to action include writing, and there’s even journal prompts in there to help you build your own spiritual writing practice, too.

3. Your first book, The Joy of Tarot, is coming out soon. What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

The Joy of Tarot was such a delight to write, and I had a great mentor in Theresa Reed to help me through some of the thornier bits. I’ll start by saying what was easiest to give some perspective: writing about the tarot cards themselves. The formula was set, my knowledge and wisdom on each of the cards felt steady, and I could easily fall into a rhythm when writing them. The most challenging part was when I had to be a little more free-for and think of how to express my voice in a way that wasn’t quite so structured. Some of the stories for the spreads were incredibly challenging in this way – I was going to be painting a picture of a scene from my life, weaving in a reading that I was doing for someone that I love, and making sure that the spread and the cards both were really clear. This also happened again when I was writing the answer key for the essays; how was I going to write my answers in a way that was structured, clear, and precise while also being authentically me? Thank goodness I had a wise little bird helping guide me through this labyrinth – we found our way out to paradise, and I can’t wait for all of you to read the gorgeousness that is the Joy of Tarot, mis amores!

4. What does your writing schedule look like?

Oh my friend, what schedule? Writing happened when it could and how it could. I am currently leading a double life as both an education consultant as well as a fortune teller, and so writing had to happen whenever fate would allow. Thankfully, I’m pretty good at making space and creating time; as a matter of fact, I’m writing the answers to this sitting in my room at the Flamingo Hotel in *FABULOUS* Las Vegas after a tour of the Hoover Dam and before our reservations at the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar’s Palace on the day before my birthday. What a hard life I lead! But honestly, I had to make it work, so I’d either get up super early before work, go to sleep super late after work, or use my weekends to find the time to write. My brain is one of the ones that can shift gears pretty quickly, for which I’m grateful, because it meant I could go from leading a professional development training on how to ensure more quality student engagement to writing about the Star card pretty seamlessly, but I do hope for a more steady writing schedule to someday appear. Maybe that’s just a mirage over the Mojave Desert, though!

5. What advice would you give first-time authors?

Start! Just start. Like now. Open up your little notebook, and write something down – maybe a word that you heard recently that you want to incorporate into your book, maybe an interpretation of a card that you’ve been noodling on and need to untie a bit, or maybe a sketch that you can then translate into language later. The hardest part of writing is actually getting the words out, so I’d say that you just need to get them down on paper first. I also think it’s really important to have mentors in your life that can guide you as you’re writing; writing can be pretty solitary work, and having someone to help you untangle your thoughts is a godsend. Lastly, read a whole bunch. Everything you can get your hands on; language becomes easier once you start noticing how others use it, too. You’re going to be amazing, corazon!

6. What are your favorite writing rituals?

Oooooh, I love a good ritual! Ok, when I would have an afternoon off, and I could actually get into the writing a bit more than usual, I’d do something that really made me feel so fantastically authorly and like I was just IT, mi amor! So, what I’d do is I’d brew myself a cup of tea (Constant Comment if I needed caffeine, mint and rosemary from the garden if I needed decaf focus), spread some yummy jam on some toast or warm up a pastry, and sit down in either my office or my garden, whichever felt more comfortable. I’d then sit down at my computer, and I’d light a thin taper beeswax candle that I got specifically for this purpose, and I’d promise myself I’d write for the entire time the candle was burning. If I needed to stop typing, I had the tea and pastry to make it feel cozy, and if I needed to stretch my legs, I’d either walk around the office a bit, looking out the windows, or go smell the herbs and flowers in the garden. Since the candle was burning, I felt a soft sense of urgency, but it also helped to sharpen my focus so that I could get it done. I highly recommend you try it!

7. How do you plan on celebrating your book release?

With a fabulous party, of course! Where I live, there’s this gorgeous old cinema, and I’m going to host a beautiful soiree there where I’m inviting all of my friends, family, fans, supporters, assorted lovelies, and anyone else who wants to feel the Joy of Tarot! We’re going to have a signature drink (the Joy of Tarot: champagne, elderflower liqueur, and honey syrup), we’re going to have a photo booth where you can don a caftan and a fan in front of the cover of the Joy of Tarot, we’re going to have drag queens and wrestlers, it’s going to be everything! I love a party, and I hope everyone will love this one!

8. How do you process and deal with negative book reviews?

I was a teacher, assistant principal, and school principal for what feels like an infinite amount of time, so I’m used to receiving harsh feedback and recognizing it for what it is. That means that I know that when I get a negative review, hopefully, I’ll be able to glean some sort of feedback that I can use to make my next book better. I also know that this book feels like a part of me, so I’m going to have to make sure that I give myself the time and space to process when the reviews cut deep, as they might. That might look like calling my fairy godmother and having her tell me how silly either the reviewer or I am acting, getting a drink with a friend and venting, or going and working out or gardening to get my body into something so strenuous I can’t think of the review itself. It’s important to keep perspective, however, and remember that I wrote a book, and that negative reviews are all a part of that.

9. What were some of the things you learned about traditional publishing that surprised you?

How supportive a publisher can be! I have had the absolute best experience with Llewellyn. They’ve guided me, given me great support, and have allowed me to both be myself and be a part of their family. I just got back from a tradeshow hosted by Half Price Books and Texas Bookman called NAMASTE (New Age, Metaphysics, and Spirituality Trade Expo), where Llewellyn invited me to be part of their booth. I got to meet the team and the love they showered onto me and the other authors who were there was just spectacular! Before I was with Llewellyn, I worried that traditional publishing might feel too sterile and corporate, but the exact opposite has been true for me – the warmth, care, and joy that I’ve felt has been extraordinary.

10. What’s next for you?

With the Joy of Tarot, we are going on a tour! Starting in September, we’ll be touring major Texas cities and then the US in October, ending with a fantastic Halloween night in NYC. As for the next projects? Mi amor, a lady must keep some mystique about her, hasn’t she? There are a few prospects that I’ve discussed with my publisher that are like little seeds being nourished by the dark soil and being watered with care and love and with some joyous sunbeams dancing across them – when they sprout, the world shall know, but for now, we shall let them germinate. I can say, however, with absolute certainty, that The Joy of Tarot will bring you all so so so much delight, and that whatever comes afterward will be gorgeous and fabulous just the same. As Your Favorite Fortune Teller, I can assure you of that! Los quiero mucho, mis amores!

Bio

Fernie is an education consultant and the sole proprietor of Golden Mirror Fortunes, their tarot and fortune-telling business. They use tarot and magic to help people find their path and ignite their inner glittering flame.

Links

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Every so often, I’ll run across ads for “marketing methods” aimed at authors. “Buy this blah blah blah done for you blah blah blah.” Sometimes these involve AI for concocting content right down to social media memes (don’t get me started on AI). Other times, the seller shares generic newsletter templates with timelines for when to share. They always promise success.

Out of curiosity, I purchased one of these offers for the “low low low” price of $27.00. Naturally, it had an upsell, which I ignored. The information was skimpy at best, and the templates were about as dull as paste. A waste even at the “bargain” rate.

The sad truth is that there are no sure-fire formulas for marketing your book. Those “systems” don’t account for one thing: feelings.

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Hey friends,

It’s book tour time! Which means: I am out of the office this week. While my ambitious side considered working, the reality is that book tours are tough. The focus is on meeting fabulous folks and signing books. Soooo….I’ll be back in your inbox next week with inspiring posts and interesting author interviews.

Until t…

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Much of your book’s marketing falls on your shoulders. Especially once the book has been out for a bit. Publishers have other books to promote, so the window of time when they can pour their resources into your work is short. This doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. Partnering up with other authors is a win/win for both.

Metaphysical readers are not one-note. Most have multiple mystical interests, from astrology to crystals to tarot and dreams, etc. Peek at my library, you’ll see this is a fact. This means authors in our genre have a wide range of possibilities for collaboration.

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For almost two decades, I have coveted a URL: theresareed.com. It’s never been available. Instead, the domain belonged to a couple who had no interest in selling it. Every so often, I checked. They never updated their site, so I wasn’t sure why they kept it. Although The Tarot Lady worked well for my business, I felt like part of my business identity was incomplete.

About two weeks ago, I checked again. I couldn’t believe my eyes - finally, the URL was available! I have never hurried so fast to make something mine. Once the deal was sealed, I pointed the URL to my site. Finally, I felt “whole.”

While this may sound a bit over-the-top, it’s not. Your author brand needs to be as solid as possible.

That means a few things.

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W…

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