MISTI-Con 2013, Quietus 2016, and writing, of course

Kind readers,

let me begin by saying that MISTI-Con 2013 was incredible. It was a privilege to attend this convention, and it was the most fun I have ever had at a Harry Potter convention. I was never more relaxed, or happier, during a convention. I am in a good place, spiritually and emotionally, at this point in my life, which no doubt had a lot to do with how joyful I was during MISTI 13, but it was also the kind of event I find particularly appealing.

I am happy to say that there will be another MISTI in 2015, and I shall definitely be returning to New Hampshire then!

Photograph by The Enthusiasts

To see more of the wonderful photos that were taken during MISTI 13, take a look here

Ah yes, my lecture was filmed!

Take a look here to see it: Occlumency, The Art of Meditation.

In other news, Blessed: How to Be a Joyful Mystic will be on amazon soon… There was a small delay due to a minor problem with the cover (the title was too close to the edge). I have alas had to make Ben’s beautiful illustration a little smaller as a result, but I have received a copy of the revised version, and it still looks wonderful.

As soon as it is on amazon, I shall let you know. In the meantime, it is available in my bookstore, should you wish to acquire a copy.

I have other exciting news for you! I have decided to organize my own small convention dedicated to the introverts of the Harry Potter fandom… This event will take place in 2016, and will be called Quietus. I already have a website for it: Quietus 2016. The convention will be very intimate and communal, without too many logistics. There will be plenty of time to eat and chat, no trying to juggle many activities… It will be laid back and mystical. Please visit the website for more information! I shall be sharing all the news concerning this project over there. I shall do my very best to make it a special gathering for quiet fans.

So, in the coming years I shall be publishing more books, preparing for MISTI-Con 2015, and organizing Quietus 2016 -all good things Leaky 14 is not in the cards… I shall prefer devoting myself to the projects I have just listed above.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

books and buttons

Kind readers,

this week, my dear friend Rik Potter published his book The Boy Who Lived: Magical Spirituality in the Harry Potter Universe He will be signing copies of it at MISTI-Con (where I shall get mine!).

You can also buy it online:

It includes my short article, “Wise as a Serpent: How Professor Snape introduced me to Neo-Paganism.”

In other beautiful news, my new Snape coat, fashioned for me by my talented friend Nezumi, has arrived… I shall be wearing it for the first time at MISTI.

Here I am, modelling it a little. Of course, I tried it on the instant I took it out of the box! And the coat fit me perfectly.

My copies of Blessed: How to Be a Joyful Mystic arrived the other day, so I am officially all set for the book signing! I shall also have copies of The Severus Snape Paradigm: Outcast, Rebel, Hero on hand.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

stockpiling bottles of ink

Kind readers,

MISTI-Con is getting ever closer… I am so looking forward to seeing many loved ones at this event!

In the meantime, I have been establishing a writing schedule for my upcoming projects.

This summer, I shall be working on The Magic of Love; I believe I shall be publishing it around October or so.

My dearest Ben Wu has already done the illustration for the cover, which I shall share with you now:

I am, as always, thrilled with the result! It is most inspiring. I always love what Ben does.

While I am writing The Magic of Love, I shall also be working on the first draft of my novel Outlaw in the Land of Perfection:

I am very hopeful that I could have the novel finished in time for Leaky 2014 (if I do attend the conference in question!).

Once I have published The Magic of Love, I shall get to work writing A Princely Calling: The Mystical Secrets of Severus Snape. Once again, my goal would be to have it ready in time for Leaky 2014.

I have the table of contents for Princely Calling figured out. Here it is:

the serpent

the dungeons

the robes

the cauldron

the knife

the goblet

the wand

the hands

the eyes

the heart

the prince

Thus, my quill will be quite busy in the coming months, all the way up to next summer! The work will be slow (in a manner of speaking), yet steady, so that I do not burn out

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Blessed is here, and Leaky Con 2014

Kind readers,

it is one thing after another these days!

First, today I learned that Leaky Con is going to have another convention in Orlando, in 2014, to celebrate the new additions to the Wizarding World.

I have not even starting packing for MISTI yet! Which is a month from now, eep!

However, I am already seriously considering going to Leaky Con in 2014. In which case, I would want to have A Princely Calling: The Mystical Secrets of Severus Snape, and possibly also Outlaw in the Land of Perfection if I can manage it, ready by then.

In other news, this morning I received my sample copy of Blessed: How to Be a Joyful Mystic, and approved it. It is now available for purchase here on my website, and in a few weeks, it will also be available on amazon.

I do not know about the quality of the contents, but the cover, illustrated by Ben Wu, looks beautiful!

Goodness. So much emotion all at once lately! I need a medicinal beverage. Or two.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

upcoming titles

Kind readers,

the release of Blessed: How to Be a Joyful Mystic is imminent… I am awaiting the arrival of my sample copy. Once I have received it, and everything looks all right, I shall approve it, at which point it will be available for purchase here on my website. Around a month later, it will be available on amazon as well -I shall be sharing all the relevant information with you here

In other news, my dear and talented friend Ben Wu has kindly agreed to illustrate the covers of my upcoming books The Magic of Love, The Magic of Hope, and The Magic of Freedom. I shall start working on the first, The Magic of Love, soon after MISTI-Con.

In other other news, I have redesigned the cover, and changed the subtitle, of another of my upcoming projects.

Here it is:

I had thought I would write this one in 2014, but it looks like it may well happen sooner. Apparently, I am not finished rambling about Professor Snape yet! Merely gazing at the cover above is giving me one idea after the other.

And, I had some new ink done! It was an excellent way to celebrate having completed Blessed… Here is a picture of it, taken the day after it was done. Once again, Tiffany has done something exquisite for me, and the ink has made me very happy.

Despite all these projects brewing in my head, I shall be resting as much as possible this month. MISTI is almost here! Egad.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

book and buttons

Kind readers,

yesterday, I finished my latest ramble… Blessed: How to Be a Joyful Mystic.

You can read a number of excerpts here.

The book is… Well, I am not sure what it is, as usual! It is an iconoclastic ode to Love and Life. I share my heart, my experiences, my joy. I am cheeky and vulnerable and strong. I question, I discard, I reinterpret, I create. I serenade my loved ones and the Universe.

I shall be proofreading the book in the coming days. Then I shall upload it, order my sample copy, and if everything looks all right, I shall approve it, at which point it will be available immediately here on my website. In another four or six weeks, it will also be available on amazon.

I shall have copies with me to sign during MISTI-Con (May 9th-13th -egad! We are almost there! *runs in circles, hides beneath desk*). I shall be resting a lot during April. I am a bit worn out.

Speaking of MISTI, I shall have a brand new coat of many buttons for the convention… It was made by my dearest Nezumi and her magical fingers.

It is truly a work of art. I can hardly wait to wear it

To celebrate all of this glorious joy, I am getting some new ink next week… Oh, it will be wonderful!

I wish you love, peace, and renewal ♥ -and lots of chocolate eggs!

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

MISTI-Con news, book news

Kind readers,

this winter has been intense in many ways… A lot of snow, a lot of writing.

Blessed: how to be a joyful mystic is almost finished. It should be done by the end of next week. Which means that I shall have copies to sign at MISTI-Con! The book signing will take place at Author’s Alley, in the main events’ tent, May 10th from 6 pm until 9 pm. I shall also have copies of The Severus Snape Paradigm: Outcast, Rebel, Hero on hand, should anyone want a copy.

In other MISTI-Con news, my lecture/meditation session, “Occlumency: The Art of Meditation”, will be taking place on saturday, May 11th, from 10:45 am to 11:15 am, in the Gilford room.

I am getting more ink at the start of April to celebrate having finished my latest ramble. It will look beautiful with the suit and tie I plan on wearing during the MISTI-Con ball… I shall also have a fun and wacky (yet stylish) outfit for the Costuming Superlative Showcase

After the convention, there will be rest, and then I shall work on my first novel, Outlaw in the Land of Perfection. I am really looking forward to that project! And I am looking forward to a slow, warm summer…

I have another writing project that has been brewing at the back of my mind. It is becoming irresistible.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

iconoclasm

Kind readers,

my latest ink has healed very well!

I took a photo of it the other night, after I returned home from a Brahms concert at the National Arts Center:

In other news, I have been hard at work on Blessed: how to be a joyful mystic. The book will be quite iconoclastic.

I am very hopeful that it will be ready in time for MISTI-Con!

And speaking of MISTI, the lecture I shall give there will be called “Occlumency: the art of meditation”. I shall let you know all the details as soon as I have them.

In other other news, the article I shall contribute to my friend Rik Potter‘s book, The Boy Who Lived: Magickal Spirituality in the Harry Potter Universe, will be called “Wise as a serpent: how Professor Snape introduced me to Neo-Paganism”.

And, I have added this quote from the animated series Aeon Flux (a personal favorite I recently reacquainted myself with) to my “About the author” page:

Trevor Goodchild: Whose side are you on?
Aeon Flux: I take no side.
Trevor Goodchild: You’re skating the edge.
Aeon Flux: I am the edge.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

affirmation

Kind readers,

I had some new ink done this week, and I am ecstatically happy about it. The piece symbolizes my vocation: it is two crossed quills with an ink bottle above, upon which is a label with the word “Love” inscribed on it. Beneath the quills is the word “Professor” written in blood red ink.

I am a renegade and cosmic love vagabond.

Here I am in my jammies, the day after Tiffany did the chest piece. She was wonderful, as always, and her art exquisite. My new piece looked even more beautiful than I had envisioned it.

And here it is, closer up:

It hurt, goodness! But it was bearable (only just!). I was so happy after I removed the bandage the next morning… The tattoo was everything I had hoped it would be.

I love my ink manifesto: Hope, Love, Freedom.

I also had a wonderful time celebrating Professor Snape’s birthday again this year (chocolate cake with buttercream icing!). I added a new element to my personal altar, a marvelous and wondrously fragrant handmade candle that was a gift from my dear friend Rik Potter, whom I shall be seeing again in a few months at MISTI-Con.

And now, much writing will be taking place in the coming months! I am ready and prepared: I am inspired, joyful, and grateful.

Oh, in other news, I have added these links on my website, under a new category called “Identity & Affirmation”: Genderfork and Tomboy Tailors; also, information about being an INFJ. I am an asexual and genderfluid kaleidoscope, and a happy one at that.

As I wrote in comments to my latest Livejournal post,

My ink has been one of the means through which I have been expressing how I have been coming into my own, and what is most important to me. What I have found to be most healing and affirming about getting inked is that the pieces and what they represent cannot be removed from me like jewelry… They are embedded in my very flesh. It is magickal, definitely. It is like taking a stand; I have been taking a stand. When I entered my forties, I felt a shift and so much came together for me; not only that, but I knew I was now unapologetic about who I was and what I believed. It was so freeing, in a sort of jumping-out-of-an-airplane way… A breathless joy.

When I got my first piece, Harlock’s skull and crossbones, it was to protest against a certain form of oppression, and all my subsequent pieces have, in part, that quality, which is why I call my ink a manifesto.

2013 is beginning very well!

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

manifestations of Love

Kind readers,

here are warm wishes for you, courtesy of my dear and talented friend Ben Wu.

However you celebrate this season of renewal, I hope your heart will be filled with joy and peace. Each of us is a gift to the world; a manifestation of Love; an incarnation of the Mystery.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor