2025
When I reached out to Asheville Raven & Crone about carrying signed copies of my book, The Art of the Occult, I had to laugh at myself. What was I going to say? “Hi, I’m an author! My book exists! Want some?” But they said yes, and now here I am, promoting myself as a “kinda sorta local author” to Asheville, which feels both ridiculous and perfectly accurate.
(Still waiting to hear back from Mr. K’s, by the way. Call me, Mr. K’s!)
The truth is, I’m not local to Asheville at all. I live hundreds of miles away and visit maybe once a year when I can manage it. But Mary – my sister – chose this place, built her whimsigoth paradise here among the artists and musicians and people still rebuilding after the hurricane. Through her, I’ve gotten to see how this town works, how it holds space for mystics and weirdos and creative people who’ve found their community.
When I thought about it, that’s what the “kinda sorta” qualifier really captures – the way belonging works when you’re a creative person. It’s not zip codes or voter registration. It’s recognizing something familiar in a place, even when you’re technically just passing through.
The Art of the Occult works the same way. While you can read it cover to cover, you can also – as I would highly suggest – open it anywhere and find what you need. Creative bibliomancy, if you will. Like wandering through an unfamiliar city and stumbling upon exactly the right street, you might flip to a page about Symbolist paintings when you’re feeling stuck, or find yourself drawn to automatic drawings when you need to tap into your unconscious. It’s a book made for drifting through, for discovering what calls to you in the moment. The book was written for the seekers and the dreamers – for people who understand that art and magic share the same impulse: the desire to peer beyond the visible world and uncover hidden knowledge. It’s for readers who draw inspiration from weird Surrealist dream imagery and find meaning in inscrutable ancient symbols, who might spend an afternoon in a metaphysical bookshop and feel like they’re coming home. The book creates space for both art lovers and practitioners to explore these intersections – whether you’re drawn to the spiritualist artworks of Hilma af Klint, the mythical images of the Pre-Raphaelites, or just love getting lost in spiral doodles that might hold sacred shapes.
Those kinds of connections – between person and object, between seeker and what they seek – are what make certain places magical.
I think about those antique shops my sister mentioned, the ones that got washed away in the hurricane, “all the little trinkets floating downstream.” Those were repositories of other people’s kinda sorta belongings – things that mattered enough to someone that they ended up in a shop, waiting for the next person to recognize their value.
Raven & Crone feels like that kind of place. The kind where seekers and dreamers might stumble across exactly what they didn’t know they were looking for, or where your book finds the readers who need it most. The kind of place that makes you think, “Oh, this feels right.” Even if you’re only visiting.
Maybe especially if you’re only visiting. There’s something about being a literary nomad – showing up in bookstores and metaphysical shops across the country with your wares – that teaches you to recognize kinship quickly. You learn to spot the places that understand what you’re trying to do with your work.
So sure, why not! I’m claiming my kinda-sorta local author status. My book is there, my name is on copies sitting on their shelves, and for now, that’s enough geography for me.
If you enjoy posts like these or if you have ever enjoyed or been inspired by something I have written, and you would like to support this blog, consider buying the author a coffee?
Hope Hughes says
I picked up your book yesterday, and it is stunning! I can't wait to dive in - there are many of my favorite artists!
Matt and I adore Jeanie Tomanek! She is a good friend, and I'm fortunate enough to own one of her beautiful pieces! I am so happy to see her work in your book!
S. Elizabeth says
Oh my gosh, thank you for grabbing a copy and supporting my writing...and for letting me know! Did you get a copy at The Raven and Crone? I am hoping so because I almost feel like I bullied the proprietor into having an interest, so I'd to to think she's relieved people are buying it, hehehe.