From: A Solitary Path by Evelyn Vaughn "I am so sorry it didn't work out with you and Joe," said Judy. Which might have been sweet if this weren't the fifth time she'd said so. Today. Tobi looked up from half-heartedly tracing a maze on a fast-food placemat. "Ya' know, Jude, I think you're sorrier than I am." Judy nodded, blonde and solemn. "You're probably right." Tobi groaned. "Really! It's just... I hate to see you so alone." Now Tobi groaned loudly. They were in a mall food court; she couldn't spread her arms out for fear of hitting another person. Judy just raised her voice. "You know what I mean. I'm so happy with Bill--what's wrong with wanting the same thing for you? Couldn't you do a love spell or something? You're a witch, for heaven's sake!" Then she said, "Oops," because an elderly couple to their right started clearing their trays. Of course, they might have simply finished eating. "One," clarified Tobi, pointing her ball-point like a tiny wand, "some witches might disagree with you there--rumor has it I don't take the Craft seriously enough. Two, if I were still in the broom closet, I wouldn't be wearing my pent. And three, the best part about dating Joe was it did make you happy. And Mom. And some folks from work, several of whom apparently thought I was a lesbian." They added in unison, "Not that there's anything wrong with that." "Which, by the way, doesn't make sense," added Tobi, snitching one of Judy's fries. "If I were a lesbian I wouldn't be dating nobody--I'd be dating women. Still, though I love you all, I need a better reason than that. Making you happy, I mean. Not dating women." Judy shook her head. "Better reason? How long were you dateless before you went out with Joe?" "Six years," Tobi admitted easily; it wasn't like she hadn't had offers. A gaggle of teenage girls, one table back, blatantly stared. They hadn't been surprised by a witch at the mall, but they were shocked by celibacy? And yet from the leftover buns on their trays--and the look of their bony arms--they were all on that no-carbs diet. To each her own. "And I was perfectly happy," Tobi added. "I'm still happy--more than when I was dating the wrong guy." "Maybe it just takes practice," insisted Judy. As if dating, like sushi, were an acquired taste. "Or maybe we both deserve something more clearly special." "But how will you find special if you aren't even trying?" Simply shaking her head wasn't enough--Tobi buried her beringed fingers and her pen in her curly brown hair to keep her head from exploding. "What I meant was, if I end up with anybody, it should feel special. Special enough that we'll find each other without stressing about it. I'd rather not bother with anything less in the meantime. It's not like there's a hurry. If we don't catch each other this time around, there'll be other lifetimes." Judy stared. "That kind of reasoning may be why the Church ditched the idea of reincarnation in the 6th century." Judy said "Church" with a capital "C" because she was Catholic. But a liberal Catholic. Clearly. "I'm not wasting this life! I have my work, and my writing. I have Habitat for Humanity once a month--and my religion." "Which you practice alone." "I attend some open circles." But she'd observed Beltane, aka May Day, alone. And Spring Equinox. And Imbolc. She'd had fun, too. Punxatawny Phil had featured significantly in her February celebrations. She'd attended an open circle for Yule, anyway. Unable to comment on open rituals, Judy took another bite of her burger. Tobi returned to the place-mat puzzle. Mazes were always most difficult when you tried working from the outside in. "The right guy has plenty of opportunities to come along," she insisted. "Until then, why dwell on his absence--why empower it--by giving up what I do enjoy?" "Like television?" Judy knew her too well. "My favorite magic," agreed Tobi, trying a different entrance on the paper maze. "Why do that, just to seek something that may be premature anyway?" "TV's not real." "Tell that to Ted Turner." Judy widened her eyes in pseudo-patience. "What if this perfect guy isn't real, either?" "What if he is?" Some things she just knew--the same way she knew that words and stories had power and that worlds existed beyond their own. But Tobi knew she could never wholly explain it to Judy. She wasn't sure she could even convince another witch! Tobi's brand of Wicca was eclectic, urban, and so firmly anchored to pop-culture that some of the more traditional pagans she knew, locally and online, dismissed her as a fair-weather witch...even after eight years. Personally, though she understood the pagans' concern about image, Tobi didn't get how a magic user could laud the power of the moment--the Now--and yet scoff at fads. How could someone worship at the altar of ancient myths--literally, even!--while dismissing a mass-media that wove new mythology every day? Very few people, pagan or mundane, could hear Tobi's theories about TV and Dreamtime without questioning her sanity. Lacking substantiality, the astral world was too often mistaken as lacking substance as well. Most magic didn't just work by natural means--sometimes it hid behind them, easily dismissed against more obvious "realities." Busy with everyday life, Tobi rarely thought about him--whoever he was--Mr. Special. But when she focused into herself, she felt their connection as powerfully as she felt the pull of Mother Earth right here in the splashing fountains and ficus trees of the food court. She knew him as surely as she knew the presence of Father Sky through the airy skylights, tinted against the worst of the mid-western sun. Her someone might not exist in this world, but worlds overlapped. She didn't need to find a wooded grove to commune with nature, and she didn't need a Friday-night date to feel loved. By whoever he was. "I sense him," she said finally. "What if I settled for someone else, and wasn't available if he shows up?" "And if you end up alone?" There Judy went with her one-path-to-happiness paradigm. "One, there are worse fates than staying single. Two, I'm not alone. I have friends, family... my cat. I'm not cutting into my life for anything less than magic. And yes" Tobi raised a flat hand to fend off more concerned protests. "I realize that a relationship isn't all magic. But doesn't the magic have to be there at some point, at least early on? Just a little toe curling, just a little 'yay I'm going to see him tonight' shivers?" Just a little swelling background music as their eyes met? "If not, why bother?" Now it was Judy who groaned. "I reserve the right to worry. Especially with you coming and going at night all the time, and that mugger running around loose." "Two attacks in four weeks hardly constitutes a crime wave." "If you were still dating Joe, you could call him if you heard someone breaking in." Tobi doubted anybody would break into her home, as many wards as she'd placed around it. She also had good, solid, mundane locks. "Or here's a thought. If I hear someone breaking in at night, I could call the police." "I just worry, is all," insisted Judy. Again. "Promise me you'll be extra careful until this guy is caught, okay?" Tobi felt so relieved that the issue had moved off her love life, she was happy to comply. "I promise." And as their conversation turned to Judy's new position at work, Tobi smoothly completed the paper maze--by starting at the center and tracing her way out. Not every path had to be fumbled down by trial and error, did it? But she should have had better sense than to watch the news the next night.... |
Annotated TABLE OF CONTENTS After most of the stories is an extra tidbit of information or magic.... Introduction (Yvonne Jocks & Friends) 1. Anytown, USA (Maggie Shayne) (A minister's wife struggles to reconcile Freedom of Religion and small-town values) Spell to Promote Healing & Tolerance in Your Community (Shayne) 2. Angel Web (Carol Lynn Stewart) (Some formulas aren't meant to be executed--but how can an ex-doctoral student convince her physics professor of that before disaster strikes?) Clearing and Grounding (Stewart) 3. A Reverence for Trees (Lorna Tedder) (What can a grieving wife do when both her beloved husband and the Goddess agree that the time for healing magic is done?) Lorna's Calm & Sleep Inducer (Tedder) 5. Psyche's Tears (Charlotte Brisbon) (An open circle at the Unitarian-Universalist Church draws in all kinds of pagans... ready or not) Meg Bradley's Purification Incense (Brisbon) 6. At Midnight in the Garden of the Gods (Pamela Luzier) (A student of Wicca has a harder time finding her totem animal than she'd expected) "I Am" - a poem (Brisbon) 7. The Spelling Error (Jen Sokoloski) (A young witch casts a love spell, but her reconstructionist father may have to deal with the effects) Pagan Family Values (Sokoloski) 8. Tambourine Moon (Zelena Winters) (Can an aging Romani open her daughters' eyes to their "gypsy" blood before it is too late?) Spell for Seeing Your Path of Destiny (Winters) 9. The Letter (Celia Moon) (Sometimes the Goddess asks us to be greater than we think we can be) Magical Housecleaning (Shayne) 10. The Reluctant Psychic (Valerie Taylor) (When is it illogical NOT to believe in magic?) Mom's Charm and Ritual (Taylor) 11. A Solitary Path (Evelyn Vaughn) (An eclectic pagan does a "thought-form" spell for protection... and suspects she has called her soul mate, instead) Star Trek Time-Travel Survival Spells (Vaughn) 12. The Iron Bride (Rosemary Edgehill) (After a long wait--another mystery about Bast, the New York witch with a knack for understanding murder) |
Here is the cover for WORDS OF THE WITCHES, an anthology of short stories written by authors who are either witches themselves, or who are witch-friendly enough to know whereof they write. The anthology is a labor of love, created specifically to fill what some of us felt was an absence of stories about realistic witches and modern magic. It's also a dip into multiple-personality disorder for me. I edited it as Yvonne Jocks (my academic name) and contributed a story as Evelyn Vaughn (the name under which I wrote the Circle Series for Silhouette Books). To be listed with Maggie Shayne, Rosemary Edghill, and Lorna Tedder is a definite honor! ISBN: 0-425-18497-8 See below for: |
Yvonne Jocks Von Jocks EvelynVaughn |
Words of the Witches.... Hear now the Words of the Witches, The secrets we hid in the night, When dark was our destiny's pathway, That now we bring forth into light! --Doreen Valiente |
Here is the cover for WORDS OF THE WITCHES, an anthology of short stories written by authors who are either witches themselves, or who are witch-friendly enough to know whereof they write. The anthology is a labor of love, created specifically to fill what some of us felt was an absence of stories about realistic witches and modern magic. It's also a dip into multiple-personality disorder for me. I edited it as Yvonne Jocks (my academic name) and contributed a story as Evelyn Vaughn (the name under which I wrote the Circle Series for Silhouette Books). To be listed with Maggie Shayne, Rosemary Edghill, and Lorna Tedder is a definite honor! ISBN: 0-425-18497-8 See below for: |
Anthologies and Short Fiction |
Availble August 2002! |
BACK COVER COPY: (A piece of trivia - the book's editor at Berkley, Cindy Hwang, liked the proposal for this book so much, she incorporated it into the back cover copy) Good Witches. Magical powers. Bubbling cauldrons and moonlight rituals. Most people think these exist only in fairy tales and fantasies. Most people are wrong. Welcome to the world of Witches. Here, collected for the first time, are new works of short fiction by modern-day Witches and their friends. These contemporary tales will both entertain and illuminate the reader about the reality of Witchcraft and what modern Magick truly entails. From stories inspired by today's headlines to eye-opening glimpses of little-known aspects of the Craft, from traditional Wiccan practitioners to neophyte Witches just finding their path, WORDS OF THE WITCHES captures the breadth and variety of modern Witchcraft and the everyday women and men who practice it. Including spells, poetry, and bits of Wiccan wisdom gleaned through the centuries, these fictional stories lift the veil of secrecy, superstitions, and misunderstanding about witches. With stories by: Maggie Shayne * Evelyn Vaughn * Rosemary Edghill * Celia Moon * Carol Lynn Stewart * Jen Sokoloski * Zelena Winters * Charlotte Brisbon * Pamela Luzier * Lorna Tedder * Valerie Taylor |
Annotated TABLE OF CONTENTS After most of the stories is an extra tidbit of information or magic.... Introduction (Yvonne Jocks & Friends) 1. Anytown, USA (Maggie Shayne) (A minister's wife struggles to reconcile Freedom of Religion and small-town values) Spell to Promote Healing & Tolerance in Your Community (Shayne) 2. Angel Web (Carol Lynn Stewart) (Some formulas aren't meant to be executed--but how can an ex-doctoral student convince her physics professor of that before disaster strikes?) Clearing and Grounding (Stewart) 3. A Reverence for Trees (Lorna Tedder) (What can a grieving wife do when both her beloved husband and the Goddess agree that the time for healing magic is done?) Lorna's Calm & Sleep Inducer (Tedder) 5. Psyche's Tears (Charlotte Brisbon) (An open circle at the Unitarian-Universalist Church draws in all kinds of pagans... ready or not) Meg Bradley's Purification Incense (Brisbon) 6. At Midnight in the Garden of the Gods (Pamela Luzier) (A student of Wicca has a harder time finding her totem animal than she'd expected) "I Am" - a poem (Brisbon) 7. The Spelling Error (Jen Sokoloski) (A young witch casts a love spell, but her reconstructionist father may have to deal with the effects) Pagan Family Values (Sokoloski) 8. Tambourine Moon (Zelena Winters) (Can an aging Romani open her daughters' eyes to their "gypsy" blood before it is too late?) Spell for Seeing Your Path of Destiny (Winters) 9. The Letter (Celia Moon) (Sometimes the Goddess asks us to be greater than we think we can be) Magical Housecleaning (Shayne) 10. The Reluctant Psychic (Valerie Taylor) (When is it illogical NOT to believe in magic?) Mom's Charm and Ritual (Taylor) 11. A Solitary Path (Evelyn Vaughn) (An eclectic pagan does a "thought-form" spell for protection... and suspects she has called her soul mate, instead) Star Trek Time-Travel Survival Spells (Vaughn) 12. The Iron Bride (Rosemary Edgehill) (After a long wait--another mystery about Bast, the New York witch with a knack for understanding murder) |
From: A Solitary Path by Evelyn Vaughn "I am so sorry it didn't work out with you and Joe," said Judy. Which might have been sweet if this weren't the fifth time she'd said so. Today. Tobi looked up from half-heartedly tracing a maze on a fast-food placemat. "Ya' know, Jude, I think you're sorrier than I am." Judy nodded, blonde and solemn. "You're probably right." Tobi groaned. "Really! It's just... I hate to see you so alone." Now Tobi groaned loudly. They were in a mall food court; she couldn't spread her arms out for fear of hitting another person. Judy just raised her voice. "You know what I mean. I'm so happy with Bill--what's wrong with wanting the same thing for you? Couldn't you do a love spell or something? You're a witch, for heaven's sake!" Then she said, "Oops," because an elderly couple to their right started clearing their trays. Of course, they might have simply finished eating. "One," clarified Tobi, pointing her ball-point like a tiny wand, "some witches might disagree with you there--rumor has it I don't take the Craft seriously enough. Two, if I were still in the broom closet, I wouldn't be wearing my pent. And three, the best part about dating Joe was it did make you happy. And Mom. And some folks from work, several of whom apparently thought I was a lesbian." They added in unison, "Not that there's anything wrong with that." "Which, by the way, doesn't make sense," added Tobi, snitching one of Judy's fries. "If I were a lesbian I wouldn't be dating nobody--I'd be dating women. Still, though I love you all, I need a better reason than that. Making you happy, I mean. Not dating women." Judy shook her head. "Better reason? How long were you dateless before you went out with Joe?" "Six years," Tobi admitted easily; it wasn't like she hadn't had offers. A gaggle of teenage girls, one table back, blatantly stared. They hadn't been surprised by a witch at the mall, but they were shocked by celibacy? And yet from the leftover buns on their trays--and the look of their bony arms--they were all on that no-carbs diet. To each her own. "And I was perfectly happy," Tobi added. "I'm still happy--more than when I was dating the wrong guy." "Maybe it just takes practice," insisted Judy. As if dating, like sushi, were an acquired taste. "Or maybe we both deserve something more clearly special." "But how will you find special if you aren't even trying?" Simply shaking her head wasn't enough--Tobi buried her beringed fingers and her pen in her curly brown hair to keep her head from exploding. "What I meant was, if I end up with anybody, it should feel special. Special enough that we'll find each other without stressing about it. I'd rather not bother with anything less in the meantime. It's not like there's a hurry. If we don't catch each other this time around, there'll be other lifetimes." Judy stared. "That kind of reasoning may be why the Church ditched the idea of reincarnation in the 6th century." Judy said "Church" with a capital "C" because she was Catholic. But a liberal Catholic. Clearly. "I'm not wasting this life! I have my work, and my writing. I have Habitat for Humanity once a month--and my religion." "Which you practice alone." "I attend some open circles." But she'd observed Beltane, aka May Day, alone. And Spring Equinox. And Imbolc. She'd had fun, too. Punxatawny Phil had featured significantly in her February celebrations. She'd attended an open circle for Yule, anyway. Unable to comment on open rituals, Judy took another bite of her burger. Tobi returned to the place-mat puzzle. Mazes were always most difficult when you tried working from the outside in. "The right guy has plenty of opportunities to come along," she insisted. "Until then, why dwell on his absence--why empower it--by giving up what I do enjoy?" "Like television?" Judy knew her too well. "My favorite magic," agreed Tobi, trying a different entrance on the paper maze. "Why do that, just to seek something that may be premature anyway?" "TV's not real." "Tell that to Ted Turner." Judy widened her eyes in pseudo-patience. "What if this perfect guy isn't real, either?" "What if he is?" Some things she just knew--the same way she knew that words and stories had power and that worlds existed beyond their own. But Tobi knew she could never wholly explain it to Judy. She wasn't sure she could even convince another witch! Tobi's brand of Wicca was eclectic, urban, and so firmly anchored to pop-culture that some of the more traditional pagans she knew, locally and online, dismissed her as a fair-weather witch...even after eight years. Personally, though she understood the pagans' concern about image, Tobi didn't get how a magic user could laud the power of the moment--the Now--and yet scoff at fads. How could someone worship at the altar of ancient myths--literally, even!--while dismissing a mass-media that wove new mythology every day? Very few people, pagan or mundane, could hear Tobi's theories about TV and Dreamtime without questioning her sanity. Lacking substantiality, the astral world was too often mistaken as lacking substance as well. Most magic didn't just work by natural means--sometimes it hid behind them, easily dismissed against more obvious "realities." Busy with everyday life, Tobi rarely thought about him--whoever he was--Mr. Special. But when she focused into herself, she felt their connection as powerfully as she felt the pull of Mother Earth right here in the splashing fountains and ficus trees of the food court. She knew him as surely as she knew the presence of Father Sky through the airy skylights, tinted against the worst of the mid-western sun. Her someone might not exist in this world, but worlds overlapped. She didn't need to find a wooded grove to commune with nature, and she didn't need a Friday-night date to feel loved. By whoever he was. "I sense him," she said finally. "What if I settled for someone else, and wasn't available if he shows up?" "And if you end up alone?" There Judy went with her one-path-to-happiness paradigm. "One, there are worse fates than staying single. Two, I'm not alone. I have friends, family... my cat. I'm not cutting into my life for anything less than magic. And yes" Tobi raised a flat hand to fend off more concerned protests. "I realize that a relationship isn't all magic. But doesn't the magic have to be there at some point, at least early on? Just a little toe curling, just a little 'yay I'm going to see him tonight' shivers?" Just a little swelling background music as their eyes met? "If not, why bother?" Now it was Judy who groaned. "I reserve the right to worry. Especially with you coming and going at night all the time, and that mugger running around loose." "Two attacks in four weeks hardly constitutes a crime wave." "If you were still dating Joe, you could call him if you heard someone breaking in." Tobi doubted anybody would break into her home, as many wards as she'd placed around it. She also had good, solid, mundane locks. "Or here's a thought. If I hear someone breaking in at night, I could call the police." "I just worry, is all," insisted Judy. Again. "Promise me you'll be extra careful until this guy is caught, okay?" Tobi felt so relieved that the issue had moved off her love life, she was happy to comply. "I promise." And as their conversation turned to Judy's new position at work, Tobi smoothly completed the paper maze--by starting at the center and tracing her way out. Not every path had to be fumbled down by trial and error, did it? But she should have had better sense than to watch the news the next night.... |
