Fall. When the world tilts toward winter, when the evening air grows chill and crisp. Night descends earlier. The space between the stars seems vast, more infinite and beautiful than ever.
It’s Scorpio season, a time of death and rebirth, of transformation. Change is in the air.
There is so much wrong with the world right now. But there is also beauty. Last night, I showed a child the moon for the very first time.
An excerpt from A Rose by Any Other Name
To honor the season, I thought I’d share a brief passage from my upcoming novel. But first, some news. The book I’ve been calling Mistress, the story of Shakespeare’s Dark Lady, has a new title: A Rose by Any Other Name. The projected release date is August 2024. I’ve seen a draft cover, and it’s breathtakingly gorgeous: romantic and shadowy and magical. Preorders should be coming soon.
Like Shakespeare’s sonnets, the novel explores attitudes toward darkness and light. Shakespeare describes his mistress’ eyes as beautiful, raven-black, becoming of their woe. She’s gorgeous, despite the fact that she’s the physical opposite of his fair youth. But he condemns her spiritually by calling her as black as hell and dark as night. Those similes have always bothered me. Why is darkness evil and light good? It’s never been that simple. Even the name of the embodiment of evil in Christianity, Lucifer, derives from the Latin word for light. Evil is a fallen star.
There is nothing inherently good about light, or evil about darkness. Nor is there anything inherently evil about the thinning of the veil. They say ghosts appear on the last night of October, but my heart is full of ghosts all year. I welcome the presence of those I love who’ve left the world. Death is transformation, no matter what you believe, and change is beautiful.
Darkness and light are part of a whole.
In the below passage, slightly edited to remove spoilers, Rose must face the shadows her mother invokes. Her mother, Katarina, is an Italian cunning woman who uses prayer and herbs to cast healing spells and love charms.
Katarina is not afraid of the dark.
Chapter Three
The door slammed shut, leaving our kitchen as still as the frozen marsh. Apart from my mother’s candle, the kitchen was black. I blinked, trying to make sense of what had just happened. In a moment, everything had changed. We were in grave danger.
Mother reached into the pocket of her wrapping gown and pulled out her myrtlewood rosary, murmuring a Latin prayer. “Regina Caeli,” she whispered, “santificetur nomen tuum.”
She stared into the candle flame, eyes narrowed, her expression cold and furious. Just outside the candle’s penumbra, something drew my eye, a subtle movement. The shadows seemed almost to shiver, rolling around my mother in a ring.
It was the second time that day the shadows had drawn attention to themselves. I shuddered, stricken with a sudden chill. Mother was holding a rosary, and her prayer had addressed the queen of heaven, but those shadows didn’t seem holy. Mother’s gaze seemed distant, faraway, as if she were staring through the flame into hell or heaven.
The candle flickered, reflected in her pupils—now orange, now red—making her eyes glow. She put the rosary back in her pocket, her expression resigned.
“Pack your portmantle,” she said in a cold voice. “We have too many enemies here. We need to be on the first wherry to London tomorrow.”
A shiver ran through me. The night seemed to change shape, transforming into a new version of itself. Still dark, but full of confusion, the creeping horror of dreams realised. This was not how I meant to achieve my goal. “London?”
“I see no other choice.”
That voice. It chilled me. I should've been happy about the prospect of going to the city where I’d always wanted to live. In other circumstances, I would’ve welcomed it. But all I could think about was the look on my mother’s face, the shadows that still seemed to be moving around her. I took an unwitting step backwards, overcome with an eerie certainty that it was she—not our enemies—whom I should fear.
October 30 Event In New Orleans
I’m looking forward to being in conversation with Ava Morgyn at Blue Cypress Books at 6pm on October 30 in New Orleans. We’re going to talk about our inspiration for our novels, autumn, and the history of witchcraft. If you’re local, I would love to see you there!
A Witchy Giveaway
Ava and I are also doing an Instagram giveaway this week in advance of the event. Stop by for a chance to win copies of both our books!
That’s all for now, although I’m looking forward to sharing the final cover of A Rose by Any Other Name and a preorder link sometime soon. I cannot wait to share this book with you…
Sending you all best wishes for a beautiful Samhain,
Mary