Friday, March 29, 2019

Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: Everyday Enchantments by Maria DeBlassie @EnchantmentLL @RABTBookTours




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New Age, Inspirational Non-Fiction
Date Published: October 26, 2018
Publisher: Moon Books

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Winner of the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award in the New Age Category for 2018!



Everyday Enchantments is a love letter to the magic of everyday life, the sweet moments and the profound that we often overlook in our hurry to get from one place to the next. What if we had the power to unplug from our daily hustle and bustle and conjure a more profound way of living rooted in natural mysticism?

We do. All it takes is the whispered wish for more everyday enchantment breathed onto a dandelion head. This collection of essays reminds us to escape into the ordinary, find beauty in a simple cup of tea or rereading a beloved novel—and joyfully let our world turn upside down when synchronicity strikes in the form of wrong turns down forgotten lanes and unexpected midnight conversations with the moon. 

This book is a study in what it means to live deliciously, joyfully, and magically. And it’s an invitation to conjure your own bliss—-because let’s face it: we could all use a little more magic in our lives. 



Interview with Author Maria DeBlassie

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

Definitely Coyote, the trickster animal spirit of the American Southwest.  I can’t get too tight or rigid about my writing, otherwise it goes wonky and refuses to speak to me. If I stay loose, letting the      magic flow, then the words flow too.  Coyote is always there to remind me to stay playful, curious, and wild.

How many hours a day do you put into your writing?

I write a little everyday.  I’m a teacher by day, so sometimes my writing looks like sneaking in a few minutes here and there, writing on napkins or scraps of paper.  Sometimes, I’m lucky, and get a whole  hour.  And when I’m feeling really indulgent, I get a weekend where I can write, garden, cook, and do yoga.

Do you read your book reviews? If yes, do they affect what you write in the future?

I read my book reviews, mostly because I’m curious to see how people view my writing, something that I’ve been quietly working on for years at my writing desk with a very small audience—just me and the robin outside my window.  Now that I have a bigger audience, it is wonderful to see how many fellow introverts and seekers of everyday magic there are. 

Sure, you get a bad review every once in a while, but I love those too. I get complaints that my book makes the reader slow down and pause, and that it has too many culturally specific experiences—  I am a mestiza living in the desert Southwest, after all.  Those reviews are completely accurate!  My book won’t appeal to people who don’t want to unplug from mindless busy or prefer to rush             through stories.  It won’t appeal to people uncomfortable reading about experiences outside of their norm or unwilling to explore the commonalities between cultures.  This is a slow book and a quiet    book, asking you to create space for simple pleasures and the mystic inherent in daily life.

Do you leave hidden messages in your books that only a few people will find?

I think there are little morsels of wisdom tucked into the pages of my book.  What’s striking is what bit of magic each reader discovers. Some readers love the way I saturate their senses and help them  rediscover joy, other appreciate the explorations of natural magic.  It’s different for everyone!

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Everyday Enchantments?

Everyday Enchantments is a love letter to the magic of everyday life. The book features a series of short poetic essays about sacred simple pleasures—from a good book to a cup of tea—and             those synchronous moments that set us back on our path.  It’s a handful of inspirations designed to help readers find the bliss in their own lives.

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

My current project is called Tarot Tuesdays, or #TarotTuesdays if you are on social media.  It’s a series of 78-word stories based on the 78-cards in the tarot deck and synchronicity.  Each week, I draw a new card, learn about its role in the tarot, and, with the help of meaningful              coincidences, write my story. I’ll say this about my journey into tarot so far: The magic doesn’t lie.  The cards always tell me exactly what I need to hear!  I’m so grateful for this new project because it gives me an opportunity to meditate on the magic of these cards.

Do you allow yourself a certain number of hours to write or do you write as long as the words come?

I write as long as I feel the flow and stop just before I feel the words begin to run out.  I like to stop while there’s still something to work on, that way when I return to my writing desk, I have a good place to begin again.

Do you have a certain number of words or pages you write per day?

I let the day speak to me.  Sometimes I write five pages, sometimes five words, sometimes none at all.  I used to write more religiously, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to listen to the words and what they need from me each day.  It makes for better stories. 

What inspires you to write?

I love everyday life, corny as it sounds.  The magic of a Monday, the quiet bliss of an afternoon cup of tea, the illicit joy of reading late into the night…these are the simple pleasures that make life wonderful. It’s easy to overlook them, get swept up in our to-do lists, but when we pause and take in the beauty around us, we remember to be more than that to-do list. We glean wisdom in the whispering trees and the synchronous happenings that punctuate our day.  We remember to                dream.  And that kind of ordinary joy is pure magic.

Would you rather

Read fiction or non-fiction?
Both!  I keep a few of each going, so when I need to let the ideas of one book marinate, I can turn to another.

Read series or stand-alone?
I use to love series books, but have recently come to love the stand-alone.  There is something so satisfying about knowing a story is complete on its own. 

Read Science fiction or horror?
Horror!

Read Stephen King or Dean Koontz
Hmmmm….can’t decide!

Read the book or watch the movie?
Both!  Each genre brings out different elements of a story.

Read an ebook or paperback?
I hate to be so wishy washy but, again, both!  I love a good paperback but also appreciate having a stash of ebooks at my fingertips when I’m on the road.

Be trapped alone for one month in a library with no computer or a room with a computer and Wi-Fi only?
The library, hands down.

Do a cross-country book store tour or blog tour online?
Now this one is easy: blog tour online.  I meet so many cool people from the comfort of my home.  Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me!



About the Author

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Maria DeBlassie, Ph.D. is a native New Mexican mestiza blogger, award-winning writer, and educator living in the Land of Enchantment. Her blogging life started as a year-long journey to write her back into happy, healthy, and whole through daily posts about life’s simple pleasures, everyday magic, and radical self-care. That year-long experiment turned into a lifestyle, a book, a press—and her ongoing blog, Enchantment Learning & Living. She is forever looking for magic in her life and somehow always finding more than she thought was there. Find out more about Maria and conjuring everyday magic at www.mariadeblassie.com.



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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting

Maria DeBlassie said...

Thanks for such a wonderful interview! It was a pleasure talking with you!