I read Stacy Schiff's The Witches, Salem, 1692. Witches have fascinated me since childhood. In school, I was the girl intrigued by magic lore and fairy tales. I owned a Ouija Board and Tarot deck. (Still have the cards, in fact.) I wanted witches to be real. In 2014, I spent a few days in …
Before I die, I want to ride in a hot air balloon. As a child, I watched hot air balloon races over my father's house. They were magical, and I wanted nothing more than for someone to reach down and scoop me up into a basket and into the clouds. If I could plan my …
Let's leave JK Rowling's world and come back to reality with a turn through history. I hardly know what Harriet Tubman would make of the Harry Potter stories and of me sitting here at my desk calling her a Hermione. I could have easily called this project The Harriets. Harriet Tubman lived in the real …
If you're going to name a group the Hermiones, you obviously need the first Hermione (apologies to all the good souls out there named Hermione before the Harry Potter onslaught). In my Hermione series, I've decided to include real and fictional individuals. Furthermore, while it would be grand if I could designate a Tarot card …
I'm two years out from my cancer treatment, and so far, so good. I see my oncologist this month for another check up. Fingers crossed. of course. When I hear of anyone who's died of cancer, I pause. The closeness of that person to me doesn't matter as a mix of feelings brew. A sense …
I like to stay home with my family, my dogs, my writing, and my art. Venturing into crowds enlivens for a while. Then I need to stay home for a week. But what if I had invitations to perfect events? Let's start the year off with the ideal festival for books. Here's what I would …
The Imagination Hellion In most circles, imagination receives praise. Doesn’t it? I love imagination. But sometimes it prowls around the halls of one’s mind stirring up trouble. We say we love imagination. We buy toys for our children that are supposed to encourage imagination. We lament television and what it does to imagination. I remember …
If I could, I’d design my own deck of Tarot cards. I’d make several decks, in fact. I’d do one more in line with the traditional Rider-Waite deck. Another deck would be for writing. And another would be for women I admire. Hermione is a favorite heroine of mine. She's smart and brave and loyal. …
I don't really make resolutions. I set a few goals, but those are good any day of the year. One goal I managed to reach was to read 50 books in 2015. I succeeded in that in large part because of the Goodreads challenge counter. The Goodreads counter helped me in much the same way …
One late afternoon in my Florida childhood, another lightning storm rolled in. A wall of rain moved steadily over the lake towards our house. I love the change in the air and the smell. The lightning flashed and flashed and flashed. I knew to go inside, but the terrifying and amazing light fascinated me. I …
Marta Bacon 