Dear Radical Readers,
After nearly six years of posting six times per
month on average, I’m going to do the most radical thing I’ve ever done yet on this blog.
I’m going to give blogging a rest. Of course, not working is very radical for a
Virgo. No one can say I’m not being true to the title of this blog and the
nickname people have called me since my article offering a new vision of the
V-sign was first published in 1992, The Radical Virgo.
As you might guess; I may be giving new blog posts a rest,
but I’ll be doing other work. First, with 369 posts to date here, there is a
library of material on The Radical Virgo, tantamount to at least a half-dozen
free astrology books, maybe more. Even
if you’re a regular reader, chances are you haven’t read the full breadth of
what’s been posted since 2009, or in the rare case that you have, there are
posts you might like to revisit. Given the journal style of blogs, it’s
difficult to highlight and group together like topics that have been published
over time. That’s what next year will be all about.
The Plan for 2015
We’ll start the New Year out with the Top Posts of All Time, the most popular articles. After that, twice a month or more, I’ll repost links to previous articles in subject groupings. Some examples are specific planets (Sun, Chiron, Pluto, Saturn), signs, transit patterns (Grand Trine, semi-sextiles, Cardinal Cross), and Astrology Plus (astrology and other related oracle systems such as tarot, dreamwork or flower essences). There will be blurbs on each article, a link to it, and an overall topic paragraph. Since some articles cross topics, they’ll be mentioned again under each topic.
I hope 2015’s offerings become a concordance of all things Radical Virgo. If time permits and the spirit moves, I’ll pop in for the occasional short post or poem.
Personal Notes
Many of you are on my mailing list. If not, it’s free and easy to join at the upper
right of the sidebar. The Radical-New Ink News is named after both my
active blogs. It’s quarterly with occasional emails in-between. You may have
already read about my personal adventures, as I share more of what’s going on
behind the scenes with the mail list members. There’s a move of home on the
horizon, an effort that now needs my full-time attention for both prep and
“pulling it off.” My husband’s decreased mobility means he needs my helping
hand more often. In-between these full-time jobs, I have to snatch whatever
minutes I can for my sanity saver and happy place—writing—which is taking a new
direction toward fiction.
On that note, I’d like to share a bit about where I expect
to be on the other side of re-nesting. Our move will be a new start on multiple
levels and allow me to concentrate, once more, on my true calling as an author.
Even when I’m writing fiction, my topics still have a huge dollop of the cosmic.
If you like my writing here, I think you’ll really enjoy my
fiction and where I’m going next. In case you haven’t read The Crystal Ball, purchase links are in the sidebar. You can read a free excerpt on
my website, and the Kindle edition is only $2.99. The Crystal Ball is more than Book #1 in the Micki Michaels
Mysteries. It’s the bridge to the entire series. It chronicles, in an
outlandish setting of a futuristic costume party, how an astrologer—she’s also
the head of a longevity association—ends up—with a whole new calling, solving
crimes. Starting in Book #2, astrology will always play a part in Micki’s
offbeat case-solving techniques, which are as apt to involve intuition, tarot,
and the collective knowledge base of her ex-FBI boyfriend, Curt Stern,
and his law enforcement friends.
Book #2 is about the revenge fantasies of six women in a
divorce therapy group and how they relate to a recent murder. There is humor,
healing and a link back to book #1. Given my personal full plate, I currently
project publication in late 2015 or sometime in 2016. However, I’m open to a pleasant
surprise, if the stars align sooner.
What Happens with The
Radical Virgo in 2016 and Beyond?
Good question. The honest answer is I don’t know yet. (Same
goes for doing astrological consultations again.) Whether I’ll be back in a
major way depends on how life unfolds between now and then. I suspect that if I
return to regular posting, it will be in a new format. My life for the
foreseeable future doesn’t support the in-depth articles I have been publishing
and the commitment in time and energy it takes to bring them to you. I have
several other ideas in the back of my mind. There’s at least one that I suspect
could be big hit to an even broader audience, though I have some tinkering to
do to figure out how it’ll work on a practical level. No promises yet, but lots
of promise!
Other Considerations
I’m at a stage in life where I have to use my time for what
supports me both emotionally and economically. As much as I hate to admit it, I
don’t have the stamina I did at 25, or even in my 40s for that matter, now that
I’m a bona fide seasoned citizen. I have learned, the Virgo hard way, that I pay
a huge price for overwork. Ironically, my day job was in the conservation field
for decades, yet I’m only now beginning to understand how personal energy
conservation is a big must, especially for someone wired for overdo (Jupiter
trine Mars). There’s another important factor. Quite honestly, I’ve been
immersed in astrology for so long; I prefer to coast and enjoy being a perpetual
student of the subject for now. I need to do less astrological writing or risk
burning out and not wanting to do it at all. I think that would be a tragedy. I
hope you agree.
Sales of my books enable me to keep writing. Publishing—even
blogging—has its costs to cover. Thank you, as much as you are able to support
my work by purchasing books or telling your friends about them. After years of sharing
much of my work free via blogging, it’s time to concentrate on putting more of my
writing into book format, so it can become self-sustaining. It is sobering to
be closer to 70 than 60 and to realize that my physical body has its energetic
limits despite all the positive thinking a Jupiterian can muster. Yet one great
thing about being an author is that as long as my brain still works, I can keep
doing it all the way to the finish line. One of my models of cool aging (I’m
sure I’ve mentioned her before) is a woman who wrote an award-winning memoir at
84 and is still going and writing strong into her 90s.
Stay in Touch
I’ll still field comments and respond to your emails, as
much as possible, though sometimes I may not be as quick on the uptake as I
used to be. I’m on the brink of a new life, much of which is still a mystery to
me, directed by my Inner GPS. If you enjoy reading mysteries as much as I do,
be sure to subscribe to the newsletter where all the inside scoop will be
revealed as it happens. Also, explore my new blog on writing and creativity, New Ink, short for Joyce Mason’s New Inkarnations, named
after my publishing imprint.
I am so grateful for our community here and your interest in
my work. My readers are a gift I never take for granted. Thank you for keeping
The Radical Virgo alive and thriving since Spring Equinox 2009. I hope you
enjoy the topical recaps, too.
Love and blessings,
Joyce
~~~
Photo Credit: © magann - Fotolia.com
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