The KnotMagick Guide to Moving Cross Country

Make sure it’s really, really what you want. Because it’s expensive as fuck and a pain in the ass. Plan your budget ahead of time. Now add at least 50%. Assume everything will go wrong. Find a job before you go. Don’t ship things via Greyhound. It may be cheaper than going through USPS/UPS/FEDEX, but…

Julia’s Ghost

The second Charleston ghost story I want to share with you isn't actually from a location I visited, but caught my attention due to my "Would This Kill Me in the 1800s?" series. One of Charleston's most iconic churches is the Circular Church on Meeting Street, though that's not where this story takes place. In the…

Susan’s Ghost

St. Philip's Church in Charleston is home to the oldest congregation in the city, established in 1838. It boasts a soaring bell tower and columns in addition to a stone and iron fence surrounding both it's graveyards--yes, that's right, it has two. One, adjacent to the church, is (historically) for those of old Charleston families,…

Charleston

I'm back! The trip was wonderful, if exhausting. I drove down with my mom, since she's always wanted to see the city. Google told us it would be 10 hours, but it ended up being 15 after traffic. I was dead tired by the time we got to our hotel. The only thing sustaining me…

Portland

Ash and I spent last week in Portland. It's the first proper vacation I've taken since 2011, and it was wonderful. It was my first time west of Chicago. My first time seeing the pacific. As you might be able to tell from my photos, I adore the ocean. I don't think I took a…

GIVEAWAY! Also, chatter.

I'm back! We have officially moved into our new place. I'm still trying to find where I put everything (including my sanity), but we are moved, the cats are fine, and we made it to Cinici. Moving was...let's just say hell. Our truck got overbooked and had to be back 5 hours early. Then the…

9 Things You Didn’t Know About Montreal

Apparently, I am becoming "that author who writes about Montreal." I've come across very few books set in the city, and even fewer in English. In THE SPIDER'S WEB, the city is almost another character in the story. When I lived there, I found the atmosphere so invigorating and inspiring, it was one of the…

The Un-Illustrated Edition

One of these days, I'm going to remember to take actual photos when I go to Symposium. I swear, it will happen. Eventually. Every year, I pack my camera, charger, cord, and extra battery with the intention of drafting 1-3 blog posts while I'm away. I think about the types of things I want pictures…

Steampunk Symposium Recap

Greetings, 21st century people! I am back. I'm rested. And I had a fantastic time! This year was hands down the best Symposium since it started in 2012 (well, last year might have been pretty good, too, but I wasn't there). We drove down to Cincinati on Friday, arriving too early to actually check in…

Packing

Hey guys, just a quickie post today. We leave for Steampunk Symposium on Friday morning, and I still have so much to do! So what does one pack for a steampunk convention, other than the standard items like underwear and hand sanitizer? Alice and I are still perfecting the list, but here a few of…