BECOMING DANGEROUS: A book about ritual and resistance

Not long now!
about 6 years ago – Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 06:04:24 PM

Hello everyone!

Just a quick note to say that the book is at the printers and should be with you shortly. The book takes between 12 and 15 days to finish and then will arrive to me (if you're a backer from Europe) or to BackerKit (if you're a backer from the US or elsewhere) and then we'll be packing them up and shipping them to you!

In the meantime, here to build your anticipation is a nice thing that Kristen J. Sollée, author of the very excellent Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive, said about Becoming Dangerous:

"Becoming Dangerous captures rituals of resistance at their most exhilarating. The collection’s 21 contributors represent a diverse cross section of lived experience, but are united by a shared belief in radical self-care through magic and witchcraft. Whether harnessing the power of nature, tarot, crystals and candles or selfies, make up, video games and sex toys, these rebels, sluts, femmes, and witches heal from trauma, challenge institutional racism, dismantle misogyny, and create community. Replete with prose that is at turns revealing, relatable, and bitingly funny, this book lays the groundwork for summoning your own salvation on your own terms."  

!!!

Talk soon,

❤Katie West

Enamel pins came in and oh my, they are NICE!
about 6 years ago – Mon, Feb 05, 2018 at 07:04:55 PM

Hello everyone!

Feels weird because I've been working on Becoming Dangerous for close to a year and now it's almost done! 

Everything is almost ready to ship, which is fun. Posters have already been shipped, I believe (they're shipping separately from everything else as they go in a tube, and books don't fit in tubes!), stickers are ready to go, bookplates are ready to go, pins are ready to go, just waiting on the book. Everything should go out by the end of February. Everything outside the United States may take a little longer, just a heads up!

The enamel pins actually arrived today to me here in the UK, and last week to BackerKit in the US. Want to see? Of course you do!

 (Uh, looks like Kickstarter has compressed these photos so you can't see the detail too much and they look crappy, but trust me, the pins looks fabulous.)

Can't wait to send this stuff out to you! Soon! Soon!

❤Katie

BackerKit orders are being charged and locked down this Sunday!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 01:28:43 PM

 

This Sunday I'll be locking down orders on BackerKit which means two things:

1. You have until Sunday to fill out your BackerKit survey. You can go to this link and enter your email address. There are 56 of you who still haven't done it. If you don't fill out your survey on time, the delivery of your book could be massively delayed as logistically, I won't get the books to ship out to stragglers until mid-2018. You've been warned!

2. You have until Sunday to tell all your friends and family about pre-ordering this book! :D

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Attention retailers! If you'd like to stock Becoming Dangerous in your shop, I have a special BackerKit pledge level for you and all you need to do is send me your email address ([email protected]) and I can hook you up with good deals and cheap shipping (if you're in the US. If you're outside the US, unfortunately, you are subject to extravagant international shipping costs. I'm sorry!) 

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Swag has started arriving at BackerKit in SF to send out to you! Thomas from BackerKit sent me a photo of the Kate Leth stickers that arrived:

Also, I think I've found a new printer that is women-owned and really great! Everything is going well. 

I've been spending the last few days writing the introduction for this book. Here's an excerpt:

"The difference between the witch and the layperson is that a witch already knows they are powerful. The layperson may only suspect. To tap into this power, a witch performs rituals with purpose, with intent, and with an enviable aesthetic. Some people say witches are irrational, absurd, or ridiculous, but in response, witches smile knowingly. They see the irony in the accusations: Rituals have been and continue to be performed in all societies throughout time to such an extent that the performance of ritual could be said to be the defining characteristic of human beings. What are we if not the culmination of our efforts to construct meaning where there is none; to pull reason from the absurd?"

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Talk soon!

<3 Katie

It's happening!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Jan 04, 2018 at 08:36:21 PM

I just got off the phone with the lovely people at BackerKit and we've figured out a way for them to handle all the fulfillment for this Kickstarter! This pleases me immensely!

I'm getting pins, prints, book plates, and stickers sent to BackerKit shortly. The book should be ready to send to the printers by the end of the month, bar any unforeseen problems. 

Which means now is a very good time to fill out your BackerKit survey if you haven't already. There are still 91 people who haven't filled it out! 

Here are some excerpts from the essays in Becoming Dangerous. You can see them all on the Fiction & Feeling Twitter account.

 Talk soon!

<3 Katie

December update!
over 6 years ago – Wed, Dec 27, 2017 at 11:26:02 PM

It's my favourite time of the year: it's cold, it snows (if you're lucky!), there's holiday baking, everyone eats a lot, it smells like a spruce forest everywhere you go, and people give each other thoughtful (hopefully!) gifts. Also, Christmas music, of which I am particularly fond (Driving Home For Christmas by Chris Rea and All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Carey--my two favourites, in case you were wondering).

Personally, I've been extremely stressed this entire December. I'm desperately trying to get this book done and things keep popping up to keep me from doing that. (It hasn't helped that it's almost impossible to work over the holidays, and not because you're distracted eating shortbread and Toblerone, but because everything closes!) This book is my number one priority right now so I've been really struggling while I run up against things that are preventing me from getting it out there! I'm sure once 2018 starts and people switch off holiday mode, things will speed up. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Winter Solstice and whatever you do (or don't!) celebrate! I hope you all got to spend time with your chosen families and just soaked up the love! I'll be back with another update soon, but until then, tell the people you love that you love them, call a friend you haven't spoken to for a while, check in on the people in your life who need you most this time of year. And eat another cookie.

<3Katie