On the shelves: "Raising Lempi"

In your local big chain bookstore, you'll find my story "Raising Lempi" in the pages of Circle Magazine. It tells the story of a group of friends discovering the restorative power of the sauna. It's accompanied by Elena's lovely illustration (much more attractive than the cover illustration, I have to admit; in the past they have had such good covers). It's a slight ego boost much needed at the moment, the current despondency cheered by the publication accepted ages ago. But that's the lagging nature of publication.

Another lovely present came in the mail: the Fantod Pack! Cheers to the Boojums -- a great combination of Edward Gorey art and tarot-esque form. Tarot cards have been used for years to tell the future or to convey the subconscious desires lurking in one's mind (depending on your beliefs). The Fantod Pack is also gorgeously illustrated and mordantly funny. The pack has been interpreted by Madame "Groeda Weyrd" (unscramble those letters) who is, of course, "of mixed Finnish and Egyptian extraction." Cards bear Gorey's singular artwork, like The Child, a picture of wee smiling skeleton pulling a toy bull standing against a typically ferny wallpaper. Madame tells us the card signifies "September, denigration, sexual inadequacy, sties, hallucinations, breakage, loss of youth, rust, crawling sickness, an obstacle, forced restraint, aberrations and catarrh."

Who wants a reading?