Good Morning, please accept my apologies...And other things along the way.

Good Morning world. As I sit here with my morning coffee, I am contemplating many a thing; the fact that I need more sleep, how well my last episode of Raven's Circle came together, what to put into the next show (tho I basically have that covered), what news pieces I actually want to cover in the next edition of The Nest, the next steps of a project I am working on for a fantastic book that is coming out from one of my friends, all of the writing I need to finish for another book, how I hope that beginning the potty-training process with my youngest doesn't make me crazy, and the mountain of things (maybe just a small hill, really) I am going to be reviewing on my blog and upcoming shows. There are probably other things I have to think about as well, but those are what currently come to mind.

So, let me apologize now for the fact that my blog will probably seem, over the coming weeks, that it is turning into a blogger's review of everything. Totally not my intention, but I do like doing reviews of things, trying things out & letting people know my opinion. Not all reviews will hit my radio show as some of these are strictly blog only; most will though. :) But bear with me. If something is a great product, book, CD, etc. (at least in my humble opinion), then I want to let as many people know about it. How better to do that than by reaching out across the web and across the world.

Anyway, if my blog goes wonky for awhile and seems overloaded in reviews, it's only because I really want to let you all know about something for better or for worse.

And now for a really bad plug for myself... . For any of you who have children with special needs, I will be slowly be adding previous articles I had written in Pagan Moonbeams for the Special Pagans (aka Special Needs Kids) section to my Facebook page. I will try to have them all moved over within the week into my notes. I know of one very awesome blogger, and friend, Mrs. B. over at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom blog who had reposted a couple of my articles after having contacted me a few years back. I was, and still am, very honored to have articles I have written featured and referenced over there. Having a special needs child is what inspired me to start such a section for the Pagan Moonbeams e-zine in the first place. While I no longer write for them, my sister, Pandora, is still over there. I highly recommend the e-zine. It's directed towards Pagan kids of all ages.

Off my soap-box now. Think I'll go mix up some edible finger-paints to try out. Yes, I said edible. So cool. I already know I love their edible sidewalk chalk, but that's all I'm going to say until my actual review.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Blessings,

Raven

Rupert's Tales - a Pagan Mama's Review

Today's book review is a Pagan children's series entitled Rupert's Tales: The Wheel of the Year by Kyrja and illustrated by Tonia Bennington Osborn. The 1st book in this series covers Beltane, Litha, Lammas & Mabon, while the second book covers Samhain, Yule, Imbolc & Ostara. I have 6 kids, as most ofyou know, so I am always on the lookout for something Pagan-centered for them. Let me tell you that hands-down, these are the perfect books for walking your younger children through the wheel of the year. In the two books, readers are following Rupert, a bunny rabbit, through the seasons. Rupert happens to have found his way to the sacred meeting place of humans who gather at a particular time each year, celebrating the passing of their seasons and holidays. Along his road to discovery of what these humans do as the seasons change, Rupert meets various forest friends that explain and teach him about the Wheel of the Year. I was enchanted by both books. The illustrations are beautiful and the stories magickal. The author, Kyrja, has an incredible way of explaining the turning of the wheel so that even your younger children will understand and grasp the concept. The day I received these books in the mail, my youngest, who, at the time of this show is still not yet 2 years of age, was all over these and completely engrossed. All of my children have loved hearing the stories contained within these two beautiful books. In a time when I have heard many parents speak out about needing more published works from a Pagan perspective that are geared for children, Kyrja and Rupert's Tales answer that cry for help. I also happen to have the companion activity book, which is exactly that, a Wheel of the Year activity book based off of the stories from within both books. There are coloring pages, along with activities for your children. These books are definitely a treasured keepsake. Not only are these books fantastic, but I was excited to hear that Kyrja and Tonia have teamed up again for 3 more books! That's right! Rupert's Tales will have 3 additional books full of tales (no pun intended) of this awesome bunny who has so much to teach our children.

So, do I love these books? You bet! And, I recommend them to any parent, grandparent, babysitter, aunt or uncle, or anyone! And, just because these books have a Pagan-based theme, doesn't mean that others won't find them just as enchanting and delightful. So, hop on over to your favorite bookseller or Amazon.com and share the joys of Rupert's Tales with someone you love.

Want more Rupert than just what's out? Check out their Facebook page: Friends of Rupert at www.facebook.com/FriendsOfRupert and head on over to their main website: www.friends-of-rupert.webs.com

That wraps up my reviews for today. I truly do love these books and am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to review more published works that are greatly needed and desired within the Pagan community.

Blessings!

~Raven

**NOTE: I was in no way compensated for my review or any review that appears on my blog, my radio show, or anywhere else. These reviews are of my own free-standing opinion.**

Destiny - a Book Review & a Giveaway!

For any of you that know me (I mean, REALLY know me), I love a good book. I also happen to love talking and writing about books I love. Top that with the fact that I found a Pagan author writing a Pagan fiction book...BINGO! I'm there. If not for the fact that I love reading, then for the sheer curiosity of how the envelope is pushed with what happens honestly within our religion, and what has been dreamt up by Hollywood, I knew I wanted to read this book. To give you a bit of background on the book, I give you what has been written upon the back:

"Gabriella is a witch. The problem is, she doesn't remember. She repressed the memories of her powers years ago when her mother was murdered. Now, the warlock who was responsible for her mother's death has set his sights on Gabriella. He is determined to use her fear to turn her to the dark side of magick...even if it kills her. Her mother's spirit is reaching out to warn her, but even that she pushes away. Desperate to save her daughter, the spirit finds a male witch - one that just happens to be in love with Gabriella. Darron is more than willing to help, but the two young witches will have way more to battle than just an evil warlock. There are overbearing jocks and petty rich girls who get tempers flaring and often set Gabriella and Darron at odds.

There is more to the story than Gabriella and Darron could even imagine. There are terrible secrets to be revealed, battles to be waged, and lives will be lost. Only after Gabriella and Darron both come to terms with who they really are, and open themselves up to the true meaning of magick, can they have any hope of fulfilling their destiny."

To say that I loved this book is an understatement. I think one of my friends, and an author herself, Stacy Evans, put it best when she said, "I may be jumping the gun as it hasn't been released yet, but I could see this book starting a whole new wave of Twilight/Harry Potter type mass following." Stacy completely nailed the head by making that statement.

Destiny is written by author Laura DeLuca. I have had the opportunity to correspond back and forth with her and she is definitely quite an awesome person, in my humble opinion. This is her first young adult novel and I was really impressed with how closely she kept within the actual concepts of the earth-based religions. I think having a book like this written by someone who follows the religion herself is a huge boost to the published work. The fact that she kept most elements as close to reality without delving into "Hollywood" stereotypes is a testament not only to her as a writer, but also to honoring her own religion, showing the respect that any religion would deserve. Yes, there are some things that you will find that can not be done (I wish I could make a rose just grow up and out of the snow), but I did say this was fiction and I would whole-heartedly expect there be things that we all know just DON'T happen in reality, no matter how cool it would be if they did.

Once I finished reading Destiny, I handed it over to my teenage daughter. "Kat" read it with serious enthusiasm, and at a much faster pace than mom. (What can I say? YOU try reading when you have a 21-month old leaping from unknown heights into your lap.) When she finished, Kat's comments were, "I love this book series, mom! When can we get the next book? I seriously want to know what's going to happen to Gabriella andDarron next. I need to know." I love that girl. She's so cute. So, we both enjoyed the book. As for me, I am looking forward to the next edition in the series to be released soon!

I highly recommend this book to teenage girls/young adult women. It was quite hard for me to put this book down. I was completely engrossed. There were times I had to force myself to mark the page and walk away. After all, things like the laundry MUST get done, don't they? Although, I personally feel, especially in moments when I am engrossed in a phenomenal book such as Destiny, that clothes are seriously overrated.

Now for the GIVEAWAY! The giveaway is for one signed copy of Destiny by author Laura DeLuca, 5 desert rose stones, 2 crystal points, and 2 boxes of incense. This is a huge gift pack for one lucky person to win. YAY! All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below letting me know how you found my blog and your name goes in for the drawing. Want more than one entry? Here's three more ways (you must comment below for the additional entries to count):

1. Follow me on twitter and comment back with your twitter handle.

2. Follow my public profile on Facebook & leave me a comment there.

3. Follow CauldronFM(the station that broadcasts my shows) on Facebook & leave me a comment there.

That's it! That's all you have to do. One winner will be chosen at random on the eve of May's Full Moon.

Want to check out more from author Laura Deluca? Listed below are her links. Check them out!

Here is the link to her video trailer for Destiny:

You can also see more at her blog, Facebook and Twitter pages:

http://authorlauradeluca.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/authorldeluca

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraDeLuca

http://www.freefocuspublishing.com/Destiny.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Laura-DeLuca/dp/0982674724/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319680091&sr=8-1

That wraps it up for me today!

Blessings abound to all who stopped by to read the blog.

~Raven

One last note... I was not in anyway compensated and/or paid for this review or any other review that appears on my blog, radio show, Facebook pages, etc. This review is my own personal opinion and given by my own volition and not because someone offered me compensation.