Tarot enthusiasts, Gilded Age followers, and theater history buffs will enjoy this story, but I’ve found that people who are interested in the spirituality of an artist’s calling are also interested.
Susan Wands = 0 <au 2-23
The Back Flap
Pamela Colman Smith, newly arrived from New York to her birthplace of London, is received as an oddball in Victorian society. Her second sight helps her in her new job: illustrating tarot cards for the Golden Dawn, a newly formed occult group. But when Pamela refuses to share her creations with Aleister Crowley, a controversial magician, he issues a threat: give up the cards’ power, or he’ll harm her muses.
In the midst of this battle, two of Pamela’s idols, the actors Henry Irving and William Terriss, take her under their wing. Henry, who tutors her as the leader of the Lyceum Theatre, becomes the muse for her Magician card. William Terriss, teaching her by examples of instinct and courage, becomes the muse for her Fool card. As Pamela begins to create the tarot deck, she is almost overwhelmed by the race to possess the magical power of her cards. In order to defeat Aleister, Henry and William will have to transform into living incarnations of the Magician and the Fool—and Pamela will have to learn how to conjure her own magic.
About the book
What is the book about?
The mother of the modern-day tarot deck, Pamela Colman Smith, is the protagonist in Magician and Fool, Book One, Arcana Oracle Series, the first of my series of Historical Fantasy Fiction books following Pamela’s path as she created her popular tarot deck during the early 1900’s. Pamela, a seer and empath, is hired by a cult to design tarot cards, and discovers she must summon the muses of her cards, the Magician and Fool, to help her thwart her nemesis, Aleister Crowley, an up and coming magician with the Golden Dawn. Crowley has issued a threat: give up the creation of the tarot deck, or he’ll harm her muses. A war of magicians begins.
In the midst of this battle, two of Pamela’s idols, the actors Henry Irving and William Terriss, take her under their wing. Henry, who tutors her as the leader of the Lyceum Theatre, becomes the muse for her Magician card. William Terriss, teaching her by examples of instinct and courage, becomes the muse for her Fool card. As Pamela begins to create the tarot deck, she is almost overwhelmed by the race to possess the magical power of her cards. In order to defeat Aleister, Henry and William will have to transform into living incarnations of the Magician and the Fool—and Pamela will have to learn how to conjure her own magic.
When did you start writing the book?
I’ve been writing several incarnations of Pamela’s story. It started out as a play, then a TV series script, and even a movie script but the more research I did, and the more her epic life unfolded, I saw it needed something bigger. Finally, I saw her story revealing itself as a historical fiction series. I wrote Magician and Fool with the intent that this would be the first in a series and I’m glad I stuck with this concept. The book, Magician and Fool, Book One, Arcana Oracle Series, will be followed by High Priestess and Empress, then followed by Emperor and Hierophant, all the way through the paring of the twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana in her tarot deck. Mapping out the entire series was essential, especially casting the real-life inspirations that feature in Pamela’s tarot cards. Her muses were the superstar artists and magicians of the Victorian day.
How long did it take you to write it?
I started the novel Magician and Fool in earnest in 2015, and had it published in 2017 with a small press in the U.K. It languished there. I realized in 2020 that my book needed a major rewrite. So, I went with new editors, writing groups and a sensitivity reader to rewrite it. The world and the awareness of language has changed a lot since I first started to write this series and there was a lot to consider. I’m grateful that I have a chance to work with Brooke Warner and Shannon Green at SparkPress and (the numerous others contributors) to get it right.
Where did you get the idea from?
I started reading tarot cards in my twenties and because the name of the illustrator was not part of the title of the deck, I became obsessed with finding out everything I could about Pamela Colman Smith, co-creator of the world’s best-selling cards, the Smith Waite tarot deck.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
There are several aspects to Pamela’s life that are ambiguous, even for a fantasy historical fiction series. I have chosen to place her story in an alternate historical timeline, so there are some famous people who interact with her who may or may not have been acquaintances. I have tried to keep her journey of what she went through true: her coming back to London, being hired by the Golden Dawn to create tarot cards and working for the Lyceum Theatre. In addition to researching the magic Pamela learned with this group, there was the aspect of her second sight or her synesthesia that needed to be threaded in.
Today, Pamela is considered by some to be a gay woman of color, as her closest relationships were with women who were acknowledged lesbians at the time, shocking during the Victorian era and even afterwards. From photographs, Pamela has an appearance that defies labelling as to race. After decades of study by myself, her scholars, and her family, nothing has been definitely concluded, but this possibility that she is of mixed race is left open in my series. She was certainly labelled as an outsider during her youth but overcame limitations of her sex to be an artist and participant in the chauvinistic art scene of the Victoria Era. In writing this series, my aim is to be truthful to who Pamela was but not be the gatekeeper to her heritage or orientation.
Having sensitivity readers for Magician and Fool has been essential because Pamela was viewed as an outsider and I wanted to make sure I had the right POV for her.
What came easily?
Pamela’s relationships with Sir Henry Irving and Dame Ellen Terry, the acting super stars of the day, were the easiest for me to write, as I worked as an actress for three decades. I know what it is like to want the top celebrities to mentor you, or, as in Pamela’s case, adopt you. The world of Victorian theatre, the patrons, the scandals, the new technology in presenting the new stage productions, all these aspects have fascinated me for years and I love writing Pamela in the midst of all this stage magic.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Almost everyone in my writing is based on a real-life character: Bram Stoker, who was called “Uncle Brammie” by Pamela, Maud Gonne, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, Aleister Crowley. Pamela ran in a very rarified circle of artists in NYC and London in the early 1900’s, and I couldn’t wait to cast them in her story.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
The third-person omniscient narrator POV of Pride and Prejudice set the template of great novels for me. I read Jane Austen at a young age and just loved her writing. I’ve adapted several of her works into staged performances and am still blown away by Jane Austen’s mastery of plot and psychology. This perspective of writing, being inside a character’s head but also with enough of a zoom out to see other scenes, is my favorite POV.
I love Susanna Clarke’s writing, especially Piranesi, in addition to her Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, she’s an amazing debut author who goes from strength to strength. Alaya Dawn Johnson is also terrific, her book, Trouble the Saints, also features tarot cards. We featured her on our panel with the NYC Chapter of the Historical Novel Society, of which I’m on the steering committee. I’m looking forward to her next book, The Library of Broken Worlds. I also loved The Women of Blackmouth Street by Thea Sutton, set in Victorian London, with the sort of protagonist that I like, a smart woman trying to rise up in a repressed society. I’m spoiled because I get to read a lot of historical fiction with the NYC HNS group and have to pace myself when trying to get through my “must read” list.
The big scope historical authors, Edward Rutherfurd, Anthony Doerr, Leo Tolstoy; these are the authors that I love reading when I want to devour a big epic tale.
Do you have a target reader?
Tarot enthusiasts, Gilded Age followers, and theater history buffs will enjoy this story, but I’ve found that people who are interested in the spirituality of an artist’s calling are also interested. I post frequently to my Magician and Fool Facebook page and when I post photos of Pamela or her cohorts’ struggles, there’s a definite wave of interest.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I write in the program called Scrivener. I stockpile photos, articles of research, quotes and tarot card images in compartments in the program, and then do a breakdown of each character, with backstory of their real life for each major character. It’s so helpful to have ready access to photographs for each character. Of course, it’s also a rabbit hole, especially if I have something that I thought I found and put in there and can’t find it. There was a link to a video of an alligator starting to hatch inside an egg. It was chirping to the mommy alligator, who was a man who was a breeder of alligators, and baby alligator was almost singing as it cracked its way through the shell. I’ve gone through Scrivener a number of times trying to find this link to no avail, so I’ve learned that research is no good if you don’t label it so you can find it again. If anyone finds this video, please let me know? It keeps me up nights that I can’t find it.
When it’s time to cook the words, I usually dash out a chapter and then keep adding until it’s a big stew.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I’m a pantser, going by the seat of my pants, in the beginning but then need to go through the synopsis of each chapter later to see if it all adds up. So, I’d say I am a combination of pantser and plotter.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I definitely don’t edit as I go, much to the chagrin of my writing partners and editors. That means there are a lot of stages of editing and processing for my story, especially in the context of a series. I consider that each book has to be stand-alone enough so that it makes sense. But the total arc of the series also needs to be considered and seasoned so that recurring characters can be planted as well.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I love my editors, Shannon Green, Jennifer Pooley, Andrea Robinson, and all my writers in my writing groups. They help me wrangle the multiple story-lines and characters into focus.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
If I’m putting words down on paper for the first time, I need my head focused on that inner voice, so no music then. When I’m editing, sometimes I can listen to music. When I do put music on, it can be Afro Celt Sound System, Dead Can Dance, Simply Red, or Loreena McKennitt. For a time, I continually put on the Café del Mar music selections, that’s how I found Lebanese Blonde, Enigma, and Art of Noise. I also love classical music as background music when I’m woolgathering, except for the modern music of Philip Glass, which takes too much focus to listen to when I’m writing.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I did submit Magician and Fool to agents for about two years as I worked on the first incarnation. It was pretty discouraging, I’d get a request for a full manuscript and then not hear anything for quite a while, while being asked not to submit elsewhere, only to have them pass. I finally decided that energy, time and money spent on workshops learning how to submit manuscripts and how to write individual query letters, (I wrote over two hundred of them), needed to go into my writing.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
It was hearing the stories from some authors that they were not receiving very much money and weren’t getting any help getting their books out there from traditional publishers that made me think that a hybrid publisher would be a better fit for me. I’m very glad that Brook Warner from SparkPress picked my works and has opted to print the second book in the series, High Priestess and Empress. I’m in final edits with the third book and starting the fourth. I feel motivated and free working with SparkPress, especially since Shannon Green is my editor, she has been a great champion for me.
Although, I will point out that shouldering the cost of getting your book out in the world is not for the weak of pocketbook. (Is pocketbook a word anymore?) There are shared costs with an indie or hybrid publisher. You might have to share printing costs and retainer costs, which can be considerable. And then there’s the cost of marketing, not cheap either!
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
Sparkpress has an in-house artist, Lindsey Cleworth, who designed Magician and Fool, and I’m just now working with her as we fine-tune her work on my second book, High Priestess and Empress. I like Ms. Cleworth’s interpretation of Pamela’s tarot cards on my book covers, you know they are in the genre of historical fiction and not a how-to book. There is also a lovely, dangerous, Art Deco vibe to them.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
In pitching my re-release of Magician and Fool, I was told by someone in the business that I “made every mistake there is to make” when I first published my book in England. I’m working with them now because they told me the truth and they do stellar work. I did make a lot of mistakes but still I persisted and I learned from them. And one thing I learned is that you have to have a marketing plan, and that you will make mistakes. But you shouldn’t just show up on the day of publishing and wonder how you are going to get your book out in the world. It takes months, if not years, of getting promotional moments in play.
I took classes, bought marketing books, assembled a team for social media helpers, hired a PR firm, and organized a volunteer base to help me put the word out. There are thousands of books out there and it takes A LOT to be noticed.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
First, enjoy writing what you want to write. You don’t have to worry about writing a formula or a genre you don’t like. But with this freedom comes the added responsibility of finding your audiences. You will work harder for yourself than you ever will for anyone else.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I’m a basebrat from an Air Force Family, so I don’t have a hometown but I have lived all over. Some cities include: Seattle, Washington, Ashland, Oregon, New York City, Montgomery, Alabama, Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, and in London, U.K.
Where do you live now?
The home base is NYC, where I have lived for over thirty years. Wherever we travel, it’s always good to come back to this city of possibilities.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I started reading tarot cards in my twenties and became obsessed with finding out everything I could about Pamela Colman Smith, co-creator of the world’s best-selling tarot deck, the Smith Waite deck. After decades of research, I now give lectures about Pamela for Morbid Anatomy on-line courses and with the Occulture Conferences in Berlin. Recently, I applied for a Blue Heritage plaque to be fixed on Pamela’s birthplace in London.
What are you working on now?
I’m finishing up edits for Emperor and Hierophant and starting to plot out (even though I’m a pantser writer, I swear!) characters for the fourth book in my Arcana Series, The Lovers and The Chariot.
End of Interview:
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Get your copy of Magician and Fool from Amazon US or Amazon UK.