PantheaCon

Wow - the Winter surely got away from me!  There were so many workshops and other happenings that I'm afraid I left the blog out in the cold until now.  I can't begin to list all the great stores that hosted incense making workshops in November and December.  January was spent getting all the final details set for the new book's release and preparing for PantheaCon.

I returned from PantheaCon late on Sunday.  In spite of knowing nobody there, I had a blast.  It's one of the great things about the Pagan community.  Even without knowing a soul I was welcomed and made to fee right at home.  Thorn Coyle was the only person at the massive event I'd met before, so it was nice to chat with her at the author's signing table.  Then I got the rare joy of meeting someone with whom I have exchanged emails for many years.  It's so wonderful finally know Elysia Gallo (Llewellyn acquistions editor) in person!  She's even nicer than I imagined.  

Another wonderful person at Llewellyn managed to get copies of Incense Magick to me the afternoon before I flew to San Jose.  So although the book isn't "officially" released for another week, it is now available at many book retailers and on this site as well.  I got to meet a lot of very friendly, enthusiastic people and chat about incense.  My workshop on Saturday was up against some heavy competition (including the aforementioned Thorn Coyle) but still managed to get overbooked!  25% more tickets were passed out than planned, and additional people showed up at the door, so we accomodated everyone we could and had the workshop standing room only.  There were around 50 people in the room and we all had a blast.  We shared tools and supplies to make sure as many people as possible were able to roll incense.  It was shorter than my normal workshops but we still covered a lot of ground and shared some good laughs.  I hope I am able to do another workshop at PantheaCon next year!

On Sunday I participated in a panel discussion that included Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Christopher Penzack among many other wise people.  We discussed the use of the label "Pagan" and labeling in general in our community.  It was absolutely fascinating to me (except for the times when I was speaking, lol) and I'm still stunned that not only was I invited to participate, I participated equally in the conversation.  I learned a lot from it as well.  Flying home was a lot easier than flying there since I had about 75 pounds less baggage!