It's dark in Minnesota most of the time* these days. The sun comes up after 7:30am and sets by 4:30pm as we roll toward the winter solstice this weekend. Today is weirdly warm: everything is melting and rainy out, which seems odd and ominous. Not because of global warming, necessarily, although that's an overriding issue, but because this soft and melty mush will be glare ice by the end of the day.

2025 has been quite the series of ups and downs.

Ok, this book happened a bit by accident or divine intervention. I was at a Barnes & Noble looking for Yule cards and needed a quick break. The section by the restrooms in that BN is NOT poetry nor mythology: it's political non-fiction, but this book was eye level on the shelf facing me as I walked past to the restroom hallway and immediately caught my eye.

A few weeks ago I went on a quick girls' trip up the North Shore to a gorgeously quiet cabin resort. Part relaxing-few-days before the insanity of the holidays hits, part traditional fall writing inspiration trip, we holed up in a two bedroom wooden cabin with no TV, no kids or spouses, and no concrete plans. Just books, snacks, and a blissful few days by my favorite inland spooky freshwater ocean.

The other day I got an email titled "Gen X Women: The Latchkey Crones" and honestly, that sounds like murder mystery series I'd read. Or watch. Preferably set in some small village somewhere, although it'd more likely be tired-as-fuck middle aged women who add murder solving to managing teenage dramas, the usual everyday life partner issues, teaching driving, construction, getting homework handled, coordinating aging parents/grandparents/inlawparents, neighborhood to-dos, middle management work bullshit, pet disasters, school conferences, work trips, and a pile of laundry that never ends.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Powerful mortal women of Greek and Roman myth rarely fared well against the masculine prowess of the Big Damn Heroes on their divinely blessed/cursed quests, even Queen Dido, who was a legendary leader long before she had the...misfortune...of kindly assisting war refugees from Troy. In Aeneas's myth, she is reduced to a lovestruck tragedy.

Photo is the cover of Defying Shadows captioned with "Book Signing with Jessica Settergren: "Defying Shadows: For Witches and Pagans Battling Cancer and Chronic Illness" SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2025 2:00PM CT Author Event Not long ago I wrote about steps to success, and how getting a book I wrote on the shelf at a Barnes & Noble hits me deep in the feels as a "ok, real writer" step.

Photo is the cover of Defying Shadows captioned with "Book Signing with Jessica Settergren: "Defying Shadows: For Witches and Pagans Battling Cancer and Chronic Illness" SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2025 2:00PM CT Author Event Not long ago I wrote about steps to success, and how getting a book I wrote on the shelf at a Barnes & Noble hits me deep in the feels as a "ok, real writer" step.

Due to a death in the family, I'm unable to attend the Women & Spirituality Conference tomorrow in Rochester, Minnesota. I'm sorry to miss it, and I'm terribly sorry if you were planning on attending my time slot, but the funeral is this weekend. The best prepared plans are nothing to Fate, schedule. May all of you at the conference enjoy every second of it, and may your journey be full of cup-filling, spirit soothing moments this weekend.

The Women & Spirituality Conference is dedicated to deepening our connections, embracing our wholeness and awakening our wisdom.

YouTube video by Witchy Corner Productions

Twenty-*cough* and some years ago, I'd moved from my hometown to a suburb of Minneapolis for a job and desperately wished I could move back. I spent the first eight months or so leaving from work at 3:30 on Friday to drive home, coming back after 10 on Sunday night for the next work week. I still had my apartment for months: it was supposed to be temporary.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. On a dark road in the middle of nowhere, a slip of a girl in almost no clothes jumps into Jack Spinks's car. Filthy, exhausted, and obviously terrified, she begs Spinks to drive and get her away from the men chasing her. When a truck pulls up and he starts to get out to talk to the men driving it, she jumps to the floor of the driver's side and mashes down on the gas pedal.

A few years ago, I went to Hawai'i with my (then) 86 year old grandmother so I could officiate the wedding of one of my best friends to her lovely (now) husband. It was wonderful had a fabulous week (I miss the overwhelming beauty of Hawai'i). A bit more than a year after that, said friend came to my little corner of the world for my wedding to SK.

Is My Freak Flag Upside Down Again?

The last few months have been terrifying in the US for many as policies, rhetoric, and even legislation has highlighted an underlying racist and misogynist agenda by those currently in power. It's disheartening. It's scary as hell. It's hard to focus on other things (like writing and blogging and such) while trying to get through day-to-day responsibilities under this constant orange cloud.

I received an ARC for this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Ayleth is the accidental scion of a powerful line of witches in a secret coven in the woods. After the White Court's King decided witches are evil, he sent the Huntsmen to kill them all, changing the nation's religion from revering the long-lived magically talented women to demonizing them in favor of a blind, submissive Goddess.

This isn't porn, if that's what you searched for to get this blog post. Five years ago I finished radiation, which marked me as clear of breast cancer active treatment. It would've been an exciting day had I not been exhausted: I probably napped. You can read about it in the Thus Ends Frankenboob blog post (including a super weird hair-growth picture) if you like.