Mother's Day and Broom Closets

[lydamorehouse]

When Mason was just born Shawn and I had a discussion about what we wanted to do about Mother’s Day.  I thought long and hard about this and decided that I was far too selfish to want to share the day with Shawn.  I told her she could have Mother’s Day, and I would have Ima’s Day, which we decided was the anniversary of my legal adoption of Mason – December 5.

 

So, for Mother’s Day, I did what I saw a lot of dad’s doing.  Mason and I went out for cinnamon rolls (Shawn’s favorite) and then mostly let Shawn nap and sleep in.  Yesterday was a good day for sleeping in, actually.  It was windy and a bit cloudy.  Shawn slept on and off for most of the day, actually.  (She LOVES sleeping.)  Mason and I amused ourselves with Twister (a game we bought at Goodwill on Saturday) along with a number of other great board games – Jenga, Battleship, Hi-Ho Cherry Oh, and Parcheesi.  He’s a little too young for some of the games, but we played around with them anyway. 

 

On Saturday, I gave a talk at the Midwest Fiction Writers in support of Her newest release in which I managed to come out of the broom closet (and possible the regular closet, as well, though I was much more subtle with that information.)  As someone said to me after a talk, “If you want to silence a room, just say Wicca loudly.” 

 

What happened was that Emma Holly asked what kind of research I did about the witchcraft in Dead Sexy.  I looked her straight in the eye and said, “None.  I practice Wicca.  I’m a witch.  So, as it happens I have a lot of books on the subject around that house.”  (nervous laughter.)

 

You could have heard a pin drop.

 

What’s strange is that I almost NEVER come out of the broom closet.  I will tend to tell people that I’m a lesbian at the drop of a hat, but a witch?  Almost never.  I haven’t ever officially come out as a lesbian at my local RWA chapter, because, well, frankly, in this case I don’t think my orientation is anyone’s business but my own.  I don’t actually hide the fact, though – as I often talk about “my partner” followed by the pronoun “she.”  I’m sure everyone knows, but I just never use the L-word. 

 

Anyway, that’s not the issue.  As I’m out in most aspects of my life, I don’t feel bad about being somewhat circumspect in my career as a romance writer.  Apparently, I’ve decided that, instead, I’m going to tell them all that I’m a witch. 

 

The funny part is that I kept stumbling onward … as I often do – having done this once before in a human sexuality class when a professor asked me how I reconciled being a lesbian with my spirituality [at a Lutheran college that I’m an alum of] and I replied, “What’s to reconcile? I was raised UU, which has always been open to gays and lesbians and now I worship the Goddess and She loves me.”  Oops.  Again with the pin dropping.  Anyway, I ended up talking about how in the third Garnet Lacey book in which Garnet starts a new coven.  I told the MFW ladies that I used that opportunity to play with people’s stereotypes about what a witch should look like. 

 

Afterwards a woman came up to me and told me that she appreciated my comments about how witches can look normal, and said, “Merry Meet.”

 

Our secret handshake.

 

It was a cool moment.  But, I suspect my talk will be the buzz for a little while at least.

Comments

[oneminutemonkey.livejournal.com]

That reminds me, I really must find out what my wife did with Dead Sexy. She stole the book from me as soon as I brought it home and I haven't seen it since.

closets

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

I liked that you addressed this in the latest book by Her -- though of course Our Heroine has excellent reasons for being in the closet.

Did you by chance go to the Coming Out panel last WisCon? (Only at WisCon can I ever complain about a panel's having too many bi poly pagans.) It's always seemed to me that there are plenty of layers, and audiences, and pins for every occasion.

Re: closets

[lydamorehouse]

Haven't been. Might have to go this year, though.

[deepmarine.livejournal.com]

(I've probably done this before, but here's a refresher on who I am: I emailed you eons ago, after I had very first read Fallen Host, and my best friend Phoebe and I love all your books. Phoebe actually ate lunch with you one day when she was in Minneapolis visiting McCallister. We've written some fanfiction for you and stuff. I'm not good at keeping up with anyone, and I apologize, but now I read your LJ all the time.)

So anyway, I didn't know that you were a practicing witch as well. I was very involved with wicca in high school, although I was a solitary practitioner then, and was mostly just interested in learning as much as I could about it, but from what I knew, I did think that Tall, Dark and Dead was incredibly well researched. I didn't know you actually practiced, though. From what I remember of the book (it's been since it came out that I read it, and regretfully I haven't had the funds to get either of the other ones), you have a particular affinity for astrology, which was so nice, seeing as it is my favorite aspect of the craft. I suppose that's why I found it so entertaining, even though it was such a huge shift from AngeLink.

Keep up the good work, and I'll keep reading and keeping tabs on you. :)

[lydamorehouse]

Hey, I remember you! Anyway, sorry I didn't reply right away. I kind of forgot about this post for a while.

I'm solitary, mostly, though my partner and I occassionally do things togehter or with one other woman. "Circle" work, I guess it's called.

[seanmmurphy.livejournal.com]

"She's a witch! BURN her!"

I wish I'd been there. Right after the nervous titters would have been a booming, crowd-directed laugh to splinter that silence to, well, splinters.

Argh. Metaphors need honing. I'm off to the smithy.

[lydamorehouse]

It would have been fantastic to have you shout this during that moment. It would have made _me_ laugh, if nothing else.