Sometimes The Magic Works

“Terry Brooks is adamant about dedicating oneself to the craft, while showing awe and humility for the creative process. . . . Every serious writer should refer to this book regularly for inspiration as well as solid crafting advice.”—Elizabeth Engstrom Cratty, Director of Maui Writers Retreat In Sometimes the Magic Works, New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks shares his secrets for creating unusual, memorable fiction. Spanning topics from the importance of daydreaming to the necessity of writing an outline, from the fine art of showing instead of merely telling to creating believable characters who make readers care what happens to them, Brooks draws upon his own experiences, hard lessons learned, and delightful discoveries made in creating the beloved Shannara and Magic Kingdom of Landover series, The Word and The Void trilogy, and the bestselling Star Wars novel The Phantom Menace. In addition to being a writing guide, Sometimes the Magic Works is Terry Brooks’s self-portrait of the artist. “If you don’t think there is magic in writing, you probably won’t write anything magical,” says Brooks. This book offers a rare opportunity to peer into the mind of (and learn a trick or two from) one of fantasy fiction’s preeminent magicians. Praise for Sometimes the Magic Works “A marvelously pragmatic initiation to the art of writing.”—Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina “[A] succinct and warmhearted autobiographical meditation on the writing life.”—Publishers Weekly “A wise, warm-hearted book—part autobiography, part how-to-do-it manual, with some amazingly candid behind-the-scenes material . . . Fantasy fans, novice writers, and even veteran pros will learn plenty from it.”—Robert Silverberg, award-winning author of the Majipoor Chronicles

An interdisciplinary investigation of the role of magic in human societies, past and present, asserts that magic remains an important element in contemporary civilizations

The author of 19 "New York Times" fantasy bestsellers presents a nonfiction work that is half a memoir of his writing career, half a text on how to do it oneself.

The possibilities are endless for those who discover real, authentic magic that can transform their lives as never before. "Magic That Works" presents practical magic techniques based on sources more than 1,000 years old. The same tradition that gave readers the Jinni in the Lamp and the Flying Carpet offers magic that works for our modern times.

PRAISE FOR THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF THE HANDICAPPED: '.irreverent.vibrant.sensitive without ever approaching sanctimony."-Publisher's Weekly, starred review 'It's a wonderful book!"-Bill Holm, Minnesota Author of The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth 'Worldwide Church is an absolute joy."-Anne Lamott, author of Traveling Mercies and Bird by Bird 'This is a wonderful book."-Dave Wood, Minneapolis Star-Tribune 'It is one of the most important books of our time."-Carol Bly, author of Changing the Bully Who Rules the World, and winner of the Minnesota Book Award 'I have not, in long time, read stories that affected me so much."-Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States "[Williams'] characters are unique and unforgettable.This is a disarming, disturbing book."-Maxine Kumin, winner of the Pulitzer Prize PRAISE FOR THE WEEKEND GIRL: 'Read these stories and be changed.Marie Sheppard Williams is an original and necessary voice in American Fiction."-Frederick Smock, former editor of The American Voice '.tender stories.deliciously simple dialogue.sly humor.and you suddenly know you are reading about life and death."-Howard Zinn 'The Weekend Girl and other stories is a compelling and poignant brew of wisdom, humor, and compassion."-Ronald Spatz, editor, Alaska Quarterly Review 'As Walt Whitman might have said: 'Who touches this book touches a [wo]man.'"-Bill Holm

Romancing Death sheds the light of God on the popularity of vampirism in today’s pop culture. This fascinating exposé of the dark realities behind romanticizing the occult in our current culture reveals the naked truth about how the church has not addressed the needs of people young and old who fill the holes in their souls and spirits with evil rather than good. Weaving his personal history—including involvement in Wicca, Freemasonry, and vampirism—the author lays out the literary and cultural history of vampirism and closely analyzes the romanticized presentation of the occult in the Twilight saga. Romancing Death is a clarion call for the Church to take responsibility to be true salt and light in the world.

"Now more than ever, companies and individuals are facing nearly impossible odds - challenges so tough that nothing less than all-out magic is needed. Based on extensive research into the creative practices of great magicians from lore and history, like Merlin, Perseval, and others from King Arthur's Court, Pearson and Seivert analyze the stages of the great magicians' educations. From this research they show how one can begin to realize one's highest powers of creativity and effectiveness." "The stages of learning that every aspiring magician must undergo: hearing the call to magic - discovering the need for it in one's life; initiating - or how to think freshly about a problem; testing oneself and one's strength in the face of mighty challenges; drawing a success out of failure; and sharing one's powers as ancient magicians did in the practice known as "casting circle."" "This is a handbook on how to work magic in your life. From rituals to actual magical practices adapted for use in the workplace, Magic at Work instructs and inspires."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Learn how magic works and how to get consistent results. There are lots of books about magic, but how many of them actually explain how magic works or more importantly how to get a consistent result that meaningfully changes your life? The Process of Magic strips away the glamour and image of magic to focus on the reality of how magic works and what you can do to customize your magical workings. Instead of relying on prescriptive spells and rituals, why not learn the fundamental mechanics of magic and design your own workings? With the Process of Magic you’ll learn exactly that and much more: · What the 11 principles of magic are and how they create your magical workings. · What the 8 types of magic workings are and how to customize them. · How to methodically approach magic as a process that produces results. · How to troubleshoot and fix your magical workings. · How to get results that last. If you’ve ever gotten results that don’t stick, or tried to do a working and come away feeling like nothing worked, then The Process of Magic will help you demystify magic and make it into a spiritual practice you can use to improve and enhance your life.