I’ve been very busy since I wrote the last newsletter with visits to book signings at many Waterstone’s branches all over the south -  Staines, Camberley, Reading, Cheltenham and Dorking.  It’s been great and at every single event, loyal Stonewylde fans have turned up to say hello and help me.  Thank you everyone!  And thanks too to the lovely staff in the Waterstone’s shops for hosting me and looking after me. It’s strange but I almost never thought this day would actually come.  The first three Stonewylde books are now re-published, extensively revised so they read better (I hope!) and with lots of new bits added too.  They look stunning and I’m so pleased with them.  And now - at long, long last - the fourth book Shadows at Stonewylde is due out.  I’ve already received my box of books from Orion (I get ten free copies of the hardback which go nowhere with my large family, and I have to buy extra copies just like you) and they’re even better in real life. The cover is absolutely beautiful and I can’t tell you how pleased I am with them.   But of course now I’m having kittens about all you fans actually reading the book.  I’m terrified and nervous and desperately hoping you’ll all enjoy the continuation of the Stonewylde story.  It’s been busy media-wise too, and I was lucky to be featured in The Times at the Summer Solstice in an article written by the lovely journalist Mary Bowers.  I’ve also been featured recently in the Dorset Evening Echo, and in a wonderful double-paged spread in Pagan Dawn. I spent the day in Essex being interviewed for Soul and Spirit, for the October edition. It was a big, glamorous photoshoot with make-up artist and all! And only yesterday I was interviewed for the lovely magazine Greenmantle. I’m hoping to be interviewed again soon by Damh the Bard for the Druidcast, which will be fun. There’ve been reviews for Magus of Stonewylde in the Financial Times and on many book blogs.  The reviews have mostly been very favourable, especially from Andrea at Book Chick City who’s become totally Stonewylded! Please do add your own reviews to Amazon and Waterstones for all the books and especially for Shadows. I really do appreciate your comments - thank you! I have an incredibly busy August coming up (see events below) and am so excited about all of it. Please come and see me if you can at one of the events. And if you’d like to join my massive book-launch fest at Avebury, you’ve still got time to be included, but it is badge-holders only so make sure you follow the link below.  I’m especially looking forward to returning to my very first Waterstone’s in Dorchester and meeting up with the many friends and colleagues I left in Dorset. This is the first signing event for Book 4 and I can’t wait! I’d like to recommend a brilliant website I’ve recently discovered which I think will be very popular with Stonewlders.  It’s called Nature’s Calendar  and it’s part of the Woodland Trust, which Stonewylde supports. The Calendar adds daily to its wealth of info about Nature, and has some stunning photos. I wish I’d had access to it whilst I was still teaching as there are some great activities for youngsters too.  Do take a look. Our new website is holding up under the onslaught of visitors.  We’re trying to keep it topical but do let us know if there’s anthing we should add. I think some folk are confused about the website and the community forum.  They’re completely different places. Anyone can access the website www.stonewylde.com but if you want to leave a comment or contact me, you must first register and then login on subsequent visits to comment. The community at www.stonewylde.net is entirely separate and you’ll need to register and wait for membership approval. These precautions are necessary to deter spammers I’m afraid.  But please join us. Finally, I’d like to thank every one of you who’s supported me and Stonewylde to the extent that finally, the fourth book is about to be published.  None of this would have been possible without your support and I’m so very grateful.  Come and see me at a book event so I can thank you personally!  I’ll give you a free badge, postcard and a big hug. Have a beautiful Lammas-tide and happy reading! Kit xxxxxxxxx Breaking Stonewylde news      Stonewylde Newsletter 37 August 1st 2011 Bright blessings at    to all Stonewylders What’s been going on ... The Lammas Festival at the beginning of August is one of the four Celtic Cross Quarter Festivals, linked to the old farming calendar - some call it Lughnasadh.  This was a time when people were very close to the land and their lives were governed by the changing of the seasons and the need to grow enough food to survive. Lammas takes its name from hlaf maesse, the Old English for loaf mass and this is the time when the cereal crops are harvested. There are links to other cultures and religions too, notably Demeter and Ceres, also associated with crops and the harvest. There are many ancient customs involving the cutting of the first and last sheaf. The spirit of the corn, sometimes referred to as the Corn Mother, was the sacred symbol of this festival. Many cultures, including the Ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, held similar types of rituals where the bounty of the land was honoured.  It was also the time when John Barleycorn was sacrificed. Corn dollies are a feature of the Lammas festival, and in times past, different areas wove their own beautifully complex designs often decorated with bright ribbons or wool. Traditionally the corn dollies woven at Lammas (or their ashes) were ploughed back into the land at Imbolc, symbolising the return of the Corn Spirit to the earth, in an attempt to ensure a good crop the next year. Lammas is also the time of year when sweethearts exchanged favours - these were simple knots woven from corn and sometimes tied with a ribbon.  If a girl accepted a boy's favour, she'd pin it to her clothing to show the community she was "walking out" with a lad, and he'd pin her favour to his hat to do the same. The symbol at Stonewylde for Lammas is the head of wheat or corn, and it's a full day of celebrations for the folk of Stonewylde, but particularly the Villagers. Rituals start before dawn up in the Lammas Field, with the community spread around the perimeter and linked together to greet the sunrise. The crop is harvested in Visit the Stonewylde Website Dates for your diary ... Do come along and collect a postcard and badge.  And if you own a Stonewylde T-shirt - please wear it! Waterstone’s Book Events Saturday August 6th - Dorchester, Dorset  Saturday August 20th - Plymouth, St George’s Street, Devon Sunday August 21st - Truro, Cornwall Thursday August 25th - Guildford, Surrey (special writing workshop for teens) Friday August 26th - Woking, Surrey Tuesday August 30th - Broad St, Reading, Berks Saturday September 10th - Swindon, Wilts Saturday October 1st - Eastbourne, West Sussex Saturday October 15th - Camberley, Surrey Saturday October 22nd - Newbury, Berks Most signings start around 11.00am and I stay in the shop for about three hours or so, but please check the website here for full details as some of the events are different.  Book launch for Shadows at Stonewylde, Waterstone’s in Dorchester Saturday August 6th from 10.30am till about 3pm.  All four books will be available for the price of 3!  South-West Stonewylde booktour - Devon and Cornwall Friday August 19th -    Paignton Children’s Festival - 10.30am till 12 noon I’ll be speaking on stage at the Green for about half an hour and then signing books in Torbay Bookshop’s marquee afterwards. Walter Henry’s Bookshop, Bideford - 2.30 till 5.30pm.  Meet me in this lovely Stonewylded bookshop. Saturday August 20th -     Waterstone’s, St George’s Street, Plymouth - 11am to 1pm - booksigning event. Bookstop, Tavistock, Dartmoor - 2.30 till 5.30pm - booksigning in a bustling Dartmoor market-town. Sunday August 21st - Waterstone’s, Truro -  11am till 2pm - booksigning in the heart of Cornwall. Haunted Cornwall FM - live interview on radio 8 - 9 pm.  Follow this link. Teens’ Writing Workshop -  Thursday August 25th Waterstone’s Guildford, 3.30pm - a free workshop for all budding young writers followed by a Stonewylde book-signing.  Please book places in-store asap. Pagan Federation 40th Anniversary Event - Saturday October 8th - Kensington, London I’m delighted to be invited to this very special celebration - come and join the fun.  Click here. Latest information on events can be found on the Stonewylde website here Stonewylde Community news ... At the August Full Moon, many members of the Stonewylde Community will be gathering together at Avebury to celebrate the long-awaited launch of Shadows at Stonewylde -  some are crossing the water to be here, and others traversing the entire land.   This is a private event for members of the community, and will be badge-holders only in order to comply with Village Hall safety regulations concerning numbers.  Orion will be filming some of the event for marketing and PR.  John Wilding of The Henge Shop, who’s supported Stonewylde right from the very start and has sold hundreds of copies of my books over the past six years, will be there selling discounted copies of the new books.  For Aug 13th only, he’ll match Amazon’s prices - and I’ll sign ‘em!  If you’d like to be part of this amazing celebration, join the Stonewylde Community now to register for a badge. The event is completely free and promises to be a wonderful event! Many of us are making a whole weekend of it at the Moongazy Camp, where we’re holding a Stonewylde camping rally.  Organised by our dear Swampy, we’ve taken over a whole field in a nearby campsite and will be flying the flag  all weekend, with barbeques, fun and games, and a Stonewylde fancy dress party.  This weekend is only for members of the forum, so if you’re interested in joining us, please apply for membership soon.  Click here for details. Our long-standing member Jim Fox spent a hectic few days at Glastonbury Festival again, as the Master of Ceremonies on the John Peel stage. He’s sent us some fab photos of him on stage proudly sporting his Stonewylde T-shirt - thanks Jim! Apart from being a talented rock musician, Jim is also a sound therapist and runs courses and events - details here. Rose, a very special member of our community, tied the knot recently with her sweetheart up in Birmingham.  We wish the lovely couple every happiness together - and as they say, “May all their troubles be little ones!” But perhaps not yet as Rose is a brilliant schoolteacher and her pupils need her. Cornmother made the stunning favour featured next to my greeting at the top of this newsletter.  On-the-ball readers will recognise this, and if you haven’t, here’s a clue: “. . . it’s not quite the same as most favours . . .”  Now where exactly does that line come from? First correct answer wins a small prize!  Cornmother is one of the country’s leading experts on the art of corn dollies, and has worked tirelessly over the years promoting the craft and helping to run the Guild of Strawcraftsmen.  This year she’s spent the Lammas weekend at the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, Cornwall, making corn dollies and favours and chatting to the public.  Do take a look at their lovely website, and see the article on Cornmother in their news section. I was totally shocked on Friday night when I received an alert from a member of our community. Beautiful hairdresser “Creature” calls herself a hard-core Stonewylde fan, and really, I don’t think loyalty comes much stronger than this permanent mark of allegiance to Stonewylde.  Totally amazing! Finally, there’ve been several more Stonewylde moots/meet-ups all around the country.  The community spirit goes from strength to strength, and new members are always warmly welcomed.  The next annual gathering has been planned already for May in Avebury, and several members are planning to be handfasted then, surrounded by their Stonewylde friends.  If anyone is considering joining us for this event, or indeed any of the many other Stonewylde get-togethers which happen all over the place, please be reassured that you don’t need to be a pagan to join (many members aren’t) and also - you don’t need a Stonewylde tattoo!  A T-shirt, bag or even just a badge helps people identity each other, but permanent branding isn’t compulsory! . . this special field in the traditional way using sickles, and every man, woman and child from the Village is involved with harvesting the Lammas Field in time-honoured fashion.  Lammas cakes are eaten for breakfast, made from corn, butter and honey and flavoured with nutmeg. This is the day for honouring the Corn Mother, the symbolic spirit who lives in the crops and sacrifices herself every year for the community. When the last sheaf is harvested, it's carried ceremoniously to Magus and the Lammas Queen. She must weave it into a special corn dolly that is used in the rituals up at the Stone Circle that night, and is then hidden up in the rafters in the Great Barn, to protect the Corn Spirit during the cold winter months.  At Imbolc, the dolly is fetched down again for the Corn Spirit to be returned to the waiting earth in the Lammas Field.  There is also another custom that takes place when the last sheaf is cut - the killing of hundreds of rabbits trapped in the centre of the field, and made into special Lammas pies for supper. No place for squeamishness in the countryside! Information about the ancient craft of corn-dolly making can be found on the website of the Guild of Straw Craftsmen.  Many Stonewylde readers have memories of making simple corn favours at school, but generally it’s not a craft that’s taught to children nowadays.  There’s also a serious shortage of the old-fashioned type of crop needed to make corn dollies - it must be the hollow-stemmed variety which isn’t widely grown any more.  Members of the Guild of Strawcraftsmen are dedicated to keeping the craft alive, and run workshops and demonstrations for interested parties. You can read all about the Lammas festivities in the second book, Moondance of Stonewylde. Lammas is a good time to remember that we're all dependent on the bounty of the earth. Without the fertility of the land, and the life-giving powers of the sun and the rain, there'd be no living creatures on this planet. Take time to honour Nature's gifts to us at Lammas.          ©Steve Perry New editions of the first three Stonewylde books are now published in paperback, limited edition hardback and e-book. The fourth book will be published in hardback and e-book on Thursday August 4th.  Just in case you missed all the furore! There will be two new Stonewylde T-shirts available during August - they’re being designed and printed now - and a lovely new eco- bag.  Before, we tried to keep prices low and used the cheapest ones we could source.  But we’ve now decided that actually the ethics of Stonewylde Store goods should echo Stonewylde’s green principles.  So the new T-shirts and bags will be made from organic, Fair-Trade cotton and where possible screen-printed with water-based dyes.  I’ll be sending out a very quick newsflash to all newsletter subscribers as soon as the new goodies are available - should be mid August after the Avebury event. To make space in our poor, over-crowded house, we’re now selling off existing stock at reduced rates - yes, a STONEWYLDE SALE!  The black T-shirts featuring a silver labyrinth and the slogan “There’s no escape” are reduced to just £5.99, plus only £1 p&p in the UK.  The new logo Stonewylde T-shirts and strappy tops (white in ladyfit and natural in comfort fit) are reduced to £7.99 each plus £1 towards postage, and the eco-bags have now sold out.  Absolute bargains - only while stocks last as they say. We also have a Stonewylde pack available from the shop - a must- have for the keen fan.  Four different badges and a car sticker for £2.99 with free p&p.  These are proving very popular, so do show the world where your heart lies. Do let us know what sort of Stonewylde things you’d like to see available.  Our talented Wild Roses is about to launch the stunning new Stonewylde ear-rings, with more items to follow. Run by members, there’s a newly formed place on Facebook for all Stonewylde fans who’d care to join.  It’s called “The Clan of the Hare” and is open to anyone who loves Stonewylde. Do take a look if you’re a FB person.  They’re all being a bit naughty there at the moment. There’s a bit of a rumour flying around that the film rights to Stonewylde have been sold - THIS IS SOMEWHAT EXAGERATED!  Mr B and I have met with my agent and a film producer to discuss Stonewylde but it’s very early days yet. Yet . . .