Tenacious Magic Novel ~ Full List of Links ~ Entire Book in One Place and Open to All
Tenacious Magic Novel ~ Full List of Links ~ Entire Book in One Place and Open to All
The end of one alchemical experiment and the beginning of something new
Dear Friends,
A couple of days ago, I wrote and posted the last chapter (Chapter 22, Part 2) in the serial novel, Tenacious Magic, I’ve been releasing since January. Now, I’d like to do two things:
Open the chapters up to all/remove the paywall
Put all of the links in one place for your reading ease
Friends who know what a big project this has been for me have asked, “How do you feel?” The word that comes to me is COMPLETE. I feel like I completed the karmic cycle, made good on the promise to Katherine, and broke the spell I was under with H. In the process, I alchemized and transformed aspects of myself, old wounds, stories, the past. I feel more whole and ready for something new to emerge.
I also feel HAPPY. I feel thrilled to have done what I set out to do. I finished a draft of the manuscript, here in public, with your help, before my birthday at the end of the month. It’s funny how we humans mark things in decades…I’m turning 50 on August 28 and I really wanted to finish my first book before my 40s were complete. Phew. Right under the wire :)
Of course, it’s a rough draft and I have a lot more to do. I’d like to edit it and find a publisher, for one. I want to hold this book in my hands. I want to make a movie. Wouldn’t that be fun? I am beginning to suspect the next decade is going to be one of audacious goals, fruition, and fun.
I really hope, readers, that this act of opening and consolidating the book will make it easier for many of you to enjoy. I tried something around Chapter 7 and took the content behind the paywall. The lowest subscription to my Substack is $8/month. I have 57 paid subscribers. This was a gamble. I hoped more people would pay for the writing in order to follow the story real time. That didn’t work out as planned. A few people subscribed and a few dedicated readers have been with me all the way through—commenting and supporting even to the last. It was hard to feel the drop in readership and continue undeterred. It was also hard for me to take that stand and request payment for content. I’m happy I did it. It felt important to me to honor the plan once I’d announced it. Now, I feel excited to make it all available to ALL of you.
I feel a little nervous about how the story stands up to binge reading ;) I wrote it week-to-week sometimes without looking back. I really wanted the story to emerge and feel spontaneous…not fiddling too much with it and trusting the process. I will work on flow and coherence as I compile a single manuscript. I hope you can forgive me and read it with that in mind.
I also hope you’ll continue to comment. I read all comments and enjoy them. I genuinely incorporated your reactions and ideas as they came in and I want to continue to do that. Just because the story is “complete,” doesn’t mean it can’t still change, improve, etc. It’s still alive! That’s the beauty of this medium.
Thank you to all of you who encouraged me along the way. I needed it and it helped. I also have to say…it felt amazing to get this story out into the world. It’s been like a caged bird within my Spirit. And now it’s free.
Today, on a long drive to the airport I found myself crying a good cry. I saw—really saw, maybe for the first time—how I betrayed myself in my experience with H. I understand now that seeing that doesn’t erase the beauty, magic, wonder, and good that also happened with him. It also doesn’t exonerate him…or condemn him, for that matter. But, I hope it means I’ll never do that again. It felt great to have something to work with that was squarely in my court; something I could do just for me. Something…private.
Please keep commenting. Enjoy the story!
Love and gratitude,
Schuyler
Tenacious Magic - A Serial, Emergent, Collaborative Novel
~ THANK YOU ~
Those with eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to feel soak up your words and alchemize them; that was my experience and my reflection on it. For me it became “my story” as I saw parallels in myself veiled in nuanced form as you described the depth of your elation and disappointment, the internal wrestling mirrored in the two relationships, both in markedly different cultural contexts but both compelling the making of choices that are so universally descriptive of the polarities seeking unity and completeness in each other...a primal story skillfully and artfully expressed so creatively in a helical form, each strand weaving in and out of the other, seemingly separate but always entwined...I really enjoyed reading it and wish you well as its evolution unfolds...thank you for having the courage to persist and give it birth...it is very inspiring (((•)))
Schuyler, this book came out today and I thought of you. Perhaps you are already aware of Sophie Strand and her work, also on Substack.
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Madonna-Secret/Sophie-Strand/9781591434672. (((*)))