A Farewell Announcement
/In 2013, I received a phone call from someone exciting and totally unexpected, making an offer I couldn’t refuse. Kim Cross, owner and creator of what was then known as Faerie Magazine, the phenomenal periodical for all things magical and enchanted, wanted to see if I wanted to join her team. She’d been talking with her friend, folklorist and scholar Ari Berk, about finding new writers and team members, and he suggested that she take a look at my blogs, The Beautiful Necessity and Domythic Bliss, devoted to Pre-Raphaelite art (TBN) and mythic interiors (DB). Impressed by what she saw, she offered me a position on staff at Faerie.
This position later turned into the title of senior editor, and I worked with the team, mostly with editor-in-chief Carolyn Turgeon and art director Lisa Gill, on 31 quarterly issues over the next eight years. I’ve written articles on extraordinarily magical locations, incredibly talented artists and magic makers, and bared my heart in personal pieces. I’ve written a handful of repeating bullet point “checklists” on a variety of whimsical topics illustrated by the incomparable Guinevere von Sneeden, I’ve had my short fiction and poetry published, and assisted in a photo shoot dear to my heart that featured a beautiful young model with Down Syndrome. I’ve further supported and celebrated the magazine celebrating diversity in its pages in multiple ways. And I’ve photographed products and items for feature articles, and had my own image featured in the pages of the magazine several times for articles and spreads.
To put it succinctly, I’ve had an amazing time, a wonderful experience, and a sublime run at then-Faerie-now-Enchanted-Living Magazine. However, recently I’ve started thinking that in the limited free time I have to explore my creative passions (what with having a full-time day job) I wanted to concentrate more on my own personal projects, especially creative writing. Toward that end, I contacted Kim, Carolyn, and Lisa to let them know that I would be stepping down from my role at Enchanted Living as of the completion of the Summer 2021 (Enchanted Spaces) issue.
Two days after I gave my notice at the magazine, my world fell apart in a very big and very serious way, and I’m still in a long-term process of recovering from that. I am so thankful that the universe told me to clear my schedule for this massive deep work of recovery and healing. And I do hope that as I continue that process, my initial goal of further exploring my own personal creative projects will start to unfold.
I’ve absolutely loved my time at Enchanted Living, and am so proud to have been a part of the extraordinary team who produce it. Don’t discount the possibility of my writing appearing at some point in future issues!