Subtle Matters

07/26/2026

hey, Witches Brew Coffee look what I found at Home Goods today!
do I need it? prolly not.
did I get a pack? of course.

07/12/2026

all I did was submit my story to Grown-Up Storytime502 a couple of weeks ago, and look what I got today!
I, most likely, won't make it in person (at least from what I know now) but this was fun to do, and even more fun to know that there is that one storyteller who will go on stage to read mine.
there is an option to submit a story and/or sign up to read one on stage.
if and when my schedule is different, I would love a chance to go on stage to read someone's story.
as of now, I'm thrilled for someone to read mine!

06/26/2026

picked up the author's copies today.
book number 14, fresh and hot off of the presses!

https://a.co/d/0fnadlvU

06/14/2026

Pixie Drops volume 7
Pockets Full of Echoes
courtesy of From the Ground Up Books and Resources

06/14/2026

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT!!

Subtle Matters will be at The Bewitched Bazaar in September. Not only will they have beautifully handcrafted wooden crystal grids, they also offer Oracle readings along with their own metaphysical books.

Come and see Subtle Matters this September 5 at The Bewitched Bazaar, located at the end of Lake Iola in Scottsburg, Indiana.

06/11/2026

Book number 14 is officially live!
P.S. Amazon said it could take up to 3 days to show it as "in stock" - this is why it says that it's "Currently unavailable" - but it's there!

I come from Ukraine. I was born in USSR and witnessed its downfall before I was a teenager. I grew up with the language that is hard-to-impossible to speak and even harder to understand. That language includes idioms and folk sayings. Whenever I talk to my American counterparts, I inevitably thin...

05/21/2026

I had an interesting discussion with my daughter the other day about Fantasy genre.
I'll be honest, I am not a big Sci-Fi reader. there really is a handful of authors whose books in that genre I enjoyed thoroughly and can swear by when recommending.
My most favorite and first to mention is and probably always will be Robert Asprin and his MYTH series. The series has 19 books in it, and he never finished it because he died in 2008. I first read them translated into Russian and then went to the original version and, before I knew it, read all 19 existing volumes in English. It reads in one breath, I love how easily digested the books are.
The other one that has a similar vibe and feeling is Xanth series by Piers Anthony. When I read it after finishing MYTH, there were times when I felt like someone must have cloned Asprin and made the clone write books, and the clone understood the assignment. The first volume makes a great introduction to the world everything happens in, and the rest just take it from there.
There is a book written by Strugatski brothers Monday Begins on Saturday - it was originally written in Russian but has been translated into English (and possibly other languages - I didn't check). It's a light-hearted almost comedic book about a lab where magic happens. It does have some language nuance, and I'm curious how that was translated (I read it in Russian).
And let's not ignore the oldie but goodie: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I ended up reading it after watching the movie, mostly because I love finding the places where movies don't match the books they are based off of. Both are great, in their own ways.
And, really, this pretty much completes the list of my favorite Sci-Fi novels.
Should I cover my favorite biographies next? :)

05/17/2026

gotta be honest: I'm still not sure when it's my spirit guides and when it's just plain anxiety. sometimes, it's obvious: a favorite song, a favorite (or least favorite) number combination, a shiny Pokemon (bonus points if it's rare)...
and sometimes, it's "is that you or am I just paranoid?"
by now, they know that I'll keep asking until I either get an answer I can interpret correctly without doubting myself or just go and do something dumb... I mean, human.
on Friday, as I was trying to decide whether I should do something or it's all going to work out without my involvement, I passed by a bowl with my giveaway stickers, and this one was peeking out from underneath others...
okay, okay, I got it!.. but what about the 1%?.. 😆