Autumn Equinox at Avebury

What beautiful weather we had for the Autumn Equinox! After the rain and cold of most of the summer, it was wonderful to be able to bask in sunshine and warmth one last time before the season really changes. We spent Saturday, the day before the equinox, in the New Forest doing a bit of tree hugging. It was lovely, sitting amongst a grove of beech, oak and sweet chestnut with the sunlight streaming down on us, feeling that special energy that dances and crackles around trees.

On the Sunday, we made our way to Avebury via the Barge Inn at Pewsey, famous for its crop circle theme. It's a lovely pub right on the Kennet Canal, with barges drifting past. One of the bars is devoted to crop circles, so prevalent in this area, with an amazing ceiling painted with symbols and icons. After lunch we moved on to Avebury, managing to park in the village itself rather than pay the extortionate amount charged in the NT car park. Avebury was very busy, many people obviously taking advantage of the fine weather for a trip out. There was a ritual taking place amongst the stones, with people dressed in robes and an altar set up. At first we thought this was a hand-fasting, but found out after it was an Autumn Equinox celebration.

We visited John and Esther in The Henge Shop, and I signed their stock of Stonewylde. They sell a great deal of the series and are always very welcoming. John was delighted with his Stonewylde T-shirt! He's a bit of a Villager himself, pressing his own cider, rearing pigs and keeping bees and chickens too. I hope to be doing another book-signing event at The Henge Shop next year when the fourth book Shadows at Stonewylde is published.

We sat for a long and peaceful time with our backs against one of the huge stones in the main village green part. It was so hot and absolutely wonderful. Every time I go to Avebury I have a different experience, and this Equinox it was a time of tranquillity and calm, just soaking up the atmosphere of such a magical and ancient place. I felt particularly special as I was wearing a beautiful necklace made for me by a very talented jeweller, Claire. She has her own business and makes one off pieces from silver, many set with stones. She'd designed this piece just for me and it is stunning, with a silver acorn, oak leaf and hare. The acorn is the symbol of the Equinox in Stonewylde, and is my birth symbol as I'm a September person. The oak leaf is the symbol of the Summer Solstice, and the hare of the Spring Equinox. The hare is my special totem, partly because I adore them (and have a wonderful collection of them added to this birthday by Mr B!) and also because it was an encounter with a hare that first set me on my path. The oak leaf was a tiny real one from a sapling that she'd grown herself from an acorn, and covered in silver. The necklace also contains a tiny sapphire for the hare's eye (sapphire being the birthstone of September) and a moonstone which is something also very precious to me, being a moongazy person. I was more touched than I can say by this unique gift. The photo above of the acorn doesn't do the necklace justice at all, but gives you an idea anyway. Take a look at Claire's work on http://www.wherethewildrosesgrow.co.uk/ and see just how talented she is.

After a peaceful hour or so by the stones, we then had a cup of tea in the NT cafe (the pub was packed to the gunnels and too busy for us) and walked around the rest of the stones. We had to visit my favourite Avebury spot - the wishing trees. These are a group of large beech trees where the atmosphere is incredible. Even if you're not into tree energy and magic, you must be able to feel the special aura that surrounds these beauties. There's a river of twisted roots cascading down the bank, and at this time of year when all the foliage is still out, it's a green canopy of dancing leaves and sunlight. Many folk come here to tie a ribbon to a branch, hence the wishing tree title. Although of course it's not just wishes - some just give thanks, others want to mark their presence. The ribbons are beautiful, hundreds of them fluttering from the umbrella of branches and enhancing the trees' auras. I didn't make a wish as such, but I did connect with the people who've visited that magical spot and left a little of themselves there. The wishing trees of Avebury are one of my favourite places on this earth.

On the way home we stopped at the Sanctuary. We decided not to visit the Long Barrow at West Kennet because there were many cars parked so it would have been very busy up there. I love this place - a real womb rather than tomb to me - and have spent lots of time there over the past few years. In fact the photo of the goddess in the landscape featured on the cover of Magus of Stonewylde was taken at this spot! But it's the kind of place where you want to be private and reflective, or at least be with a group in tune to the atmosphere, and we didn't want to visit when it was so busy with sight-seers.

The Sanctuary however was deserted, and this was my best visit here yet. Usually when I visit it's freezing cold with a whipping wind (the spot is high up and completely exposed and seems to catch any cold winds going) but this time is was warm and calm. Seeing the enormous amount of postholes that formed this very early wooden henge, which it's believed pre-dated the stones at Avebury, you get a strong sense of history and endeavour. It was Mr B's first time here and he was fascinated by the scope of the place, and the views of Silbury Hill and the Procession leading to Avebury itself.

This was one of my best Autumn Equinoxes ever, not least because of the precious gift I was wearing. I hope everyone reading this also had a special time at this Fire Festival where all is in balance and harmony.

Woman & Home feature

I was delighted to do an interview with Woman & Home and am now in a double page feature in the current (October) issue. It's a really lovely spread and was great fun to do. I'm also of course hoping that it will bring new readers to Stonewylde - which is why I've told my story of how I began writing, fell in love with Mr B, and am now a very happily married woman and full time author. There's not much mention of Stonewylde itself, but the website is at the end of the article and maybe it will at least help people to remember the name Kit Berry!

This article came about by accident really. My PR contact passed me details of a case study request for women whose children have gone to university and how they feel about this. I wrote a little piece about my two sons who've gone to uni (my middle son decided it was not for him) but apparently the features people at W&H loved my story so much they decided to write this article instead.

In case anyone is interested in the process, this is how it works. The interview is done by phone, and takes an hour or so. Any follow-up questions to check facts are usually done by e-mail. Then they arrange for a photographer and make-up artist to come and do a photo-shoot. This was very exciting. I've never had a make-over before and the gorgeous and very glamorous lady spent an hour working on me. The end result doesn't look like me at all! It's also important to wear bright colourful clothes rather than black, which is apparently everyone's first choice. Hmmn - I wonder why?!

The photographer was a very talented man called Steve Perry. His website is http://www.stephenperry.com/ if you want to take a look at some of his work. He was great fun and spent TWO HOURS taking literally hundreds of shots. They wanted some of me alone and some of Mr B and me together looking loved-up (not difficult of course!). Even though the photos were taken outside in our garden, he used a big light screen that flashes when the photos are taken. This gives the photos that glossy, flattering feel rather than harsh sunlight which doesn't do much for women of my age. Steve was such a perfectionist and took what seemed like dozens of shots all the same, but he's a true pro and knew exactly what he was doing. By the end of it I was beginning to feel like a bit of a celeb, especially as the make-up lady kept swooping in to tweak my hair and add lip gloss. And Mr B's head benefitted from the powder-puff too!

It was all great fun and very exciting to see the article when the magazine came out. I do hope it will bring new readers into our special world of Stonewylde. Oh - and my boys loved it too! There's an old snap of me with them in the feature. I thought they may object but they've been very supportive and proud. I'm a lucky mum.

Back to my roots!

Last Friday I returned to dear old Dorset to be a guest on the Steve Bulley show on Radio Wessex FM. Having already done an in-depth interview with Judi Spiers on BBC Radio Devon back in May, I was really looking forward to this. Steve's enthusiasm for Stonewylde grew steadily as the half hour progressed. Radio people are very clever and adaptable I think. We chatted about lots of Stonewylde stuff whilst music/adverts/trailers were on air, and then he'd immediately use the information he'd learned as soon as we got on air.

We talked about my inspiration for Stonewylde, and how I used to dream of a walled-off sanctuary as I drove past the Drax Estate near Wimborne over the years. We also chatted about the possibility of a film being made, which certainly interested Steve, and how we've set up a forum to enable Stonewylde fans to keep in touch with each other and discuss all things Stonewyldy (and many not so Stonewyldy!). Then we talked of the future, and how I'm currently working on the last two books in the series.

By the end of the slot, Steve's producer was also in the studio and very enthusiastic himself. He took a copy of the first book home with him for the weekend, so it'll be interesting to know what he thinks of it. I'd love to do more with Wessex FM, especially a phone-in from readers. There are many Dorset fans out there, and I hope some of them managed to catch the show on Friday.

On Saturday I then visited the Waterstone's branch in Dorchester for a book signing. When we'd arranged this ages ago I hadn't realised it would coincide with the Dorchester Show! But it was very busy in there - it's a lovely branch and there was a constant stream of customers. The weather cheered up and there was a three piece band playing right outside, which made the whole thing even more enjoyable. I was looked after by Jenny, and she and her colleagues had made a beautiful display for me of all the books - there was even a vase of flowers! Jenny hasn't yet read the Stonewylde Series (how hard it must be working in a bookshop - so much to read!) but I gave her a set of the books so hopefully she'll be Stonewylded at some point. There are several branches where staff have read the books and it makes so much difference. In my experience, all the Waterstone's branches I've done signings in have some really excellent and knowledgeable staff who take a great deal of trouble with customers and are happy to recommend titles. Let's hope Jenny comes across! It really matters to me that this particular shop promote Stonewylde, because for years it was my local bookshop (the independent bookshop in Weymouth having sadly closed its doors and I really don't count WH Smith as a book shop at all - and neither do they for that matter). When this Dorchester branch was Ottakers, it was the first bookshop to take Stonewylde, and I can't tell you the thrill it gave me to see my books on the shelves. Of course now they're available all over the country (although I still find it thrilling!) but Dorchester is special.

It was wonderful that so many Stonewylde fans came in to visit whilst I was there. One family are particularly staunch supporters and this was their third event! I used to teach one of their daughters, and now the whole family except the youngest (too young still) have read and loved Stonewylde. They've bought the T-shirts, sent out countless greetings cards, posted reviews on Amazon and generally been brilliant. It was also lovely to meet a rather shy teenage boy, who'd missed my last Dorchester event at the Pickled Witch Market but had come in on this day to meet me. Also a lady who'd already got all three books but had lent them to her daughter-in-law and never seen them again! She replaced these with a new set of signed copies and we took a photo together, which I've now sent her. Then another very loyal fan who's done a great deal to help promote Stonewylde turned up with her teenage daughter and her boyfriend, both wearing their T-shirts, and they handed out dozens of my promotional cards to passers-by.

All this really emphasised to me just how much Stonewylde appeals to such a broad range of ages, and both sexes. All these people were so enthusiastic about the books, and covered a wide age range. This mass appeal does make it very difficult to market the books, because to whom should we be pitching? Booksellers who haven't yet stocked the series look sceptical when I say that they're enjoyed by people from 12 up to 80+, but it really is true. However it does mean that every copy sold certainly justifies its expense, because I know that whole families have shared their books. Value for money or what??

Anyway, it was a lovely visit altogether. Thank you to everyone who came to see me. I really do love meeting readers, and to see familiar faces too. I hope that any people new to Stonewylde who bought the books on Saturday will enjoy them, maybe read this, subscribe to our newsletter and perhaps even join our wonderful forum. I really hope Jenny enjoys the books too. And when I left, she even gave me a thank-you card and bottle of wine - how fantastic!! It was my pleasure entirely.

Inside Stonehenge

I can't believe two weeks has passed already since our wonderful night at Stonehenge. I'm sure time is elastic, not constant. It seems to pass in a very strange and fast way sometimes, and for the last few months that's what it's felt like for me. I never seem to get half of what I need to do actually done.

Mr B and I were invited by a lovely and very loyal Stonewylde fan to join a group visiting the inner circle of Stonehenge during the night of the August full moon. We met up with our guide David Rowan and the group at Avebury, and walked around the stones before sitting in the pub and listening to his very interesting potted history of Stonehenge. What a fascinating and entertaining man David is! I've been on some other guided walks around stones before and have been quite shocked at the lack of real information that's passed on. Supposition and speculation are not the same as facts and proper history. However David was superb and presented his talk with a lively sense of humour too. Sujee and I posed for a photo in our Stonewylde T-shirts by one of the Avebury stones.

As darkness fell, we drove to Stonehenge, and by the time we arrived it was totally dark. Sadly no visible moon. However - as any moongazy readers well know, the energy and moon magic are as strong whether you can actually see the moon or not. As we were let into the locked site, I felt so excited. The security was tight and it made me feel even more honoured to be there. It was a chilly night, windy but not actually raining, and I'm pleased I wrapped a blanket over the five layers I was already wearing! In fact being wrapped in a blanket made me feel more at one with the ancestors who created the place. They wouldn't have been wearing a Weird Fish jumper nor a waterproof jacket (nor a Stonewylde T-shirt for that matter!!) So a blanket just clasped over my head and around my shoulders made me feel more appropriately dressed. Although it wasn't animal skin or coarsely woven wool of course. I'm digressing here.

In the pitch dark the nine of us entered the stone circle. If you've ever visited Stonehenge when the hordes of tourists are there in the daylight and walked far too quickly around the jumble of stones and felt mildly disappointed - believe me, you'd have appreciated the difference of this visit. The stones loomed HUGELY over us. I pressed myself up against one and felt myself melting into another reality almost. The size and majesty of it!

In fact it wasn't pitch black at all once your eyes adjusted to the darkness. As the road is so close, there was a constant although not too obtrusive, stream of cars whizzing past every so often. As the cloud was so thick, the light from what I would imagine was Salisbury was reflected back, a weird orange colour which you can see in the long exposure of the photo above. But it was still dark enough to be very atmospheric and very private.

I don't want to say what I felt in that circle in great detail because some things are best kept private. But I did feel an immense affinity with humanity as a whole. The human race - our silly, ambitious, crazy species and all that we aspire to and create and destroy. That sounds like a line from a Pink Floyd song and actually dark side of the moon seems appropriate. "Everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed by the moon". It was a partial eclipse that night and it would have been wonderful to see that, but we imagined it anyway, and certainly felt the energy and tingly excitement of the full face of the moon. I imagined the thousands upon thousands of human beings who'd stood inside that circle (including a little eight year old Kit Berry and a little Mr B too, at different times of course). I imagined their faces and bodies and how they must have experienced hopes and dreams, love and sorrow, just the same as we do now. I had a very strong sense that night of being connected to everyone by the thread of imagination and creativity that we all carry within us. It really was a very magical night and one I shall never forget for as long as I live.

Thank you dear Sujee for making it possible. Thank you David Rowan for being such a brilliant guide and being such fun. You can find out more about David's work on his website which is http://www.davidrowan.co.uk/