Description

Catch a glimpse of a New Jersey even weirder than the one you think you know, as a covenful of very modern Wiccans wrestle challenges both supernatural and mundane—and, occasionally, each other. The personal injury attorney who chose kitchen-witchery over his family’s five-generation lineage of old school ceremonial magic would like to miss his dead parents, only now that they’re dead they won’t leave him alone. The professional fortuneteller stands out at forty paces, with her profusion of silver amulets glittering over her Goth wardrobe, but nobody has guessed her secret sorrow, especially not the covenmates who see her as their wacky comic relief. And the resident skeptic, a reluctant Pagan if ever there was one, will have to eat her words if her coven sister’s new boyfriend really does turn out to be from Atlantis. The Jersey Shore’s half-hidden community of Witches, Druids, and latter-day Vikings must circle together against all challenges. It’s a good thing they’re as resilient as the wild rugosa roses that hold together the dunes.

“This is one of the most grounded-feeling urban fantasies I’ve ever read, with deeply developed characters whose real-life issues marvelously intertwine with the magic in their lives, featuring a strongly positive theme of a supportive, inclusive community.” — Trish Matson, The Skiffy and Fanty Show

“In Sarah Avery’s collection Tales from Rugosa Coven (revised for republication), the suburbanite neo-pagans of her three linked novellas cope with personal and interpersonal matters–bereavement, abuse, mental illness, relationship struggles, clashing ontologies–in intersection with the supernatural. This combination can be a recipe for disaster, given the risk that fantasy elements can undercut or even trivialize such significant real-world issues. Avery handles the challenge with great subtlety, sensitivity, and wisdom, creating three-dimensional characters I grew to care about deeply. And so will you.” – Cynthia Ward, author of The Lucy Harker Adventures

“The Mythopoeic Society was right to recognize Tales From Rugosa Coven with their Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. For members of the Rugosa Coven, everything is magical and everything is mundane: a yew tree is also a temple, a garden is also an astrological calendar, and notes from the dead materialize when no one is looking. Tales From Rugosa Coven is comforting and strange, filled with humor and heartache, and the painful truth that those we love are our greatest sources of joy and pain. It is a reminder that the world — every world, seen and unseen — is manifest in its weirdness and wonderfulness. And that walking that weird and wonderful path is best done in the company of those we love, and who love us in turn.” — Rebecca Buchanan, author of The Maiden and the Marrow Witch: A Tale of Magic and Murder

ISBN: 978-1-952456-37-4 (print), 978-1-952456-38-1 (ebook)
Page count: 344
Genre: contemporary fantasy, Wiccan fantasy, pagan fiction
Cover artist: InkSpiral Design