AM – Our Featured Author for this week is Tess Dawson. Tess is the author of Whisper of Stone: Natib Qadish, Modern Canaanite Religion and both an editor of and contributor to Anointed: A Devotional Anthology for the Deities of the Near and Middle East. Thank you for joining us today Tess!
TD – Thank you for the opportunity, Angelique.
AM – Please tell us a little more about yourself.
TD – I’ve been a polytheist and a qadish (a practitioner of the religion Natib Qadish) for over twelve years, I lead the largest online Canaanite polytheist groups, teach workshops, and I am a leader in the Near Eastern and Middle Eastern polytheist communities. So far, I’ve appeared on Witchtalk, Andrieh Vitimus’s Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole, and I’ve interviewed with Galina Krasskova. I write for Witches & Pagans, PanGaia, SageWoman, Circle, Pentacle, The Beltane Papers, Patheos, and a few anthologies. My Bachelor of Arts is in anthropology; and I’ve received ordination through ULC. I am the key figure behind the religion of Natib Qadish, a revival of Canaanite polytheist religion.
AM – How did you get started as a writer?
TD – I began writing short stories in the third and fourth grade. Often my teachers wanted us to read our stories aloud to the rest of the class. I wasn’t a popular kid growing up, but the other kids in class really liked to listen to my stories and it motivated me to write more. Around sixth grade, I had written my first theme paper and the teacher liked it so much he had me teach the class for a little bit. Throughout grade school, junior high, and high school, I would win awards for my writing. My favorite award was an all-expenses-paid trip to Cape Canaveral for a science fiction piece I wrote in high school. I had the opportunity to have lunch with another future author who would later write and publish in the paranormal field, Mac Tonnies, whom I was recently startled to hear had died two years ago.
Since childhood, I’ve enjoyed crafting tales as well as gathering, assembling, and interpreting information. Throughout the years, I’ve valued and practiced this skill and I plan on doing so for a long time to come.
AM – Please tell us more about your first book, Whisper of Stone. How was your experience working with O-Books?
TD – Whisper of Stone is the first book about practicing Natib Qadish. It covers topics such as the deities, beliefs, ethics, history, holidays, rituals, animals, plants, stones, magic, and even such topics as asherah poles, golems and the Eye (evil eye). I loaded it with footnotes so that my readers know where I got my information, and I made use of over eighty resources, many of which are translations of primary sources from Canaan.
I appreciate O-Books giving me the opportunity to have this book published; they continue to be great at reaching out to new talent. O-Books, at least when I published with them in 2009, had no “right of first refusal” clause in the contract, which can be a benefit for the author. They run much of their business and communications not through email but through a database and it is through this database that authors, editors, marketing, and so on communicate—it’s sometimes difficult to reach someone personally through email, and they do not make phone calls. Sometimes the database is convoluted and difficult to navigate, but it is helpful seeing all of that information available quickly. For authors who would like to publish with them, though, keep your eyes sharp. They actually uploaded the wrong, unedited manuscript of mine to the layout man, and I spent hours and dollars trying to help them work out what was their mistake to begin with. They had an editor read through my manuscript and all the editor did was change my quotation marks to conform with UK standards: that’s it. I would have preferred more editing. I’ve also had difficulties recently when I requested review copies of Whisper sent out to interviewers: O-Books sent the wrong book by the wrong author to my interviewers, and books got there later than desired. I told them to send overnight via overnight mail the correct book to remedy their mistake, and although they’ve sent (hopefully) the right book this time, they did not ship anything express and did not apologize to the interviewers or to me.
AM – Tell us about the Anointed anthology and your experience putting the book together with Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
TD – At first, I didn’t think I’d have enough material for Anointed for it trickled in very slowly. However, I had submissions surging in after the deadline, sometimes well over a month after the deadline. I even had contributions coming to me three months after the deadline. I’ve started a new folder and have collected these pieces in case of creating an “Anointed Part II.”
I loved working with so many talented people—gazing at their artwork, reading their grace-filled poetry, and pouring through their wise and thoughtful essays. I’ve even had the unique pleasure of meeting people who honor the old deities of the Near and Middle East in the Near and Middle East, as well as a few who are taking up other alternative religions like Wicca and Asatru in these areas. I appreciate the opportunity to bring these deities, ways, and ideas to people who are new to them, and to those who never knew that there were others who felt similarly.
I’ve enjoyed working with Biblotheca Alexandrina. They are a very small press run by an all-volunteer staff who have comported themselves with polish and professionalism. If I need anything or if I have a question or a concern, they answer swiftly and personably, and they work out the problem promptly.
AM – What inspired you to organize and contribute to this anthology?
TD – I am in a unique position amidst the Near and Middle Eastern polytheist communities because I network a great deal. If someone has an interest in Near or Middle Eastern religion, they are often directed to me or find me and I can help them find resources and online communities. I have run into people who honor not just the Canaanite and the Mesopotamian (Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian) pantheons, but also people who honor the Hittite, Hurrian and Arabian (Nabatean and Sabean) pantheons. Just to give a frame of reference, the Arabian pantheons encompass the original polytheistic Allah and the goddess Allat along with other deities. The Hittite and Hurrian pantheons were the original pantheons of the goddess Cybele, known as Kubaba in those ancient times.
There is a wealth of information and modern religious resources for people who honor the deities of Celts, Norse, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and increasingly the Hindu deities and African Orishas; however people who honor the deities of the Near and Middle East often feel like they are alone in their endeavors. It gladdens me that I can connect them with others. And now I have been blessed with the opportunity to know people in the Near and Middle East who are learning about alternative religions.
AM – What can we expect to see from you next?
TD – The Horned Altar: Canaanite Magic will be released through Llewellyn Worldwide sometime 2012-2013. The Horned Altar contains two parts, the first part is on ancient magic and the second part encompasses modern techniques. Overall, the book will include blessings; curses; recipes; amulets; alphabets; symbolism; magic theory; types of magic; life in Canaan; choosing a Canaanite name; the Canaanite concept of the body; and divination such as reading coffee grounds, rolling dice, and malformed animal fetus divination.
AM – As far as marketing yourself as an author and your books, what strategies have you tried? Are there any that have worked better than others?
TD – I do a great deal of networking, especially through the internet and systems like Facebook and Yahoo. Although I began by using Yahoo many years ago, Facebook has yielded more results in getting my work better known. I also enjoy organizing and teaching classes, and sometimes I will put together coffee socials. Writing and publishing articles also helps make my work more accessible and better-known. It is through networking and word-of-mouth that I’ve gained interview opportunities which further generate opportunities. I work on building a platform: getting my work better known, and building a base of friends and interested people. It is time-consuming, but worthwhile. Hiring a publicist could be helpful, but if the publicist doesn’t know your audience better than you, you might want to save the money and invest your time instead.
AM – As an author, what do you think is the most important piece of advice that you would give an unpublished writer?
TD – I’m certain every writer has heard the tired old tune of “keep trying,” but it is certainly true. It took me seven years of research and rejection slips before Whisper of Stone got published, and in that time I had to ride out many lows. I am thankful for my husband who acted as my primary cheerleader (even if he refuses to wear the mini-skirt and carry pom-poms). When you receive a contract from a publisher, it helps to have a lawyer look over it, or at the very least research the publisher who makes the offer to ensure that they are not a scam organization—there are many of those which prey on would-be authors. Also, when you are having a book published, prepare yourself as best you can mentally and practically for emergencies that invariably come up: always have a few contingency plans. Understand that getting the manuscript written is only one stage in a long process. If you are fortunate enough to have an editor, work with your editor: they want to help you make the best book you can for the publisher and for you.
AM – Where can we go to learn more about you, Canaanite Paganism, and purchase your books?
TD – I have been moving away from the term Paganism for what I practice, for a variety of reasons. I prefer the term Natib Qadish for my religion, or Canaanite polytheism, or Canaanite revivalism in the vernacular. As a practitioner of Natib Qadish, I refer to myself as a qadish.
To learn more, please feel free to visit my website Natib Qadish, Canaanite Religion at http://canaanitepath.com/ and my blog Knaʻani: Impressions of Tess Dawson, Canaanite Polytheist at http://tessdawson.blogspot.com/. I’m also present on Facebook, where Whisper of Stone and Anointed both have fan pages. My books are available through Amazon.com, or you can order them through your local bookstores. Retailers can order Whisper of Stone through National Book Network (NBN), http://www.nbnbooks.com/, and Anointed through Ingram Baker and Taylor at http://www.btol.com/index.cfm
AM – We appreciate you spending some of your time with us Tess! We wish you continued luck with Whisper of Stone, Anointed, and your other future writing endeavors.
TD – Thanks Angelique, and best wishes for you and your work, and thank you for this opportunity.