A month ago, my latest book, Dream Witchery, was released by Llewellyn Worldwide and hit the shelves everywhere. I AM delighted with the amazingly positive response everywhere, from a total Sold-out in several US stores to an immediately Out-of-Stock in Amazon UK.

Also, during the edition process, the book was adapted into a 12-hour audiobook, narrated by Gary Tiedemann and distributed by our absolute favorite: Tantor Audio

Also, the rights have been acquired to translate and adapt the book into Portuguese later. Published at any moment in the next few years.

Because it is a 400-page book, some stores still do not have it, which is easy to understand; even if they need it, this book takes up two or even three books in a shelter. We are talking about 400 pages of pure magic and South American folklore curated (as it should be) by someone from South America.

Dream Witchery began as a small collection of notes on dream magic from various journals I brought from Venezuela & Brazil, translating these and constantly comparing notes while curating each line as much as possible.

All of these notes had something in common with the manuscript. They came from different tribes, cultures, and parts of South America. I group these notes by country and later by tribe of origin. I was making it a tribal-dreams-magic grimoire.

From the Caribs and Yanomami to multiple other families/tribes that inhabit the central and northern region of the Amazon, especially those near our most significant rivers, learning sorcery, hunting, and medicine is just a part of Dream Witchery.

This manuscript had about 65k words written at the time of its presentation to the publishing houses. This was before including all the collaborators and guests from different regions and cultures who agreed to be part of this work.

This book had 65k words at the time of its presentation to the publishing houses before including all the guests from different regions and cultures who agreed to be part of this work. They gave the book a diverse, beautiful flavor and a - yet necessary - contrast.

Dream Witchery was rejected and questioned by multiple editors and publishers for (as they mentioned) "not being commercial enough" or "too black." They would prefer (as always) a book written by a British woman or a white American man about OUR culture. Or a simple other Spellbook.

One of the most important contributions in this book was having the help and support of my partner, David Dagnino, who, in addition to being an Engineer who graduated with honors, is a dedicated freelance illustrator and has carried out multiple projects in the past, not only for me.

I needed more than an illustrator, someone from my country and land who knew my culture and who could represent it in detail, from the old skin-changer man with his cigar and horns from Nueva Esparta to the devilish tree of Trinidad and the masks of the dancing devils of Yare.

Working on each illustration separately one by one and constantly modifying them under the editor's notes to improve their quality took hours and hours of work every day, and the result was worth every second. Because bringing positive and quality representation was always the goal.

The editor's notes made by Heather Greene during the editing process were our daily homework; she perfectly knew how to wisely press the points necessary to maintain the work, which was pure and balanced for readers.

She knew how to balance a 400-page book; she guided each step of the process gently but with due and notable experience. Dream Witchery passing through her hands was a compilation of journal-like notes that became a beautiful, orderly manuscript for Llewellyn Worldwide.

The enormous team behind Llewellyn understood that Dream Witchery was not another book on dream magic but a magical compilation of tribal stories, initiatory rites, formulas, and Amazon folklore with dozens of necessary footnotes to shape the book's spirit.

Writing formulas and rituals that you have witnessed many times but have never read in another book was difficult. This required acting like a storyteller, telling the reader every detail of what you experienced and saw from your eyes and helping the reader to understand the world from your vision, from what you lived, over and over again.

Imagine being present during a 12-hour ritual with at least a hundred people in the mountains, comparing your notes with others, and trying to detail the essential points so the reader can glimpse what you experienced at a concise age.

To close the final process, the collaborators and endorsements came, and each of them was chosen from a long list of possibilities to offer a picturesque and colorful contrast, to offer and celebrate our magical diversity.

Most of the books of Witchcraft have contributors limit themselves to inviting the AMZN-best-selling American authors of the moment (not very diverse). This community includes celebrated authors, yes, but also bloggers, event organizers, store owners, jewelers, and artists who use their platform to elevate others. And I want it to celebrate them too.

For this reason, those invited to collaborate on Dream Witchery were so diverse, and each one had something completely different to offer, from recipes from my mother and grandmother to recipes from authors and bloggers from Latin America and other parts of the world.

Featuring contributors in Dream Witchery include:

Ariana Carrasca • Oncle Ben • Maria Elena U. • Miss Aida • J. Allen Cross • Lorraine Monteagut • Hector Salva • Laura González • Phoenix Coffin Williams • Jennifer Sacasa-Wright • Dawn Aurora Hunt • Alysha Kravetz • Mira A. Gade • Laura Davila • Emma Kathryn • Temperance Alden • Mawiyah Kai EL-Jamah Bomani • Ella Harrison.

They bring (literally each one of them) something unique, magical, beautiful, and authentic to this book.
The last months before publishing a book are full of nerves, constant anxiety attacks, at least in my case, and few breaks. But having the blurbs of other authors who read the book was the most positive support it could require, and that came from those who read and endorsed it.

#dreamwitchery was beautifully gifted with magical words by the people I most respect in this community. Including Vincent Higginbotham Jake Richards - Author Judy Ann Nock Claudiney Prieto Rebecca Beyer. And Annwyn Avalon they give it like a powerful blessing.

And now that eight years of work (the same time I have been living in the USA) are available in your local bookstores and virtually everywhere, it is an ancestral celebration of life, the words of the ancestors of my land, and the ancestors of many others, healing the world, one reader at a time... I Am just Happy and Grateful.

PS: Dream WItchery is available in your favorite local bookstores for those who don't have it yet. Barnes & Noble and Amazon Kindle.

with love, Elo!Dream Witchery: Folk Magic, Recipes & Spells from South America for Witches & Brujas