Dispatches from the silver key

Arcane Arts

Welcome to the first issue of Arcane Arts: Dispatches From The Silver Key.

AKA, I have an email newsletter and figured I’d best get down to using it.

Why this newsletter?

I harbor a minor but omnipresent fear that one day Google will delete the Blogger platform without warning or fanfare, and the little castle of sand I call The Silver Key will be swept out to sea.

I like my archaic blog and don’t want to migrate over to something like Substack. Substack is modern, has better publishing architecture, and it has email distribution.

But I'm old-school, and stubborn. So, I’m staying. But that doesn’t mean blogger is perfect.

Arcane Arts makes things a bit stickier, and gives you a reason to return, like a magic-user casting web or suggestion.

I also thought that anyone who takes the time to sign up might be someone who likes what I have to say. And interested in extras that don’t quite fit.

What am I going to do with Arcane Arts?

I’m a creative person and long-range planning isn’t necessarily my forte. Which is another way of saying: I don’t know. But here’s a few thoughts:

· Links to Silver Key posts, like this recent one on a pair of books I'm planning to read and review.

· News about my heavy metal memoir, which will be published this year

· Roundup of my personal doings

· Albums and songs I recommend

· Meaningful quotes/book passages

· Giveaways

· Casting resurrection on posts from the archive

· Random things I like

Most of all I'm hoping Arcane Arts serves as a means to connect with others who share the same offbeat, fanastic interests as I. I’m an introvert but I’m not a solitary animal. I enjoy community but not necessarily the kind of performative stuff you see on social media.

I don’t even quite know the frequency. But this won’t be high-volume or noisy — just occasional dispatches when I have something worth sharing.

So in that spirit: What do you want to see? I very much welcome your ideas and input.