Monday, March 20, 2023

Explore More with Amelia #3: Spring 2023

Happy Spring Equinox! March is my birthday month and, this year, a time to both celebrate and remember. For one, it's been ten years since the first edition release of Breakfast with Bigfoot! April 20 is National Sasquatch Awareness Day, as I'm sure you know already, and what better way to party than with a heartwarming tale of benevolent child abduction? Based on Albert Ostman's 1924 Bigfoot encounter, and with a message (I promise) about staying safe while hiking, this book is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

Shifting gears in a big way, I'd like to take a moment to lovingly remember BC Farr of the Old Baraboo Inn. He passed away at home in late February after a long battle with heart disease. His sister, Shelly Wells, stood by him in the most difficult of times and continues to make the Old Baraboo Inn such a special place. BC was always generous, kind, and welcoming to us, and his memory is truly a blessing.

In ongoing news, The R.I.P. Files is now also on Devotv and YouTube TV. I'm getting pumped for a busy spring and summer. There will be a few surprises along the way, too, so stay tuned! Thank you and Happy Hauntings!
~Amelia

Explore More...

Screenshot, with Scott and Forrest,
from Astonishing Junk Drawer.
Wee folk! But beware these mischievous, elusive beings! In late February, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador tweeted an alleged photo of an alux, along with an ancient Mayan architectural representation of the same. In a twist of synchronicity, I (and our celebrity dog Oskar) appeared the same week on the Astonishing Legends patrons-only show, Astonishing Junk Drawer, discussing my and my Uncle Bernie's "gnome" experiences. Watch my interview here and see below for an excerpt from Maryland Ghosts: Paranormal Encounters in the Free State, in which my Uncle Bernie describes one of his "gnome" encounters. No underpants were stolen. Wee folk appear in folklore and mythologies around the world. What do you think of sprites, Pukwudgies, leprechauns, gremlins, goblins, gnomes, faeries, elves, elementals, duendes, aluxes, and the many other names these fascinating and mysterious beings go by?

"As I approached the part of Route 70 West [near Frederick] where railroad tracks pass under the highway, I noticed something down in the knoll by the tracks.

"I slowed down. There was no traffic behind me. There sitting on the knoll was a man of childlike proportions. His head and nose were large, his body small, sitting hunched over, resting his forearms and elbows on his knees.

"He was dressed in childlike clothing, with long-toed slippers, tights, a long shirt with a waist belt or rope, and he had a dark blue hat that reminded me of Peter Pan's hat. I could not believe my own eyes, and wished I had a camera.

"His eyes seemed large and brown, yet a bit sunken due to his high cheekbones. His hands seemed unusually long for his size, fingers folded, yet he had large knuckles. I noticed him noticing me, as he glanced to his left. Remember, my vehicle was moving very slowly at this point.

"I tried not to make eye contact with him. I didn't want to disturb him, and of course didn’t want to wreck my vehicle. But then it happened: our eyes made contact and he, the 'gnome,' was gone in a flash, completely vanished.

"I could not resist, I had to stop and investigate. Upon my arrival at the knoll, I went to the exact spot he had been. I noticed patches of grass were matted down and a few acorn shells were lying about. 

I shared my sighting with Debra when I arrived in Altoona, but as you can imagine, I don't think she believed me."

Two-Year Anniversary: Amelia's DragonGoddess Boutique!

Over at Amelia's DragonGoddess Boutique, we recently sold out of our first two batches of incense and have a new recipe in development! Our items are now in stores across Chicago, Galena, and Salem, including A Darkness Lovely, BottlesUp, Hermetic Arts Learning Center, Malliway Brothers, and The Colette Collection. Instead of a birthday sale, we've lowered overall prices on our solid perfumes and dragon meditation kits, and we've introduced our newest item, Pathways Notecards (Set of Five), which debuted in person last month at the Dead of Winter Conference in Alton, Illinois! See below for more details and thank you all for another awesome year!

Featured Book: Breakfast with Bigfoot

Third edition from Haunted Road Media, 2020 
Illustrated by Charles Swinford
$11.99 Paperback on Amazon/Barnes & Noble

Kindle Best Seller in: Children's Nature

So, Bigfoot does exist, but does he like peanut butter and goldfish crackers? Find out in Breakfast with Bigfoot, written by Amelia Cotter and illustrated by Charles Swinford. Adventure and laughs are just around the corner as Gretchen and her new pal Bigfoot discover a thing or two about both the kinds of food that people eat and the kinds found in nature. For ages three through six.

"Funny and sweet! A charming story that teaches good wilderness principles to the read-it-to-me-again set."
–Cristina Bryan, author of Miss Chicken Brings Lunch

New Item: Pathways Notecards (Set of Five)


Each attractively packaged notecard set comes with five unique notecards, one of each design pictured. Notecards are blank inside.

About: Our beautiful Pathways Notecards feature the fine art photography of Jonathan Montgomery Pollock and highlight floral or plant portraits symbolic of life's journeys. Designs include: forgotten bouquet at Rosehill Cemetery Mausoleum in Chicago; autumn path at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois; white lily in Chinatown, Chicago; electric glow buds in Chicago; and prairie path near Horseshoe Mound Preserve in Galena, Illinois.

Upcoming Appearances

Chicago Paranormal Convention at Countryside Banquet and Conference Center in Countryside, Illinois
June 17, 2023

Haunted America Conference at Lewis and Clark College in Alton, Illinois
June 23-24, 2023

2023 Midwest Paranormal Conference at Woodstock Opera House in Woodstock, Illinois
July 8, 2023

Amelia's DragonGoddess Boutique at BeyoU Ladies' Night at BottlesUp, Chicago
August 10, 2023

Brumder Mansion in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 13, 2023 at 7 p.m.

Milwaukee Paranormal Conference at Irish Cultural and Heritage Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 14, 2023

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