Your Hands-on, Back-to-Basics Guide to Building a Magical PracticeAs if you're having face-to-face lessons on her porch, H. Byron Ballard introduces you to the ways of magic, answering vital questions about what it is, why it matters, and how to do it. She teaches the mechanics and foundational skills of practice, offering no-nonsense techniques that practitioners of any skill level or tradition can use.Drawing from her many years as a practicing witch, Ballard demonstrates how to engage daily with the energy around you. She encourages you to experience magic with fresh eyes―whether you're a beginner or need to regain a beginner's mind. This book provides grounding exercises, shielding methods, healing magic, insight on witchcraft tools, and more. Ballard offers everything you need to live a full, enchanted life in our deliciously magical world.
Alex Bledsoe Book order
This author delves into the complexities of the human psyche and the mysteries of Southern Gothic with a distinctive voice. Their work often draws from the rich culture and history of the American South, exploring the intricate relationships between characters and the world around them. With a keen sense for atmosphere and tension, they craft narratives that are both unsettling and irresistibly engaging, leaving readers with lingering thoughts.






- 2023
- 2022
Dandelion
- 294 pages
- 11 hours of reading
Set in a small Southern town overshadowed by a big-box store, the story explores the presence of demons that prey on the town's darker impulses. Reverend Deacon Elder, a disreputable deliverance minister, recognizes the source of the community's troubles and seeks help from an unexpected ally: a teenage girl who has experienced possession and still feels the pull of the demonic. Together, they confront the malevolent forces threatening their town.
- 2021
Seasons of a Magical Life
- 224 pages
- 8 hours of reading
An invitation to return to a simpler time of earth-based spirituality and ritual living, through writings from a small forest-farm in the Appalachian Highlands. This book looks at the agricultural year as a starting space for a deepening of earth-centered spirituality. It gives a set of backstories to ease the reader into a time between the pre-industrial era and the modern one, into a place where the fast-moving stress of American life can be affected by a better connection not only to the natural world but to the elegant expression of the year as expressed through seasonal festivals and celebrations. The chapters are broken into four seasons, with the quarter days a highlight within each, and feature simple skills that accompany each marker in the year. Author H. Byron Ballard offers advice on spiritual and physical immersion into the seasons that applies to readers from all rural, urban, and suburban. This is also a deeply practical book, including insights into the A glossary is included for any unfamiliar terms.
- 2021
Roots, Branches and Spirits
- 240 pages
- 9 hours of reading
Natural Magic and Folkways from Those Who Call the Blue Ridge Mountains HomeThe southern Appalachians are rich in folk magic and witchery. This book explores the region's customs and traditions for magical healing, luck, prosperity, scrying, and more. Author H. Byron Ballard--known as the village witch of Asheville--teaches you about the old ways and why they work, from dowsing to communicating with spirits.Learn the deeper meaning of haint blue doors, magic hands for finding, and medicinal herbs and plants. Discover tips for creating tinctures and salves, attuning to the phases of the moon, interpreting omens, and other folkways passed down through the generations. Part cultural journey and part magical guide, this book uncovers the authentic traditions of one of North America's most spiritually vibrant regions.
- 2020
CHAPEL OF EASE
- 320 pages
- 12 hours of reading
Many songs have been told about the Good Folk of Celtic mythology, but Alex Bledsoe weaves fairy tales unlike any other all set in the mythic and southern gothic-tinged foothills of Appalachia. When Matt Johansson, a gay actor from New York, auditions for the off-Broadway musical, Chapel of Ease, he knows it is the opportunity of a lifetime - especially after he befriends the shows composer, Ray Parrish. Misfortune strikes, however, when Ray mysteriously dies just as the show reaches its peak buzz during previews. Taking Rays ashes home to Tennessee, Matt is determined to find closure and figure out the musicals core mystery what
- 2018
The Fairies of Sadieville
- 366 pages
- 13 hours of reading
Charming and lyrical, The Fairies of Sadieville concludes Alex Bledsoe's widely-praised contemporary fantasy series about the fairy descendants of Appalachia.
- 2016
Long Black Curl
- 384 pages
- 14 hours of reading
In a world where fairy magic subtly intertwines with reality, two star-crossed lovers find their paths crossing once more in Long Black Curl. This installment of Alex Bledsoe's contemporary fantasy series delves into the complexities of their relationship against a backdrop of hidden enchantment and simmering rivalries, exploring themes of love, destiny, and the challenges posed by unseen forces.
- 2012
Burn Me Deadly. An Eddie Lacrosse Novel
- 352 pages
- 13 hours of reading
Left for dead by unknown assailants who have murdered a woman he was protecting, swordsman-for-hire Eddie LaCrosse sets out to avenge the attack and finds himself entangled in a mystery involving a notorious crime lord, a backwoods dragon cult, and royal scandals.
- 2012
Wake of the Bloody Angel
- 368 pages
- 13 hours of reading
Wake of the Bloody Angel, the fourth book in Alex Bledsoe's Eddie LaCrosse series. Twenty years ago, a barmaid in a harbor town fell for a young sailor who turned pirate to make his fortune. But what truly became of Black Edward Tew remains a mystery—one that has just fallen into the lap of freelance sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse. For years, Eddie has kept his office above Angelina's tavern, so when Angelina herself asks him to find out what happened to the dashing pirate who stole her heart, he can hardly say no—even though the trail is two decades old. Some say Black Edward and his ship, The Bloody Angel, went to bottom of the sea, taking with it a king's fortune in treasure. Others say he rules a wealthy, secret pirate kingdom. And a few believe he still sails under a ghostly flag with a crew of the damned. To find the truth, and earn his twenty-five gold pieces a day, Eddie must take to sea in the company of a former pirate queen in search of the infamous Black Edward Tew . . . and his even more legendary treasure.
- 2011
The Hum and the Shiver
- 350 pages
- 13 hours of reading
Set in a mystical Appalachian community, the story intertwines music and magic as it follows a young woman returning home after a long absence. She grapples with her family's legacy and the enchanting but dangerous Tufa culture. The narrative blends folklore with contemporary struggles, exploring themes of identity, belonging, and the power of songs that resonate through generations. Richly atmospheric and filled with unique characters, it invites readers into a world where the past and present harmonize in unexpected ways.