Who is Running this Chaos Carnival?
Naomi Valkyrie is an Author, Ordained Priestess, former Massage Therapist, Energy Therapist, Yoga Instructor, and Director of Domestic Operations in a Neurodivergent household.
Most days Naomi can be found immersed in a good book, or writing one. On occasion, she enjoys coloring, word puzzles/searches, and exploring ancestry. When those hobbies fail to keep her interest, you might find her watching Star Trek, I Love Lucy, Scooby-Doo, or other classic TV shows just to switch things up.
What is Kaleidoscope Muse?
Kaleidoscope Muse is a branch off the Kaleidoscope Romance website where I house my full book catalog (under a few different pen names) and several other book related things.
Kaleidoscope Romance is a book community for the misfits, the outliers, the readers who march to the beat of their own drum, and the authors who give convention the middle finger, writing completely at the whims of their muse.
Because my spiritual practice tends to tie into my writing process, you’ll find Kaleidoscope Muse more of my thoughts, feelings, and experiences from that perspective.
Where You Can Find Me Besides Here
Outside of Kaleidoscope Muse on Substack (not posting there too often, mainly using it for visibility to lead back here), you can find Kaleidoscope Romance on BlueSky, Mastodon, and the Kaleidoscope Romance website. KR is also on Facebook, but that's not where I spend most of my time.
Why I Write
Unlike a lot of people who start a writing journey, I didn’t have a childhood dream of becoming an author. It wasn’t until my early 40s I realized it was even an option.
I spent nearly 20 years practicing massage therapy in conjunction with energy work and teaching Yoga; but doing so much massage finally took its toll on my body and I had to stop.
Along with the life change of losing my career, there came another initiation. In the process of having my kids evaluated, I learned I am Neurodivergent.
Overall, this was a positive discovery. For the first time, life made sense. And yet, it was still a challenge. I had to grieve the life I could have had if I’d known this information in my childhood.
But of course, the Universe has a stellar sense of humor and decided I needed one more thing to wrangle. I entered the transition to becoming a Crone. There’s nothing quite like the Universe putting you inside a snow globe and giving you a hearty shake.
In the midst of all this upheaval, I decided to go all-in on writing. Initially, writing was something I just wanted to see if I could do. But it became an extraordinary channel with which to process all the moving pieces of my life as they shifted around to create something new. Writing has been one of the best transformational tools I’ve had access to as I’ve navigated the choppy waters of mid-life.
Somewhere out there, someone needs to know they aren’t alone. Someone else has been through the storms, too.
Stories are the way we connect to each other on a soul level. The words we write can resonate with someone else deep in their being. In that moment, regardless of whether it’s a spiritual musing, a fictional tale, or me ranting about an everyday annoyance, we are existing in resonance with each other. We see each other. We hold each other in that space, even if we are not physically in the same place.
That’s why I’m here. That’s why I keep doing it.
Many blessings and happy reading!
A version of this, tailored to fit, has been cross-posted to Substack.
It shouldn’t have to be clarified, but this is the world we live in now: this article is written by a human.