How did they find me? I’m not a Wiccan or a New Age fanatic. I’m not into astrology and I didn’t actively participate in Talk Like a Pirate Day, although I’m sure I told my one and only pirate joke a few times (Q: What’s the most important part about throwing a pirate party? A: The Arrr-SVPs!)
So how did this catalog find me? It offers, true enough, a rather alluring collection of clothing, jewelry, artwork, and “magical objects” that do, okay, appeal to me here and there, especially the …
rather splendiferous "dragonskin" shoes ("The uppers are crafted of faux dragon, shimmer scales of silver and bronze..."), the cut-glass purse with pewter fittings, and a framed print titled "The Wager," showing a pirate and a mermaid playing cards under a moonlit sky.
Did this catalog marketer, unbeknownst to me, put together various bits and pieces of my professional and private life and calculate that I was a good shot to receive this mailing? I have been known to:
• Edit more than one book about dragons, most recently Naomi Novik's Temeraire series
• Admire the cosplay culture detailed in such manga as Genshiken, though I have not personally participated
• Purchase every single novel by Terry Pratchett that features the witches of Discworld--Tiffany Aching, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and all the rest
• Participate in auctions for jewelry and artwork at numerous SF/fantasy conventions
Ah well, perhaps it's best just to reach for the credit card and not ask questions. What shall it be? The absolutely sweet little faerie ornament, suitable for hanging, or the full-length formal velvet cape, reversible from purple to green? Good thing that, as the catalog copy says, "We offer goddess sizing at no extra charge!"
So the question is...
DID YOU BUY THE SHOES? (And can we see them, please?)