The Story Behind The Spells She Casts: Creativity, Intuition, and the Birth of Raymond Rose Publishing
Frida R.This post shares how journaling for self-discovery, creative play, and spiritual intuition shaped the poetry book The Spells She Casts and led to the creation of my independent imprint, Raymond Rose Publishing.
It’s been a little while since I’ve written here.
Lately, my writing energy has been flowing into birthing the books and guided journals that have been quietly pulling at my heartstrings. I just didn’t realize how literal that would feel.
Writing The Spells She Casts, a poetic love story about intuition, identity, and evolving beyond a “perfect-on-paper” life, felt like giving birth while my heart was also being ripped from my chest and held up to the light for inspection.
Brutal.
Beautiful.
Honest.
It was the life-altering kind of creation that turns you upside down in a way that proves that you’ve been on the right track all along.
And now, I want to tell you how it all went down.
What Is The Spells She Casts?
The Spells She Casts is a poetic story about love, identity, spiritual intuition, and the quiet courage it takes to evolve beyond a life that once looked perfect on paper. The book began as a series of poems written during my weekly creative ritual, Writer’s Wednesdays, and eventually became the first title published under my independent imprint, Raymond Rose Publishing.
Don't worry, we're about to dive into all of the details.
“To the brave ones who refuse to settle for ‘perfect on paper’ when their hearts long for more.”
— Quote from The Spells She Casts
Writer’s Wednesdays: The Creative Writing Ritual That Changed Everything
Writer’s Wednesdays feel like a distant memory, like something that happened in another lifetime.
But it’s only been a few months.
A few months that changed my relationship to my creativity, my work, and the woman I am inside of both.
I’m constantly disrupting societal definitions of work and productivity. And I’ve gotta say, I fucking love that about myself!
Here’s my latest story of rebellion.
Every Wednesday for about a month and a half, I blocked the entire day to write purely for play.
No strategy or audience.
No content calendar.
Just uninterrupted writing time for as long as I wanted.
After about five or six sessions, I realized that I’d played my way into writing five books.
Not outlines or concepts.
Five full books.
Mindless, childlike play had produced work that could serve my business.
It almost felt illegal.
And that’s when I realized Writer’s Wednesdays were the bridge between my Wild Artist and my CEO self, a connection I previously struggled to uphold.
It's experiences like these that are the reason so much of my work discusses following your heart and trusting your own magic.
Heart-led self-permission unlocks effortless productivity faster than pressure ever could.
I didn’t force brilliance.
I made space for it.
And as if the creative process of writing five books wasn't mystical enough, the first book I chose to publish from that collection is The Spells She Casts.
"Let the artist run wild, and her findings will blow your mind. Trust the CEO with the work, and she’ll make sure the people who need it find it."
—My New Mantra
Why Writer's Wednesdays?
Let's backtrack a bit for those of you who want to go deep with me. Here's how and why I came up with the concept of Writer's Wednesdays.
When people think “journals,” they don’t typically think “author.”
They don’t always realize that my truths live inside those pages, too. I share my struggles and what helped me overcome them. That’s how I know what questions to ask in the prompts to help you out of your storms and lead you to peace and sovereignty.
She who holds the pen receives the first dose of medicine.
That she is me, the author.
Something very important about authoring guided journals is that it requires unselfish restraint. I use vulnerable storytelling to let you know you’re not alone, that you’re with a trusted friend who gets it, but also this is your journey, and you are the star of it.
So in the journals, I write just enough.
And if I am not careful, that restraint can cause my wild artist self to feel stifled.
Writer’s Wednesdays were born from that tension. I needed to prioritize balance between these two loves of mine.
As I reflect back on it, I see that these writing sessions felt like the brightest moments of my childhood: the long days spent dancing with my imagination on the pages of colorful diaries with flimsy locks that could fall apart if you stared at them too long, poems taking over my math notebooks when I grew tired of algebra and long division.
When I write this way, I barely think.
It feels like dreaming, you’re there and not there all at once.
And if I start overthinking it, the dream dissolves...
What Is The Spells She Casts Actually About?
Technically, this is my third poetry collection.
But “poetry collection” doesn’t quite fit.
It’s a story, part fact, part fiction that happens to be told through flowing, rhyming patterns.
Each poem is like a chapter in a novel.
Seventy pages that, on the outside, look like a love story.
It isn’t one.
The story in The Spells She Casts belongs to a woman in a perfect-on-paper relationship with a man who adores her.
She loves him.
She appreciates what they have.
She is grateful.
She is lucky.
And yet something just doesn’t feel right.
For years, she assumes she’s the problem.
Too damaged to appreciate a good thing.
Too restless for her peaceful life.
Too ungrateful.
She tries to fix herself.
There’s never a permanent fix.
Until she begins to feel someone pulling her in.
A presence she has never seen.
A warm connection in her dreams.
A soulmate, she is certain she’s known before.
They love.
They plan.
Until truth arrives and threatens not just the connection but her identity.
The Dangerous Question at the Heart of the Book
This book is dangerous because it questions the notion of collective scarcity.
The idea that you get one great love.
One dream.
One talent.
One life’s purpose.
It asks what happens when wanting more is labeled immoral.
When gratitude is weaponized.
When “be happy with what you have” becomes a cage.
If you’ve ever felt shame for evolving beyond a life that once fit you, this book is yours.
It shows you the heart of sacred rebellion and self-discovery through the lens of a transcendental love story.
Because regardless of how small this world tries to make you, you’re not broken for evolving.
Raymond Rose Publishing
The vision for my own publishing company has been with me all my life, like my love for writing.
It became clearer when I started Journaling is Self-Care LLC.
From the start, I imagined other women safely sharing their lived wisdom through this outlet because I deeply believe that everyone has value to share.
Late last year, a young woman who’d been inspired by my work contacted me, offering to write on my behalf.
I knew I would decline her services.
But I scheduled the call anyway.
She came to me as the ghostwriter I was in my twenties.
I saw the story inside her that was begging to be written.
She had everything she needed except the sense of permission and confidence to share.
I gave her that mentorship and an outlet.
And doing so healed my younger self, too.
Helping her was my first sign that it was time to do the damn thing.
The Sign That Confirmed the Name
𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑴𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝑮𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆.
He always shows up to light the path when I’m entering a new chapter, assuring me that I am supported in the unknown.
I guess that’s why when I think of him, I often see an image of The Hermit tarot card:
A cloaked old man holding a lantern.
Wise.
Steady.
On an inward journey.
The lantern? That's our communication and shared intuition.
𝐀 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨, 𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲.
I landed on 𝑹𝒂𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.
Raymond was his middle name.
Rose is mine and also a verb.
Rose = 𝑇𝑜 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒.
One night, while my partner drove, I sat in the passenger’s seat muddling over this decision in my mind.
I typed the name 𝑹𝒂𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 to see how it looked and felt.
My partner brought a funny license plate to my attention. The car was directly in front of us.
The tag said: “4 wives.”
My grandfather had four wives in his lifetime, and I’d made a joke or two about it.
I knew he was with me and had given his approval of the name.
Seconds later: “444” on the dash.
If you know, you know.
Honoring him isn’t about grief or nostalgia. It’s pure alignment.
The way he lived inspired me, and the traits I inherited from him are some of my favorites about myself.
He was unapologetic, funny, a multi-passionate artist, and a seer.
Naming the company after him is an act of deep gratitude for all that he’s given me.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰:
𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑅𝑎𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑠.
That's the hidden message in the name Raymond Rose.
There's always a lantern in the dark.
The Fear of Marketing The Spells She Casts
I’ve been sharing my life online for 13 years.
I’ve run my brand for five.
I’ve published deeply personal work more times than I can count.
And I still spiraled before marketing The Spells She Casts.
Fear of being seen.
Fear of being misunderstood.
Fear of someone reducing me to one fragment of a season I was growing through.
It felt like performance anxiety and imposter syndrome wrapped into one.
Visibility is vulnerability.
I wanted people to buy the book.
I wanted them to love it.
But I didn’t want them to see me flawed, evolving, confused about love.
When I started to the marketing process, the wounds the book confronted had only just begun to scab. They were still tender to the touch and marketing it made me feel like I was putting myself up for sacrifice.
A witch scheduling her own hanging.
So, I did what I teach.
I sat with it.
I journaled through it.
I rested.
I asked what it was protecting.
I listened.
And when I approached the work again, I brought deeper faith and clarity with me.
Self-Trust and Creative Devotion
Fear and other uncomfortable emotions will never not exist.
That’s what makes us human.
Knowing how to keep them from stopping us is what makes us powerful.
The work I teach saved me from collapsing under my own doubt.
Again.
Self-care in practice is taking responsibility for your own freedom, treating yourself with compassion and respect when things get hard, and trusting yourself so deeply you refuse to let your light dim.
You don’t have to be fearless.
You have to be devoted.
Because fear isn’t proof that you shouldn’t.
It’s proof you care.
And Here We Are
Writing this book healed me.
Sharing it healed me differently.
The Spells She Casts changed me.
Raymond Rose Publishing changed me.
Writer’s Wednesdays changed me.
I am not perfect.
I am evolving in real time and sharing the journey with you.
A Reflective Question for You
Have you ever stayed in a life that looked perfect on paper but didn’t feel like home?
Thank You for Being Here
The Spells She Casts is a poetic story about love, identity, spiritual intuition, and the courage to evolve beyond a life that once looked perfect on paper.
If this book feels like yours, it’s here.
Thank you for reading.
FAQ: Journaling, Creativity, and Writing a Poetry Book
Can journaling help you write a book?
Yes. Journaling can be one of the most powerful tools for writing a book because it removes pressure and allows ideas to emerge naturally. Many authors discover stories, themes, and emotional truths through personal journaling long before they realize they are writing a book.
In my case, a weekly journaling and writing ritual eventually turned into multiple completed manuscripts.
What is intuitive writing?
Intuitive writing is a creative process where you write without overthinking structure, strategy, or audience. Instead of forcing ideas, you follow curiosity, emotion, and instinct on the page.
This approach often leads to more authentic storytelling because the writing comes from exploration rather than performance.
How do creative rituals help writers?
Creative rituals create consistent space for imagination to unfold. When writers schedule time purely for creative play — without pressure to produce something useful — it often unlocks deeper creativity and unexpected ideas.
A simple ritual like setting aside one day a week for writing can lead to surprisingly productive breakthroughs.
Can poetry tell a full story?
Yes. Poetry can absolutely tell a complete narrative. Many modern poetry collections function like novels told through verse, where each poem acts like a chapter that moves the story forward.
The format allows emotional depth and symbolism to shape the story in ways traditional prose sometimes cannot.
Why do some authors start their own publishing companies?
Many authors create their own publishing companies to maintain creative control over their work. Independent publishing allows writers to shape the design, messaging, and distribution of their books while building a platform that can support future projects or other writers.
