The End of Love

Close-up of the Guide to the Altered Tarot Deck book held above an open black box containing tarot cards, featuring a moon and white flower design on the cover against an orange background.

November 6, 2025

UPDATE |The Altered Tarot Deck & Guidebook: Continuing a Fool’s Journey

Unencumbered Press Altered Tarot, Book Design, Marketing Insight, Metaphysical, Photography, Poetry, The Altered Tarot Deck and Guidebook, The End of Love Altered Tarot, altered tarot deck, altered tarot guidebook, creative tarot, fool’s journey tarot, indie publishing, indie tarot decks, Kristin Hiatt, poetry tarot, rider waite tarot, Robyn Tanksley, tarot photography

📢 New Update: The Altered Tarot Deck & Guidebook is Now Available! ✨ The magic you’ve been waiting for is ready when you are. ✨ After many months of anticipation, creative alchemy, and more than a few midnight tracking-number refreshes… the Altered Tarot Deck & Guidebook is finally stateside. Creative tools like this deck belong in the hands of artists, seekers, and anyone drawn to meaning-making through beauty. Every purchase supports independent publishing, collaborative artistry, and the kind […]

Promotional graphic for the S2 Small & Self-Publishing Faire on May 17, 2025, at BOLD Coffee & Books in Portland. The left side shows a bookstore shelf and event details: vendors from 11 a.m.–4 p.m., book lovers mixer from 4–6 p.m., and author readings from 6–8:30 p.m. The right side highlights "Catch Unencumbered Press at S2 – May 17 at BOLD Coffee & Books."

May 14, 2025

Catch Unencumbered Press at S2—May 17 at BOLD Coffee & Books

Unencumbered Press Against the Current, Altered Tarot, Book Publishing, Bookstores, Marketing Insight, Media Appearances, The End of Love Against the Current, Altered Tarot, book events 2025, book fair, Independent Publishing, indie books, literary community, portland events, small press, tarot deck, Unencumbered Press

Come See Us at the S2 Small & Self-Publishing Faire This Saturday! If you’re in the Portland area this weekend, stop by the S2: Small & Self-Publishing Faire at BOLD Coffee & Books—Saturday, May 17! Unencumbered Press will be there sharing our work and connecting with readers, creators, and fellow indie lovers. Our publisher and founder, Stephanie Johnson Lawson, will be at the table from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with signed copies of Altered […]

Featured Blog Images-2-shared-post-major-arcana

September 12, 2024

UP Launches on YouTube with a New Promo for The End of Love

Stephanie Johnson Lawson Altered Tarot, Book Publishing, Marketing Insight, Photography, Poetry, Promo Videos, The End of Love book marketing, email marketing, indie publishing, Kristin Hiatt, learning, MailChimp, New to YouTube, Robyn Tanksley, video content, YouTube Video

Last week, I sent our first email to the Unencumbered Press subscriber list I’ve been building for over two years. The performance was great—an impressive 86.4% open rate and 13.6% click-through rate! For book publishing and marketing, a subscriber list helps us stay connected with readers, share updates, and build a stronger community around our content. If you haven’t signed up yet, please join today! As I’m still getting the hang of the marketing tools […]

Promotional graphic for a book review by R. Tanksley on The Chalice and the Blade, titled 'From Pain to Power.' Published by Unencumbered Press on August 20, 2024.

August 19, 2024

Featured Book Review | From Pain to Power: How ‘The Chalice and the Blade’ Illuminated My Path to Healing and Advocacy

r. tanksley Altered Tarot, Featured Book Review, Nonfiction, Personal Stories, The End of Love advocacy, domestic abuse, feminist literature, gender roles, gender studies, healing journey, partnership model, patriarchy, personal transformation, Riane Eisler, social history, spiritual growth, systemic injustice, The Chalice and the Blade, trauma recovery, women's rights, women's studies

A Journey of Healing and Understanding Certain synchronistic events led to this book being a part of my life. Following the end of an abusive relationship three years ago, I began a physical, emotional, and spiritual journey of healing. One of the most difficult aspects of this healing journey was trying to intellectually understand why partner abuse happens and why so many women let it happen or hide that it is happening, myself included. The […]

August 14, 2024

Shared Post | Ooligan Press Books as the Major Arcana

Megan Jessop Altered Tarot, Book Publishing, Metaphysical, Shared Post, The End of Love Book Publishing, Breaking Cadence, Cataclysms on the Columbia, Cindy Hiday, Erin Moynihan, Faultland, Finding the Vein, Iditarod Nights, Jennifer Hanlon Wilde, K. Hiatt, Katie Grindeland, Laurel Everywhere, Major Arcana, Matt Tompkins, Megan Jessop, metaphysical, Odsburg, Ooligan Press, photography, poetry, R. Tanksley, Rosa del Duca, shared post, tarot, The Gifts We Keep, The High Priestess

You may already know that Stephanie Johnson Lawson and I are both former Oolies. That’s what we call the graduate students who run Ooligan Press. One requirement of us was to regularly write blog posts, and we had an absolute blast doing it. One of my favorite posts explored the intersection of tarot and the remarkable books published by Ooligan. We’re excited to share that with you here. Read the full blog post** below.

The image is a promotional graphic for a blog post on the UP Blog. The date "08 01 2024" is prominently displayed in white on an orange circle in the upper left. In the upper right, an orange circle says "Read now." The central text reads, "Welcome to the UP Blog! & Two Years with 'Altered Tarot: The End of Love' + a Sneak Peek at the Suit of Cups!" At the bottom, there are black-and-white tarot card illustrations fanned out horizontally.

August 1, 2024

Welcome to the UP Blog! & Two Years with “Altered Tarot: The End of Love” + a Sneak Peak at the Suit of Cups!

Stephanie Johnson Lawson Altered Tarot, Book Publishing, Coming Soon, Metaphysical, Photography, Poetry, The Altered Tarot Deck and Guidebook, The End of Love, Transparency behind-the-scenes, book marketing, creative publishing, emotional healing, independent press, Kickstarter campaign, Kristin Hiatt, photography, poetry, publishing insights, Robyn Tanksley, self-discovery, Suit of Cups, tarot cards, tarot deck

Stephanie Johnson Lawson, founder of Unencumbered Press I’m Stephanie Johnson Lawson, and it’s my pleasure to welcome you to the UP Blog! As the founder of Unencumbered Press, I’m eager to create a unique space here by offering behind-the-scenes insights, introducing you to our talented creators, discussing publishing challenges and triumphs, and featuring guest posts from industry and cultural experts. I have several posts lined up and plan to publish at least three weekly. Your feedback […]