a bookazine
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Some synchronicities are in your face, so obvious that you would have to be blind and deaf to miss them. But others are apparent only in retrospect and they’re usually more subtle, unfolding over a greater length of time, and it isn’t until you reflect on what’s happening that you see them. Like a game of hide ‘n seek.
On June 11, 2012, Jupiter moved into Gemini (my sign), where it will be until late June 2013. Any time Jupiter transits your sun sign, your life expands in several ways. Even though some doors slam shut, new opportunities surface. This 12-year cycle is one to anticipate.
For a sense of history here, the last time Jupiter was in my sign, we were living in a three-bedroom house that we had outgrown when my dad moved in with us and our daughter, Megan, gave him her bedroom and she slept in the living room. In June 2000 we moved from our three-bedroom home, into a larger house that could accommodate my dad, Megan, and our offices. My mother passed away a few weeks after that move. In August of that year, Rob, Megan and I traveled to Venezuela, where I was born, for a week of windsurfing on Margarita island. Megan entered middle school that fall. Work-wise, we both had contracts. Life was good, but with my mother gone, life was also very different.
In June 2012, our Omarr contract, which we had for nine years, wasn’t renewed. I had felt this was coming and dreaded it. I knew that when I turned in my final manuscript for the Esperanza series in October 2012, that contract would be done, too. In nearly thirty years of writing, this would be the first time we were without a single contract. Scary. It kept me awake nights. The other thing was that on July 16, 2012, Rob and I celebrated our 29th year anniversary.
The 29th year is known as the Saturn return in astrology, a major milestone in life, in relationships, in everything. In life, it’s when major transitions occur – you get married or divorced or start a family; you begin your real career, your real path; you embark on a quest. You get the idea. The second Saturn return happens between the ages of 58-60 and the third, when you hit 90. Each Saturn return is different.
I knew it had to be significant for our marriage, but wasn’t sure how. My parents were married for more than 50 years, but I have no clue what happened to them during the first Saturn return of their marriage. I just felt that the coinciding of Jupiter in my sign and the Saturn return for our marriage would be significant also.
On June 12, 2012, a day after Jupiter entered my sign, we connected with David Wilson at Crossroad Press and suddenly it was going to be possible for us to bring our out of print books back into “print” digitally. There would be no upfront costs to us and this entrepreneurial company not only fills a niche, it redefines it. On August 7, while Rob was visiting his mother in Minnesota, we got a call from Tony Seidl, who had been Rob’s agent at one time. Would we be interested in writing some bookazines?
We’d never heard of bookazines. They’re a cross between books and magazines, focus on one particular topic, are often connected to an event of some kind, have no advertising, and are distributed through airports, grocery stores, drug stores, Barnes and Noble, and other outlets that have magazines. They are owned by Hudson News, who has newstands across the country. The photo above is one of the first that came out this month. The other one is on Abe Lincoln, a tie-in to the Spielberg movie on Lincoln that will be released soon. I felt the contact and opportunity were significant. Tony was a guy from the past (Saturn return), who was proposing something expansive (Jupiter). Sure, we’re interested, we told him. What’re the details?
The details are as intriguing as the bigger picture. The editor for these bookazines is Bob Guccione, son of the man by the same name who started Penthouse – and OMNI Magazine, for whom we wrote shortly after we were married. In those days, OMNI was a slick cutting edge magazine that featured articles about the frontiers of knowledge (the Monroe Institute, for example) and fiction by well known writers.
We wrote for their anti-matter section, on UFOs, the paranormal, and they paid better than any other magazine, anywhere, and they also paid a kill fee if they didn’t publish what you’d written. Through OMNI, we met Betty Hill and Budd Hopkins. For us, professionally, that connection was huge.
So when we learned that Guccione’s son would be the editor for these bookazines, we recognized the synchros- astrologically and otherwise. Today, October 9, as Jupiter forms an exact conjunction with my Gemini sun (16 degrees) and is right in the middle of Rob’s financial area, we got our contracts for our first two bookazines, Sexy Horoscopes and Ghosts and Spirit Guides, with two more to follow next month on UFOs and lost everythings – ships, planes, people, continents.
These bookazines are short – between 14,000-20,000 words (a book/novel runs between 60,000 to 150,000 words, and some are MUCH longer), so we’ll still have time to write our other stuff. And the topics we’ve proposed are about things that interest us. The bookazines are also a visual feast, beautifully laid out, and are filled with information you might not find anywhere else, not in one place.
So, since June, we’ve been fortunate enough to connect with two visionaries – David Wilson at Crossroad and Tony Seidl – who recognized a niche in the market and are filling it. Wherever there are endings, there are also beginnings and new opportunities.
Perhaps this is what the paradigm shift is about – finding new ways of doing things, new ways to connect not only with other people, but with a deeper part of ourselves, and to enjoy these new connections. It seems that everywhere I look, everyone I know, is going through this reconnection in some way. Some people hate it and are locked in a kind of spiral of despair. But other people are adapting, are redefining themselves so that it works for them.
Going with the flow: isn’t that part of what synchronicity is about?
Great post. Yep, that’s how I see it – going with the flow. Times are changing, but that just makes for new opportunities. I am also going through my Saturn Return, as is my oldest daughter. I can see all of the steps I’ve taken between 29 and 58 that has led me to where I am now – to fulfill my purpose and destiny. I have the skills, now it’s up to me to take advantage of them and move forward into the next stage. I doubt I will live to 90, but I think that’s when you look back at all of the opportunities to do the things you were meant to do, and whether or not you took advantage of them. A review, of sorts.
It’s clear you and Rob are in the flow. You have laid all the groundwork for new challenges and opportunities.
Well said! Thank you.
Looking at it from that perspective, you are probably right. I agree. There are things, and situations, over which we have zero power and that no matter how hard we may try, we cannot change. I’m in the midst these very days of seeking the courage to face situations that are beyond my power to control. I remember the sleeping dream I had recently where Jesus was standing on the stormy sea, raising his arms to the heavens and saying, “PEACE, BE STILL”. That’s my mantra during this difficult time.
Thanks for that clarification of #6, Darren and Macgregors.
I think that list is great except for #6. I have some issues with that because if we have free will, then we ARE in control of our destiny. If we are NOT in control, that negates free will. And who or what is in control if we are not?? So that one bothers me some, but the rest are wonderful. Just my opinion.
I could be wrong,but I think he is saying that while we (as one individual) may be in control of our own choices,we aren’t in control of everything that happens in the world like shooting massacres,wars,and such.
And like that AA prayer goes –
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
I think that’s what he means,but you may have to ask Richard,but that was my interpretation.
I went back to the list and read 6. I think you’re right, Daz.
Regarding the bookzine featured at the top of this post,where it reads
“True encounters with zombies,werewolves,ghouls and vampires” .
Here’s a syncro,I just did a post last night about the annual “Brisbane Zombie Walk” which was held on the weekend ( and no,I wasn’t there.-) which raises money for the brain foundation –
https://brizdazz.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/brisbane-zombie-walk-2012.html
I posted the story for my blogging friend in the UK,who is a big fan of zombie books and films…and ukeleles too.
Astrology is a fascinating subject. I became interested in it at early age starting with reading my horoscope in the newspaper. Sometimes the forecast was accurate and sometimes just way off. As I’ve come to study the subject a little more indepth I can appreciate that the planets really do play major roles in regards to what lesson’s we need to learn and what themes will be playing out in our lives.
Since Saturn has shifted signs the focus is on my career . In the last two weeks I have been really questioning myself if I’m really doing what I should be doing.I have indeed felt the shift.
I love that you gave such a great synopsis of how the planets have been affecting you.
Interesting post !
So you must have scorpio at the midheaven? If so, that could be very good in terms of solidifying professional options – once you answer the question you’ve posed!
I hadn’t heard of bookazines before you mentioned them. Wonder if they are worldwide.
Going with the flow: haven’t heard that expression for a while. I used to say it myself. I’d visualise something for a time and then ‘go with the flow’,to let whatever it was develop and come to fruition. Might just get back onto that track.
Very interesting post.
@Mike
RE: “Going with the flow: haven’t heard that expression for a while.”
Richard Martini’s latest post “10 Meditations To Ponder ” ,
https://flipsidetouristguide.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/10-meditations-to-ponder.html
are ten meditations that have come from “spirit guides” according to Richard during deep hypnosis sessions.
1. Go with the Flow.
2. Start experiencing life in the moment.
3. Accept and Forgive everything that comes to you.
4. Focus on Love and Joy.
5. Get in touch with your Guides.
6. Let Go – stop resisting, realize we are not in control, expand internally.
(Let go of fear, anger, resentment)
7. Notice what connects you to others; not what separates you.
8. Focus on acts of kindness without wanting anything in return.
9. Destroy vanity in all its forms. (Money, fame, looks)
10. Stop judging others. Love your neighbor as yourself because they are yourself.
It was funny he mentioned “9. Destroy vanity in all its forms” ,because I was reading an article in “Vanity Fair” magazine at the time about Angelina Jolie who he worked with on the movie “Salt” ,and we had a bit of a laugh and chat over “Vanity Fair” magazine in the comments section of that post.
I’ve bought “Flipside”on Kindle,but am yet to read it.
It does look intriguing though.
I like his “10 Meditations To Ponder ” I have to admit…channeled,or not.
That’s an interesting synchro, Darren. We mentioned ‘Go with the flow’ in our post today, and Mike makes reference to it. Meanwhile, you had commented a couple of days ago on Martini’s meditation list – which starts with that phrase. I guess you were going with the flow!
A great list!