September 8 is the official publication date for Unlocking the Secrets to Scorpio.
Fiction and non-fiction books evolve in different ways.
With a novel, the idea for me often begins with a what if… The what if may be something I’ve mulled over for days, weeks, months, sometimes years. Or it may be triggered by something I recently read, a conversation with someone, a random thought.
Non-fiction books sometimes involve what ifs but often come about because of an intellectual curiosity or a question that begs to be answered, like those questions you probably asked your parents when you were a kid. Mom, why is the sky blue?
Dad, if the earth is round, how come all the oceans don‘t spill out of it? You need to know, so you start digging around for answers and pretty soon, you realize you’ve got a book idea.
Then there are non-fiction books that are generated “in house,” when an editor or publisher has an idea and queries agents about writers who can run with it. Usually, at least for me, there’s a synchronicity involved in this kind of book. That’s how it was for Unlocking the Secrets to Scorpio.
Last year, my agent – Al – emailed me that a publisher was interested in finding an astrologer to write a book about Scorpios and would this interest me? The query itself struck me as somewhat odd. I’ve written a number of astrology books, but in 30 years have never received this sort of query: write about one sign. Most publishers want something broader – like stuff about all twelve signs. I suspected two things immediately: that the publisher was a Scorpio and because I have that sign rising in my chart, I should come up with an outline that would illustrate how I would write such a book.
Also, my interests for most of my life have been Scorpionic – reincarnation, life after death, communication with the dead, synchronicity, the paranormal, astrology, ghosts. In addition, the 8th house in astrology is ruled by Scorpio, and I have a jammed 8th house. So I came up with a table of contents and sent it to Al and pretty soon, the publisher – Will- and I were emailing back and forth about this proposal.
In these email exchanges, I discovered that Will is a Scorpio married to a Scorpio, has two Scorpio sons, and a Scorpio sister-in-law. Wow. Trust me. This is a lot of raw emotional and psychic energy in a single family. I thought, Okay, he wants answers. Then I discovered something else, a statistic.
According to this site, as of 2012, the mot common zodiac sign is Scorpio. These folks make up nearly ten percent of the population. Virgo follows with a close second at 9.4% of the population, then:
Gemini – 9.3%
Pisces – 9.1%
Libra – 8.8%
Cancer – 8.5%
Taurus — 8.3%
Capricorn – 8.2%
Aries – 8.1%
Sagittarius – 7.3%
Leo – 7.1%
Aquarius – 6.3%
So yes, Will was curious – who wouldn’t be with that kind of raw energy swirling around you 24/7?- but it’s also a brilliant marketing tactic. Take the most common sign – which happens to be the most complex and profound – and publish a book about it. Who are these Scorpios? How are they doing what they’re supposedly so good at – transforming the world?
Take a look at this really small sampling of famous Scorpios:
If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe – Carl Sagan, November 9
To whom much is given, much is expected. I do believe this. It’s embedded in me – Tim Cook , November 1
Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success. -Napoleon Hill, October 26
Probably my worst quality is that I get very passionate about what I think is right. Hillary Clinton, October 26
Believe you can and you’re halfway there– Theodore Roosevelt, October 27
Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction – Pablo Picasso, October 25
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be – Kurt Vonnegut, November 11
So, I wrote the book from a relationship perspective. Dating a Scorpio. Married to a Scorpio. A kid whose mom or dad is a Scorpio, a parent with a Scorpio kid, a Scorpio sibling. You get the idea. Each of these relationships is taken through the twelve signs, and has specific information about how to deal with the Scorpio in your life.
A week before the book was published, I went to Amazon to get the links and discovered the book already had a review. I was somewhat confused by this until I discovered that Amazon has a program called Vine, where their top reviewers take a look at free products – i.e., advance copies of books – and review them. And I admit I got a kick out this person’s review:
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product
I have never in the past given astrology a second thought or cared much about it, beyond thinking it was the work of Satan as a youngster thanks to my mother’s brainwashing “not for profit” church. I saw this book, and thought it would be interesting, as I am a Scorpio. It helped me to give astrology a second thought and, indeed, I believe there is something to it
That first sentence – about the reviewer thinking as a kid that astrology is the work of Satan…It so fits a Scorpio. Many Scorpios seem to deal with bottom line issues that that involve enormous contrasts and leave little room for nuance. Good/evil. God/Satan. Love/hate.
I also got a kick about this line: The writing is fine, but it is her second job, so it is not sublime.
Writing is what I do full-time, so I’m not sure what the reviewer meant by this. Maybe she was referring to the fact that I also write fiction. Who knows? At any rate, here’s an excerpt – the introduction – about astrology and synchronicity.
Amazon, print book- $10.14
Amazon, ebook- $9.99
Congrats on the new book! I always thought of myself as a Scorpio because most of the books I had read had my November 22nd birthday as Scorpio. But after you did my chart I find I am a zero-degree Sagittarius. Still not sure what that means, but would love to read the book. In our family we had three Scorpios out of four sibs.
When you’re on the cusp as you are, Nancy, you have attributes of both signs. Your interests are certainly in line with Scorpio!
Congrats on the book, hope it does well. I was interested to learn Scorpios are the predominant sign on the planet in 2012 & was wondering if different signs predominate in different ages? Thinking Scorpio would be very apt just now since with the ascension happening the earth is going thru the biggest transformative leap for 13 millennia & Scorpio being capable of huge transformation as a sign. Interesting concept, what do you think?
Good question, Jane. I don’t know. The most recent statistics are for 2012. But I’ll see what I can find out!
Okay Trish here’s one for you.
No Scorpios in my family, matter of fact for all twelve of us, 9 living, 3 passed, it goes like this: 1,1,1,3,3,1,1,1
Look at that sequence! No one born in dec. nov, oct, sept.
Never thought of this till now. Ha!
Be well
Laurence
Wow!
Since almost all of my friends are Leos (me too!) I kind of figured that we were the most common sign – but upon further analysis, Leos love a good party, so I guess that’s why we always find each other!
I don’t know about Scorpio being the most profound sign – profundity comes in all kinds of forms, not just dark/light conflicted. But it is very interesting how Scorpio, associated with the “going into the dark” time of the year (Samhain, day of the dead) is related to death and rebirth.
Too funny, about Leos!
By profound I mean that whatever they tackle – a relationship, an issue, a creative project, a question – they usually look for the absolute bottom line. Shallow answers never satisfy them. It’s one of the reasons they make good researchers.
Interesting! I came out of the womb of a Scorpio so know something about that. As a Leo, had no clue we were so rare in numbers. Whenever I see the news commentators criticizing Hilary Clinton for being so private or secretive I want to tell them – she’s a Scorpio for God’s sake. What do you expect? And Bill – a Leo -can’t miss that one. Can’t be an easy relationship with those two.
A Leo with a Scorpio mom – yikes! Double dose of stubbornness, I bet! Yes, the Clintons are an interesting leo/scorpio match. Hilary also has a cluster of planets in her 12th house – as did George W – so the secrecy element is heightened.
Interesting about so much 12th house stuff for Hilary. So she totally NEEDS Bill … Now what? I wonder … for the whole political scene.
Will order this book in just a moment. I have a Capricorn Sun, and have been literally surrounded by Scorpios all my life. Many times I’ve made the comment that Scorpio is the most complex and complicated matrix of influences. Much depends, I think, on exactly where in the person’s natal chart it happens to fall. With most of the Scorpios surrounding me, it has been the Sun sign. But our middle son has Scorpio rising and it expresses much greater than his Aquarius Sun. My husband is a double Scorpio; Dad was a Scorpio Sun; Sister is a Scorpio Sun; and Scorpios are all over my entire family, too many to name. Our oldest son was married to a Scorpio wife who has the most one-sided chart I’ve ever seen, truly. Almost ALL her planets are sitting in Scorpio in her House of home and family. Entirely too much. I warned my son. Gave him books to educate him about her potential influences. Will only say in HER case, she is the personification of Scorpio’s worst evil. On the positive side, my Dad was extraordinarily caring and compassionate and generous and loving.
I laughingly refer to myself as an “expert” on living with Scorpions. It’s been challenging and rewarding, often daunting, but never, ever dull! Can’t wait to get this book in my hands!!!!
Scorpio is such a powerful sign that if an individual has a Taurus sun, for instance, but has a Scorpio moon and Scorpio rising, then it’s likely that the Scorpio energy dominates the personality.
Congrats on yet another book! Even with your ‘just fine’ writing (funny comment in that review!)
From this post, I find it interesting that Scorpio is so common…I only know of eight people including friends, family, and acquaintances. And I really had to think about it. I wonder if there’s something to the fact that some people may still only be surrounded (I mean family and non-relatives) by certain signs…for example, most of the people in my life are Geminis, Pisces, and other Leos. This probably speaks to the ideals of astrology and past lives, no?
Oh, and according to your stats, Leos are the second most rare sign. Do you know how much I LOVE that!?!?
I forgot that I have a lot of Sagittarius people, too! But that’s sort of a given for a Leo, right!? Married to one, dated a few, related to others.
Ah, you rarity, Melissa!