A week of reviews

I am feeling a lot better than I was a week ago, and realise that this was just a blip, and a silly one at that. All writers go through this and harbour constant doubts about their ability, so this is normal and to be expected. I expect even JK Rowling feels like this sometimes!

The day after that fair my copy of Nexus maazine arrived, and I finally got to see their review. It will hopefully result in some more sales. In fact, when I got home from shopping that same day, I found an order waiting for me from Amazon (I sell signed copies via them as well as my own site), so that is at least one more sale I might not have got.

I went into Waterstones in Epsom the other day, and was pleased to see just one copy on the shelves. I was even more happy when I spoke to one of the sales staff and was told that someone had come in and actually asked for the book by name ... I Emailed the Manager and he has ordered some more copies of the new and updated edition, which I am even more pleased about ... I am not sure how many, but at least 3 I would have thought.

I Emailed the Chalice Well also to see if their copy had sold and if they were happy to order some more. They have a new shop Manager - I can't remember the name without looking it up. She said that the book did sell, and asked for more information on how she can order some more, and whether I was paid for the one that I sent through. I replied that no, I wasn't and sent her the new information sheet with details of how to order, together with an invoice. I have not heard back yet, but I expect I will. She has probably just been busy.

Here then is the Nexus review:

"In combining her knowledge of pre and ancient history with mythology and spiritual philosophy, Surrey-based Reiki Master and crystal therapist June Austin speculates in Genesis of Man on who we are, where we came from and where we're heading.

Austin presents evidence for an alternative celestial heritage where the first humans were seeded by extraterrestrial 'gods' who returned from time to time to insttruct the fledgling homo sapiens. Information about the solar system, for instance - as can be seen in ancient clay seals - was passed on by the Nephilim, part angelic souls from another world, Nibiru, to the ancient people who civlisation seemed to 'spring from nowhere', as did that of the Egyptians, the Maya, and perhaps even the Atlanteans.

However, some of what Austin suggests about civlisations of prehistory and other matters is sourced from the realm of channelling, which can't be considered reliable. Nor can more recent records in the Gospels be considered 'gospel truth', and Austin admits this, relating examples of inconsistencies between these four books, ye she devotes many pages to alternative takes on what are undoubtedly forged holy books but coded with esoetic messages. Influenced by the famous 'Course in Miracles', Austin makes the case for our being souls interconnected with the Divine source, our role in this world being to learn to balance the light and the dark within ourselves. The more aware we are of our Divine heritage, the more connected we are with humanity as a whole and the more able we are to exercise forgiveness and compassion to our fellow man. The way home comes by getting in touch with the silence within, not by blind faith in a priesthood or religious buildings and ceremonies. (I'd have liked to have seen a closing chapter that draws all these threads together, but maybe that's in the second edition that's being printed as we go to press.)"

I think that all in all that's a pretty good review. I have already noticed an upturn in Australians and New Zealanders visiting my site ... The North American edition of Nexus is a month behind the other ones, being July/August instead of June/July.

The Paradigm Shift review is also out, written by the lovely Leslie Yetter (aka Paramour) from My Writers Circle. It looks very good, and they have even printed my own web address and the new cover. Here is what Leslie wrote:

"Genesis of Man” by June Austin has really opened my spiritual eyes! I simply could not put it down! Well written and thought out, it expands on territories I had never dreamed existed! As a result, it has changed the way I think about the beginnings of humankind. From beginning to end, this book will hold your attention and make you yearn for more when the last page is turned. Well written with clean citations, this book is more than a good read! It is a must have for anyone searching for a greater understanding of their spiritual roots. “Genesis of Man” is sure to set a benchmark for those seeking truths beyond conventional spiritual notions and beliefs."

I also have a third and truly excellent review, written by John Timbers, another of Richard's published authors, and a member of the little group who agreed to review each others books. I think it is superb for one who is new to this subject, and I am delighted and over the moon. It is long, but here is what he wrote:

Genesis of Man By June Austin, published in paperback by Authors on Line Ltd on behalf of Pigsty Press: ISBN 0-7552-0236-8. Reviewed by John Timbers

“Do not believe anything because it is said by an authority, or if it is said to come from angels, or from gods, or from an inspired source. Believe it only if you have explored it in your own heart and mind…”

This quotation from the sayings of Gautama Buddha, is to be found in the introductory pages of June Austin’s masterly work and should be borne in mind throughout its 248 pages from the prologue to the end. June has undertaken the mammoth task of checking out many of the theories of the development of mankind and religious beliefs that have been circulating amongst interested intellectuals since time out of mind and which, in the last twenty or so years, have brought about a veritable rash of books claiming definitive proof of this that or the other theory, usually – but not always – linked to conspiracy theories about suppression of facts by – particularly – established religion.

In “Genesis of Man” she has brought together her well-researched findings in one compact and fascinating book. It took her five years of painstaking reading and detective work to get it all down on paper and, I suspect, a much longer journey of self-exploration before taking the leap into print.She has not been afraid to question many of the theories backed by authorities such as established religions, egyptology, archaeology, biology and geology.

Her reasoning from facts that have come to light recently from many sources – all meticulously noted – is hard to fault, unless one comes from that well-known school of debate that maintains that sticking your fingers in your ears and shouting ever louder wins the day.June advances the ‘teachings’ of what she would call ‘channeled sources’, meaning the explanations produced by people who claim contact with the spirits of those who have gone before – spiritualists, psychics and ‘walk-ins’. She herself lightly mocks her own beliefs, admitting that many will reject them as ‘lunatic fringe’. Each to his own.

I cannot claim any spiritual experience that would convince me that reincarnations of gods or angels are channeling true versions of our hitherto unknown prehistory to us. Nor am I able to put much credence into conspiracy theories concerning suppression of ‘facts’ about such events as the reported ‘Roswell’ UFO crash and other similar phenomena, however good the story – I write as an ardent Sci-Fi buff, who never misses a new TV series or book that features space travel and alien contacts – fairy stories for adults; pure light relief!

I do not dismiss out of hand theories that the development of homo sapiens sapiens could have been due to interference by extra-terrestrials. Myth and legend – amongst peoples who could never have had any contact – has survived from many thousands of years before written records ever came into being. They cannot simply be dismissed as fairy tales, when common themes are too many to be written off as pure coincidence.

In this book you will explore theories of the nature of the gods, the existence and origins of a super-race pre-dating the Sumerians and how they could have influenced the races of mankind in different parts of the world, giving them the knowledge necessary for survival – agriculture, astronomical mathematics and mutual dependence – in perilous times. You will meet characters of whom you have never heard before. You will explore the facts behind Dan Brown’s fictional treatment of the Knights Templar, the Merovingian blood-line of the French kings, the Sang Réal and the Holy Grail – “The Da Vinci Code”.

You may take some of June’s ‘facts’ with a pinch of salt, but you won’t put her book down without being touched by her gentle exposition of how we are supposed to interpret the teachings that have come down to us from the ‘true prophets’. Whether you follow the tenets of established religion or none, you will find in this book something that will give you pause for thought."

Those last two paragraphs will be put to good use on various websites and forums that I am still a member of. John has done a superb job, and to think that when I met him, I thought he was the one least likely to be interested in my work and my subjects. It just goes to show that you cannot judge people by how they look, any more than you can judge books by covers ...

I am all set for the Phil Harris show this Monday. I have my instructions on what number to ring and when. Phil says that his listeners like to have a mixture of advice and information, so I will go prepared and have a good read over the weekend. I am not sure if you can tune in live from the UK, but will Email him to find out.

Have a good weekend everyone!

A book shop is willing to stock my book - yeh !!!

Today the postman bought a lovely present in the form of a letter from the Chalice Well to say that they will put the copy of the book I sent them in their shop for 3 months. If it sells within that time, they will order some more via one of their two main suppliers. This is brilliant news, and exactly what I have been waiitng for. I know the Chalice Well is only a small shop, but it is also one of the biggest, in fact, the biggest (after the Tor) tourist attractions in Glastonbury, with visitors from all over the world. I will be very surprised if it doesn't sell within a few weeks. If for some reason it doesn't, I have asked them to donate it to the library at the Little St Michaels retreat house, so that visitors people can see it there. There are other shops in the town as well, like Growing Needs and Gothic Image, who may be interested ...

I was so pleased at this news that I decided to take the bull by the horns and ring Waterstones in Piccadilly and Oxford Street, Piccadilly being the largest book shop in Europe. They asked me to Email the buyers from the Mind, Body and Spirit departments respectively with my information sheet, which I have done. Coran and I then walked into Kingston for a celebratory lunch (nothing exotic, only Pizza Hut salad) and I delivered a copy to the Manager of Waterstones. I did not get to see him personally as he was having his own lunch, and was due at the University store across town carry out some interviews, but the girl on the information desk delivered it to him in the staff room while I browsed the writers section.

Reading the new edition of the Writers and Artists Yearbook, there seem to be a real explosion of self publishing as more and more writers get fed up with endless rejections and Editors who never get back to them, earning a pittance if and when they do secure a mainstream contract, and having virtually NO control over their own creation, as Editors change the book title and do cover designs without asking the author his or her own views. I predict that in the years to come this will lead to a wholescale revolution in the publishing industry, where writers take back control of their work and pull the strings, where the practise of heavy discounting becomes a thing of the past, and booksellers no longer take bribes from the large publishers who pay them huge amounts to put their books on prominent display. At the moment the booksellers have all the power, and that needs to change, so that writers, the people who create these works get adequately compensated for their work.

The only way to do this at present is self publishing, or being one of these mindless celebrities (most of whose books are incidentally ghost written - do you honestly think the likes of Daniella Westbrooke for example can write!?). The only way to effect change is for more and more writers to self publish, but to do so professionally and in the right way.

Another update

I can't remember all that has happened, or what I have done since Friday, which is why I decided to buy an exercise book (recycled of course) to write it down, as that way I can remind myself of who needs chasing up and when ...

Things will quieten down for a few weeks now our Church is closed for the summer break. Coran and I have been busy yesterday and today helping them clean and redecorate. Coran has also helped with some minor DIY problems - sorting out the speakers for the hi fi system and clearing out the gutters, that sort of thing.

I have only sold one copy this week, and unless some cheques arrive in the post, do not expect to sell any more. That is fine as I can use the time to do other things like ringing round some more groups and book shops. Yesterday was a busy day for me. I rang the Chalice Well to see if the copy I sent them had arrived. The lady I needed to speak to wasn't available, so I emailed instead. It was the same with Watkins, so I emailed them as well, and said, very boldly than I will be in London on Friday (Coran has a hospital apppointment), so will drop into the shop with a copy of the book and some information to try and see the Manager then! I will see if he is available, and if not, I am sure the book will be passed on. It will be worth it for the price of a free copy (£7.17 to me).

I slso phoned Waterstones in Kingston. Buying decisions for Waterstones are made on a local rather than national level, so they asked me to send them a copy. I said I will drop in to see them next time I go town, which will be tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed then. I said I am more than willing to help with publicity by doing a talk, book signing or both, so that should help. I will try and ring Epsom as well this week, and see what they say. I expect they will want another free copy. All these free copies are beginning to add up, but it will be worth it if they decide to go with the book.

I Rang Borders again and left another message on their anwerphone. They have not rung me back, so I will have to take the bull by the horns and send them - you guessed it - another free copy! Phew, I hope this is all worth it.

I was just getting in from shopping when I heard the phone ringing. It was a friend from Church, who bought a copy last week, to tell me that she had shown it to a friend who is doing a course with Diana Summer, who is mentioned in the acknowledgements. She took the book to the latest course meeting, and now they all want one. Several of them said that they would contact me. So far there is nothing, but I can wait. Another lady who bought a copy, has shown it to her friend, who also wants her own one. Another friend from the nearby Kosmon sanctuary made some lovely comments when we went there for healing on Monday - she said that my sense of humour really comes through, and it is like having a proper conversation with me rather than reading a book.

My friend from Church suggested that I try Cygnus book club (she is the third person to have mentioned this now). I did contact them a few months ago, while it was at the proof reading stage, and they said they would need to see an information sheet. I telephoned Richard to run it past him, and he said that some of his authors have had success with book clubs, but that Cygnus would need to negotiate the discount (probably around 65 percent!) with him, so I sent them the information sheet, front and back cover proofs and chapter by chapter outline by email, with a copy to Richard so that he knows what is going on. If they do buy them at 65 percent discount that will leave me with a royalty of only £1.09 a copy, but it will get my name out there, and once the book is on their list, it will stay there, so it will be worth it.

The other thing I have done is contact some of the websites I have already linked to and asked them to link back. Some of these are well known, like the Nibiruan Council, which could drive a lot of traffic to my site, and boost sales no end. Finally, I registered the new site with Yahoo. Other crawlers also use this engine, so I will get listed on Lycos and others.

Tomorrow I shall deliver the copy to Waterstones in Kingston and ring some more groups re giving talks.

This then is what I have done since my return from Lundy

Monday 24 July - no sign of the books I ordered while away, and which should have been here on my return. Rang Gaynor at Authors OnLine to find out where they are. They are being printed today, and should be with me tomorrow or wednesday. Checked emails from when I was away - at least 1 person has ordered copy from publisher, and one also via amazon.co.uk

Tuesday 25 July - still no books! Spent day updating my website, opened nochex account so people can order signed copies, and added necessary links. Sent email to all those on my mailing list to let them know. Phone call from Jane at St Michaels - would I like to do a wednesday gathering on 9th August - said yes, if I can talk about the book. No problem, so all booked in. Emailed reviewer at Paradigm Shift magazine to see if she is interested. Wait to hear back.

Wednesday 26 July - books finally arrived - 50 lovely copies. Went to St Michaels in the evening (our local non denominational church) and sold first 2 copies. Another one has been sold direct via the publisher. It arrives while the recipiant was on holiday unfortunately and got sent back to the printer, as he did not ring them to collect it. Richard at AOL is trying to sort it out for him!
Thursday 27 July - sent out review copy to a friend, who promised to write a review on a website that I used to moderate, until I was banned from it that is! There were loads of people on there that will remember me and would I am sure love to buy a copy, once they know it out there, but since I was banned, I can't contact them myself. Also sent copy to HarperCollins in accordance with copyright requirements, and copy to another friend, who sent me his own book in part exchange. Got my first order from the Nochex link - Nightingale (Gillyann) from Stairway of Life. Sent her copy as well - all by first class post. Also sent copy to Peter and Pat, friends that I know from Lundy, as per their request. They will send cheque by return.

Friday 28 July - last Journey group at St Michaels until September. Sold another 5 copies.

Saturday 29 July - last day of Earth's Cycles course at the nearby Kosmon Sanctuary - sold 4 copies, one to each group member, plus one to the facilitator. Received cheque from Peter and Pat.

Sunday 30 July - Went to St Michaels evening service and sold 3 more copies. Sold 20 copies this week already!

Monday 31 July - healing day at St Michaels - acting as receptionist in the morning. Didn't sell any copies, but shown to several people there.

Tuesday 1 August - Set up Paypal account so that people overseas can also order signed copies. Added link to website and updated a few more pages. Sent email to everyone on mailing list to them know.

Wednesday 2 August - appointment with my friend Julie Ann for cranial sacral therapy. Sold copy of the book in part exchange for treatment.

Thursday 3 August - received cheque in post for a signed copy (one of Coran's clients). Sent by first class post.

Friday 4 August - checked amazon.com - sold my first US copy. Nightingale posted review on amazon.co.uk - added to my own website - thank you!

Saturday 5 August - sent postcards to various friends who do not have email/internet - including one in Amsterdam - hopefully they will write back reqeusting books.

Sunday 6 August - Went to Park for Paneurhythmy (Bulgarian dancing) - distributed postcards to several of them. Did some more website updates. Sold 3 copies this week. A lot of people are on holiday though.

Monday 7 August - rang Chalice Well and Watkins Books in London about stocking my book. Sent copy to Chalice Well as per theire request. Sent review copies to Nexus magazine and Writers Forum. Went to St Michaels in the afternoon and sold 2 copies. Kosmon Sanctuary this evening and sold 2 more.

Tuesday 8 august - a quiet day at home, doing other things and not really concentrating on the book. Sunny afternoon in the park, talking to Coran

Wednesday 9 August (today) - I have today taken the very bold step of phoning my local Borders to see if they would be prepared to stock my book. I spoke a very nice lady called Charlotte, one of several of their managers, and she has directed me to the buying department at their head office, since apparently decisions are made on a national rather than branch level. I will then get on to them as soon as I have stopped hyper ventilating ! What she also said though was that they are setting up a mind body and spirit group in the store, and looking for speakers, so they have taken my contact details as a possible speaker, and will get back to me in due course. This would be a great opportunity to get much better known in the local community and spread the word.

Have also received my first order via Paypal this morning, to a lady in Arizona whom I got to know via another writers site (Writers Net for those who are interested). She said that as soon as she heard about my book, she knew she had to get a copy, so I am very happy and honoured that she spent nearly double what amazon.com charge to get signed one. I think when the prices were being set, the exchange rates must have been more favourable to Americans, and so the price in the US is therefore less then than the UK equivilant. I have tried to keep the cost of these signed copies down, but with the amount that Paypal charge, plus the fact that the exchange rates they use are 2.5 percent less than the published ones, and nearly £5 postage to countries outside Europe means that there is little I can do. I have though advertised the signed copies on the books page on amazon.co.uk as collectable signed copies, which may be a little cheaper to buy that way. Amazon issue me with a credit for postage, which is not quite as high as the actual cost of sending them out, so I end up earning less, but it should hopefully help to get some more interest.

Didn't sell any tonight, which I am very disappointed at if I am honest. Everyone said that I enjoyed the talk, and did very well, but I felt like a bumbling idiot. Will defiantely have to get some more practise then and prepare a bit better as well next time. It is very hard though not to get disheartened, when you have so much invested in making this a success. Maybe I am just trying too hard and I need to, as Coran suggests, step back a bit and let spirit help me rather than trying to control the outome. Very difficult to do though when there is so much at stake.

Rang the Buying Department at Borders anyway, five minutes after ringing Kingston. Think they must have still been at lunch though as got the answerphone, so left a message explaining who I am, and asking to contact me and then went into Kingston to get some more padded envelopes etc. Got back around 5.30 to find no one had rang. Such is life. Will try again tomorrow then. Ii guess they are busy people who must get quite a lot of requests.

Also need to contact Richard tomorrow, to let him know about Borders and everything else I am doing, as he may need to deal with these big chains himself. will also ask him about Waterstones though, although I think buying decisions there are made on a branch level, at least that is what one of my writers books says. Will check their website tomorrow and see if there is any information on there. Also need to get my login for the authors area on Richard's site to see how many have sold that way. Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised.