The new Genesis of Man

It has been a week now since Ed called, and still it seems I am waiting for something, anything to happen. I watch my mind at work sometimes, and can almost laugh at the stupidity of it all. The mind does its best to tick away with all the 'it's not fair', 'I can't stand this job', 'I wish they would hurry up and shut this store down!' (there have been plenty of the last two of late), but none of it is real, and none of it really matters.

I won't deny that this job has been challenging in lots of different ways, but still I recognise that I did choose to be here (quite literally, as within two days of being offered it, I was also offered and turned down, interviews at least for two other jobs). Somewhere, on some level, it was as if I knew that I had to see this through. The logical part of me was screaming on my first day that this was not right, that I would not be happy here, that I was not interested in what we sell, but I knew that I had to see it through, and so I have, regardless of the challenges and the tests, and there have been lots of them - the late lunches, the heavy lifting (some of the larger items are almost as big as I am), the constant noise bombardment, being the only female (living with Coran, I am not used to being around 'typical' males).

I get round the noise bit by shutting myself in the ladies loo at regular intervals, and by sitting in silence at lunch time, I get round the lack of interest by trying to learn, and I get round the lifting bit with hot baths and massages. As for the masculine bit, I have discovered that you cannot judge a book by its cover, as my Manager, who looks every bit the stereotypical male, with his deep voice, big muscles and bald head, is actually a pussy cat in disguise. I don't think he realises this himself, but he is actually a very sensitive and deeply spiritual man. It is the fact that he does not know this that makes him so spiritual, and also his many years of management.

You cannot be a Manager in retail after all, without knowing a thing or two about human nature, and what makes people tick. If I am honest, I do not care much for what I see of the nature of our typical customer - especially the young ones, who seem more concerned with how things look and how much they cost than whether or not they actually work and do a good job. My Manager said the same thing, when we were talking last week.

Reading some more of Eckhart Tolle's wonderful book 'A New Earth', he says that "unhappiness or negativity is a disease on our planet. What pollution is on the outer level is negativity on the inner level". When I watch my mind and observe the unconscious behaviour of others, I know that he is right. It is a disease indeed, and the biggest threat facing our planet. The problems we face are spiritual, not political, for if we could really look inside and consciously examine our thoughts and our motivations, then we would see the madness that we are living in that is created by our minds, and we would bring ourselves into the present moment, making conscious efforts to change. This would be the new Genesis of Man.

All the problems that we face, famine, war, intolerance, etc, etc, are all caused by what we perceive as lack, and if you go deeper still, then you realise that ultimately the solution lies not in filling the void with unnecessary stuff, and not in worrying our lives away about what we should have and do not have, but in accepting the situation that we have and fully embracing the now. Now is after all the only moment that we have. The past is over so cannot affect us, the future is yet to happen, so the only moment is now, we should strive to grasp that moment and live life to the full, as that one moment goes on forever into infinity.

When Jesus said that those who followed him would be reborn to eternal life, this is what he meant, that if his teachings were followed and understood, then we could learn to live in the present moment, which is eternal and everlasting. We would therefore be literally reborn to eternal life. What an interesting discussion that could make with some Christians that I know - and as I write this I am aware that the mind is there again, wanting me to be right, so that they are then wrong. There is no right and wrong, it is all just differing opinions. The problem begins when those differing beliefs are made 'exclusive', and when we confuse our beliefs with who we are, so that others of differing opinions are wrong. This unfortunately, is something that we all do, and I am no exception to this, I realised this when I watched myself becoming angry last night, as I watched a programme on fundamentalist Christians in Britain.

No matter how many different forms life takes, no matter how many dramas we create to fill the 'time', bodies, egos, events, situations, thoughts, emotions, desires, fears and so on, it is all fleeting and none of it has any more meaning than that which we choose to give it. Another second passes and we think another thought, dream another dream, and so it goes on, until the world is filled with dreams, we have dreamt our lives away, and nothing has been accomplished.

Work I have then discovered, is the perfect and yet most challenging place to play this scenario out - exhausting though it sometimes is, both physically and emotionally. I did choose this path though, and so I will continue to follow it for as long as the universe deems that I need to be here. My ego can still hope though that it won't be for too long!

Did George Lucas read Genesis of Man?

I knew that the new Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull would be important, as it was so much anticipated, but having seen the film on Thursday (the opening night), I was struck by just how similar much of the plot line is to my own book. It could almost be a mirror for what I have written, so much so that I felt compelled to write an article detailing the similarities.

I cannot deny that the resurgence in skulls that the release of this film has spawned has helped sales considerably. I have a long association with crystal skulls, having been first introduced to them back in 1999, shortly before my mother died. A few days after she died, I attended a workshop with Edwin Courtenay (having booked my place some weeks before), and it was here that I purchased my first skull Daniel, made from blue obsidian. In the weeks that followed, it seemed that almost everyone I encountered was somehow involved with the skulls, either working with them or selling them. The universe was clearly trying to tell me something, but at the time, I was not quite ready to listen.

My working life has always created drama, with various jobs, none of which have truly made me happy. Following my mother's death and a small inheritance, I decided to take time out to figure out where I was heading. I have long been interested in complimentary health, and was already a qualified massage and Reiki practitioner, so one of the first things I did was enrol on a course in crystal therapy. Halfway through the course, we were asked to write a thesis on a crystal related subject to be presented to the rest of the group. I chose to do mine on crystal skulls. The more I began to write and research, the more links I began to find between the skulls and other areas of interest, until it became clear that this was to be a book, linking all the different subjects together. I never did end up practising crystal therapy, and I believe now that the only reason I did that course was so that I could write the book.

I kept on writing, on and off for five long years, all the time trying and hoping for that elusive publishing contract. After two years I returned to work with a major supermarket, and during this time I wrote only sporadically. When my partner became seriously ill with IBS, I changed my hours to full time, as he was unable to work. As he began to get better, I began to feel the stress, eventually leaving that job in August 2005. I then worked flat out, doing a complete edit and re-write in less than five months, and finally published the completed book, Genesis of Man in June 2006.

A second edition followed eleven months later, with a new cover, added text and the same ISBN. I soon discovered that the publishing world presented challenges all of its own.

The release of this film, and the resurgence of interest in skulls has then for me been more than welcome, as it has also led to interest in my book. The question though is ...

Did George Lucas read Genesis of Man?

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has been hailed as the most anticipated film of summer 2008, but can it live up to the hype? It has been 19 years since we last saw Indy, and the film has been a long time in the making.

As a crystal skull guardian, and author, whose book began life as a thesis on crystal skulls, I wanted to see this film as soon as possible. I was not disappointed. While there is a lot that was left out, the important seeds are all there, pointing us in the right direction, as Jesus said, “for those who have ears that listen and eyes that see”.

The more I began to watch, the more similarities I saw between my book, Genesis of Man, and this film. So much so that I began to wonder if George Lucas or perhaps Steven Spielberg himself may have read it.

The main themes are all there – not least of all the skulls themselves. Lost civilisations, alien contact, intrigue, abuse of power, the opposing forces of light and dark, and how in the end, neither triumphs, but instead they cancel each other out.

Many believe that the crystal skulls are Atlantean in origin, but the film indicates that they are extra terrestrial. This may be disappointing to some but is closer to the truth than we realise, for the Atlanteans themselves had extra terrestrial ancestors. Only man could be arrogant enough to believe that we are truly alone in the universe, using this as comfort blanket to maintain the status quo, and the ego.

The ego has a vested interest in maintaining this belief, since if we realise that we are not alone, and are connected to not just each other but also other life forms then it has to cooperate and stop creating drama as a means to incite conflict. The irony is that it is through drama and conflict that we grow and learn who we are. We cannot experience what we are until we have experienced what we are not, as there is nothing to compare against.

Against this backdrop of spirituality are the usual thrills and spills, high jinks and capers with Indy on top form. The setting for the film has moved on by 19 years, as has Harrison Ford, the actor who plays our hero. This gives the film a more realistic feel, although I doubt if many almost pensioners could pull off the stunts that this man did. Ford faced a gruelling schedule to get in shape for this movie, training for up to 3 hours a day.

The film is set in 1957, 10 years after Roswell. The opening scene is of a group of teenagers who are racing a convoy of soldiers travelling to a top secret base in the Nevada desert (assumed to be Area 51). This scene is reminiscent of Lucas’ first major success, American Graffiti and is indicative of how we are the sum of all of our experiences. This theme is echoed in the skulls themselves, which are believed by some to contain a record of all that has occurred in Earth’s history.

The soldiers we realise are not American, but Russian. In the boot of one of their vehicles is Indy with his companion Mac, played by Ray Winstone. The Russians, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), are seeking a top secret box containing alien remains from Roswell. Irina like Hitler is a collector of psychic artifacts, believing their power will help to accelerate her own.

Following the discovery that his colleague Mac is a double agent, Indy reluctantly leads the Russians to the box. When the box, stamped Roswell 1947 is prized open, we see a grizzly alien looking hand stretching forth.

After his escape, Indy returns to Marshall College, where his Dean, played by Jim Broadbent, explains that Indy’s association with Mac has made him the object of suspicion and the college are suspending Indy from his post. On his way out of town, Indy is approached by rebellious teenager Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), who claims to be friends with Oxley, an old colleague of Indy’s, whom the Russians have kidnapped.

It seems that Oxley had been looking for the legendary crystal skull at the centre of the Akator mystery, with the intent of returning it to its rightful place within the temple. Akator is synonymous with the legendary El Dorado, the city made from gold which was sought by the Spanish Conquistadors. The Russians have kidnapped Oxley hoping that he will lead them to the skull.

Indy and Mutt travel to Peru, where they find the remains of the missing Conquistador's wrapped in shrouds. It is here that they find the crystal skull, in one of the shrouds.

The Russians though are hot on their tail. Indy and Mutt are captured and transported to the Russians encampment where both Oxley and Mary (Indy’s old flame Marion Redwood and Mutt’s mother) are being held. We learn later that Indy is Mutt’s father. The Russians have done something to Oxley, as he appears to have lost his mind, making strange utterances that they hope will lead them to the skull.

The Russians hook Indy up to a psychic device and force him to gaze into the eyes of the skull in the hope that he will then be able to interpret Oxley’s mutterings. A series of spectacular chases then ensue, as Indy attempts an escape. Oxley guides Indy and his group to Akator, where they are met by hostile Natives. When Oxley shows the Natives the crystal skull, they bow down in veneration and allow the group to pass.

Inside the temple, they are greeted by a spectacular sight of thirteen clear quartz skeletons, one of which is missing its skull. The implication is that these are crystalline skeletons from star beings which seeded the Akatorian civilisation, as the shape of the skull closely matches those in depictions of the Mesoamerican gods. These appear to be the same beings that crash landed at Roswell in 1947.

As the skull is put back into place, the skeletons activate and the room starts to spin. Irina stands in the centre of the room and commands that the skulls download all their information into her. As the room begins to spin, so does she, eventually combusting as her limited form cannot contain such vast knowledge and power. The darkness in her has been neutralised by the skulls light.

Indy and friends make their escape, and the closing scene is of Indy and Marion’s wedding.

I first became interested in crystal skulls in 1999, and rapidly acquired several of these fascinating objects. In 2000 I enrolled on a course in crystal therapy. Halfway through the course, we were asked to write a thesis on a crystal related subject. I chose to write mine on crystal skulls. I kept on writing, and found to my amazement that it was developing into a book, which I published in June 2006.

The book includes information on lots of different subjects, not just crystal skulls, with a whole section on Atlantis and Lemuria, from where I believe the skulls originate.

Lemuria was the first advanced civilisation upon the Earth, founded almost 1 million years ago. The skulls were gifted to the Lemurians by the Divine to act as a sentient repository of information and knowledge.The early Lemurians lived beneath the Earth in underground cities and caves. As time went on, the Lemurians formed various colonies, or daughter Empires, including amongst others, Atlantis, Egypt, Mexico and Peru. Of all of these, Atlantis played the most pivotal role in Earth’s history.

Independent archaeologist David Hatcher Childress states that Akakor (note the slightly different spelling) was an ancient South American Empire near Machu Picchu, Peru, whose inhabitants also lived beneath the Earth. The Akakorians were said to be a super race similar to the Atlanteans.

In March 1972 German archaeologist Karl Bruggar met an Indian chieftain named Tatunca Nara, who told him the history of Akakor. This began in the year zero, (10,481 BCE in our calendar). Tatunca told Bruggar that his tribe, the Ugha Mongulala, were chosen by the gods 15,000 years ago (around 13,000 BCE), long before traditional academia dictates that humans first set foot on American soil.

3000 years before the year zero (16,000 BCE) glimmering golden ships appeared in the sky. The pilots looked like humans with fine features; white skinned with bluish-black hair and thick beards. Quetzalcoatl, who according to legend was the founder of both Aztec and Mayan culture, and is sometimes known as the feathered serpent, was also described as a white man, with a broad forehead, large eyes and flowing beard.

In the year zero, following a catastrophic war, the gods left. This seems to have caused a global catastrophe, reminiscent perhaps of the destruction of Atlantis, after which the surrounding tribes lapsed into barbarism.

In year 13 (10,468 BC) the great flood came – the rivers changed course, mountains suddenly elevated, and there was a rapid and devastating climate change as regions which had previously enjoyed a warm climate were thrown abruptly into the cold.

The inhabitants of the Takla Mahan region of China and Mongolia are known as the Uighurs. Chinese legends state that the Uighur civilization reached its height around 17,000 years ago – which roughly corresponds to the destruction of Lemuria. The similarity between the two names of Uighur and Ugha Mongulala are obvious and should need little explanation.

The first advanced settlements sprang up around the area of Mesopotamia (Iraq) during the fifth millennium BCE, seemingly from nowhere. Ancient texts that these people left behind state that gods came to Earth from another unknown planet and taught them the arts of civilisation. This planet is known as Nibiru, and is depicted on several of their cylinder seals. The tale of gods who came from another realm is by no means limited to Mesopotamia but is repeated in various cultures throughout the world, including ancient Egypt, the Olmecs and China.

Scientists believe that man evolved completely on his own, with no outside interference from God or gods. However, evidence suggests that we were created through the genetic engineering of our ancestor Homo erectus and extraterrestrial DNA. This goes a long way towards answering the question of the ‘missing link’ that scientists and archaeologists have spent many years searching for. It also explains the 223 genes whose origins the Human Genome Project has been unable to account for.

We are not the only race in our galaxy, as two were created - Humans and Reptiles. The Reptiles are not shape shifters or vampires, but are merely playing the role that was assigned to them. They are neither good nor bad, but simply are what they are.

The two races were given contradictory creational myths in order to incite conflict, thus helping us to grow. The Reptiles were told that they had the right to colonise any planet or star system within the galaxy and destroy any non-Reptilian race already living there. The Humans were told that could also colonise other stars and planets, but if they found another race living there, they were to negotiate a peace treaty and co-exist alongside them.

A war between the Humans and the Reptiles led to the formation of the Galactic Federation, when it became clear that there was a need for an organisation that would oversee the various human colonies, and broker peace between the warring races. It also became necessary to create a permanent patrolling force to act as both deterrent and peace keeper. This peace keeper and battle star was named Nibiru, the missing Planet X, as depicted in the ancient Mesopotamian texts. Its inhabitants are the same beings that were credited with teaching the Mesopotamians the arts of civilisation.

Following a second war, the Reptilian home world was destroyed. The surviving Reptiles who refused to side with their Government were given refuge and taken aboard Nibiru. As a means of broking peace, the commander Anu took a Reptilian wife, who gave birth to a son Enki, the Mesopotamian god of water. Anu’s elder son Enlil by his chief spouse Antu was god of Earth. The Atlantean civilisation, which was the most important of all Lemurian colonies, flourished for 200,000 years, and finally came to an end around 10,500 BCE, around the same time as the Akakorian great flood.

By this time, the Atlanteans had begun to acquire delusions of grandeur. No longer satisfied with being a daughter Empire, they believed that they could and should be mother. They therefore began to plot the destruction of Lemuria. They began to form alliances with renegade Reptiles led by Marduk, chief god of Babylon (and Enki’s son).

Under the command of Marduk, the Atlanteans harnessed the power of a giant crystal. To begin with it was used to power various forms of transport. Marduk began to infiltrate their scientific community with the aid of his Reptilian allies, so that the scientists soon became the dominant force in Atlantean society. He then began to infiltrate the ruling class, which caused a division between the spiritual and scientific communities. Eventually, it got to the stage where Marduk himself was Ruler, in everything but name. Things rapidly degenerated until disaster seemed inevitable.

At that time, Earth had two Moons, each of which was roughly two-thirds the size of our present one. The Atlantean Rulers harnessed one of these Moons in a tractor beam from the Great Crystal and threatened to use it against any civilization that opposed their plans. The Moon was imploded by means of particle beam weapons shortly before reaching the Lagrange Point of critical mass. This set off a catastrophic volcanic eruption causing the gas chambers beneath Lemuria to implode, sinking the entire continent.

Following the destruction of Lemuria, the Atlanteans were faced with the prospect of rebuilding Earth and restoring order within the remaining Lemurian colonies. Some supported the Atlanteans, fearful of their power, but others opposed them.

The Atlanteans harnessed a comet, holding it in a tractor beam and threatening to use it against those who opposed them. When Nibiru came back into orbit, it disrupted the tractor beam, sending the comet crashing down on Atlantis. A collision of this type although catastrphic, is not though sufficient to sink an entire continent.

Author Herbie Brennan came to some interesting conclusions during the research for his book, The Atlantis Enigma. According to Brennan, the only force that could destroy a continent is the remnants of a supernova. A supernova is a star that explodes so violently that it destroys itself, creating a large amount of gas and debris in the process. Only four supernovas have been identified in Earth’s recorded history, one of which, Vela, exploded approximately 14,000 to 11,000 years ago, around the time that Atlantis is believed to have sunk. Brennan surmises that a planet-sized chunk of debris from the Vela supernova must have passed within the orbit of the Moon. But what if this planet- sized chunk was not a supernova, but the missing planet X, in other words, Nibiru?

The closer this chunk came to Earth, the more it affected conditions on the planet. The first thing to occur was a series of violent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. As the supernova or planet approached closer, the Earth was bombarded with meteorites. Finally, the gravitational pull created a mammoth wave, up to 1600 feet high which devastated everything in its path, including Atlantis.

The tilt in Earth’s axis caused a catastrophic shift in world climate. The north lands were moved from a temperate zone away from the warmth of the Sun. The explosion of dirt and debris into the atmosphere blocked the Sun’s heat further still. As the intruder grew closer, it added its own radiation to that of the Sun’s, generating further heat. The heat causmelted water droplets in the atmosphere to fall as rain, a driving deluge driven by hurricane force winds. This deluge fell as snow in the north. Earth was abruptly thrown into a new Ice Age.

At the same time, Marduk’s son Seth (this is the same Seth who in Egyptian mythology killed his brother Osiris) destroyed the Firmament, adding to the devastation. The Firmament was a band of moisture about three miles thick surrounding Earth that maintained its lush, green environment. Millions of gallons of water fell from the sky in a great deluge that lasted for forty days and forty nights.

We can see clear parallels here between the history of Atlantis and Akakor, in that both were subject to a great war following which the gods left. The decided not to warn the Humans of the impending disaster, as they reasoned it was only a matter of time before they destroyed themselves anyway. Enki disobeyed the order and instructed his son Noah and his family to build the ark. The rest as they say is history.

It seems to me that the main theme of the film is the light and the dark. This is mirrored in our own lives, and indeed throughout the universe. The more I look around me and examine my own life, the more I see this in action.

It must be remembered that it is only through adversity and through confronting our pain that we can grow and evolve. Someone has to kick over the ant hills and play the dark role in order for us to learn and be challenged. When I look around me at recent developments within the publishing world, and my own community, it becomes clear as well that the dark can sometimes masquerade as the light, as this is the only way to get our attention. The light knows that the media feed off negativity and use it fuel the need for change.

A perfect example of this would be the women who earlier this year complained at injured servicemen from the rehabilitation unit at Headley Court, using the public swimming pool free of charge. This was brought to the attention of the national press, who then used the publicity in order to raise funds for the Help for Heroes campaign aimed at improving the facilities.

Everything has a value, even if it is not obvious, through teaching or showing us what we need to change. It may take several years to see what that value is, but it is always there. If you look in the mirror, is the reflection that you see truly representative of who you are? The truth and our perception of ourselves changes as we grow and evolve. Take what you will then from this article, and know that if you do not understand it now, then you can always come back to it in two years time when your perception has changed.

In the meantime, if you are eager to know more and are ready to embrace that change, then I recommend a very good book, called Genesis of Man …

The universe is holding its breath

I am in a very calm and relaxed space tonight, after a very busy and very exciting day.

I have got into the practise this week of carrying my mobile phone in my pocket at work. I know that this is not ideal, but everyone else does it, and when I explained to my Assistant Manager what was going on with regard to the book, and how I was trying to capitalise on the crystal skull resurgence, he actually suggested that I do this. Am I glad that I did, for this morning I had a phone call from the same journalist who helped to kick start sales of the Yoof Shakespeare book - To Be or Not to be Innit by Martin Baum, which is now Richard's best selling work.

That may though be about to change, as after a very interesting 10 minute conversation where Ed asked me all about the book, all about crystal skulls, and all about the market I am trying to reach, he said that he would do his best to try and get some of the national papers interested.

He cannot of course promise, and I realise that it may take a little time, but I really feel now that the time is right, and I am ready for this. I can feel and I can sense that change is about to happen, and that that change, when it comes, will be very much for the better.

So tonight, for maybe not the first time, I am holding my breath in anticipation of what might be. It feels as if the universe is holding its breath with me too.

Booklocker files class action lawsuit against Amazon.com

As I mentioned last night, Booklocker.com, the print on demand company that started the whole Amazon thing off by bringing it to the awareness of others within the industry, has filed a class A suit against Amazon. The following article is re-printed with permission and in its entirety from the Booklocker website.

"BookLocker.com has filed a class action lawsuit against Amazon.com in response to Amazon’s recent attempts to force all publishers using Print on Demand (POD) technology to pay Amazon to print their books. You can read the complaint here.

Amazon began their clandestine effort earlier this year by phone (nobody there seemed to want to put anything in writing), approaching POD publishers, and telling them they must pay Amazon to print their books or their active “buy” buttons would be turned off at the Amazon.com website. What this means is Amazon customers won’t be able to purchase those books directly from Amazon.com (and would not qualify for free shipping), but only through third-party resellers on the site.

Under the Amazon/BookSurge contract, Amazon:

* Controls the printing price of the POD books - The prices can change at anytime, at Amazon’s discretion, with 30 days notice.

* Controls the retail price of the POD books across the board - Publishers would not be able to sell their books for a lower price through “any other channel” (including other bookstores), and would not even be able to sell their books for less to their own customers under any circumstances.

* Controls the wholesale price of the POD books - Amazon’s new contract demands a 48%-52% discount (different contracts have been sent to different publishers). Many small, independent publishers can’t afford to offer this discount to bookstores and would be forced to raise their book prices, which will ultimately hurt book buyers.

* Controls the digital setup and scanning fees for each POD title - After the initial dump of current books, publishers would be charged approximately $50 per title (again, different publishers are receiving different contracts) in setup fees and/or varying scanning fees payable to Amazon/BookSurge. These fees can change at anytime, at Amazon’s discretion, with 30 days notice.

* Controls the formatting specifications - Many publishers can’t absorb the massive number of man-hours required to reformat every single book interior and cover file in their inventory to match Amazon’s specifications.

* Controls the quality of the books - Refer to THIS ARTICLE for details and links. It’s no secret that BookSurge has a poor reputation for quality, including complaints about pages falling out of books, upside-down pages, and more. If a publisher pays Amazon to print their books, their reputation could suffer due to any possible BookSurge quality problems with that publisher’s books.

* Attempts to control the public’s knowledge of who has signed the Amazon/BookSurge contract, along with the details of that contract, through a confidentiality clause, so that publishers signing it may feel they can’t talk about it at all.

* And, Amazon controls the golden nugget - that coveted “buy” button that book buyers want (so their order can qualify for free shipping).

In a public statement, Amazon offered only one alternative to publishers, which is their “Advantage Program.” However, they did not divulge in the public statement that the terms of the Advantage Program are even worse than their printing contract. The Advantage Program requires POD publishers to give Amazon 55% of the list price, pay them $29.95/year, and pay the shipping costs for books going to Amazon.

STRONG DISSENT FROM INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVESThe Author’s Guild, the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), The Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN), YouWriteOn.com (the U.K.’s leading writer’s website) and the National Writer’s Union have all issued strong statements denouncing Amazon’s attempted power grab of the industry.

OUR STORY After hearing rumors of Amazon’s alleged activities, we spoke to an Amazon/Booksurge representative by phone on March 26th. You can read what transpired that day HERE.

After reviewing all the materials presented to us, and after talking on- and off-the-record with publishers, authors and industry representatives at all levels of this controversy, it is our opinion that Amazon may be positioning itself to directly print and control every book it sells. By forcing publishers to sign their extraordinarily oppressive contract, Amazon gains the power to charge publishers whatever printing and distribution costs it desires, as well as controlling the retail, discount and wholesale prices of the books it prints, and, through this contract, automatically positions itself to control the market.

We cannot say for certain if what Amazon is doing is legal or not at this point; that is for the Federal courts to decide. However, in our opinion, the seemingly covert manner in which Amazon has conducted itself in this matter seems to make their actions highly suspicious.

WHAT’S NEXT? Amazon has already taken control of publishers’ ebook sales on the Amazon.com website by requiring ebooks to be available for their ebook reader, the Kindle. Now, Amazon is attempting to take control of the printing of all POD books. We wonder if traditionally published books are next. Some are speculating that Amazon won’t stop until they are being paid to print every book they sell.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION You can read more information about this situation HERE, including a time-line of the events that have transpired. You can comment on this situation HERE.

ARE YOU AFFECTED? According to Amazon’s public statement, ALL POD books will be affected. If you are a POD publisher (this includes self-published authors who publish their own POD books through a printer), or a traditional publisher using POD technology for some or all your books, and would like more information, please contact:
Angela Hoy, PublisherBookLocker.comangela@booklocker.com"

Most of what Angela says is unfortunately from what I can tell, is pretty much true, apart from the obvious anomaly, that Amazon cannot remove books from their site without a lot of hard work on their side ! Titles are fed to their site via a direct feed from the ISBN agency, and the only way to remove a book and its buy button from the site, is to completely withdraw it from the distribution network, or for someone at Amazon to go through and systemically remove all POD books from their site - I cannot see this happening.

There is also one more exception. It does NOT affect all print on demand books - just those whose publisher originates in the United States. For the moment at least, overseas authors (that is to say, authors whose publisher is not based within the United States) are safe - one more good reason to keep the business in our country, and support the British book industry !

Crystal Skull Gives Indie June a Boost

For immediate release, May 18 2008

Crystal Skull Gives Indie June a Boost

The imminent release of Hollywood blockbuster, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has given a surprise boost to Surrey author June Austin. June has a long standing fascination with these beautiful objects, as guardian of several skulls herself.


Her book, Genesis of Man, originally published in 2006, began life as a thesis on crystal skulls when she was studying crystal therapy in 2001. The more June began to write and research, the more links she began to find between the skulls and other areas of interest, until it became obvious that this was to be a book, linking all the different subjects together.


In August 2007, June’s book, billed as the answer to life, the universe and everything in between, became one of the first print on demand books to be made available as a stocked title through Gardners Books, the UK’s largest wholesaler. Following this decision, June undertook a highly successful telemarketing campaign aimed primarily at Waterstones stores, and managed to get the book into over 100 stores nationwide, becoming one of her publisher, Authors Online Ltd’s most successful authors to date.


Genesis of Man took five years to write, and is essentially a potted history of our planet from 35 million years ago. The book brings together many different subject areas, including Atlantis, Gnosticism and Christianity plus of course, crystal skulls, representing a blending of spiritual, religious and scientific thought.


Copies are available to order from selected Waterstones and independent book stores throughout the UK, or http://www.amazon.co.uk/

For further details the author’s website at http://www.juneaustin.co.uk/

PUBLICATION DATE: May 2007 (First Edition June 2006)
DISTRIBUTED BY GARDNERS AND BERTRAMS (UK),
INGRAMS AND BAKER AND TAYLOR (US)
Copies are also available direct from the publisher
Email gaynorj@authorsonline.co.uk or telephone 01633 676629

To request an interview or a review copy
telephone +44 (0) 1737 842523, email theeditor@juneaustin.co.uk

Price £14.99/$22.95
ISBN 9780755202362
Spirituality/Religion
336 pages paperback

Positives and Negatives

I had been planning to write a little more about Amazon tonight, as I see from the Bookseller, that Angela Hoy of Booklooker in the United States, has now lodged a complaint against them in the US courts. Her website goes into much more detail than I could regarding the ins and outs and the whys and wherefores. It is not much that has not been said many times before, and I wish her well in her endeavours. I think it may be a while before this is over yet.

Several things have happened for me in the last few days - mostly concerning the imminent release of the new Indiana Jones film - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. My book, Genesis of Man began life as a thesis on crystal skulls, and Coran and I are still guardians of around 20 of these wonderful objects, which we work with from time to time, perhaps not as consciously as we might. A lot of the skull material has since been taken out, but I kept it carefully filed away for future reference, and I am glad that I did, as it has enabled me to begin using this new film as a springboard to increase both interest in and sales of my own book.

I got the ball rolling by sending an email out to everyone on my own mailing list. One of these is a man called Cris, whom I met around six years at a conference on the Knights Templar. Cris and I got talking and exchanged contact details, and have been in touch by email ever since. He is an interesting man, as he happens to be a personal friend of the late Anna Mitchell Hedges, who was of course the adopted daughter of real life Indiana Jones, FA Mitchell Hedges, and the discover and guardian until her death in 2007, of the Mitchell Hedges crystal skull. Cris has bought a copy of my book, which Coran posted me for today, and has hinted that he may be willing to put a link on the Mitchell Hedges site to my own website. He also informs me that the skull is due to visit the UK in June, and has promised to send me the details as soon as the dates are announced.

I have experienced the skull many times during meditation, but it would be truly wonderful to have the chance to see this fantastic object in the flesh, and also of course, to meet up with Cris again after all these years.

Out of this came a new crystal skull section on my website, followed by an amendment to the email to those on my mailing list, and the circulation of said email to every Waterstones in the country. This was rapidly followed by the posting of some press releases on various free PR sites, and this morning an email to all Blackwells stores.

A copy of the email was sent to both Richard and Paul, and Richard has replied to say that he loves what I have written, and will try and see if the journalist who picked up the news feed on the Shakespeare book that Richard had such success with, is interested enough to get in touch, and if I am lucky, and God is willing, take this to the next level.

The emails seem to have having some success, since on Sunday night when I sent them around, Gardners had 36 copies in stock, and tonight, 2 days later, they have 28. This means that 8 copies have gone out in the last 2 days, which is more than I have had for a while. It will be interesting to see over the weekend, once they arrive in store, which branches of Waterstones I can now add to my list of stockists.

One hell of a ride

Today it looks very much like I will soon be out of a job. We were told at work some time ago that a big announcement would be made to the City today regarding the future of the company and where we were heading, and it was not good news.

Our parent company have decided to close 77 stores. Most of these closures will come about in the form of natural wastage - simply put the stores will close as and when their leases expire. The lease in our store expires at the end of July, and so it seems that mine will be too, and I will have to look for a new job.

While this is still not official, it is as good as a done deal. While I had been half expecting this for several months, it has still come as a bit of a shock to find that despite my rantings about the job on here, I have got used to going there four mornings each week and interacting with the customers.

The publishing world in the meantime, continues to make waves regarding the firm sale debate, which has now moved from Publishing News and onto The Bookseller. This is good, as it means I can post comments of my own, and maybe get some kind of dialogue going. There are one or two independent book sellers who have already added their own comments, and appear to have similar views to my own.

The article on The Bookseller does not say much that Publishing News did not, but whitters on about how unfair it is that book sellers should have to bear the risk, and heaven forbid, actually be responsible enough to carry the can for their own buying decisions. One retailer has said that the changes will affect areas such as academic titles, backlist titles bought for signing sessions, and marketing promotions, all of which would be counted as backlist, but would not be stocked by booksellers if they could not be returned.

The head of one retail chain, whom the article does not name, added that the level of returns was "ridiculous", and that he was sceptical about the motives behind a firm sale move. "There's a touch of green wash in recognising an opportunity to do something really significant in changing terms but dressing it up in green clothing," he said. "I believe that a move that forces improved efficiency is not necessarily a bad thing, but that comment applies to publishers and agents as it does to retailers." Same old, same old...

Another article, this time from Publishing News, states that publishers are reacting angrily to a crude attempt by Amazon to increase its discount. This will no doubt be of interest to my publishing friends across the pond. It is interesting to see that Amazon's demands are as I predicted some time ago, also affecting commercial publishers, and are no longer confined to the self publishing sector through print on demand, not that they ever were, since these days most commercial publishers also use this printing method at least for backlists. The debate re discounting has forced the issue much more into the open, and it is interesting to see the parallels here between the firm sale issue and this issue with Amazon, for if the book sellers get their way, then higher discounting will become the norm rather than the exception, in order to compensate for the loss of returnability.

It seems that Amazon are doing exactly what they did to the print on demand publishers - going from publisher to publisher with extortionate demands, and if they do not persuade one publisher to play ball, then going back to the first house and saying that X has agreed to such and such.

Publishers say that this isn't the first time this has happened, and they are angry and fed up. One unnamed spokesperson said: “UK publishers already give the biggest terms in the world, far larger than the US and Australia. What we see is Amazon attempting a strategy of world domination. In the US, we've already seen them demanding that publishers use their facility for print on demand. It seems that the only people who benefit in the value chain are Amazon. They already have 15 percent of the market in the UK.”

Publishing News estimates that if Amazon continue to grow at this rate, their market share will have doubled to 30 percent within three years. There is then a very real danger that this will result in book store closures. The article goes on to say what Angela Hoy and others like myself have been saying for months, namely that Amazon will then be in a position of such dominance that they will be able to dictate whatever terms they want and destabilise the entire market.

One CEO went as far as to hint that the Competition Commission should look at the situation, although others were not so certain. It certainly hasn't got print on demand authors very far in America. It seems that like the US, the Competition Com­mission here in Britain, pays little heed to protecting the interests of authors and publishers. Perhaps when Amazon do get to the stage where they have 25 percent of the market then they might be interested, but I suspect that by then it will already be too late, as hundreds of book stores, and small presses will have been driven out of business unable to compete with Amazon's aggressive pricing strategies and free deliveries.

Print on demand publishers may have found an ally, since one CEO commented that his company are not moving one single inch, and are if necessary prepared to lose a years sales with Amazon. I say good luck to him. He will need it.

The rise in the Internet does not impact only book sellers, as it is in many ways also responsible for the almost certain loss of my own job. How though do you stop this slide - the answer as always lies within the hands of the buyers - they have to change their attitudes away from themselves and immediate gratification to one of long term gain that benefits all. Everything in time always goes full circle, and in time it will swing back, but in the meantime I feel that we are in for an interesting ride. Where this will end up I do not know, but one thing I do know is that the scenery will be magnificent.