Impossible Dreams Paperback Is Live on Amazon!

Substack paid subscribers can get it at a discount during December 2023!

The paperback version of Impossible Dreams: Hopes, Fears, and Expectations for Saturn in Pisces is finally live on Amazon!

This essay anthology reflecting on Saturn’s transit through Pisces roughly every 30 years is timely — some themes just seem to repeat whenever Saturn is in Pisces, where it is right now. In this excerpt from “We Throw Open the Windows and Let in the Holy Spirit: Memories of the Second Vatican Council,” contributors Samantha Corey and Jeanne Bishop reminisce about the 1960s Saturn in Pisces transit, which included the Roman Catholic Church’s Second Vatican Council:

Samantha: Well, I was doing a little bit of research on what was going on behind the scenes, which we wouldn't have known about until afterwards anyway. Even the leaders of other religions were very much against some of the documents that the Council wanted to put forth having to do with this reaching out to other religions. It just sounded arrogant to them.

At the same time, during that period, the Arab-Israeli wars were going strong. There was a lot going on in the world that caused the consternation within the Council itself.

Jeanne: And then feminism was right around the corner.

Samantha: Yeah. And, interestingly enough, the Council didn't really address the role of women at all.

Of course, there is turmoil in the Middle East again this time around. Also, earlier this fall, the Roman Catholic Church gathered for a Synod of Bishops — and, the Associated Press reports, the role of women was a prominent focus.

Is the paperback available anywhere other than Amazon?

Although Amazon offers a convenient customer experience, it’s not the only bookstore in the world. I intend to also release the paperback through IngramSpark, another print-on-demand provider that non-Amazon bookstores have an easier time buying through, but that option is not available yet.

Regarding libraries carrying the book, I mentioned in past posts my efforts to get hold of the Library of Congress about their classification numbers that I thought were necessary for libraries to shelve the book. I never heard back from the Library of Congress, so I finally wrote to the librarian on duty at the Alexandria iBase Project and was told that “any library that wants to add your work to their collection (either digital or physical) can do so with or without an LCCN.” I therefore moved forward without an LCCN.

What about the e-book?

The Impossible Dreams e-book was also updated to reflect the content improvements for the paperback edition on December 1, 2023. People who purchase the e-book after December 1, 2023, should automatically receive the updated version.

Unfortunately, getting the updated content to people who bought the e-book before December 1 is harder than Amazon initially made it sound. I am still troubleshooting that with Amazon.

What’s next?

I loved working with the essay anthology format for Impossible Dreams. It would be pretty hard for me to write a book a year working alone. When other writers provide a lot of the content, though, I think a book a year sounds reasonable!

I have a list written of significant ingresses and planetary aspects that will take place over the next several years, and we can just come together and take one on every year.

2024’s essay anthology topic will be Changing of the Guards: Pluto on the Precipice.

The title comes from Bob Dylan’s song “Changing of the Guards.” The lyrics begin, “Sixteen years, sixteen banners united over the field.” Of course, that’s roughly the length of Pluto’s current transit through Capricorn, 2008 to 2024.

Writers are paid, so I will release a formal call for essays after I get enough sales from Impossible Dreams coming in to fund Changing of the Guards.

Paid subscription changes

No one has taken me up on my Substack’s paid subscription option yet, so I am going to try something different with it during December. For the month of December 2023, the monthly paid subscription rate for my Substack will be $15 instead of $5. For that $15, I will mail you an autographed copy of the Impossible Dreams paperback. (On Amazon, it’s $20 plus shipping.)

Substack sometimes gives you the opportunity to write a note about why you’re subscribing when you start a paid subscription. Drop your physical mailing address in there if possible. Otherwise, Substack gives me your email address, so I can just email you for it.

The first five paid subscribers will also receive all the past paid subscriber goodies: a Mercury Retrograde Tracker (2020-2030), an Eclipse Tracker (2004-2029), and a bumper sticker.

On January 1, 2024, the rate for a monthly subscription will go back to $5, and there will be a new monthly paid subscriber goodie.