A Magical Day

Saturday was launch day - online and here in Idyllwild where I live - and the only word that seems to sum it up is magical.

I started the day by connecting with Steve/Duder/my late partner - the impetus for this book - in such a deep and powerful way that it flooded me with joy and gratitude and propelled me into the day such that I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep my feet on the ground. Excitement built as I did this and that and a friend kept texting me with updates about how the online effort was going. The whole idea was to punch through the system and punch through we - you - did. Ultimately, after starting the day ranked 14,669 on all of amazon books, our hour of power got us up to the four thousand range, and we peaked at #201! If you searched "grief and loss," you would have seen that there were more than 25,000 books and at one point, we were #85 on that list! Now amazon updates every hour so the rankings will fluctuate, but thanks to all of you who generously chose to buy books on launch day. Mission accomplished!

Before long I made it over to the venue for the local launch party where, of course, we had no idea how many people to expect. Wendi Strebe did a fantastic job with appetizers and Scott Douglas and Doug Yagaloff provided the coffee and tea. Kate Sirkin and Kristin Ethier manned the sales table and then Trine Bietz got the ball rolling with an introduction of me and this project that really brought the crowd in and set the tone. She was incredible. I started with a thank you to Idyllwild - the place and the people - and then we did a quick little heart-opening exercise and invoked our loved ones from the other side. The energy in the room was so full and vibrant by the time I sat down to read - for the first time. Wow. I looked up and the large room was fairly full and getting fuller. At one point I noticed people reading along from their own copies and it was a trip to see people actually holding this thing that I've been talking about for so long.

After reading and answering a few questions, Wendi popped the champagne, we turned on some music, and I made my way to the sales table to sign books. I guess people were enjoying the food and the wine and champagne, but I hardly knew what was happening. What I did know, was that I got to visit one-on-one with people who gushed with love and appreciation and their own stories about those they love who have crossed over. I was so full of joy and felt honored that they would share so much of themselves with me. Vic Sirkin took pictures like crazy and made sure everyone knew what was happening - to the degree that he knew!

Later that night my friends Rhonda and Rick hosted an incredible celebration dinner for about 20 people that was so warm and welcoming. I invited several of my friends who had come up for the launch and some of my friends from here. More magic. And, yes, Duder was there for every single moment.

So I'm blissfully exhausted and grateful and humbled and ready for more and more.

Thank you so very much.

T-Minus...

Haven't posted for several days as it has been a bit busy. All good, all very exciting, including having taped an interview for InspireMeToday.com (I will be featured on that site on 11/16) and booked another interview on a spirituality radio program sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. More importantly, I continue to be humbled and energized by the love and support of so, so many people for me and this project.

Personally, I am very much looking forward to tomorrow's launch - online and in person - and moving into the next phase however it is that it unfolds.

If you're not in Idyllwild and want to see what's happening, there will be a live stream of the whole thing starting at 2:00pm Pacific Standard Time. The reading should be underway sometime before 2:30. Here's the link:

http://208.87.18.37/broadcast/467

Thanks everybody.

One More Week

With a week to go before launch day, I want to thank each and every one of you who has read the book or part of the book and given me such generous feedback; every one of you who has expressed excitement and enthusiasm and has encouraged me to do this; every one of you who have told others about this project and gotten them on board with the "Purchase Party" next week; every one of you who has offered help and assistance and support and encouragement in all the ways you have done so.

I know it is not so easy to do all this for something that, for all intents and purposes, is just an idea - something that doesn't quite exist yet and can't be touched and held. That's what makes all of your efforts that much more impressive and humbling. But soon that will all change. Actual books are on their way and next week anyone and everyone will be able to order them.

Progress is also being made on the PR front with some interviews in the works. Of course, I will keep you posted as soon as I have more information.

Thanks and thanks.

Suspending My Campaign

In light of the fact that our country is, to borrow a phrase, cratering, I have decided to suspend my campaign to sell books so that I may devote the full force of my energies to making sure we right the ship that is the United States of America. So until further notice or tomorrow morning - whichever comes first - you will find me in the voting booth, pacing the floors, sharing time with like-minded friends, monitoring news of the day from a variety of Internet and broadcast media, and altogether holding the space for an election outcome I know will go a long way toward stemming our multiple crises.

Until then,

P E A C E

to you and yours.

Fun

Yesterday afternoon here in Idyllwild, half a dozen people who previously honored me with reading this book - in some cases months ago - honored me again by giving of their time and generous critiques in a discussion of the book for public consumption. We taped it all and will edit it down for the "Blurbs" section on the site so people who know nothing about the book will not only be able to read what others have had to say about it, but will now also be able to see and hear about it from even more people. So thanks to Lou, Rhonda, Rick, Trine, Cris, and Maureen and to Moses for the tehnological wizardry. As it happens, at least about 50 people watched the session live - on the web - so thanks to all of you, too. I'll announce it when the edited version is completed.

I am also having great fun these days as more and more people I've never met or heard of are pledging to buy books on the November 15th. That means the message is reaching beyond my immediate circle but only because my immediate circle has been willing to take the time to help spread the word to their own circles. So thanks everyone, it's working, and keep it up!

Denver & New York

For any and all who may be in either Denver or New York and/or who have people in those places, I will be going there and am looking for reading/signing opportunities in both places. If you have any ideas or information or know of places where we could do an event, please let me or my assistant know. (OK, me.)

Denver: November 21 - November 29

New York: December 10 - January 8

Thank you!

Playing with the Big Boys

And girls. In the Law of Attraction Game.

Ready?

Think or say:

I don't know how, but
Twenty-five hundred copies or more
Of "An Extra Year" by Steven Morrison
Sold on amazon.com
On November 15, 2008

Repeat thought/statement for five minutes each day.

Or more.

And thanks for playing.

Top Ten Reasons

Reserving the right to change these at any time, here are the...

TOP TEN REASONS TO BUY
An Extra Year: Grief and Loss in the New Age
at the ONLINE PURCHASE PARTY
on NOVEMBER 15, 2008

10. Take the karmic hit after all those school fund-raisers, bike-walk-ride-a-thons, and Girl Scout cookie sales you’ve inflicted on the author

9. Show traditional publishers they’re not all that

8. Be the first on your block to own a shiny, new book

7. Help a first-time author make back his investment

6. Have one of those laugh and cry experiences

5. Help anyone who’s looking to find a new book with a new look at grief and loss

4. Help people deepen their own relationships

3. See how fun and not scary talking to dead people can be

2. Titillate your heart and brain

1. Someone on “the other side” is watching and telling you to

Asking

I'm not one of those spirituality teacher guys who is particularly big on the whole "the Universe will test you" thing. I guess I just don't like spending time thinking about what tests are coming, whether or not I'll pass them, what will happen if I don't, or even entertaining the word "test." Yet I feel sure there's something to the concept, somewhere in there. Something about adversity and how it makes us stronger and life as humans wouldn't be life without it etcetera and so forth.

Whatever it is and whatever we might call it, I think I'm confronting one of those moments right now. Because in order to fully step into and up to what I have been calling the biggest thing I've done so far, literally launching this book beyond me and my friends into wherever it may go, I'm having to Ask For Help - and it's practically killing me. Okay, well maybe that's a bit dramatic. But really, I don't like it. And yet I have to do it. And the more I put it off, the more asking it seems I have to do. We are here for a reason is the spiritual concept I'd apply to this particular circumstance. And I know the reason is always for our growth and development. As I always ask my clients and students when they're in a situation they don't necessarily like, What muscle do you need to grow or develop or strengthen in order to navigate to peace? For me, right now, it's accepting that I can't do it all myself; that I don't have all the answers; that I must make myself vulnerable. Valuable lessons that I've not quite yet mastered so here's a perfect opportunity to master them.

And now when you get those emails from me, asking, you'll know that I'm just growing about my business.

Did I Mention?

We have recently added players from London, England & Dubai, United Arab Emirates & Auckland, New Zealand & somewhere in Mexico to our growing list of places from which people are participating in this book launch. Are you currently living outside the U.S.? It would be so helpful and I'd be indebted to you if you shared this project with people you know wherever you are. Or do you know people living outside the U.S? Ditto.

Working today on a new round of emails and also spiffing up my other web site. And I'm so grateful to be able to counter all this electronic mumbo jumbo with a view of the green pines, blue sky, and beige rocks.

25 days to go!

Production

It occurred to me yesterday that I hadn't yet said anything about the actual production of the book. The project has officially moved into Phase 3 of a 3-phase process. That means that the front and back covers have been designed and approved. The interior design of the book (fonts, chapter beginnings, headers, footers, etc.) have been approved. Currently, the digital print files are being prepared and in another couple of days I will receive an actual physical book made from those files. If all looks good - and it should - we're a few weeks away from having it available for everyone - just in time.

It really has been tremendously exciting to see this thing go from a Word document in my computer to an actual book. Here's hoping you'll like the results.

People Who Might Like This Book

With four weeks to go, there are several "categories" of people who might like this book and you may know some or many of them. Now I realize nobody really wants to be categorized, but this is marketing, baby, so here we go with "people who might like this book:"

• Anyone who has lost someone they loved and is still living with the pain of it.
  
• Bereavement counselors and hospice workers: These people are on the frontlines of death and dying and work all the time with people who are both fearing death and fearing the loss of someone they love. Some people in the throes of this process have read the book and are finding it helpful.
• Psychologists and psychotherapists: There are generally accepted protocols for grief and loss that are gently challenged in the book. This group of people (I used to be one of them!) may be open to a different take.
• Gay men: It's a story about a gay couple which may capture the attention of other gay men who, like everyone, appreciate seeing their own lives and experiences reflected in popular culture. Not to mention the depth of unprocessed grief in this community from having survived the early days and first wave of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
  
• Lovers of the memoir genre: it's a real, true story
• Spirituality seekers: This book is right up the alley of anyone who is drawn to new age and contemporary spirituality teachings.
  
• Metaphysicians/clairvoyants/mediums: These can be scary words to the un-initiated, but it just means people who are interested in and/or can communicate themselves with "the other side."

To name a few. Please don't limit your imaginations only to these groups of people for many who don't fall into any of these categories, specifically, have shared with me with ways in which this book has touched them that I never could or would have imagined.

May I count on you to help me find some of these folks? If you know any, would you please send them a link to the site? (www.anextrayear.com)

I thank you very much.

Thirty Days to Go

If you're wondering what a first-time author might be doing to help his book make a splash when it's ready for publication, I can tell you it doesn't involve much writing. Well, that's not entirely true. I've been writing a lot of emails - to groups of people I think might, at this early stage, be most pre-disposed to being interested in the book. For example, I found an institute with "respected teachers of contemplative wisdom and applied spirituality" and sent an email to the core faculty. I sifted through listings of dozens and dozens and dozens of clairvoyant/psychic/mediums and sent an email to about 25 of them who seemed to be of high caliber and great integrity. And I am in the process of doing the same thing for bereavement counselors.

It's not exactly rocket science, but it is time consuming and I'm feeling a great sense of urgency. I'm also working on putting together a "book club" kind of discussion with some folks who have read the whole book, then streaming that online before the launch.

And I am open to any and all ideas that any and all of you may have.

This Is Why

I received an email this morning from a friend of my late partner, Steve, the man whose departure from this plane spurred this entire project. She wrote, "Oh Steven, it's so beautiful. I have just finished Chapter 2 and have to tear myself away and do some work. I can't wait until tonight so that I can finish it. It's the most wonderful tribute to Steve that I could have ever imagined." And this is why I can spend all my time spreading the word that this book will soon be available.

I can't begin to tell you what it's like to tell a story with the hope that it will touch people and then realize that it actually does. And, from what I'm seeing so far, it does so in many different ways. I had no idea when I sat down to write this book that anything would happen at all and it didn't matter. All that mattered was that I write it.

So I continue to thank those of you who have provided such humbling feedback and, with it, the inspiration to do the work to let people who might also be touched by it to know it exists. And I continue to thank all of you who have found your way here for helping with this labor of love.

Facebook and PR

In case you're one of the people who was invited - ostensibly by me - to join Facebook, please forgive me. I really had no idea that getting ramped up on that site to promote the book would trigger that process. It bothers me in that a) I wouldn't have done it in the first place and b) I most certainly wouldn't have done it in such cheesy fashion. Thank you for your understanding.

Today is PR (public relations) day. Delilah De La Rosa sent a press release to a battery of outlets we had decided on earlier and then I augmented that effort with some online stuff. Of course, I will keep you posted as to progress on that front as it rolls in.

It's interesting to be fully immersed in marketing again - my old career. And trust me when I tell you that there is a big difference between marketing a product or service and marketing your own product or service. I've said it before, though, and I feel it more strongly every day: I'm not so much marketing my book and, thus, myself and my story but rather I'm working to connect the messages of the book with those who are seeking them. It may sound like semantics, but it makes a world of difference to me.

One Week Down, Five To Go

Yesterday marked the end of the first week of this six-week campaign and today marks the first day of the second week. During the last week hundreds of people visited the site (great job everyone) and people from close to a dozen different countries have said they'd participate in the virtual launch party for the book. A host committee has been formed for the in-person launch party here in Idyllwild, and I have a page on Facebook for crying out loud.

Next up, the public relations project gets underway led by Delilah De La Rosa. The press release is ready to go and she'll be "pitching" me/this book in search of interviews and articles about An Extra Year. If you have any ideas of your own, please let us know.

Our goal of twenty-five hundred books is absolutely attainable and you can help by simply picturing that thermometer on the "Purchase Party" page of the site red all the way up - and don't worry about how it's going to happen. We're off to a great start and momentum is building. You can keep the momentum going simply by holding that visual in your mind, so thanks.

Happy Sunday everyone.

Calling Early Readers

On the last day of the first week of this six-week push, excitement about this book launch continues to build. (For me, anyway!) And we have also welcomed representatives of Spain, New Zealand, and The Netherlands to our virtual purchase party. Thank you!

Also...I am looking for people who may want to read An Extra Year - now - in its pre-publication form. The idea is to build up the number of "enthusiasts" in an effort to build up the number of participants for the virtual launch. So the only condition would be that you read it sometime before November 1. You shouldnt' do it if you think you won't have time - I wouldn't want anyone to read it and feel pressure of any kind. But if you think you will have the time and are eager to get a first look, please send me an email to anextrayear@gmail.com and put "Early Read" in the subject line. I only have it available as a PDF file which I can email back to you.

Thank you!

The Genie Got Out

OK folks, so apparently I'm up on Facebook. I found out when my inbox started flooding with confirmations of invitations and talk of friends from everywhere. If I'm there it's for the book and I promise I will get with the program, but it may take a week or two. Thanks to Mae, my technological guru, whose patience I surely challenged today. And thanks for your patience, too, if you're up there and it seems like I'm ignoring you.

And now I've learned that somehow I invited everyone in my electronic address book to join Facebook and many of you have! We shall explore together...

Three More Countries Heard From

Welcome Canada! Welcome, Australia! Welcome Colombia! How fun is that?

A lot of working behind the scenes today: Facebook, MySpace, press release, viral marketing, etc. and so forth. Your ideas and suggestions and comments and questions are always welcome; feel free to leave 'em here or email me directly at anextrayear@gmail.com.

So many of you have been so generous with your support and encouragement and enthusiasm for this project. It's so humbling to receive it and I thank you for it. And while I'm charged with pushing this book out there, what happens to it after that is entirely up to you and the Universe. But it sure is fun to watch.

Hitting the Road - San Diego & Sacramento (for starters)

Of course, every bit of effort between now and November 15 is about getting people to the web site and, hopefully, inspiring them to play along with the virtual launch party for this book.

That said, immediately afterward, I'm looking forward to doing readings and signings pretty much anywhere that will have me. Remembering that the intention is to connect the message of the book with people who are hungry for it, I will rely on friends and friends of friends and kind strangers who are so inclined, from all over the world, to do what they can to set some up. Yesterday I spoke with a friend in San Diego who has volunteered to get that ball rolling during the week of 11/17 (right after the launch) down there and am having an email conversation with another friend in Sacramento who has offered to help out up there. This is very exciting. And if you have any ideas or ways to do the same in your neighborhood, bring 'em on. Please and thank you!

Yesterday I also had a meeting with the publicist, my friend Delilah de la Rosa, who's volunteering her time and lending her professional expertise to this book launch. She's also a friend and will be pitching (PR lingo!) the story to a list of media outlets we've identified as being welcoming. So that ball is rolling.

Mae McCaw continues to dazzle on the web site (check out the map) and is working feverishly to bring me into the 21st century with pages on Facebook and MySpace. I will announce it as soon as those are up.

Thank you everybody for your interest, enthusiasm, and support.

Music to My Ears

So the new email set-up I have for the book announces, with a little ping on my computer, when there is a new email. This is probably common for most of you, but new to me. And I just have to say how much fun it is to hear that little ping every time somebody sends in one of the forms from anextrayear.com or any other kind of message. The energy is moving, people, and you're all a part of it.

Thank you!

P.S. The plotting of "pledges" on the map must be done manually and it will be updated as frequently as possible. And I will be responding to all emails and blog comments at least daily.

Welcome, Germany!

Nurnberg, Germany is the first country outside of the USA to be participating in our drive of 2500 books sold on launch day, thanks to my fake niece and all-around stellar human being, Andi Ball. If any of you know people in any other countries, please send them the link to the site and lets see how many red dots we can put on that map. Thanks Andi.

And for anybody having trouble wrapping their heads around 2500 books in six weeks, fear not. Law of attraction-wise, all we have to do is trust that it is done and let the Universe figure out how it will get done. So please don't you worry about how - worries just clog up the works. Rather, just just picture that "thermometer" on the site filled and then some and let it go!

Until November 15, I will post here every day to talk about what's happening and I encourage your comments and questions and ideas and whatever you've got. Today I plan to have another meeting with Delilah de la Rosa, a friend who is very generously giving of her time and PR expertise. If you know of any publications or radio shows that might be interested in this project, please let us know. When our first press release is ready, I'll post it on the site.

P E A C E ,

Steven

2500 Books in Six Weeks: Ready, Set, Go!

I'm having a bit - a slight bit - of trouble containing my excitement about launching this site and publishing this book. I trust that if you have found your way here it is because of the power of the message of the book which, in so many ways, is a message about love and life and living that really came through me, not so much from me. More on that later.

This is the place where I will "talk" with you about the book and I encourage your questions and comments (even if I may be a little slow on the technological uptake). If you've spent any time yet on anextrayear.com, you can see that job one - between now and launch day, November 15 - is to get as many people to the site as possible and inspire them to come to the Online Launch Purchase Party planned for that day. As such, I'm grateful to you for your willingness to share the link for the site with anyone you know.

Admittedly, there is something about all this that feels like shameless self-promotion and I'm working on that. What helps, what actually allows me to do it, is remembering that the whole intention for writing this book was that it would offer comfort and healing and uplift to those hungering for it. That's why I wrote it and people who have read it so far have convinced me that it is actually doing that - and more. That's why I'm working as hard as I can - with your help - to "get it out there." And I'm also kind of dying, if you'll pardon the expression, to show a traditional publisher that there are exceptions to the publishing rules!

So thanks and extra thanks to Mae McCaw of webworkIT.com for her tremendous efforts with anextrayear.com, to all of you who have found your way here, and to all those who will find their way here. My gratitude cup runneth over.