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Amazon book review: Parivartana Yoga

6 Sep

Here’s a recent 5-star review I received from an Amazon reader for my book PARIVARTANA YOGA:

“His logical and organized approach makes this book an easy reference guide…

“Alan Annand is a gifted astrological writer and his book, Parivartana Yoga, fills a void in the literature where material on clear interpretations of yogas and all their variations is often lacking in Vedic astrology. His approach is logical and organized and makes using his book an easy reference guide. He generously illustrates his book with key examples from famous people, bringing the principles to life regarding exchanges of planets via signs and houses. I often use this book as a reference guide when this phenomenon comes up in my chart analysis [43% of all clients]. A must for your shelf!”

http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Annand/e/B0052MM0PO

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/alan-annand/id442957999

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/alan-annand

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/Search?Query=Alan%20Annand

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AlanAnnand

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Great Expectorations, by Dr. Charles Dickens (humor)

2 May

A young man of no prospects goes to the big City where, thanks to poor urban planning and non-existent labor rights, he suffers a multitude of bronchial infections brought on by smoke, pollution, fungus and virus.

Pip, an orphan of poor prospects, can’t complete his apprenticeship in a blacksmith shop because of an allergy to horseshit. His patron uncle sends him to London to live with the reclusive Miss Havisham who, jilted many years ago on her wedding day, still wears her bridal gown. Her wedding cake, which she’s saved all these years, has turned to mold and infected the entire house.

Pip falls in love with Estella, a beautiful young girl with a phlegmy cough. Pip has a nasty reaction to the fungus in the house and develops a bronchial infection whose coughing nearly turns his lungs inside out. Miss Havisham takes an interest in Pip’s future and introduces him to better society. In their company, Pip takes up smoking, which further aggravates his cough. Some of his newfound friends take to calling him “Spit”. When his sister dies of coal cough, a common ailment among residents of poorly-ventilated homes, Pip goes home for her funeral.

Returning to London, he’s approached by the convict Magwitch whom he’d helped escape from chains many years ago. Magwitch, who’s made a fortune running an opium den in Australia, is back in England seeking medical attention for viral pneumonia, but wants to bequeath part of his fortune to Pip. Soon after, Pip learns that Miss Havisham has been secretly planning to marry his beloved Estella off to a rival suitor, and they quarrel bitterly. Miss Havisham’s dress catches on fire and Pip is only able to save her by ripping her dress off. Exposed, Miss Havisham is traumatized and falls into a catatonic state. Magwitch is captured by the police and sentenced to die.

While visiting him in his damp prison cell, Pip develops an allergic reaction to moldy rodent droppings, and falls seriously ill. He spends a month in hospital, wracked by violent coughs, filling spittoons with fragments of his ravaged lungs. When he recovers enough to travel, Pip relocates to the dry climate of Cairo for eleven years. When he returns to London a rich man, he finds Estella now a widow with a mild case of whooping cough, and he rekindles their friendship by gifting her with a family-size bottle of expectorant.

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Mutual Reception: Book review by Donna Van Toen, ISAR

2 Apr

Mutual Reception by Alan Annand, Sextile.com, 2016. Paper 339 pp. Price: $6.99 digital, $19.95 paper.

Mutual reception has been around for 2000 years or so, and yet very little has been written about it. Sure, you’ll see mention of the fact that two planets in mutual reception will “help one another out,” but that’s about the extent of what most books tell you. So this book is a welcome addition to our literature. However, before you dash out to buy it, you might want to know how Annand works with them. Specifically, you need to know that he does not include the outer planets. He also uses the sidereal zodiac and a whole sign house system. Aspects are not taken into account in mutual reception. All you need to see is what signs and houses the planets occupy.

Now, you can try this in the tropical zodiac, but Annand cautions you that his experience leads him to believe the information here works better when you’re using the sidereal zodiac. I tried the interpretations in both systems and also with traditional and modern rulers. I had hit-and-miss success with the modern rulers and with the tropical zodiac. I had good results using Annand’s system, though I have to say that in many respects I have trouble relating to my sidereal chart as a whole. Whether this is simply my conditioning (I am a tropical astrologer though I have studied sidereal) or because my tropical chart fits better is a moot point and not necessarily relevant to this review. Suffice to say, I got results in both systems, possibly a bit more with the sidereal, though. And I would note that you get different results – and different receptions – in both systems.

And what is this information I was playing with? Pages and pages of interpretations for each mutual reception by house [66 in all], along with a case study for each position. Oh, and an opening interpretation from Parashara, just to put things in perspective (Annand is a Vedic astrologer.) And from what I can see, these are very good interpretations, no matter which way you use them.

There is also a glossary. Numerous useful tables are scattered throughout. I found these particularly helpful in regard to the jyotish material Annand includes at the end. This, by the way, lists some other types of receptions that are relevant in Vedic astrology.

Regardless of what flavor of astrology you practice, this book could be a very good addition to your library. And if, like me, you’re a Western, tropical astrologer, there’s a good chance you’ll pick up some new knowledge even if you aren’t ready to fully embrace sidereal or give up the outer planets as sign rulers just yet.

– Reviewed by Donna Van Toen, ISAR Journal, Volume 45, Issue #3.

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How to post a book review on Amazon

24 Oct

dirty-dozen

How to post a book review on Amazon

If you’ve never posted a book review on Amazon before, here are the simple steps to follow (and make an indie writer’s day):

First, go to Amazon.com, because that’s where all of the readers are.

See the search field at the top of the Amazon page and use the pull-down menu on the left to select “Books.” Type in the author’s name, <enter> and this will take you to the author’s books.

Click on the book you want to review. This takes you to another page, with a description of the book and some information about the author. Scroll down to the review section, where you’ll see a graph showing reviews with 1-5 star ratings. Click on the “Write a customer review” button to the right.

That takes you to the book’s review page. If it’s a novel, you’ll see questions. (If the book is non-fiction, these questions won’t appear):

  • How would you describe the plot?
  • Which of these words best describe the mood?
  • How would you describe the pace?
  • How would you describe the characters?

Several boxes are provided under each question to cover your probable responses. Click one under each question and move on.

You’ll next be offered to submit a 1-5 star rating. As soon as (but not before) you click a number of stars, a comment field will appear just below that, where you can write anything from a sentence to a few paragraphs of review.

As soon as you start writing comments, another field will appear below that, with space to write a headline for your review. Write something brief and/or catchy, so that all three items (headline, body, rating) will appear together once posted.

Once you’ve entered all the requisite fields, click the yellow “Submit” button in the lower right, and that’s it.

Thank you for your support!

 

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SOMA COUNTY: book review by ISAR’s “International Astrologer” Journal

28 Aug

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000031_00006]If the title looks like it belongs on a novel, well, that’s because Soma County is a novel. Specifically, it’s a crime novel. If you’re now wondering why a crime novel is being reviewed here [ISAR Journal], well, possibly you’ve never encountered Alan Annand before. Annand is an accomplished writer of suspense novels; he is also an accomplished Vedic astrologer with a solid grasp of Eastern and Western astrology, palmistry, and more.

He has imbued his protagonist, Axel Crowe, with this knowledge and set him loose in what he calls his New Age Noir series. This is the third book in that series, but you don’t need to have read the other two to understand Crowe (though, as with an old friend, his character has deepened and become more clear with each novel). And Crowe for the most part is a likeable guy – as is his former guru who is an invisible but very definite presence in this book.

newagenoir 3The plot? A beautiful woman dies at a wine tasting at a California vineyard owned by the woman’s close friend and the friend’s husband. The police assume it was a tainted batch of wine. When Crowe is called in by the friend, he suspects otherwise. Who would want to put the vineyard in jeopardy? Hmm… There are several possibilities – a developer, assorted workers (one of whom turns up missing), and perhaps other vintners hoping to capitalize on this vineyard’s ruined reputation.

But this is no simple whodunit. The action takes you from the Napa Valley to India and back again. And along the way, a black market in body parts adds to the intrigue. Am I going to tell you more? Only that the characters are well developed, the plot is rich and fast-paced, and Crowe is very generous in relaying snippets of astrology, numerology, and Vedic lore. Consider this a painless introduction to some very basic astrological principles as well as a thriller you won’t want to put down.

NewAgeNoir3aaNon-astrological readers tend to appreciate Annand’s books every bit as much as we [astrologers] do, so if you want to sneakily pique somebody’s interest in astrology, do leave this book lying about. And if you haven’t read the first two in the series, consider getting them as well if you like this one. Scorpio Rising and Felonious Monk are equally good.

– Reviewed by Donna Van Toen, August 2016 issue of ISAR’s International Astrologer Journal. (International Society for Astrological Research)

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Alan Annand is an astrologer and writer. You can find his books on Amazon, Apple, Barnes&Noble, Kobo and Smashwords.

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Felonious Monk: Axel Crowe is an astrologer action hero

14 Apr

AA_FM_1“Axel Crowe, hero of Alan Annand’s New Age Noir mystery series, is the perfect blend of detective, astrologer, mystic and martial artist. Felonious Monk, the second of the series, engages and entertains in just the right proportions. The intricate plot involves a dead guest at a Vermont ashram, a serial killer of Asian women in New York, and a golden Buddha stolen from a Bangkok temple.

Annand weaves his story with irony, wit, information and insight, not to mention some high action scenes. Crowe is a steady, humble, highly brilliant and somewhat fearless hero. But despite his attractions, he feels no need to prove himself a James Bond, rather, he’s sexually circumspect. (Think hot, but restrained.) It’s hard not to respect the way he lives, with a spiritual practice as rigorous as his martial.”

~ Julie Simmons, Astrology Toronto

Felonious 4http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Annand/e/B0052MM0POhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/alan-annand/id442957999http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/alan-annandhttp://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/Search?Query=Alan+Annandhttps://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AlanAnnand

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Book review Al-Quebeca: “Annand is a master craftsman of reader anxiety.”

9 Sep

thumb_AQA book review of Al-Quebeca recently appeared on the Serenity Now website, written by Val Tobin. Following is an excerpt:

For Sophie Gillette, Detective-Sergeant Homicide of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), it starts out as a routine investigation of a hit-and-run during a January snowstorm in Montreal. It ends in a terrorist plot to disable the electrical grid, behead a visiting governor, and kill thousands of hockey fans with poison gas. These two events sandwich between them a generous filling of biker wars, arms smuggling by First Nations warriors, militant student activists, drug financiers, and a rogue professor with a doctorate in chemical toxicology.

As if that weren’t enough to keep Gillette occupied, she’s recently suffered the loss of her brother to a covert military operation in Afghanistan, and her mother has turned to the bottle to assuage her grief. She also has to deal with being an attractive woman in a male-dominated work environment. As with author Alan Annand’s other novels, the lead character in his latest offering, Al-Quebeca, has more than a heaping helping of issues with which to deal.

How his detective, Sophie Gillette, follows the trail of brain matter and paint chips from the hit-and-run scene to the terrorist cell makes riveting reading. Annand is a master craftsman of reader anxiety. Much of his magic lies in his painstaking research. As with his other novels, he’s been meticulous in attention to detail, and ensuring what he writes is credible.

He also faced the challenge of writing from a female perspective. When asked about it, Annand says that he’d wanted his protagonist to “face the challenges of discrimination, physical struggle and self-doubt that made the choice of a female lead seem appropriate.” Annand succeeds in not only making Gillette a believable character, but also manages to make the reader forget she was written by a man.

All of the above make Al-Quebeca an exciting, suspenseful novel with well-rounded characters and richness of setting and plot. But what makes it particularly compelling, as well as frightening, is how plausible it all seems. In an April 2013 blog entry, Annand talks about the likelihood of something like this happening, and says, “I wrote the first draft of Al-Quebeca in 2009 and revised it several times since then. Each time it all seems even more inevitable.”

Fans of astrologer/palmist/private investigator Axel Crowe will be delighted to hear that Annand is currently writing a sequel to Scorpio Rising called Felonious Monk. He’s also rewriting his first published novel, an SF mystery set in post-apocalyptic New York, called Antenna Syndrome.

Get Al-Quebeca in Kindle or paperback at www.amazon.com/Al-Quebeca-ebook/dp/B00CHQOY8O 

All other digital formats at www.smashwords.com/books/view/309140 

Read the full original review at:

http://www.serenitynowgifts.com/resources/articles/al-quebeca_book_review.php 

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Book Review: Karmic Dates & Momentary Mates

14 Jun

karmic datesThis book by Jessica Shepherd is a lively and thoughtful exploration of what is arguably one of the most significant aspects of many people’s lives – romance. And since romance is often a prelude to marriage and other commitments, our attitude toward it is fertile ground for analyzing the karma we bring to the dating game.

The fifth house is where we gauge the nature of our interest in playing with others. It’s the place where we express our individuality, exercise our creative urges, have fun, and freely engage with those whom we consider appealing. But what appeals to one can be distinctly different from what appeals to another. In this regard, an astrological birth chart is useful in illuminating our individual wants and needs.

Jessica walks us through all possible influences on our fifth house – planets by occupation and rulership of the sign on the fifth cusp, using the 10-planet system of sign lords. Planet by planet, sign by sign, she paints a picture of the dominant influences, describing the manifold ways in which our thoughts, emotions and needs provoke engagement with our karmic dates.

And along with fun, there are responsibilities as well, for not all romantic impulses play out frivolously. Although some seek thrills, others seek guidance, and still others seek knowledge of themselves that can only be discovered through deep reflection in the eyes of a soul mate, whether nascent or full-blown.

Written with warmth and clarity, this book provides useful insight into what we bring to every date – a sense of fun, a need to learn, a sorrow to dissolve – and how we can recognize and understand our playmates on the path.

Buy it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Karmic-Dates-Momentary-Mates-Astrology/dp/1500892785

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Word cloud: SCORPIO RISING

4 Apr

ScorpioRising1“If you like thrillers and detective stories, this one is a terrific read. It’s fast-paced and has plenty of twists and turns – as well as enough astrology and palmistry – to keep you flipping the pages.” ~ NCGR newsletter

Available at Amazon, Apple, Barnes&Noble, Kobo and Smashwords.

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FELONIOUS MONK: the Dell Horoscope book review

5 Mar

FM ebook thumb

This book review, written by Chris Lorenz, appears in the April 2015 issue of Dell Horoscope.

~~~~~~~~~

A freelance reporter for The Village Voice gets into trouble when he follows an ex-CIA agent to a spiritual retreat in Vermont. One afternoon he confronts the former agent, accusing him of smuggling stolen foreign antiquities. That night, the reporter is murdered. The ashram manager is accused of the crime but fortunately his friend, astrologer Axel Crowe, believes in his inno­cence and sets out to find the real culprit.

The drama thus unfolds in Felonious Monk, the second of Alan Annand’s “New Age Noir” series. Annand’s hero is not only adept at astrology, but also understands how to use synchronicity to his advantage. He can read palms from a distance and, as a former student of “Guruji”, his thoughts and actions are guided by ancient wisdom. Guruji has also taught him some martial arts, which Crowe has several occasions to use over the course of the story. But this New Age hero also has modern tools to assist him. Want to know who killed the reporter? There’s an app for that.

At 6:05 AM, Crowe opens the astrol­ogy app on his cell phone and asks the question, “Whodunnit?” Now for those who enjoy some good crime fiction, Felonious Monk fits the bill. The book is written almost entirely from the sleuth’s point of view as he works day and night in the shadowy underworld, fighting off surprise attacks and uncov­ering key clues, much like Sam Spade or Mike Hammer. And for the reader who appreciates a touch of mysticism, Felonious Monk also satisfies, especially with the attention given to Eastern religion, the good and bad karma, and the periodic sage quotes from Guruji.

Dell Horoscope April 2015Those with various astrology back­grounds may be stumped by the kind of astrology used in Felonious Monk. Crowe uses the Vedic horoscope, which does not include the outer planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, yet he also frequently uses horary principles. This detective arrives at magical deductions from the horary question, “Whodunnit?” but then horary astrology does seem quite magical in the hands of an experi­enced practitioner.

We’re introduced to Crowe’s apparent superpowers in chapter two. He’s giving a lecture on the ancient roots of astrology in India. During the Q&A session a skeptical professor asks, “Can you tell me how many kids I have?” After some snappy exchanges about the merits of the question, Crowe finally states, “You have three children. Boy-girl-boy in that order.” Astonishingly, he’s correct, and the profes­sor shamefully exits. Afterwards, we find out the secret of how Crowe knew the answer. Three questions were asked before the professor’s question, and they were asked by a man, a woman, and another man. The New Age detective connected the dots between the previous three questions and the professor’s children.

Does that actually work in the real world? The narrative is filled with the protagonist’s internal dialogue reminding readers that everything is connected to everything else. His classic film-noir antag­onism with the police is partially shaped by his astrological portrait of the killer, since he can’t tell the police his knowledge is based on a horary question. In the end, he defeats the killer and locates the missing Buddha statue with another horary ques­tion. This is not a spoiler, since we know the killer’s bad karma will eventually catch up with him.

It’s the journey through the pages of this book that is the most rewarding, enjoyable, and sometimes frightening. Crowe’s search takes him to Thailand, where he meets several fascinating characters. We see the culture’s poverty and how it makes some of its people immoral and treacherous. And we see the spiritu­al side of Thailand, its ancient temples and spiritual vistas. Crowe gets little sleep during his jaunts, but he apparent­ly regenerates himself through yoga and meditation. Are Crowe’s amazing abili­ties unique to him, or are they available to anyone who has the right teacher and a good understanding of astrology? Let me know when you find out.

~~~~~~~~~

 

???????????????????????????????Alan Annand is a Canadian astrologer and palmist with an education spanning both eastern and western astrology. He has diplomas from the American College of Vedic Astrology, as well as the British Faculty of Astrological Studies for whom he was their North American correspondence tutor for several years.

He is also a writer of crime fiction, including his NEW AGE NOIR series (Scorpio Rising, Felonious Monk, Soma County) featuring astrologer and palmist Axel Crowe, whom one reviewer has dubbed “Sherlock Holmes with a horoscope.”

Websites: www.navamsa.com, www.sextile.com

Read the highlighted reviews of Scorpio Rising on Pinterest.

Buy Annand’s New Age Noir series and other crime fiction on Amazon, Apple, Barnes&Noble, Flipkart, Kobo and Smashwords.

~~~~~~~~~

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