Dan Assisi

News, Updates & Events

Is it really February already?

Happy 2021! Or is it really? Here we are, two and a half months in, and I cannot shake a funny feeling that 2021's new year's resolution was to top 2020.

Nevertheless, we keep walking, right? Our job is to keep going. The world won't sort itself without our help, so we go on. Except for me, apparently, because there was no January edition of the newsletter. But we are getting back on the horse -- and, hopefully, it won't be painful.

What Are You Writing Now, Dan?

Thanks for asking! I am trying to line up the schedule to start the actual writing of book #2. I am hoping that I'll start before March if life allows. Let's see. I'm also working on a couple of articles (including one that should come out soon for the International Spiritist Magazine), but they are not done yet. So, stay tuned. ;) All this publishing book stuff has eaten way more time than I expected...

Book Updates

Remember that book? You know, THE book? The one I chewed your ears off about? It is done now. Sort of. It is out in the wild and it is great to see folks starting to react to it. I've gotten a couple of notes via the website from people who read it, and it's been really nice to learn what they thought about the book.

As it turns out, though, there's more to publishing a book than I really thought -- and that's mainly because I did not really think of what would come after. I just really focused on finishing it. But now that it is finished, working on distribution, getting reviews, updating existing listings and information, etc., that's a lot more than I had figured. To focus on the positive, here are some of the great things that have happened since:

Our Road to Damascus is being carried at the Point Loma Barnes & Nobles here in San Diego (a charming old "Bookstar" store, with the movie theater facade"). If you are local, drop by and pick up a signed copy! It would mean a lot as it would signal to Barnes & Nobles that this genre of books (non-dogmatic spirituality) has an audience. Not local to San Diego? If you got the time, consider giving them a buzz and saying how nice it is that they are supporting the book and local authors. ;)
We've got reviews! That includes ones from Kirkus Reviews, probably one of the biggest names in book reviews, The BookLife Prize, and Reedsy Discovery. It's very cool to see those reviews -- especially from Kirkus. Apparently, reviews MAKE A DIFFERENCE. So, if you can, please consider leaving your review too! That has, in turn, led to a new back cover design with some excerpts. Take a peek:

Sales in at least 7 countries! Funny thing is that authors don't always get to know where their books are sold (something new to me) because distributors don't often share that info. Amazon does, though, and I have seen sales from the US, UK, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Germany, and Italy. How cool is that?

I'll share more news in the coming months, such as the fact that Our Road to Damascus may or may not have won a book award -- which I may or may not be able to tell you yet because it hasn't been announced. Hypothetically speaking, of course. ;)

Talking About The Book... Weren't You Going to Give Away Some Copies?

Yes! I am happy to announce that I've (randomly) picked a winner for this month's contest. That's right: I am planning on continuing the giveaway of a book a month for newsletter subscribers, so share the news with folks who may want to receive my newsletter! :)

February's winner is.... Renata! (The only Renata in the mailing list). Renata, you get your pick between a digital copy, paperback, or hardcover. You should have an email in your inbox from me to work out the details...

Have You Read It? Did you Like It? Please Consider Reviewing the Book!

As I said, reviews are extremely important for authors. And not just the fancy ones. A lot of algorithms, such as Amazon's, use the number of reviews as a proxy for how good the book is and, by consequence, whether to show it to more people looking for books.

Would you please review it on Amazon?

Click on this link to be taken to the review page.

If you read the book and loved it, please leave a review and tell 2 friends. If you read it and hated it, please tell no one other than me. ;)

Let's do this again next month!

Upcoming Events

Join me for some upcoming events and book discussions!

Here are some of the events I have planned for the next months:

Feb 17 - Paul of Tarsus Spiritist Society of Vancouver (Canada): Book Club Discussion via Zoom (6:30-8:30 pm PST)
Feb 20 - Allan Kardec Spiritist Society of Massachusets
Feb 28 - Surprise Online event (more details to come)
Mar 5 - Plenitude Spiritist Society in Florida
Mar 12 - Spiritist Society of Bournemouth in the UK
Mar 21 - Sunrise Spiritist Society of Texas
Mar 29 - JASS in the Bay Area, here in California
April 4 - Inner Enlightenment Spiritist Society of NY
April 17 - Panel with the US Spiritist Federation
May 29 - Spiritist Society of Chicago in IL
July 3 - British Union of Spiritist Societies