Enjoying a Visit with Author Margaret Ann Lembo

On Monday we had the pleasure of a visit and book signing with author Margaret Ann Lembo. Author of Chakra Awakening, we were excited to share with her some wonderful conversation, ask questions, and learn more about her new book.




Margaret Ann snapped this great picture with the sign outside of our building.











Margaret Ann spent time discussing her new book and her ideas with Llewellyn listeners.









Signing copies of Chakra Awakening

It was a wonderful experience to meet and greet one of our fabulous authors!

Come See Us at BEA!

Hi Booksellers,

Is everyone gearing up for BookExpo?

We hope you’ll stop by our booth (2525) for a visit. Chat with out sales team, meet authors, and pick up some great books, galleys of forthcoming releases, and more. Here’s the full schedule of autographings and giveaways:

TUESDAY (Supernatural Salute)


In-booth Giveaways:

Blissology: The Art & Science of Happiness by Andy Baggott (Jan 2011)

True UFO Accounts by FATE magazine (Aug 2011)

Traditional Autographing Area/Author Appearances:
TUESDAY, 11:30 AM, Table 5—Shawn MacKenzie signs the ARC of The Dragon Keeper’s Handbook: Including the Myth & Mystery, Care & Feeding, Life & Lore of these Fiercely Splendid Creatures (Sept 2011)










WEDNESDAY (Mind Body Spirit Salute)
In-booth Giveaways:


Never Letting Go: Heal Grief with Help From the Other Side by Mark Anthony (October 2011)

Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life by Debra Moffitt (May 2011)

Bookmarks—Never Letting Go by Mark Anthony

Buttons—True Police Stories of the Strange and Unexplained by Ingrid P. Dean

Traditional Autographing Area/Author Appearances:
WEDNESDAY, 10:30 AM, Table 8—Ingrid P. Dean signs the ARC of True Police Stories of the Strange and Unexplained (Sept 2011)

Does Your Bookstore Have a Cat?

Caspar from Bookworm in Carbondale, Illinois

It seems that felines and literature go together like, well, peanut butter and jelly. Or cookies and milk. Or salt and pepper. (Oh, you get the idea—cats and books are just natural companions.) Many libraries and bookstores have adopted cats who seem to keep an eye on things, greet customers, and generally rule the roost.

Mentalfloss.com has put together several lists of bookstores that have feline family members, many of which have been submitted by readers and patrons of the bookstores.

The first batch of bookstore cats was posted back in June of 2009: "8 Bookstore Cats."

Due to popular demand, more bookstore cats were featured in "12 Bookstore Cats" in January of this year, followed by reader-submitted bookstore feline favorites:

• "Our Readers' Favorite Bookstore Cats (Volume One)"
• "Our Readers' Favorite Bookstore Cats (Volume Two)"
• "Our Readers' Favorite Bookstore Cats (Volume Three)"
  

Does your bookstore have a cat? Would you consider adding a feline friend to your store? Why or why not?

Booksellers Getting Social

With all the buzz and hoopla around social media these days, its no surprise to see booksellers and bookseller associations using social networks to connect and share information.

We did a little research on LinkedIn and Facebook. Here are just a few of the bookseller groups and pages we found:


LinkedIn

Independent Booksellers Networking Group

American Booksellers Association

BookExpo America (BEA)

New Age Retail

Retail Industry Professionals Group

Small Business Online Community

Facebook

INATS

New Age Retailer

Are you involved in any online groups or communities for booksellers, retailers, or metaphysical stores? Where do you go online to connect with other business professionals?

Please share your favorite groups and pages as well as any positive experiences you've had connecting with other booksellers online.

Using Your Intuition to Make the Best Business Decisions

Hi Booksellers,

Are you ever plagued by indecisiveness? The pressure of making all the right choices for your business must be intense, even stressful. Relying on facts and figures for guidance seems best, but sometimes there’s still no clear answer.

I admit that many of my life decisions, from buying the right house to deciding on the best school for my son, have been somewhat based on what "feels right" to me. Sure, I do the research. But I trust my "gut feelings" too. Then there are times when I don't have a strong feeling to guide me at all. Did my intuition decide to take a hike? Or do I just need to be proactive about accessing it?

I invited Kathryn Klvana, author of Intuition in an Instant and expert on dowsing, to discuss this easy technique for tapping into your intuition any time you need help with business decisions.




Business Intuition – Dowsing for Answers
By Kathryn Klvana

In this tough economy, making the right decisions can mean the difference between a business that thrives and one that falters. You have to employ a variety of skills to run a successful business, from objective analysis to gut instinct. But if you call upon your intuition to help you with everyday business matters, you’ll not only become a more confident decision maker, you’ll also begin to notice your intuition growing stronger.

That’s what happened to me when I discovered dowsing several years ago. Most people think of dowsing as an old fashioned technique for finding water with a forked stick. But when I started using a pendulum for dowsing, I found an easy tool that allowed me to access my intuition in a consistent way whenever I needed guidance. I’d pick up my pendulum, hold a question in my mind, and wait for my answer. I quickly became hooked. Can becoming more intuitive be as easy as that? I think so, and I also believe that everyone can learn this practical technique for accessing inner wisdom.

A pendulum can be anything that can dangle in a balanced way on a chain or string. It doesn’t matter if you use a beautiful crystal pendulum on a sterling chain, or a fishing weight on a piece of dental floss. Hold your pendulum in your dominant hand and tell yourself, “Show me a yes.” What you’re doing is programming yourself to recognize a positive answer. My yes response is a clockwise circle, but yours could be something completely different. Once you’ve established your yes, ask for a no. You may have to practice for a while to get movement from your pendulum, or it may move right away. Keep at it, and you’ll find that your dowsing becomes stronger.

Once you gain confidence with your dowsing, you can use it in a variety of ways in your business. You might want to start your day by prioritizing your to-do list. Hold your pendulum over each item in the list, and ask yourself which items should be done first. Try it for a week, and see if dowsing helps you become more organized and efficient.

If there are new products you are considering selling in your store, you might want to dowse through the list and see which ones get a positive hit. If you need to narrow your choices even further, try the ranking method. Hold your pendulum while counting slowly from one to ten. A book that gets a positive swing on the number 9 (90 percent) will be a stronger pick than one than gets a swing on 3 (or 30 percent).

You can use the same method for setting up special displays. Which books should be out front? What month would be best for this special event? Which idea would be most successful for bringing in new business? Once you learn to dowse, you might find that your pendulum is one of the most useful business tools at your disposal.


Kathryn Klvana is the author of Intuition in an Instant. She teaches dowsing in the Washington, DC area, and has presented dowsing workshops at the American Society of Dowsers annual conventions. She is also an actress and writer. Her voiceover work includes documentaries for National Geographic Explorer, The Learning Channel, and the Discovery Channel. Visit her online at www.klvana.com.

Kathryn Klvana's favorite bookstore:
"I love Sacred Circle in Alexandria, Virginia. This bookstore has great energy. It's right in the heart of Old Town, and it's a very warm, welcoming place. They always have a lot of classes and the staff is great."



Are your customers interested in dowsing? We offer a wide range of pendulums made of brass, rose quartz, amethyst, bloodstone, and other beautiful materials. New this month is the unique Pagan Pentacle Gold Pendulum, which comes with seven chakra stones that can be placed inside for energy work. Check out all twenty-five pendulums from Lo Scarabeo at our trade website.

Have you ever experienced a strong hunch that went against your rational judgment? What happened when you followed this instinct or ignored it? Do you ever pray for a solution, ask angels for guidance, or practice a special technique to access your inner wisdom? Please share!

Hot Off the Press! May New Releases from Llewellyn

Looking for some fabulous new items to stock your store shelves? We've got a bevy of bewitching new products this month including four new books, a new tarot deck, and a mediation CD. We've also added six pendulums, three new rune sets, two tarot bags, and five journals from Lo Scarabeo.

Check out what's new from Llewellyn this month!

Books

Awake in the World

Other new books from Llewellyn this month include Fairy Tale Rituals, Tarot Diva, and The Witch's Heart the latest from one of our very favorite authors, Christopher Penczak.

Tarot Kits & Decks

The Wizards Tarot
Shadowscapes Tarot Deck
Fire Tarot
Law of Attraction Tarot
Wheel of the Year Tarot


Audio/Visual

Self Empowerment Through Self Hypnosis Meditation CD Companion

Pendulums

Pagan Pentacle Gold Pendulum
Bloodstone Drop Pendulum
Egyptian Silver Pendulum
Silver Drop Pendulum
Silver Point Pendulum
Silver Witness Pendulum

Journals

Cat's Eyes Journal
Luna Cycle Journal
Stars Journal
Triple Goddess Journal
White Fairy Journal

Runes

Green Aventurine Runes
Red Jasper Runes
White Onyx Runes

Check Out Our New Fall Catalog!

Hi Booksellers,

It seems a shame to even think about fall right now just as tulips are coming up. But hey, our new Fall 2011 catalog is here and I can’t wait for you to see it! Go ahead and browse through our exciting fall titles (September - December) by clicking here. This hefty catalog also includes our complete backlist.

We’re so proud of our upcoming fall releases and of course I’ll be talking about them all in the months to come. One standout is Joanna Powell Colbert's Gaian Tarot, a deeply spiritual, nature inspired deck that offers a connection to Mother Earth. A showcase of its stunning major arcana images, along with lavish praise from the tarot community, can be found at the artist's website GaianTarot.com.

Love the catalog cover? This gorgeous image is from the cover of Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Names. It's the perfect gift for expecting parents. I think the subtitle sums it up well: For Pagans, Witches, Wiccans, Druids, Heathens, Mages, Shamans & Independent Thinkers of All Sorts Who Are Curious About Names from Every Place and Every Time.

While we’re on the subject of catalogs, would anyone care to share how you use ours? Do you only browse the new releases? Do you regularly peruse the backlist sections for titles? Are the announcements of new covers helpful? Or the pages devoted to recent releases? Do the lists of Top Sellers by Category and Over 200,000 Sold come in handy?

We strive to make this catalog user-friendly and informative, so your valuable feedback is much appreciated!