Worcester Telegram piece

Yowie, this takes up a chunk o'prime realestate in the Telly but it was great to speak w/our old friend Craig Semon again!

http://www.telegram.com/article/20100430/NEWS/4300509

Concord Monitor on my appearance....

The Concord Monitor hyped my Gibson's Reading: 

http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/astrology-columnist-to-offer-direction-0

Tired of dealing with the boss from hell or that employee who dissolves into tears every time you look at her crosswise? Sally Cragin is here to help. The syndicated astrology columnist and author will be at Gibson's Bookstore on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. to talk about her new book The Astrological Elements: How Fire, Earth, Air and Water Influence Your Life. Grouping the 12 astrological signs into categories based on the four elements, the book attempts to give people direction in their work and personal relationships.

"I think most people are responding to the chapters about bosses and employees," Cragin said via e-mail.

That boss from hell may just be a fire sign boss (Aries, Sagittarius, Leo): "They'll expect some initiative from you, but chances are they may lose interest in exactly how your project turns out," Cragin said. And that weepy employee may be one of the water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces), who, by the way, have some real strengths when put in authority. "Water sign bosses will be sensitive, no matter how high up the food chain they are," Cragin said. "At their best, they can sympathize with the worker against 'the man.' At their worst, they're untrustworthy and moody."

Cragin will be at Gibson's when the moon is waxing and in the sign of Virgo, which rules health, work and service, she said.

a reader review on TAE

Kristen Cole commented on your status:

"Finished your book this weekend. It's terrific!! Nice see-saw between facts, fun, celestials, celebrities and sound observations (as only a Libra could possibly achieve). Your slant on the elements is unique, and I found your relationship advice both dead-on and helpful...from choosing lovers to parenting young Leos. Wish I had you on speed dial, say, 25 years ago?:-]"

Thanks Kristen!

Readings and signings

The FIRST official reading for TAE was at Gibson's Bookstore in Concord, NH. Thank you Michael and Deb for setting this up. It was great to see classmates Becky and John and to meet so many members of my cousin Susan's writing group (Romance writers and Bow writers). I am exceedingly grateful to Susan because Jet wasn't sure what to make of the reading process, in that if I am holding HER I need to be talking to HER not these people she doesn't know who are sitting on folding chairs looking hopeful and expectant!

So Susan took small, thrashy wailing child out in the sun and apparently Jet calmed down whenever a doggie went by. 

As for the reading -- I am used to extemporizing from text, from teaching college classes, but I found it was WAY better to stick to a chapter and just READ it. I touched on all 12 signs/4 elements frequently and at one point, giving the historical overview, I mentioned my uncle Jim who was a space physicist at Goddard Labs for NASA (he was of the opinion that since we can't DISPROVE astrology as it's connected to astronomy we have to keep an open mind. Which is a very purescience way to go and much appreciated by me through the years) .Anyway, as soon as I mentioned that, a lady in the front row said is that Jim TRAINOR? I said yes, and she said she was Barbara Lowrie who'd worked at NASA at the same time.  She was SUPER helpful when the question came about Pluto and it's recent dismissal as an official member of the solar system. I knew Pluto had an odd eliptic (in that it crossed paths with Uranus) which was one of the arbiters along with its being tiny, but it was good to hear from a real SPACE PHYSICIST on this front. She said her 5 year old grandson was OUTRAGED that Pluto wasn't a real planet and couldn't discuss it. 

Anyway, I found Pluto helpful in chart reading just as the little rock got downgraded, and said as much. Pluto in Capricorn has accompanied this economic disaster/malaise, so we're in for a ride for the next 27plus years (counting rx's). Nice to see Harvard X friend Anne Farma too! I definitely got the sense from this reading that the point of doing readings/appearances was to put your presence in the store and that other people who weren't in the store looking at my book at THAT very minute would, at some point in the future walk in. 

At least that's my hope!

Manchester Union-Leader

I was interviewed in William Loeb's paper this Sunday! Hopefully this will carry over to the reading at Gibson's Books on April 24. I got a salescall from someone today offering me a "precious laminated version of this keepsake event," which is a first. The last time I was given a piece of laminated newspaper it contained my beloved grandfather's obituary. I think I was entertaining in the interview and I STILL can't find it online ....Anyway here's what I sent. I'm sure there's an intro-graph that was put on and this copy has probably been edited but here's the raw copy from moi:

1.  How did you get interested/started in astrology?

Born in 1960, I was at the perfect impressionable age so that when Beatlemaniac aunts turned to the literature of the Age of Aquarius I definitely got some good eavesdropping in. My grandmother, born 1914, Armenian emigrant parents was WAY into astrology. I don't think it's an Armenian thing so much as a need for my family to understand other people's motivations. Why do some people respond one way to stress or delight and others do not? Why are some people shy or self-doubting, and others need an audience? Coming from a large and sprawling family gave us plenty of data to work with, shall we say. My book, "The Astrological Elements" collects all my "wonderings" against the predictable and exciting tapestry of astrological archetypes.

2.  What are some misconceptions people have about your field?

I can't say because I quickly disabuse folks at classes and workshops by saying, "okay, even if you don't know anything about astrology, can you tell me how you are EXACTLY like your sun sign?" Then we talk about the effect of the full moon which is prodigious and varied and absolutely cross cultural. Every small group of humans no matter where they are -- on a remote island, or a mountain ridge -- notices the moon has this craz-z-zy 29.5 or so day pattern. Which corresponds to shifts of behavior in all the mammals.

3.  Where did you get the idea for the new book?

My husband, Chuck Warner suggested I write four books: one for each of the elements. My editor at Llewellyn thought it worked better as one volume and I have to agree because even one book takes a lot of time to write!

4.  Were there any "surprises" in writing the book?

I wrote much of this book in December 2008. At the time, I was in my 2nd trimester with daughter Jet and on December 12, we had an ice storm in my part of Massachusetts that knocked out power for weeks. We were without power for 12 days, which was the time I had to finish the book. Chuck hooked us up a generator so I could run my PC and get most of it in shipshape and I finished in early January. I do not recommend writing a book while pregnant and without power in your house.

5.  Can you give me an example of an interpersonal relationship where knowing people's signs helped work things out?  I'm thinking of a teacher/student or boss/subordinate kind of thing.  I think most people are already used to thinking "signs" with significant others; but if you have a great anecdote on that, please feel free to share.

I've worked in a variety of offices, which supplied a lot of interesting information for the "Working with sun signs" chapters. I've worked with smart, imaginative people who inspired you to do better and I've worked for slackers who don't know how to run a meeting, let alone conduct a business. I've noticed various patterns, depending on the element. Depending on the industry, with a fire sign boss (Aries, Sagittarius and Leo), they'll expect some initative from you and they may lack follow through or interest in how things turn out. But they'll always have new ideas. Earth sign bosses  (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) can be great because they'll be consistent in expectation and keep an eye on the bottom line. I've had friends who've worked at places where they couldn't cash a check on time. That rarely happens with earth people at the helm (unless their chart is totally hinky). Air sign bosses (Aquarius, Gemini, Libra) generally don't stay in the same position for a long time, but it can happen. They can be imaginative, inconsistent and needing reminders as to what it is they decided. Water sign bosses (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) will, no matter HOW high up the food chain they are, always sympathize with the worker against "the man." They're amazingly emotionally flexible and I've known folks who have great loyalty towards their water (and earth) sign bosses.