Saturn Direct

Our dear friends at astrology.com have this news about today's stars:

Saturn, the slow moving planet of karma and taskmaster of the zodiac, goes direct on May 2, 2008 at 8:07pm, PDT, ushering in an incredible period of possibilities and gifts.

Saturn commands us to get to work, and to work hard. Discipline and responsibility are important to this planet. So if you have been honest, responsible and hard working, gifts and rewards are coming your way! It could be a lucky break, a well-deserved raise at work or dreams you had given up, suddenly handed to you. However, if we have been shirking our responsibility or have been deceitful, then we will be found out and dealt with accordingly.

Saturn reinforces responsibility, carrying your share of the load and being held accountable for what you say or do -- or say you are going to do. Saturn rules wisdom, however, it is wisdom gained from hard work and experience -- earned one hard step at a time. During a direct period, Saturn inspires confidence. As its role as a teacher, during a direct transit, Saturn also bestows inner strength -- a strength of spirit, a deepening sense of compassion and understanding of self, others or a particular situation.

Star/Planet News!

And now this from www.astrology.com:

May brings more than just spring flowers -- there is dynamic activity happening in the cosmos, and it has deep and lasting implications for us all. It's time for a one-two punch from the heavyweights in the solar system -- Saturn and Jupiter -- and while some will feel like the bottom has dropped out, others will get sweet rewards that they've been working so hard for.

The month starts off with a bang! Saturn, the slow moving planet of karma and dharma turns direct on May 2. This is a period of endless possibilities and sweet rewards for hard work, as well as recognition for your contributions to both work and relationships. May 5 brings a New Moon in Taurus, and with it new beginnings. Any tangible, practical investment you make in your life can really pay off this month.

Jupiter, the planet of expansion and generosity, goes retrograde May 9. The effects of this retrograde will be felt differently depending on how Jupiter is positioned in your birth chart. However, the overall effect of a Jupiter retrograde represents a tightening up of finances. Wallets will be closing, and this is a time for frugality. The Full Moon in Scorpio on May 19 also signals that this is a good time to tune into your financial life and evaluate your financial responsibilities.

The final big punch comes with Mercury and Neptune both turning retrograde on May 2. Mercury retrogrades always bring disruption in communications and the Neptune retrograde period is a time to remember and revisit your dreams, goals and ideals.

Some Announcements

First of all, my alter ego is blogging about "Committing Series" over at SF Novelists today.

Second, I got an invitation to a big book launch blog roll with several other paranormal romance authors, including: Michele Bardsley, Charlaine Harris, Erin McCarthy, and Anya Bast. How this is going to work is that each of us is going to pose a question on our blogs and post our answer, along with the answers from the other authors. Each author is going to host a contest for a free book, Amazon certificate or something like that. If you roll through all the blogs, you'll get a chance to win something from each of us. For my part, I plan to offer a signed, manuscript copy of the first chapter of the NEXT book, Dead If I Do (2009), to the first ten people to post a response in the comments.

So I'm giving all y'all the heads up. As they used to say in that annoying ad, "Watch this space!"