I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve signed a three book deal with Penguin Random House. They will be publishing my modern-day witchcraft series, Palace of Fires.

Palace of Fires is the new title of what was formerly White Witch Black Witch, which I self published earlier this year. As soon as I realised that there could be interest from traditional publishing, I withdrew the book from Amazon.

So how did this happen?

Well, through various means the manuscript got to Lisa Riley, publisher of the Young Readers division of Penguin Random House. She read it, along with her Commissioning Editor Amy Thomas, and they both loved it.

Lisa Riley, Publisher – Bill Bennett – Amy Thomas, Editor

Lisa told me later that she found the novel “unputdownable.” Amy said she read the whole book in four hours. And then they offered me a deal, not only for that book, but for the next two in the series.

Here’s a synopsis:

Palace of Fires tells the story of a young girl in Northern California who discovers that her mother has been abducted by a clandestine organisation of witches, intent on collecting her mum’s soul to repay an ancestral debt to Satan that goes back centuries. The only way this fifteen year old girl can hope to rescue her mother is to become a witch herself. Accompanied by a Native American shaman boy, they set off to find her before she’s ritually sacrificed.

Penguin Random House see it as a highly commercial series for the Young Adult market, with the potential to cross over into an older readership.

The first book will be published in February 2018, with the next two books coming in six month intervals thereafter.

I’m thrilled to be working with such a prestigious publishing house as Penguin Random House – one of the world’s top publishers. And delighted to be working with Lisa and Amy, who will help me take my story out to the world.

For those of you interested in the progress of my film, INTUITION IS YOUR PERSONAL GUIDANCE SYSTEM – well, I can now report that the film is now a film.

What does that mean?

As of yesterday, editor Rishi Shukla and I completed this current phase of editing – seven weeks. This is on top of the 9 weeks earlier in the year, making a total of 15 weeks so far.

Where is the film at now?

Well, it’s down to length, at 87 minutes including end credits. And I think it’s looking pretty damn good.

What do I have to do to complete the film?

Well, I have another couple of interviews to do – one in New York, in early November, and another in Dallas Texas shortly after. I also have to shoot some dramatic recreation sequences, and some visual overlay material to cover some of the talking heads.

I also have to incorporate some animation sequences into the body of the film, to help visualise some of the concepts involved in explaining how intuition works.

After shooting this additional material I’ll probably need another 4-6 weeks editing, and then we’ll lock off and begin scoring, sound editing, mixing, and picture post.

Wayne and Libby Pashley, owners of Big Bang Sound (where we’re editing), will be doing the sound post. They have been fabulous supporters of this project right from the start, and I thank them for their generosity and commitment.

Rishi too has worked his heart out, and I thank him as well for his continued dedication to the project, and to me. Also to Aldous Massie, the graphic artist, who is giving the film a magical visual aesthetic.

It’s now very apparent that this is a theatrical feature. And the decisions I’ve been making, both technically and in terms of structure, content and style, have been reflecting this.

I need about $150K to finish the film. I’ll be looking for investment around Australia and in the US, when I travel there in November. To those of you who have already invested, thank you. I could not have got this far without you.

Based on a screening yesterday of the film so far, I’m allowing myself to get quietly excited.

Bill Bennett
bb@bjfilms.com.au

I’ve been Missing in Action lately – hunkered down in the editing room with my intuition film.

My apologies.

My apologies for not responding to some of your comments here, and especially to Julian, who has argued his case for Christianity with his usual level of scholarship and passion.

I’ll be shutting down the editing at the end of this week. We need more funds to continue, plus I need to shoot some more interviews too. Jennifer and I will be going to the US in early November to begin that shooting, which will last about 3 weeks.

I’ll start up editing again when we land more investment. It’s a stop-go process, this film.

It’s starting to look pretty good though I think.
Then again, I’d be the last person to know.
It’s feeling like the film I’ve wanted to make though.

The cut is sitting at 83 minutes, not including end credits. I’ve had to leave a lot out, given that I shot more than 75hrs of material. I also shot more than 60 interviews, and at this stage I’m only using 24. So a lot has hit the cutting room floor.

But the film now has pace, and it’s compelling.

So that’s why I’ve been Missing in Action. It’s been an intense period, and I’ve not had the brain space for other things, other than watch the Swannies lose in the Grand Final.

Oh well – I love my footy team…

Last month, Jennifer took Sue Hansen to India.
Here is Sue’s guest post on that trip…

~~~~~

Susan Hansen – India Sept 2016

As I have been a fan of Bill’s blog since I first discovered it in 2013, just before we both did our individual Caminos, I decided to use this forum to thank him for his part in organizing my amazing recent trip to India.

I hope it will be the first of many and cannot say enough good things about his organizational & trip planning skills!

THANK YOU BILL!!

A little background…I was signed up to go on his Mother Ganga Tour last year, but chose to cancel for medical reasons, with the plea that he and Jen do another similar tour in the future, for which he could sign me up for.

This was scheduled, however, plans changed and it ended up being just me on the list! I was willing to go it alone, but Jen wanted to go regardless (or was just being nice- I will never really know!) so a trip for two was born and was a tremendous success.

I met Jen in Delhi after spending a few days on my own traveling to Agra for the Taj Mahal.  Bill arranged for my airport pick-up, driver and tour guide in Agra and all went smoothly.  The Taj Mahal at sunrise and sunset…need I say more?

Upon my return to Delhi, I had a day and a half to tour around with Jen and spent time with their driver- friend Naveen and filming-friend Ratchit who couldn’t have been nicer. Though Delhi is a different sort of place, it was special because of the people I was with.

From Delhi Jen and I traveled to Varanasi, Amritsar, Dharmsala, and Mumbai and experienced amazing energy as we visited four of the most spiritual pilgrimage sites for the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Muslim religions culminating with the Hindu celebration of Ganpati in Mumbai!

It would take me far longer than this short blog to explain (if I even could) the special and magical moments we shared and experienced in each location and will let some of my photos try to convey these feelings.

I will be forever grateful to Jen, my fantastic travel companion and new, age-old, friend for showing me the ins and outs of India and sharing many laughs, long discussions, spiritual incite and of course we can’t forget to mention the FANTASTIC shopping opportunities!!!HAHAHA!!!

With the amount of India we covered in a short 19 days, I was so happy (and frankly a little surprised) at how everything went so smoothly and without a single hitch.  The hotels were lovely, the drivers excellent and the flights much nicer than most of my Stateside experiences!

Bill was in constant contact (though missing Jen may have had something to do with that!) and ready to tackle any unforeseen problems that may have popped up- but none ever did!

Again, I need to express my heartfelt thanks to you, Bill for making my first (and definitely not my last) trip to India so special.

~~~~~

Note: Sue has taken some wonderful photos of the trip, which I will put up on this blog separately. In the meantime, here is a selfie of the two of them, at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab.

The way Steve McCurry uss natural light is nothing short of brilliant…

A lot of people try to find perfection in their lives.

What about if you let perfection find you…

It means letting go.
Letting go of the struggle.
Letting go of the need.

Trust.

Become still.

Perfection can only find you if you’re still.
It can’t find you if you’re scrambling around, trying to find it.

Breathe.
Go inside.
Wait.
It will come.
Don’t seek, just ask.

It will come to you through your intuition.

As those of you who frequent this website know, I have in the past expressed my antipathy towards structured religion.

I was reading Paul Selig’s I AM THE WORD yesterday and I came across this passage that eloquently expresses my concerns:

Excerpt from I AM THE WORD
by Paul Selig

Religion has been created as a manifesto individually for different groups to make changes in consciousness. Ultimately, the focus of all religions in truth, and the true religions, the religions that benefit spirit, are to bring up the frequency of those who engage in it.

But the level of distortion that religion has received through acclimation to agendas, to politics and the use of fear to control those who would benefit from a shift in consciousness has gotten to the point where we must make this distinction.

This is not about religion. The world does not change because of a doctrine. A doctrine is a set of rules, if you think about it, and this is not a set of rules, it is a set of instructions that will align your frequency to the Christ vibration. The Christ vibration does not belong to Christians. Period. Do you understand this? The Christ vibration does not belong to one little group of people who believe the same thing.

It is a frequency of consciousness that was manifested in form by Jesus and by others in different names over this time of history, over the last thousands of years. That is the truth. Now when one group of people claims to have any answer that precludes other people from knowing something, you better watch out.

If this book were to tell you that if you don’t read this book, something dreary would happen to you, you’d better get another book very, very quickly, because that would be terrible instruction. And if any man tells you that the way to salvation, for lack of a better word, is their way and their way alone, run in the other direction today. And we say this with great seriousness. Run in the other direction today. Because that man is actually invested in control.

There is no “my way or the highway” in consciousness. The high road is a wide road and anybody is welcome to their consciousness at this frequency. It does not preclude them from having religion. Religion can be wonderful and on a personal level often is.

The personal level that God exists in man is remarkable and truthful, and religion can give you the opening to an understanding of this, and then the individual experience is wonderfully transformed. So we are not knocking religion as a pathway, only the way religion can be and has been distorted over the millennium. Period.

Following on from my Post the other day declaring that I won’t be doing tours for the next couple of years, I would like to state that a) I’m not getting old, b) I’m not getting tired, c) I’m not admitting defeat to my workload, and d) I’m not relinquishing my superhuman status. 

It’s all about focus, and how I use my time. 

I have met, during my lifetime, some big achievers. Dick Smith is someone who comes to mind. Dick never wastes a moment. Dick financed my first two independent documentaries, and I learned so much from him when I was young. 

One of the things I learned is: TO SAY IS TO DO.

If Dick says he’s going to do something, he does it. 

A lot of people don’t. 

They talk, but don’t do. 

I try and do, too. 

I try not to waste any time. For instance, at the moment I’m editing my film but I’m also writing a book about the making of the film. I do this while Rishi (my editor) is working. The book is now at 60,000 words, and it details how I have made the film intuitively. It will come out when the film comes out. 

If I wasn’t doing this, I’d just be kicking around, waiting for Rishi to finish a sequence. 

This way I can be productive. 

Some of you think I don’t sleep, and that’s how I’m able to pack so much into a day. That’s not actually the case. I regard sleep and rest time as an important part of the work cycle. If you drive a car 24hhrs a day, day after day, at some point it’s going to break down. Then it’s no good to you. 

Same with your body, and your spiritual being. They need rest, nourishment, re-energising. Fitness and good sensible eating are integral to that. 

I remember Edward de Bono once saying: Some people read a book on a flight. I write a book. 

I’ve always remembered that. 

Getting back to putting a temporary halt to the tours – I know that PGS will require travel, and my full attention next year in terms of marketing and publicity. But also, I have to write two books in the WHITE WITCH BLACK WITCH series. (more on that later). To be truly productive, you have to know where to place your focus. And when. 

I can do several things concurrently, but I can only do one thing CREATIVELY at any given time. For me to work effectively as a creative person, I have to lock in on what it is I’m doing. I have to channel, if you like. I have to give it my complete and total focus. I can only do that one thing at a time. 

It’s all about how you use your time. If you’re in a bus or a train, do you stare blankly out the window? Or do you go onto Facebook or Twitter? Or do you read a book? Or listen to music? 

Do you feed yourself? Or do you deplete yourself… We are defined by what we do, not by what we say we’re going to do. That’s the way I look at it… 

So to all you naysayers who thought that I was finally becoming human – nah… not happening! 

Edited with BlogPad Pro

I have been reading Paul Selig’s first book, I AM THE WORD. 

The 300 page book was channeled over a two and a half week period. Paul, in New York, was the conduit for his Guides while his colleague Victoria, on the West Coast, was the transcriber for what came through.

Paul has done four books this way. Readers of this blog might remember that I recently finished his THE BOOK OF MASTERY Vol 1. Both these books have resonated with me deeply. They are vibrational, and if you are ready and if you give permission, they will recalibrate you to look at yourself, and those around you, in a completely new light.

I have to say though, I could not have fully appreciated Paul Selig’s work and concepts had I not first read Amanda Guggenheimer’s THE LIGHT WORKERS COMPANION. 

Here is an extract from the foreword of I AM THE WORD. It’s an account from Victoria as to the process of how the book was written. It’s truly fascinating…

~~~~~

I AM THE WORD
by Paul Selig

The process of dictation unfolded so quickly and so easily that the enormity of what was happening—completely coherent sentences, paragraphs, and chapters coming out of Paul far more rapidly than I could record by hand—became something taken for granted rather than marveled at.

I heard this book before I read it. Heard it over the phone an hour each morning for two and a half weeks as it was transmitted to Paul, 11: 30 A.M. his time and 8: 30 A.M. my time, from late February through early March 2009. I took notes as I listened, then read the transcripts that Paul typed up from his recordings. In slightly under three weeks of these hourly sessions a three-hundred-page transcript appeared that, with very minimal cuts and no additions, is the book you hold in your hands.

Paul’s guides assert that the language and vocabulary they use is Paul’s while the energy informing it remains something entirely outside him. They also express concern about preserving the integrity of these words exactly as transmitted through Paul.

The epilogue sets forth their wishes about editing (or more precisely, not editing) the text, which we carried out in a painstaking process of punctuating, proofing, and reproofing the oral transcript. Paul queried his guides about every suggested change or dropped word.

In most cases, because this text is at heart an energy transmission, the guides wanted even ungrammatical syntax to stay intact, and we have observed their wishes. Their sometimes antiquated references—to Dictaphones, tapes, even steamships—remain intact. A few passages of personal material or outside interruptions were dropped with their approval.

An adventure and a mystery. I Am the Word is both these things. It is also a spiritual teaching that promises, to those open to it, a special kind of reading experience on two levels of consciousness: as the mind takes in the printed words on the page, the whole person is being “worked on” at the level of pure energy—but only if the person wishes and permits it.

The exact nature of the teaching I leave to Paul’s guides to lay out in the specific language in which they have chosen to deliver it. Let me simply say here that through a prologue, twelve chapters, and an epilogue, in a voice alternately urgent and loving, playful and serious, I Am the Word exhorts individuals to rise to a higher level of self-knowing and self-worth that in turn will help foster a radical shift in human consciousness in our planet.

This year’s Christmas Romantic Road tour in Bavaria, Germany, will be the last tour we’ll be doing for the foreseeable future.

I have major work commitments with my films and my books which will preclude me from undertaking any more tours for at least two years.

When we re-launch our tour business, it will be specifically for spiritual / walking / pilgrimage tours.

So if you want to do a tour with Jennifer and me, then the Romantic Road Tour this Christmas is your last chance.

Check the Gone Tours website – it’s going to be a cracker of a tour.
Here is a link:

Romantic Road Christmas Tour, Bavaria Germany – 

It’s nearly full. We only have a few places left. If you’re interested, contact me: bill@gonetours.com