David Devine's Blog

Recently, KDP announced to its authors that they are raising prices and reducing royalties. GREAT! That’s life with the 9000lb corporate gorilla. THEY make the rules.

Anyway, for the 2nd time, the Lord had me use this JUNE SURPRISE to be led to l o w e r the paperback Amazon price from $19,99 to $14,99!! A $5 haircut (x the # of books purchased). Well, it’s like I just bought each reader a small latte at Starbuck’s, or better yet…Dutch Bros.

That’s OK. The hope is that lowering the price-point (when everybody else is raising) will attract more readers to Paul Gautschi’s biography and litany of testimonies.

May the book be a blessing to more people around the world. DD

Hi Gang, Paul called me the other day to give me feedback on a Super Secret project I am working on. (Too early to give any details, but will update when I get positive feedback, OK?)

He said a lady (Anna Sakawsky) came to his place to interview him, and as a result, he is in a feature article in the October Homesteading Magazine!
Issue 10: Homesteading Monthly — October 2024 – Homestead Living

One of the fun things about talking to Paul is that new things are going on with him all the time! So, when he said (oh by the way…) I knew something was up. Now, I haven’t read the article yet, but Paul said Anna did a fine job.

Well, the rest of our conversation had to do with that “Secret” project. Paul was unaware of it until Carol shared an email I sent to her, so we will just have to wait. I can ask you to pray the God will share Paul’s story with an entirely new audience (worldwide) that will bring glory to God!

So, the main growing season is over, and Paul has a cooler full of apples, as Fall makes its annual appearance in Sequim. Yes, Paul has root vegetables growing and such.

Please remember, this time of year is a good time to get wood chips. Weather permitting, you put the chips down where you want to use them and let the winter weather “season” the chips with rain and snow. All the while, the chips will be adding nutrients to your soil. DD

YES!!! It’s here (or should I say “hear?” Available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Food-Gods-Way-Gautschi/dp/B0CXDHQHQ2 and Audible https://www.audible.com/pd/Growing-Food-Gods-Way-Audiobook/B0CXDMJKZV.

Friends, it 8 hours and 19 mins of hearing about Paul, rather than reading. ONE CAVEAT: ppl love the color photos of Paul and his garden, and (Spoiler Alert) Nick and his dog.

I always wanted to do the recording, but it never materialized, so I went with a male AI voice…for now. Someday, when I retire (LOL) I may take the time and money plunge to record it in my own voice (because Morgan Freeman is probably not available).

Almost 8.5 hours of listening for $14.99 is a bargain! (IMHO)

Please check it out if you’d like. If all goes well, you can gift an audiobook to someone…or a hard copy…or the eBook. Just know, the only way to get a signed book is via the website: http://www.growingfoodgodswau.com The artist for the RCA logo was Francis Barraud.

Tell your friends you “heard” about it here! DD

Hey FOPs (friends of Paul),

People are mostly using Amazon to get their paperbacks sent to them around the world, and that is exciting. For those who prefer to NOT be a part of the Amazon database, we offer the paperback on this site too! In fact, this is the only site where I can send you a book (or books) signed by me. And, for now, Amazon is the only site to access the eBook. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010CFBPKG

Starting Monday, SEPT 11th and also the 12th & 13th, the eBook 2nd edition is $0. That saves you (and your friends) $8.99! Just go through the normal Checkout steps and they should charge you nothing!

On a fateful day, that we lost so many lives, Paul and I want to invest in your lives. Please accept our gift and know that life is the BEST gift, second to the gift of eternal life with the Lord, in Heaven (but it begins here – when we come to Him in faith and repentance).

Please SHARE the news with your family, friends, and neighbors. I used to do FREE promotions a lot more early on and the Lord just blessed the Amazon rankings month after month for years.

Thank You Jesus for the privilege of writing a book worth reading. May it bless, inspire, educate, and encourage readers till Christ returns in glory! DD

Today I got an email from Amazon:

“Hello,

Following our previous email, this is a reminder that we’re changing our fees on June 20, 2023, at 12:00 AM UTC, to better align with today’s cost to print books….

These changes will affect your royalties for paperback and hardcover books. While not required, you may choose to update your list prices to avoid a change in royalty payments or zero royalties on books that drop below the new minimum list price…”

So, in response to their advice to raise my book price I have reduced it by $2.00 – from $21.95 to $19.95. It was nice of them to give a “head’s up,” but my wife and I feel good about the random reduction. The new USD price equates to: 18.50 EUR, 15.88 GBP, 2771 YEN, 26.65 CAN, and 29.71 AUD (including GST).

I know…that after COVID, prices (on about everything) have gone up and service has gone down. So, enjoy our departure from this crazy trend and get your USD book for under 20 bucks.
Praise God! DD

As I posted on the Growing Food God’s Way Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/growingfoodgodsway Paul recently told me he plans to re-institute the Sunday Tours beginning with the 1st Sunday in June. Those should begin at 2:30pm and go for at least two hours.
He says it will be different – as he still can’t keep up with folks at his walking pace. Therefore, he plans to stage himself nearby (here and there) and watch the guests tour the garden and orchard – and be available for questions and share his wise insights.

This is the 2nd week of April and Paul is still planting because the weather has not been ideal in early April. Though daffodils have been in bloom for weeks now, other flowers have been rather dormant, like tulips and irises.

According to today’s Monster Insight report, these are the 10 most active countries viewing the GFGW website of Paul Gautschi’s biography.

SHOCKING! Not that USA was #1, but that Australia (the top foreign buyers of the book) is #10. How can that be? During that country’s lockdown we would mail books to Australia but the local postal carriers were not allowed to deliver them (for whatever reason). So, after paying a lot of $$ to ship them that far, they all came back and if we turned around and shipped them again, we would be paying twice and they would just return them! That was a big reason why I opted to sell the paperback books (for the 1st time) via Amazon. That way, the private delivery companies would get the books to the Australian readers. Hooray! https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/0990755207

I had no idea so many were coming to the site from Germany. Guten tag!

I do not pay any SEO firms to have their ppl in Indonesia to visit my site, so it is perplexing that they are #2. What am I talking about? Well, the old way to trick the Google algorithm into thinking a website was more popular than it really was…was to hire an Search Engine Optimization company that pays pennies per click to somewhat indentured Indonesians (I imagine) to get onto the sites that they’re told to. Thus, if real (interested) ppl click on the GFGW site and spend 120 seconds looking around, but the Indo-clickers get on for only 2 seconds, then the average View Time gets skewed way down.

Adding #s 5 and 6 together is still short of our Canadian friends (at #4). So many ppl in Canada are tracking with Paul Gautschi. He went to Bible College there years ago and it has a special place in his heart. For many in BC, Paul’s place is just a pleasant ferry ride from Victoria to Port Angeles. Costs about $22 per adult in your vehicle. https://www.cohoferry.com/schedule-fares Sequim is the next city east of Port Angeles. Note: you don’t have to have a recent Covid test to ferry from BC to the USA but you do need proof of an approved inoculation.

My question? Where’s Japan? It is a plant-growing culture Paul so admires that culture and built his arboring business around Japanese pruning methods. I suppose you could argue that they’re already doing what Paul does so he is just preaching to the choir there. Maybe. But it’s not so much the methods of Paul Japan needs to hear, but his faith! They do permaculture there, but not Relational Permaculture.

That is, they’ve figured out how God uses rocks in nature to supply plants with needed minerals, but that is different than knowing God. In other words, I am an author. You can know that about me without knowing me personally. Reading GFGW 2nd edition helps ppl know God personally because Paul Gautschi knows God personally and he shares his heart throughout the book. It would thrill Paul to be a small part of an Awakening in Japan. God knows they need it. FYI, the US needs it too!

I just want to say that it is an honor, I don’t deserve, to have a part in the lives of people around the world. I have traveled to just two countries: Canada a # of times and Mexico once. That’s it! Unless you count Texas. It may become a country of its own someday, but let’s hope not.

All in all, thanks to all of you for visiting the GFGW site (even if it’s only 50 seconds of your day). Yep, that’s the average view time, which means I need to finish the 2nd edition Book Trailer video and get it on the Home page. DD

For the first time, we head into June without Paul offering his free public tours on Sunday afternoons at 2pm. WHY? Well, he just doesn’t feel like he can properly move about with the crowd – at the pace they deserve, so he’d rather not do the tours than do a 2nd-rate job (in his view).

So what do we do? Experience Gautschi Separation Anxiety? No, of course not! He tells me (in so many words) that he is shifting from tour guide to tutor. That is, he needs a smaller audience – whether he’s out in the garden with them or chatting with them from his porch. For now, his lane is more personal – more eye to eye.

He still has SO MUCH wisdom and testimonies to share (sprinkled with some opinions about society). You feel loved and respected by Paul. He is a mentor and who knows how long he’ll be with us to share what he has to share? You CAN see him. You just have to make some prior arrangements to make it happen. You can write him with your phone # or you can call him and leave a message. He’s good at calling back. Address: 411 Craig Road, Sequim, WA 98382 Land line: (360) 461-4477. Remember, he’s on the west coast (Pacific Standard Time). That’s 3 hours later than the east coast. Blessings… DD

Recently, I got to swing by Paul’s place when I was in Sequim on other biz.

He was home when I called him and said he’d be out working in the garden when my wife and I arrived. Well, he was just exiting his shed to go prune his elderberry tree when we rolled up.

NEW WOODCHIPS = BETTER SOIL

First thing I noticed was freshly spread woodchips along the R side of his driveway. If you have ever been on a Sunday tour with Paul, you’ll recall that the tour begins there – so he can point out some differences between his plants/lawn and his neighbor’s. Pretty revealing!

Next, I saw that Paul was well along with planting (he tries to get that going the 1st week of April). It has been a strange month for weather so far in the Pacific NW. Both Seattle and Portland set records for the latest snow! 2nd week of April, we got dumped with 5″ of wet, heavy, snow. Lots of damage all around.

PRUNING = GOOD GROWTH

Today, Paul was pruning his elderberry tree. Believe it or not, the tree used to be on the border with his neighbor. It really didn’t have room to grow there – and was susceptible to the neighbor’s spraying, so Paul moved it along the road – more towards the miiddle of his land. The tree looked so good, I asked how long ago he transplanted it. (Are you ready for this?) “Two weeks,: he said! That is mind boggling. The tree didn’t get the Memo that it was supposed to experience transplant shock. Look at it. Leafing out…no shock here!

PAUL’S SAD NEWS
The day I saw Paul he told me that Micah had been missing for 2 days! He was concerned and defininately missed him. With Nick’s dog Willow (in the background) gone, and Tierza gone, that just leaves Tova III by herself. Micah was such a good protector of the garden and orchard. Now what? Well, I can tell you this. As we drove up, there’s a doghouse on the R and Tova III had just come out of it. Used to be Micah’s I believe. Paul said that ever since Micah went missing, Tova (on her own) now spends the night in that dog house (she always used to lounge on the porch) and actively keeps the deer and other critters out of the area. In other words, Tova II has stepped up and kept the animals from ravaging the orchard and garden (which can happen in mere hours). Yay God!

It was good to see Paul again. Yes…that’s me with a goatee (for now).

Just a reminder that public tours begin the 1st Sunday in June (the 5th). We’ll see if ThatNub from L2Survive will be out there to film it.

PAUL’S WARNING TO YOU (US)

Ever since the Back to Eden documentary came out. Many people viewed Paul’s method of covering as a novelty, but now it’s gotten pretty serious. Already, it can be a challenge to get seeds to plant this Spring. The war and genocide in Ukraine has made a weakened supply chain in the US (and around the world) to the point where we can’t assume that food is just a short drive (or internet order) away.

Adding insult to injury, 27 states in the US have had been impacted by avian flu. Also, most of the fertilizer used by US farmers supposedly came from Russia. Well, that came to a halt! Paul says it is never as critical to save seeds and grow your own food as it is now. The Covid-19 pandemic forced us to figure out what is “essential” in life. The winners? Groceries. Health care. Police protection. Moving goods across the country (ship, train, or truck). Shockingly, keeping churches open did not meet the “essential” standard. That’s for another blog…

Imagine life without Costco, Safeway, Krogers, Aldi, Walmart, Sam’s Club. How long would you survive? Where will your food come from? Proverbs 22:3
A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides [attends to] himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

There have been so many issues going on with Amazon that I decided to offer the eBook version of Growing Food God’s Way 2nd edition to $8.99. That’s a tad over 10% off.

Meanwhile, the paperback sales on Amazon are on the rise. Yay God! If you want a signed book (by me) just order one on this website.

I do pray for the ppl all over the world who are reading Paul’s official biography. It is an honor to make it available and may it inspire 1000s with all that the book offers: truth (God’s Word), testimony, and teaching. DD