President Gordon B Hinckley
Tonight, at 7:00 pm, the prophet died. At 97 years old, he had survived his wife’s death for nearly four years after sixty-seven years of marriage. I can only imagine the reunion taking place right now is one filled with many tears and an abundance of love. Imagine living nearly a century and seeing and doing all that this one man did. I would love to live a life as he did. What an amazing man. What an incredible life. I’m reminded of the ending of the movie Meet Joe Black when the old father is being walked to his death by the angel of death. He turns to the angel and asks, “Should I be afraid?” to which the angel replies, “Not a man like you.”
He enriched my life with his. I am grateful for his hope, his calm, his humor, his peace–his example of love and faith. This quote from him has been taped to my fridge for several years now:
“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just ordinary people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is just like an old time rail journey … delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.” –Gordon B. Hinckley
Seeking Zion is No Longer Seeking!
Is it possible? Several posts in a row where I’m not whining?
My manuscript, Seeking Zion (name likely to change before publication), has found itself a publishing contract. I am thrilled beyond expression. It’s a beautiful story. While going over the last edit for this book, I realized how much I loved it. I love the characters, the message, the story–all of it. And now I get it share it with everyone. Kirk at Covenant has been incredible to work with. It’s been so nice to have someone who communicates with me and gets excited about my projects with me. I look forward to a long relationship with Covenant. There isn’t a projected release date yet, but I am basking in the glow of author validation. I plan on doing a full on book tour through the western states with the release of Seeking Zion. It should be fun and I am thrilled!!!!!!!!! (as indicated by the inappropriate coupling of punctuation)
Amazon Break Through Novel Finalist!!!
Much like Josi kilpack, I believe there are times to use multiple exclamation marks. Forget the fact that it is grossly negligible to couple punctuation together like that. Sometimes one simply won’t do.
I entered a manuscript into the Amazon break through novel context. It’s my romantic comedy. I wrote it because I needed a mental break from all the serious writing I’d been doing. I found out it was chosen to be a semi-finalist!!!!!!! HOORAY! I’m excited about being at least culled from the rest.
This next round’s winner is determined by the reader’s comments and “star” rating. You can download a free “short” of the book or have it sent to your email via Amazon. You’ll get the first sixteen pages that are free to download and read. If you want to go vote and help give me a shot at the brass ring, I would be ever so grateful 
You can get it here: The Day My subconscious Betrayed Me. It’s a romantic comedy and a word of caution, for whatever reason, when they moved it to their PDF form, some of the code didn’t translate right so the chapters are shoved right against the last word of the previous chapter. Try not to let it bother you as much as it bothers me.
I’m excited to be chosen to be a finalist. I put the math to it and that means I beat out several hundred other manuscripts. I’m trying to focus on that and not think about how much crying I’ll do and how much chocolate and dr pepper I will consume should I not make it any further.
Bing Turns Eight
My baby, Bing, turns eight years old today. He had his baptismal interview with the bishop yesterday afternoon after Sacrament meeting, and held my hand as we walked home together. “Do you know what it means to be baptized?” I had to ask. I had to know
I didn’t know what it meant when I’d been baptized. I was terrified. I thought my dad was going to drown me. Yesterday, on that walk home, I wondered . . . does Bing know, or is he just walking the paces his dad and I set in front of him? So I asked.
And my eight year old bore his testimony to me. When I asked him how he knew all these wonderful things, he smiled, “You told me to pray and ask for myself.”
In Sunday School, we discussed the first chapters of the Book of Mormon. In the first chapter, the prophets come to tell the people of Jerusalem that its days are numbered. Lehi, in his wisdom, went home and prayed to ask for himself what was destined to happen to Jerusalem. He trusted the prophets, but he still asked for himself. I’d never noticed that nuance in the first chapter before.
Later when Lehi flees Jerusalem with his family and finds himself in the wilderness, he built an altar and offered sacrifice in the Jewish tradition. He gave thanks.
Why would a man who just lost his home and all his earthly possessions give thanks?
As I walked home hand in hand with my youngest son, I could think of several reasons to say thanks. Lehi still had his family with him. Life gets ugly a lot, but if you have your family with you . . . it isn’t all that bad. So it is that I have a lot to say thanks for. I am thankful for my children, who turn to prayer for their answers instead of just trusting me to give them answers. I am thankful for my husband, who has stood by my side as we taught our children where to find answers to life’s important questions.
Emma the kindred spirit
:: E M M A ::
You are Emma Woodhouse of Emma! You like being the queen of your social circle (small and provincial as it may be), and feel it’s your duty to help those less influential than you. You often meddle in the affairs of others, though you do it with a pure heart. You are often deluded in your flights of fancy, but your good intentions and creative spirit make you someone anyone could like.
I’m the less beautiful, less wealthy Emma Woodhouse. Today is my Tuesday day for Writing on the Wall. Go on over and have your little writer’s heart warmed with well meant advice on writing.
The Untold Theft in America
So . . . I got a rejection letter today. The rejection came, not from the literary agent I submitted to, but from her “assistant.” The person who sent the rejection letter is likely an unpaid intern trying to get college credit. This means I was rejected by a still pubescent girl who very likely got the office Starbuck’s order wrong, and was, therefore, in the throes of a bad day.
I’m not irritated by the rejection letter. Yawn. I have stacks of those things. I am constantly working towards new projects to keep myself from obsessing. I have my contracts for manuscripts that I pull out when I worry if I’m publishable. They remind me that, yes, I am publishable. My reviews and fan mail remind me that I’m saleable too.
What I found humorous was that I snail-mailed the query along with the required SASE. But I didn’t receive my rejection by SASE. Nope. It came via e-mail.
So what the heck happened to my stamp?
The intern, or assistant, or whoever, has my stamp. But what did she do with it? Is this some form of mild kleptomania? Is it a problem she’s dealing with, and someday will end up on some profilers list for grand theft auto? Or is it a form of embezzlement. Interns don’t make anything and assistants make very little. Maybe she really needs the stamp to subsidize her small pay check.
Maybe she needs it to mail her electricity bill. Maybe she needs a stamp to mail a late Christmas card to her ailing grandmother (who has already passed on, and the girl will mourn forever that she hadn’t thought to steal a stamp when there was still time). Maybe it’s so she can use it for a Post Secret post card confessing her addiction to re-runs of Gilligan’s island, and that she fantasizes herself to be Ginger, the svelte movie star, when really she’s just a MaryAnn personality. Maybe she’s a stamp collector and really liked that this one was a Star Wars stamp.
Yep . . . I bet that’s it. She kept my Yoda.
It’s likely better this way. Nothing hurts more than having Yoda–master Jedi–say, “Your manuscript, they will accept not–hmm-mmm. ” ; )
MIA Blogger
Sorry the site has been offline. As you can see I got a new look and a little more user-friendly interface. I have to be honest, even if my site hadn’t been offline, I wouldn’t have had much to say.
I wish you all a Happy New Year. May your scribbler’s heart find publication, your lover’s heart find happiness, and your stomach find good food.
Here is the end list of books read for 2007:
1.Spiderwick Chronicles (all five)—Holly Black
2.Genetopia—Keith Brooke
3.The Wright 3
4.Xenocide—Orson Scott Card
5.Wayfaring wizard
6.Dragonlance anthology
7.Crispin at the edge of the world-Avi
8.The Book Without Words–Avi
9.Harry Potter 7—JK Rowling
10.The Alchemyst—Michael Scott
11.Out of Jerusalem-Land of Inheritance—Heather Moore
12.Austenland—Shannon Hale
13.Farworld–Jeff Savage
14.Meet your Match–Stephanie Fowers
15.Sense and Sensibility—Jane Austen (again)
16.Poison–Betsy Brannon Greene
17.Double Cross– Betsy Brannon Greene
18.Undercurrents– Traci Hunter Abramson
19.Next—Michael Crichton
20.The Middle Princess—Shanna Blythe
22.Eclipse—Stephenie Meyer
22. Time Window—Kathryn Reiss
24.Alcatraz versus the evil librarians—
25.Uglies—Scott Westerfeld
26.Pretties—Scott Westerfeld
27.Specials—Scott Westerfeld
28.Dragon Slippers—Jessica Day George
29.The Golden Verses—Barbara Miller
30.The icing on the Cake—Elodia Strain
31.Bullies in the Headlights—Mathew Buckley
32. The Lights of Mahonri Moriancumer by Phyllis Gunderson
33. Sheep’s clothing—Josi Kilpack
34. How to Take the Ex Out of Ex Boyfriend—Janette Rallison
35.Stone
36. Book of a Thousand Days—Shannon Hale
37. Fablehaven 2—Brandon Mull
38. When the Bough Breaks–Kay Lynn Mangum
There are actually several more that aren’t worthy of noting and I read several other anthologies. As of right now, I am anxiously awaiting Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George, and Natural Ordermage by LE Modesitt to arrive in the mail from Amazon. I love new books
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