Mormon Mommy Writers

Queen in Exile by Donna Hatch

2012-01-27T06:43:00.000-07:00

This is a book I've wanted for a LONG time. I won one of Donna's other books, The Guise of a Gentleman, and since then I've been pretty much hooked on her writing. Here's a little about Queen in Exile, the e-book YOU have a chance of winning: Rumors of war hang over Princess Jeniah's peaceful country of Arden, a land that shuns both magic and warfare. Following a lifelong dream, Jeniah forms a telepathic bond with a revered creature called a chayim, who is prophesied to save her kingdom. But when a Darborian knight comes upon Jeniah with her chayim, he sees only a vicious monster about to devour a maiden, and he slays the beast.

Devastated by the loss of her chayim, and fearing that her own magic is evil, Jeniah doubts her destiny. When an enemy invades Arden City, they slaughter the people, storm the castle, and execute the entire royal family except the princess. Rescued by the knight who slew her chayim, Jeniah is now heir to the throne of Arden and the only hope for freeing her people.

On the run and hunted by enemy soldiers, Jeniah must place her life and the fate of her kingdom in the hands of this trained killer. Torn between embracing her destiny as queen of Arden, and her love for a mere knight, she must ultimately rely on her magic to save herself and her people from death and tyranny.

Are you completely salivating yet, because I am--and I can't even enter the contest. :D Seriously, though, give it a shot and try to win this fun, fun read.

And, of course, don't forget to check our Winner's Circle page tomorrow to see if you've won the Queen in Exile e-book copy. Good luck!

Entry Rules:
ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 27th 2012

1. You can leave a comment about today's blog post.
2. Follow Donna Hatch's BLOG. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. LIKE Donna Hatch's author page on Facebook. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4. Follow Donna Hatch on TWITTER. Don't forget to tell us you have done so.

Giveaway and a Book Music Video??!!

2012-01-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

We live in a time where technology allows our creativity and innovation to soar to heights once unimaginable. The same thing goes with not only writing books, but marketing them as well. The authors of today's giveaway were tasked with coming up with a creative way to market their book, "The Mark of Royalty". Their solution? How about a music video?

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Isn't that amazing? If a picture is worth a thousand words, I wonder how many words a music video is worth? But just in case that wasn't enough to tell you about this book, here's the description of "The Mark of Royalty" by Jennifer K. Clark and Stephonie K. Williams:

Sarah doesn't know much about where she was born or the circumstances that brought her to another country. In fact she doesn't know that the mark on her shoulder identifies her as the first born and heir to the throne, that she was secreted out of her country as an infant in order to save her life, and that her twin brother took her place. What she does know is that her love of horses and sometimes unladylike behavior has landed her between two men and their fight for their own crown. However, things drastically change when someone discovers Sarah’s mark and knows what it means.

What people are saying about this book:

“I thoroughly enjoyed this book!! I can't wait to let my sisters and nieces read it as well! I loved the heroine and hero of the story! I thought it was beautifully written, clean, and so fun! I can't wait to read more from these two talented authors! I would definitely recommend this to anyone!” -Forevertime on Amazon

Today's giveaway is the book, "The Mark of Royalty" AND the DVD that includes the music video, the book trailer, and a video about the Friesian stallion that isn't even on youtube!

Entry Rules:

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE BY 11:59 PM MST tonight, January 26, 2012. Winners will be posted tomorrow morning in our Winner's Circle (tab at the top of the blog home page).

As usual, there are multiple ways to earn entries into this drawing, make sure you take advantage of ALL of them.

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Become a follower of this blog or tell us you already are (you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you are a follower to receive credit for this).

3. Follow MMW on Facebook (again, you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you have done this to receive credit).

4. Advertise this spectacular month of give-aways on your blog or Facebook page. (clearly state!)

5. Follow Jennifer K. Clark or Stephonie K. Williams at one of the below sites and let us know by clearly commenting below.

Links for readers to follow
My blog- http://stephoniekwilliams.blogspot.com/
Jennifer's blog- http://jenniferkclark.blogspot.com/

Here's a link to purchase "Mark of Royalty" by Jennifer K. Clark & Stephonie K. Williams
http://deseretbook.com/Mark-Royalty-Jennifer-K-Clark/i/5060527

What are you waiting for? Enter NOW!!

The Next Door Boys Giveaway!

2012-01-25T04:00:00.001-07:00

I'm really excited for this giveaway. I have been cyberfriends with Jolene Perry for over a year now, and all I can say is she is REALLY COOL! (And not just because she lives in Alaska.) She has a great sense of humor, a bizarre (to me) way of writing her books (she writes all the scenes she sees in her head, out of order, however they come, and puts the concoction together in some witchy writer's brew), and a personality that is palpable via the internet.

Her first book, "The Next Door Boys" (Cedar Fort, Oct. 2011) is our offering for today. And it's coming, signed, all the way from Alaska. They can actually do that these days.

So on to my review...

I read this book over the holidays as we were doing a mad week long dash as a family through Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California, visiting MORE family. I stuck it on my iPod and read and read and read while my hubby drove. And drove. And drove.

Frankly, I couldn't put it down. This is a contemporary, clean romance with location very familiar to me: BYU. I've been there, lived that life she describes so effortlessly. I really liked Leigh Tressman, her main character. She is a well rounded, flawed, living, breathing person. She's someone I would have wanted to room with.

Here's the "elevator pitch": With her body still recovering from last year's cancer treatments, Leigh Tressman is determined to be independent. Despite the interference from her overprotective brother, the ever-expanding line of young men ready to fall in love with her--not to mention the physical frustrations and spiritual dilemmas Leigh discovers what it actually means to stand on her own and learns that love can be found in unexpected but comfortable places.

And Leigh isn't the only character so real you think you've met them at church already. Her brother, Jaron, is the best older brother. His "newly returned missionary" zeal has him hovering over her as Leigh struggles to learn how to grow up after her traumatic diagnosis and treatment, but he grows as well in a natural progression. As does her relationship with Brian, Jaron's roommate, and part of the "Next Door Boys". It's a relationship that grows slowly, respectfully, and deepens into something Leigh never expects when she left for school, determined to make it on her own.

I think the think I loved best about this book were these characters that seemed so real I felt like a voyeur, peeking in through the windows. All their behavior was a natural outgrowth of who they were. There were no obvious contrivances. I fell completely into the story from beginning to end.

Don't take my word for it, though. Here are a couple of other endorsements of Jolene's book:

This book is filled with heart. I loved Jolene's easy going pace, her characters, the romance, and the beautiful message she imparted. Definitely recommend this book!

- author Rachael Ranee Anderson

I loved this book! Touching and heartfelt, Next Door Boys introduces Leigh, a young woman who is struggling to find independence and normalcy after a year of dealing with cancer. This is an engaging story that stayed with me long after I read it.

- author Kaylee Baldwin

Enter today to get a chance to win this fabulous book. And if you don't, go buy it. You won't be disappointed!

Entry Rules:

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE BY 11:59 PM MST tonight, January 225, 2012. Winners will be posted tomorrow morning in our Winner's Circle (tab at the top of the blog home page).

As usual, there are multiple ways to earn entries into this drawing, make sure you take advantage of ALL of them.

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Become a follower of this blog or tell us you already are (you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you are a follower to receive credit for this).

3. Follow MMW on Facebook (again, you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you have done this to receive credit).

4. Advertise this spectacular month of give-aways on your blog or Facebook page. (clearly state!)

5. Follow Jolene at one of the below sites and let us know by clearly commenting below.

Places to read and follow Jolene:

Blog

Website

Twitter

Places to buy "The Next Door Boys"

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Ebook @ CFI

Guest Post and Giveaway

2012-01-24T00:01:00.005-07:00

With a Little Help from My Friends

Post by Tristi Pinkston

People are always asking me how I manage to do everything I do. I’ll admit it—I am a pretty busy person. I’m a mom with four kids, and we homeschool. I am an author, a freelance editor, a virtual book tour coordinator, an online writing instructor, and I’m also the Cubmaster in my ward. I have a whole lot of plates spinning at once, and sometimes they all manage to stay upright, and sometimes they all come crashing down.

When it comes to my writing, there’s one major reason why I’m successful—I have excellent friends. My critique group has been invaluable, pointing out my flaws and helping me strengthen my weak spots. Last night, I needed help reading through some typeset proofs, and several of my friends stepped up to the plate and read thirty pages each, looking for typos. My friends support me at my book signings, comment on my blog, retweet my Tweets, share my events on Facebook—they have my back. Likewise, I have theirs.

Writing is a solitary endeavor. It’s just you and the computer … or you and the notebook. But then it becomes the work of a village. We can’t be successful if we remain closeted away. We must reach out and create a writing community, a group of friends who understand what we’re going through and will be there for us to answer questions, to cheer us on, and to be honest with us. We can’t survive in this critical world without a support system, and we must be willing to listen to that support system when they’re telling us we need to make a change.

I love my friends. I’m so grateful for them. They have been in my corner all the way, and I’m honored and excited to be in their corners as well. You might think that authors are competitive, and I’ll admit that some are. But the happiest authors are the ones who understand that we’re all in this together.

Tristi Pinkston is the author of (soon to be) eight published novels and one cookbook.

You can learn more about her at www.tristipinkston.com

She is also the author of today's giveaway a copy of her e-book Season of Sacrifice

Book Description: Sarah Williams is a young Welsh immigrant, coming to Utah to join her sister Mary Ann Perkins and her young family. When the Perkins' are asked to join the San Juan mission to pioneer a trail through Southern Utah, they take Sarah along to help care for the children. But a six-week journey turns into six agonizing months of hard work and toil as the Saints blast their way through a cliff to bring their wagons through what would become the famous Utah landmark "Hole in the Rock." This LDS historical fiction novel is based on the life of the author's great-great-grandfather and accurately depicts the experiences of these intrepid pioneers as they sought to be obedient to a higher call.

Entry Rules:

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE BY 11:59 PM MST tonight, January 24, 2012. Winners will be posted tomorrow morning in our Winner's Circle (tab at the top of the blog home page).

As usual, there are multiple ways to earn entries into this drawing, make sure you take advantage of ALL of them.

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Become a follower of this blog or tell us you already are (you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you are a follower to receive credit for this).

3. Follow MMW on Facebook (again, you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you have done this to receive credit).

4. Advertise this spectacular month of give-aways on your blog or Facebook page. (clearly state!)

5. Follow Tristi at one of one of the below sites and let us know by clearly commenting below.

http://www.tristipinkston.blogspot.com

http://www.tristipinkston.com

Angelfall (READ THIS BOOK!) and Angelic Earrings

2012-01-23T04:44:00.002-07:00

I am SO excited to be back this week with another fabulous couple of giveaways! First up, Susan Ee is offering up her ebook, Angelfall. I'll let you read the description first before I start gushing.

Click on the image above to find out more about Angelfall!

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Want to know what others think of this book? Check out these reviews:

Tell Great Stories - "The Best Book of 2011"
The Happy Booker - "Ultimately, this is one of the best, if not the best, book I have read in 2011"
The Book Pushers - "I can't say enough good things about this book and…it has definitely topped my top ten this year, and is a standout debut."
The Procrastinator's Corner - "It's been so long since I read a book that has rendered me absolutely speechless….The good scenes just keep coming and coming."
Bite Me, Book - "this is now one of my favorite supernatural/dystopian books."
Boekie's Book Review - "Wow! Angelfall is gritty, horrific, fantastic and captivating!"

My turn to gush! When I found out I'd be giving this book away, and I saw that it was available on Amazon for only $0.99 (I hesitate to admit it b/c I still want you to enter the giveaway), I decided it might be worth the read. WOW was it ever (incidentally, 158 other 5-star reviews on Amazon appear to agree with me). I read it nearly a month ago and I still find myself thinking of this book at least once every other day. This was one of those books I just couldn't put down, and it was a good thing I was reading it over my birthday because otherwise I wouldn't have had the luxury of devouring it in 2 days.

As I was reading, I could see the little bar at the bottom of my screen creeping closer and closer to the end, and, I admit it, I yelled at it to stop. I literally did not want this book to end. Fortunately, once I got there and I looked at the title again I saw these words, "Book One." I breathed a sigh of relief, because it meant that a "Book Two" would be coming sometime in the (hopefully NEAR) future. Trust me, the end of this book has many unanswered questions and a lot of opportunities for expansion- not so much that you'll feel like you're at a cliffhanger, but enough loose ends that you'll be craving more resolution.

This book is definitely in league with The Hunger Games series- got some gore, lots of life-and-death intensity, and never knowing what will happen next. Ee does an amazing job at creating memorable atmospheres within her scenes and bringing complex characters to life, unfolding them like blossoming flowers. The relationship between the main characters is layered and certainly not simplistic. What exactly do you do when you start to care about someone whose main purpose on earth is to destroy the human race? I found myself constantly having to remind myself that Raffe was not the handsome hero my brain wanted him to be- he was the enemy, and I think Penryn and I shared our frustration with that contradiction.

So anyway, I strongly encourage you to enter this giveaway, but if you don't win, you gotta go buy this book from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. And once you get completely addicted as I am, be sure to follow Susan Ee on her blog, SusanEe.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Goodreads.

Author Susan Ee

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For the crafty end of our giveaway today, I am pleased to be able to offer this lovely set of beachy blue earrings from my good bloggy friend Alyssa!

Can't you just see yourself throwing on a clean white button-up blouse, putting your hair up and then wearing these fresh-as-the-ocean earrings? I'm talking effortless casual chic, ladies.

Alyssa practically gives her gorgeous jewelry away over at her etsy shop, Little Lovely Things- everything there is under $5! I've purchased from her before and her pieces are high quality, stylish, and completely unique.

By the way, did I mention that Alyssa is 16?

Seriously! This girl is amazing. She is a strong Christian, such an amazing example to her peers, and truly a beautiful person inside and out. For those of you working on those YA novels- this is the kind of girl we could use as a heroine (no superpowers, but she's wicked good with a can of spray paint). Go check out her blog at Live. Love. Craft.

Here's how to win!

Just like last week, we will have TWO winners- one for Angelfall and one for the earrings. You can let me know which prize you'd like to win as I will do two separate drawings- one for the book, one for the earrings. You are allowed to enter both drawings- just let me know in your comment that you'd like to be entered to win both. If you don't specify which drawing in your comment, then you will be automatically entered to win both prizes. You can only win ONE prize! If you are a winner in one drawing, you will be out of the running for the other.

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE BY 11:59 PM MST tonight, January 23, 2012. Winners will be posted tomorrow morning in our Winner's Circle (tab at the top of the blog home page).

As usual, there are multiple ways to earn entries into this drawing, make sure you take advantage of ALL of them.

1. Leave a comment on this post (don't forget to specify which prize you'd like to claim if you win!)

2. Become a follower of this blog or tell us you already are (you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you are a follower to receive credit for this).

3. Follow MMW on Facebook (again, you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you have done this to receive credit).

4. Advertise this spectacular month of give-aways on your blog or Facebook page. (clearly state!)

5. And, because I want to give you even more ways to win, you can earn an extra entry this week by visiting Alyssa's blog over at Live.Love.Craft. and following her over there- don't forget to let me know in your comment HERE if you've done that.

I will be back here next Monday with one last great giveaway (well, the last one for me, anyway) that you don't want to miss!

Guest Post: Jenn Johansson

2012-01-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Next we get to hear from the fabulous Jenn Johansson!! Take a look at all the wonderful things she has accomplished this year!!!

2011 was a fantastic year for me. In the spring, I started querying my new YA Supernatural Thriller, INSOMNIA, and was offered representation by the amazing Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Just after we went out on submission with INSOMNIA, we were contacted by a literary scout who had gotten her "sticky scout fingers" on my manuscript and loved it. She recommended it to all of her clients and within a week we sold at auction in Germany to Heyne: Fliegt and shortly after to Newton Compton in Italy. It's been crazy, but I'm having a great time. My family and I are so excited to see what happens next on this roller coaster of a career, but we're holding on tight and enjoying the ride.

That's about it! Let me know if you have any questions!

Saturday Stories, Linda Boulanger

2012-01-21T05:00:00.111-07:00

Today's guest for Saturday Stories is someone you may not know by name but you've seen her influence. Her publishing company is the home to Elizabeth Mueller's Darkspell and Silvina Niccum's Veiled (among many others). Along with being a guest on our blog today she has also donated three amazing self-publishing prizes that anyone interested in self-publishing will surely want to win.

To kick things off let's start with our Saturday Stories interview.

Q—Tell us about yourself. Who are you?

Along with being author Linda Boulanger, book cover designer, book formatter, and publisher, I am the mother of four 8-17 year olds that keep me running. My headquarters reside within my laptop, netbook, Kindle Fire, cell phone, and spiral notebooks with ample supply of pens for that very reason – It’s all portable. I’ve written, edited, formatted, anything to do with books, while waiting for my children to get out of school, between matches at a tennis tournament, at the dentist … just about any place you can think of.

I also have four rescue pets: 2 big dogs and 2 little cats. My How Sadie Learned To SMILE: See Magic In Life Everyday fully illustrated children’s book which is now available for Kindle, in color, on Amazon, features my local Animal Rescue Foundation, where we adopted three of our four fur babies. The youngest, a gray Tabby/Russian Blue mix, is diabetic and I have to give him insulin shots twice a day even though I am needle phobic to the point that getting shots myself or seeing others get them usually makes me extremely light headed and/or pass out. I’m okay as long as I don’t accidentally touch myself with the needle! One gross fact about my animal ownership (and something my FaceBook friends seem to think is oddly funny) is that I get some of my best writing ideas or my stories often come together while I’m scooping poo in the back yard. Eeeww!

Q—How did you get into writing?

Growing up on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, you’d think I would love the snow … but I don’t! I do have to credit the snow for keeping me indoors quite a bit, which led to entertaining myself with a lot of reading and by writing stories. I learned to love the written word.

I wrote my first full-length novel at 26 though thinking about it makes me shudder, and not in a good way! It’s a Historical Romance, but I really didn’t want to take the time to do the research to make sure I was getting it right. I still love the premise of the story so maybe someday I’ll revive it.

Early marriage and a decade of childbearing saw me putting my writing dreams on hold. It wasn’t until my youngest started Kindergarten that I pulled out that old dream. It was awfully dusty, though thanks to the encouragement of my social networking friends, I blew it off and opened up to a blank page in a new chapter of my life.

Q—What was your publishing journey like?

Author and awesome video producer Patrick Sipperly probably helped me the most in taking my first steps toward being a published author. I think he knew I would never do it alone so he took his place as co-writer and hand holder. He found places for us to submit our writing. Amazingly, my shorts started winning weekly challenges immediately and one was even chosen as an Editor’s Choice to be included in a printed anthology. I was ecstatic.

I went from being satisfied with that to wanting a hold-in-your-hand book and Pat once again stepped in. We decided on a collection of short stories that we would publish ourselves, opting to use Amazon’s own CreateSpace. It turned out to be a great option for us and eventually for the authors I published through my own publishing company: TreasureLine Publishing.

Honestly, I didn’t have the patience to go through the game of submit, reject, submit, do it again, that is required so often when working for a Traditional Publishing deal. I also needed flexibility since my family always comes first. My greatest concern about self-publishing was the cost. I knew we would need to do the majority of it ourselves, so Pat and I taught ourselves everything we needed to know, which I have perfected over the years with my own books as well as those I have helped get published.

Q—How did TreasureLine Publishing come about?

Working through the process myself, I ran across numerous authors who had the same dream of seeing their work in print but had no idea how to go about it. I’d had hand holders, and since I knew the steps to take, I wanted to be that person for others. I started out offering limited book services only and evolved from there to Traditional Publishing, structuring my company to treat the authors as I’d want to be treated. Amazingly, all the authors working with TreasureLine Publishing (both Traditional and Work-For-Hire authors) have forged a generous and caring family that help each other with every aspect of this crazy life we have chosen.

Q—What is your favorite part about working with authors?

Making dreams come true is what it’s all about for me. The excitement of knowing an author is going to see his or her work in a format that the rest of the world can readily enjoy makes me as giddy as it would if it was my own work. I’ve lost track of how many happy tears I’ve cried after opening a box containing another book that I know I’ve helped create in some way, whether it’s by designing the cover, formatting the interior, championing the author along, or simply putting the TreasureLine name on it. Okay, so I’m an emotional person and cry at silly things! But these books truly become a part of me.

Q—What is your least favorite part about working with authors?

Other than feeling frustrated sometimes when authors don’t understand the demands, I don’t really have a least favorite part. It can get difficult when I’m juggling odds and ends for upwards of 25 different authors on any given day. There’s also a lot to getting everything done for a polished book. Even though I tell everyone that anyone can learn formatting, there are little tricks and tweaks that have to be performed and it takes time if you want it done right. Cover design as well. It may look easy, but there’s a lot of work that goes into every layer of that design. Sometimes even just getting an author to submit the manuscript formatted the right way is like pulling teeth. Thankfully, with four children, I’ve learned to be extremely patient over the years. It helps to love what I do as well.

Q—A lot of people refer to writing as therapeutic. Have you ever discovered personal truths or gained better insight into your own life through the characters you create?

Although I’m not sure if I’ve discovered personal truths, I’ve always used writing as therapy. Last year, my oldest daughter collapsed from a massive brain hemorrhage and writing played an important role in my ability to cope through it all. Although the book has nothing to do with the incident, I wrote Arms of an Angel during her initial hospital stay and healing time before she could have actual brain surgery. My daily escape with those characters was extremely therapeutic for me.

Q—What one author (living or dead) would you love to have the opportunity to sit down and visit with? What would you like to ask them?

Don’t shoot me, but I don’t have a favorite author that I don’t currently call friend, whether they are a flesh and blood - let’s get on the phone or meet for lunch – friend, or an internet friend. I have the ability to visit with them just about any time I want. And I do. Social networking has been amazing in bridging gaps and bringing our worlds together.

As far as what I ask them – we talk about everything from story ideas, to book cover designs, to the keys to the magical kingdom of getting your book into the hands of readers, and more.

Q—What’s your take on the self-publishing industry? Where do you see it going and what pitfalls do you think writers should watch out for?

Today’s ability to self-publish has changed the playing field beyond what most authors could have ever imagined. As I mentioned above self-publishing provides a flexibility and release from the hassles that can be associated with trying for traditional publishing. I think those are just two of the benefits of pursuing self-publishing.

There are some great books out there today that would never have seen beyond the slush pile had the authors not taken the initiative to self-publish. My very good friend, bestselling author Andrew E. Kaufman, is a prime example. He was told over and over again that his first book, While The Savage Sleeps, was fantastic but they just didn’t know how to market it because it didn’t fit the mold. It’s a Paranormal Suspense Thriller that broke out onto four of Amazon’s bestseller lists, including the top spot on Movers and Shakers. And now, more than a year after its release, it’s still on the top of several bestseller lists. Had he not self-published, his book would probably still be sitting on his computer!

Pitfalls. Yes, there are pitfalls that I see. Soooooooo many books, many of them slapped up there without proper editing or formatting. Don’t let yourself get overly excited just because there’s an open door. If you want people to read your work, you’d better be taking the time to make it the best you can, giving them a pleasant read all the way from your awesome cover, to your well formatted interior, to a well-polished and fully edited absolutely fantastic story!

The sheer number of books out there also makes it more and more difficult to get noticed. Authors so very often think just writing the book is it. Even if you were to get picked up by one of the Big 6, unless you have a recognized name, you’d better be prepared to do the majority of your own marketing. And that’s where your true work will come in.

Q—If you were given the opportunity to spend one evening with a personal chef who not only could expertly cook anything you wanted but also had access to the ingredients, what would be the one meal you’d request?

Cringing again. Do I admit that I am not overly domestic in the kitchen so anything a chef would like to prepare for me would be greatly welcomed! I think rather than concentrating on the food as a meal, I’d like to use the opportunity as a writing exercise. I like to study people, to see how they do things, how they react in certain situations. Do I also admit that this question has given me a story idea? A man with superb culinary skills meeting up with a woman who thinks there’s nothing wrong with TV Dinners or Cheetos for lunch! Thinking that would take a lot of research on my part…

Q—What is your favorite genre of books to read and why?

I am pathetically and completely 100% Happy Ever After. I joke that it’s because I was born so close to Valentine’s Day that I am in love with love. I see it everywhere and, if it’s not there, I make it up!

Romance has always been my favored genre to both read and write, though I prefer what Regency Romance author Jaimey Grant and I call Love With The Lights Off.: Romances that fall somewhere between “clean” and “graphic”. As a reader and a writer, I enjoy the tension without the details, if that makes sense. Jaimey and I have even created a Goodreads Group for others who enjoy the same thing: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/48377.Love_With_The_Lights_Off

Q—What words of wisdom would you like to share with aspiring authors?

I almost always give new authors the same advice because I think it is outrageously important, especially in this day and age where so many books are available. That advice is KEEP WRITING. No matter what you’re doing, make sure you are working on your next piece. When readers finish one of your books, if they like it, they will immediately want more. If they can’t get that from you, guess what? They are going to jump to another author. Then, when you get your next book done, you get to go out and find readers all over again! Oh, you’ll have those who wait for your work, but mostly you’ll be reinventing yourself every time. One bestselling author recently mentioned that she has to put out at least four books this year to maintain her foothold. FOUR BOOKS! That’s one every three months just to keep herself on the bestseller list.

At the same time, though, you shouldn’t rush it. Seems impossible to do both, huh? No matter what, even if you have to work harder at your marketing, you don’t want to put out bad stuff. A book that is poorly written, edited, formatted … those can all turn away future readers or even those who might have picked up your great story because of word of mouth.

So, bottom line, my advice is to write constantly because that will help you hone your skills while pushing you toward completion of that next book and don’t skimp on polishing your beloved story. Remember none of those things: formatting, cover designing, etc, none of it has to cost you a fortune to get it done right. There are places out there like my TreasureLine Publishing Book Services that can help you without a huge cash outlay that you may or may not ever make back. It’s a tough business, this business of writing, so use sound judgment, not your heart, when making decisions.

One thing I always tell people is that “talk is free” - which means I have no problem advising or sharing what I know to get you from a manuscript sitting on your computer to a book on Amazon dot com! I also do those things through the Book Services section of my publishing company … and I know what I’m doing! I’ve walked the road of aspiring author as well as held the hand of many, many other authors in those same shoes. If you find yourself tying up your laces as you contemplate entering into the big race, please feel free to drop me an email. I’d love the opportunity to champion you along. Just remember, if you ever send me a copy of your book, I require tissues to go along with it.

If you'd like to learn more about TreasureLine Publishing click here to visit their website or click here to visit their blog.

If you'd like to learn more about Linda you can click here to visit her website or click here to visit her blog.

Facebook links:
TreasureLine Books & Publishing
The Shelf Life of Linda Boulanger

Now we can focus on the fun stuff, the prizes. To do that I'll turn things over to Linda...

Hi! I’m Linda Boulanger, owner of TreasureLine Books & Publishing. At TreasureLine, our dream is your dream ~ filling shelves one book at a time. That’s why we’re excited to participate in the awesome month-long celebration of the Mormon Mommy Writers Anniversary.

Because your books are our business, we’re giving away 3 different Author’s Treasure Packages. That’s right! 3 prizes ~ 3 winners. Specifically geared toward authors, we are offering:

1 ePub Book Publishing Package ($125 value) -- an author's already fully edited manuscript formatted and placed in Amazon's Kindle store. This package includes a front cover.

1 Paperback Book Internal Format ($75 value) -- an author's manuscript formatted into a layout appropriate for POD publishing (does not include the actual publishing of the book or a cover). This package includes mentor services for an author unfamiliar with process of getting his/her book on Amazon.com via CreateSpace.

1 Full Cover via the custom book cover service ($125 value) -- winner may substitute 2 ebook front cover only services ($75 each).

The winners will be chosen randomly from those who comment on this post, however, we’ll need to know that you’re interested in the prizes and not just offering comment love (which we love very much!) – so, how about telling us if you’re interested in a particular one of the 3 prizes we’re offering. Make sure to leave an email address and feel free to give us the elevator pitch for your book.

If you’d like more information on TreasureLine and our services, please visit us at: treasurelinepublishing.com.

Thanks Linda!

If you are interested in self-publishing then these prizes are exactly what you're looking for. Just because it's called self-publishing doesn't mean you have to do it alone. Sign up for the contest so Linda can help you.

Just to give you guys a little more insight into what great prizes these are here's a little testimonial for you... (it's on the right)

Here's how to win:
ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE by 11:50 MST tonight, January 21, 2012. Check back tomorrow morning in our "Winner's Circle" to see if you're one of the lucky winners.

There are multiple ways to earn entries. Take advantage of them all!

1. Comment on this post.
2. Be a follower of this blog.
3. Be a follower of Linda's blog.
4. Be a follower of TreasureLine's blog.
5. Follow MMW on Facebook.
6. Follow Linda on Facebook
7. Follow TreasureLine on Facebook.
8. Post your elevator pitch in your comment.

That's EIGHT chances to enter!

Be sure in your comment to tell which prize package you'd like to win. If you're interested in more than one package let us know and we'll split your contest entries between multiple prizes.

Good luck!

My Review: Veiled by S.B. Niccum

2012-01-20T07:36:00.003-07:00

First of all, a BIG Happy birthday to the author. Ms. Niccum shared with me via email that this review would be live on her birthday. How fun is that?

Secondly, since the e-book itself is the giveaway I'm going to be extremely careful with my review. I don't want to be accused of giving too much away. :)

About the book: "I have always existed, not just me but all of us, the un-embodied spirits who wait to live.”

Tess is an unborn spirit, who is about to embark on a much awaited journey into mortality to a brand new planet called Earth. She is chosen by the Eternals for an important mission, and is put under a rigorous training by a half-human, half-lion Seraph. This training exposes Tess to some of her darkest fears and insecurities. These experiences force Tess to work on her gift as a discerner of thoughts and reader of auras—thus helping her become one of Heaven’s most powerful angels. But even angels falter, and deep inside her a gnawing fear is growing. Will she meet her soul mate in life? Will their love be strong enough to overcome the forgetting effects of the Veil? And, is she prepared to take on the responsibility of keeping the most dangerous renegade and leader of the Fallen Angels at bay during mortality?

If that's not enough to pique your interests, you can check out Veiled's 27!!!!!! 5 star reviews on AMAZON.

Now for my take. I found Veiled to be a story with a unique concept that I haven't seen before. I suppose there are books out there with a before-we-lived-on-Earth storyline, but I haven't seen them. Or heard of them. The author creates real characters for us that we can really get involved with, which is a plus for me since I write (and enjoy) character driven fiction.

Basically, if the description and/or the reviews have you interested--I recommend you check out Veiled for yourself. And, because I love humor, I adored the author's note at the beginning:

This book is a work of fiction. It is neither doctrine, nor doctrinally correct. This book happened because I let my imagination go wild. If you want to know what is real, read the Scriptures!

Awesome.

Now for the fun stuff: how to enter to win your own copy of Veiled.

Entry Rules:
ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 20th 2012

1. You can leave a comment about today's blog post.
2. You can earn an entry by being a follower or becoming a follower on MMW's blog/facebook page. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. You can earn an entry by advertising MMW's Blog Anniverary Giveaway Extravaganza on your blog or facebook page. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4. Become a follower of S.B. Niccum's BLOG. Don't forget to tell us you have done so.

What is ANWA?

2012-01-19T07:04:00.002-07:00

ANWA is a national writer's group for LDS women. I first found it in 2003 or 2004. I got information, but was scared off by the $20 a year dues. Spending money on my hobby would mean I was serious and then I might have to actually tell people I was writing. I chickened out. Now I realize if I had been courageous, I would have been in the ANWA chapter with the likes of Stephenie Meyer and Aprilynne Pike!! But I did find ANWA again later, in 2008 and haven't regretting a moment since! To tell you more about this wonderful group and to offer a FREE one year membership, is Marsha Ward, the founder of American Night Writer's Association. Marsha is also going to give away TWO of her e-books, The Owen Family Saga Sampler, AND the first book in the series, The Man from Shenandoah!!!!

1. Tell us about when you first started writing and a little about your writing journey.

I've been a writer all my life. My sister tells me that when I was of pre-school age, I covered pages of notebook paper with scribbles and said it was my novel. I have no idea how I knew what a novel was. I do know I excelled at English and composition classes throughout my schooling. The teacher of the English class I took during my junior year of high school told me I should be teaching the class. Whoa! That blew me away.

I began what became my first novel, The Man from Shenandoah, in 1965. At the time, my goal was to write “The Great American Novel.” Soon I had a manuscript of twenty chapters that I carted around with me for years, but I didn't seriously work on it again until the 1980s, when I began to consider sending work out to publishers. I'd been reading certain books and told myself I could write as well as any of their authors. I dusted off my “Great American Novel,” realized it was only a summary, then studied creative fiction writing with several teachers and through reading many instruction books.

In the meantime, I started writing commercially for LDS newspapers, so feature and news articles were my thing for several years.

After learning what commercial fiction writing really entailed, I began to hone what natural talent I had, and bit by bit, after throwing away a lot of chaff—such as too many characters—and adding the good stuff—like sensory details and emotions and actual plot—I had a manuscript to send out. That I did.

I was getting good remarks from editors (but no offers yet), when I had a health crisis in 2002. It looked pretty bad. I wanted to leave my work behind in fixed form so no one would throw it out upon my death, so I looked into self-publishing. After some intensive study and thinking about what form of self-publishing I wanted to engage in, I chose to go with iUniverse. After a terrible false start on the cover, I provided them with a photo to use. I was so delighted with the quick turn-around and then the great response from readers, that I decided to use the same method of publishing for the follow-up novel, Ride to Raton.

When word leaked out that my third novel, Trail of Storms, was finished at last, I was encouraged to submit it to a couple of publishers. I knew it wasn't right for them, but did so. I regretted wasting those eight months until rejection when a reader came up to me in a grocery store and begged for the new book. Why delay what clearly had a ready market? I went back to iUniverse for a third go-around.

I've won national prizes for poetry, and published columns in several periodicals. I've also written chapters for non-fiction books on writing and publishing. All of my novels include romantic elements. There may come a time when I'll write a mystery.

I had an epiphany several years ago when I realized that I write to let people know there is always hope, and to show them through the experiences of fictional characters that they can get through hard times, even really, really terrible times, and find happiness at the end of it all.

One of the hallmarks of my fiction is fast-paced adventure peopled with believable characters. Readers tell me when they're forced to put a book down they worry about my characters until they can read about them again. If I can take people out of their own worrisome lives enough to be concerned about fictional folks and see them through to a satisfying ending, then I've done the job of relieving some of their day-to-day stress. Isn't that what books are for?

2. Can you tell us your early experiences with writing groups and what led you to start ANWA?

As I began my serious writing journey, I attended several writing groups and clubs, including the oldest one in Mesa. It was a "slap-you-on-the-back-and-say-your-work-is-terrific" sort of club, and I quickly became disillusioned. I must have gone through six other clubs, including one where the reading content were so perverse that I almost gagged, and a Christian writing group, but I never felt entirely comfortable at any of them, and I wasn't learning much except on my own, by taking classes and online courses, and reading tons of books.

Gradually, I renewed friendships with or made the acquaintance of five other LDS women who had writing aspirations. Then Heavenly Father slapped me upside the head and said, "Do something." I said, "Who, ME?" but got the six of us together, and after two hours together in a basement room of an old library building, we emerged as sisters in a writing group that came to be American Night Writers Association. Shepherding ANWA took over my time and my life.

3. Tell us what ANWA is and how it has changed over the years.

ANWA, American Night Writers Association, Inc., is a network for LDS women writers of all types and levels of writing skills. In the early days, the six of us charter members met together in the break room of the Deseret Book store on Gilbert Road in Mesa, Arizona—not the one that exists today. It was across the street. When the store closed at night, we would stand around in the parking lot and discuss writing for at least another hour. We were so famished for a place where we could feel safe and connected by our beliefs. We called ourselves the East Valley Writers. Word started to trickle out about us, and more women joined. We began to meet in members' homes.

Somehow, Marsha Beckstead (now Marsha Hanson), who lived in West Phoenix, heard about us, and traveled all the way to the East Valley to attend meetings. After a number of years, we split the East Valley group three ways, added Westside Stories Chapter, and changed the name to Arizona Night Writers Association. I became the first General President, with Marsha Beckstead as Vice President, and Patti Hulet as Secretary. Beulah Martin was the first Newsletter Editor. Gayla Wise organized our first writers conference, which was held in a business not far from Deseret Book.

Charter member Peggy Shumway created our first website, and then ANWA exploded! Members joined from Ohio, Texas, Utah, and lots of other places, so we made the natural move of renaming the group American Night Writers Association. Chapters were formed in several states, and growth continued. Women came and went, as the tides of their lives ebbed and flowed.

4. How many chapters are there and where are they located?

We currently have twenty-one chapters, with local chapters in Arizona, Utah, and Washington. They include a chapter for Young Women, and three online chapters that span the United States. Plans are in the works for a new chapter in the Tri-Cities area of Washington, in Flagstaff, Arizona, and in Texas.

5. How could one go about starting a chapter in their area?

First, join ANWA. Go to http://anwa-lds.com and click on the link labeled "Join ANWA."

Second, ask me for instructions and materials at membership AT anwa-lds DOT com, and get yourself appointed as the Chapter Leader, that is, the organizer.

Third, find at least two other LDS women in the area who a) write or want to write, b) want to join ANWA, and c) want to meet together in a chapter.

Fourth, hold an Organizational Meeting with the requisite minimum of three ANWA members; elect officers; set a regular day, time, and place to meet monthly; chose a chapter name (which will need approval to avoid duplication); and sign and submit pertinent paperwork.

There are incentives for successfully organizing an ANWA chapter. Number one, you have an ANWA chapter in your area. Number two, if you organize a chapter within six months, and it meets regularly in a healthy state for at least six months, your dues for the next year will be waived. Number three, you'll be part of a growing network of LDS women writers where your love for writing is viewed as normal and acceptable. What about that is bad or unwanted?

6. Could you tell us how the online chapters work?

Online chapters each have their own Yahoo Group as home base. There the members of the chapter upload the manuscript portions they want critiqued for the next meeting. The other members read ahead of time, then give highlights of their critiques during the online meeting, which is held for about an hour in a special chat room. Yes, you DO type the prayers, the lesson, the thought, and everything else. A special benefit of having the Yahoo Group is that the members can connect via email all month long. They don't have a regular, face-to-face two-hour meeting, so this is their trade-off. The secretary posts a transcript of the meeting to the Yahoo group, though, so members who didn't make the meeting can review it.

All ANWA chapters have a president, vice president, and secretary, so there's no difference in that respect from local chapters.

7. How do you envision the future of ANWA?

ANWA has finally incorporated, and we're seeking the okay of the IRS to be a 501(3)c operation. A new structure was approved recently, partly because I cannot keep wearing myself out in service to ANWA and write books, too. Now, four committees will do the work I used to do alone.

This new structure enables ANWA, Inc., to expand it's reach to the entire world. Yes, every LDS women who writes or desires to write, whether for her family, community, or commercially, can join ANWA. The addition of the new Board of Directors and Regions will keep the work managable.

8. Can you tell us about the ANWA Writers Conference?

Yes. ANWA is holding its 20th Annual Writers Conference in February, with national agents, editors, and writers of all disciplines on hand to present on a host of topics. It is open to the public, which includes men, of course. Check out all the details at http://anwawritersconference.com/

9. Tell us about your books and where we can find them.

Actor Tom Sellack once said there should be a shelf in bookstores labeled "Darn Good Reads." I like to think my novels go there. My fiction works are historicals set in the 19th Century West. That broadly classifies them as Westerns, but if you think all Westerns are about outlaws and lawmen, or cowhands and sheep-herders, guess again. The Western genre has grown and evolved into many sub-genres, including my action/adventure/sweet romance novels dealing with Western Migration and post-Civil War angst.

My three published novels have evolved into "The Owen Family Saga," with more to come. The Man from Shenandoah, featuring son Carl, introduces the series and the family in post-Civil War Virginia, and starts the group moving west. Ride to Raton tells the other side of the coin to Carl's happiness, as it details his brother James's travels to get away from an unhappy situation, and his growth through some really interesting events. Trail of Storms goes back to Virginia and brings neighbors of the Owen clan out of the beleaguered South. A stop on their trip to Albuquerque brings new turmoil into the life of Jessie Bingham, the protagonist.

All three books are available in print at iUniverse.com, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and other online booksellers, including mine at MarshaWard.com (autographed copies). Electronic versions may be found at Smashwords.com, BN.com, and all the Amazon Kindle stores. I also have various collections and short stories available as ebooks.

10. What is one piece of advice you would give to new writers?

Do your homework and learn how to write well. Then don't be afraid to check out the freedom and almost instant readership being an independent self-publisher can give you. If you are the kind of writer who wants to connect with readers, you may want to do an end run around the very time-intensive and very limited traditional publishing world and check out the electronic and print self-publishing arena. If you are the kind of writer who needs the validation of gatekeepers and has plenty of time to spend chasing down an agent or a publisher, not so much. Over all, have faith in a bright future!

Now for the giveaway!!! You can win:

1. A FREE one year's membership to ANWA, or if you are ineligible for membership (a man, or not LDS, or already a member) you can receive $20 off of the fee to the ANWA Writer's Conference.

AND

2. Two FREE e-books by Marsha Ward, The Owen Family Saga Sampler, AND the first book in the series, The Man from Shenandoah!!!!

Entry Rules:
ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 19th 2012

1. You can earn an entry by asking a question about ANWA or the ANWA Writer's Conference.
2.You can earn an entry by being a follower or becoming a follower on MMW's blog/facebook page. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. You can earn an entry by advertising MMW's Blog Anniverary Giveaway Extravaganza on your blog or facebook page. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4. You can earn an entry by following Marsha Ward at any of the following links:

http://MarshaWard.com

5. You can earn another entry by following ANWA's blog:

http://anwafounder.blogspot.com/

There you have it!! One of our best prizes so far! I say that because any published author will tell you, you are only as good as your writer's group. So be courageous and join or start a chapter NOW!!

--Nikki

Just Got Back From My Trip to France!

2012-01-18T07:53:00.001-07:00

I just returned to 2012 Arizona after totally immersing myself in 12th century France via Joyce DiPastena's book, "Loyalty's Web" (Walnut Press, 2007). Now Joyce and I have know each other for a quite a few years, ever since we lived in the same small town and attended the same small ward over ten years ago with my husband's first job out of college. I remember translating (well, my husband and I) some family history from Italian into English, and in return we got a wonderful copy of their family's Italian cookie recipes. Which I still have and use.

I've been eying her books for a while. I've always enjoyed history, but was more familiar with the regency/Victorian eras. So I followed Joyce slowly into the past. But it only took a page before I, too, was ensnared in "Loyalty's Web".

Take a look at her gorgeous trailer:

And here is the back cover blurb:
In twelfth-century France, King Henry II of England has just finished crushing a rebellion by his power-hungry sons and now seeks to tame the lawless barons who supported them in this corner of his “Angevin empire.” To this end, the king has sent the Earl of Gunthar as his royal representative to ensure that Prince Richard and his former cohorts faithfully adhere to the terms of the peace treaty.

Far from being welcomed with open arms, Gunthar no sooner steps foot in the county of Poitou than he is greeted by a series of assassination attempts. All appear to be linked to the former rebellious prince through the agents of the family and friends of young Heléne de Laurant. A clever, intrepid young woman, Heléne realizes that the only way to prove her loved ones’ innocence is by exposing the true assassin. Heléne races against time—and dark secrets of the past—to unmask the killer before the kingdom plunges back into war.

Now that I've returned to the present, I need to give you a review of her book. The first thing I have to say is that even though it is a "romance", and there are descriptions of beautiful people, clothing, and homes, it was more like stepping into a time travel wormhole and being a fly on the wall. The setting was so realized, so clear and breathtaking in its scope that I felt SMARTER when I had finished. I was sure that I was now an expert in all things medieval. Alas, it was only Joyce's brilliant prose, seamless characterization, and fully realized world that made me think that way.

In the end all I can say is READ IT!!! ENTER THIS CONTEST SO YOU CAN WIN YOUR OWN COPY! And to sweeten the purse, Joyce is holding her own giveaway for her new novel, "Dangerous Favor" (Walnut Springs, Jan. 2012). Hustle on over, follow her blog, and enter HER contest, too!

Here are her vital places. In poking around, she has a great resource for other medieval writers (or fantasy writers that use many medieval tropes, like me.)

Entry Rules:
ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 18th 2012

1. You can leave a comment about today's blog post.
2.You can earn an entry by being a follower or becoming a follower on MMW's blog/facebook page. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. You can earn an entry by advertising MMW's Blog Anniverary Giveaway Extravaganza on your blog or facebook page. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4. You can earn an entry by following Joyce DiPastena at any of the following links:

My website: http://www.joyce-dipastena.com

Author blog: http://jdp-news.blogspot.com

Research blog: http://medievalresearch.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJoyceDiPastena

LDS blog: http://myldscorner.blogspot.com

Good luck, and don't forget to check out her new book coming out soon! Squeak! I can't wait!

Grab your party clothes and Celebrate today's Contest and a Giveaway

2012-01-17T00:01:00.172-07:00

If you have not met or heard about Elana Johnson before, then today is a day for the books.

This lady is AWESOME. She is the author of From the Query to the Call, an ebook that every writer needs to read before they query. And her debut novel, Possession rocked my socks off.

She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the Query Tracker blog, a regular contributor to The League of Extraordinary Writers, and a co-organizer of WriteOnCon.

I had the priviledge to read an ARC of Possession before its release. I fell in love with the book, with her characters, and with her. :)

About POSSESSION: Vi knows the rule: Girls don’t walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the rules more than Zenn…and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi’s future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they’re set on convincing Vi to become one of them…starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can’t leave Zenn in the Thinkers’ hands, but she’s wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous—everything Zenn’s not. Vi can’t quite trust Jag and can’t quite resist him, but she also can’t give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Praise for POSSESSION:

“Who Should Read This: Anyone who wants a challenge: This plot is so twisty, I had to read the last chapter twice before I could believe what happened. There's also a very nice balance between bad ass action and romantic tension for readers who like a good mix of the two.” –MTV.com

“Most [readers] will be drawn in by the love triangle, revelations about Vi and her family, and a dark twist ending that maintains the faintest glimmer of hope.” –PW

"[T]he super-cool, surprise ending...stays entirely true to the plot....[T]he romantic tribulations...may serve to draw romance fans into the sci-fi side....[T]he setting is developed with care and detail, making for a vividly drawn alternative world. Fans of Matched (BCCB11/10) and other recent romantically focused additions to the dystopian sub-genre may wish to add this to their reading list." –The Bulletin

“This debut novel fits neatly into the latest dystopian fantasy craze. Readers will enjoy tough-as-nails Violet ‘Vi’ Schoenfeld and her two love interests, Zenn and Jag.” –Library Media Connection

I also had the joy of interviewing Elana to learn all her fabulously dirty secrets.

1. Q- How long ago did you get bitten by the "writing bug"?

Elana-- I started writing in December 2007, so just about 4 years ago.

Q--What is the biggest challenge you have run into being a mommy and a writer?

Elana-- Time management. They say that as your children get older, you’ll have more time. It’s not true. They don’t nap, and they have more activities you have to take them to. And the nagging! Teenagers have to be nagged to do everything, and that can take a lot of out of a person.

So definitely time management. I have to sneak in writing where I can, around someone else’s schedule.

Q-- How many clones of yourself are you hiding from the world, because we cannot figure out how you get so much done with the same amount of time as the rest of us?

Elana-- Ha! I have four clones that I know of. I think the Promotion Elana cloned herself at one point, but I’m not sure. I have a Clone Management clone to take care of that kind of stuff.

Q-- How long did the idea for Possession take to form and fester before you started writing it out?

Elana--Not long, which is saying something, because usually my ideas swirl around for a while before I write them out. But I had read my first dystopian novel in March of 2008, and I knew I wanted to write a novel like “that.” Whatever that was. So after I learned the term dystopian, I started writing POSSESSION in April 2008.

Q-- I heard that Surrender is not a direct sequel to Possession, what does that mean for those of us who are still rooting for Jag and Vi to be together?

Elana-- It’s true. SURRENDER Is not a direct sequel to POSSESSION. But I can say that you will see Vi, Zenn, and Jag again in the book. There are some sequential elements, so never fear!

Q-- I can tell there is a lot of work put into your success. Even when you talk about writing your query letters you talk about your research. What is the best advice you can give to those writers who are ready to query their first novel?

Elana-- I think the best thing you can do is revise your query one last time. Take one more day to go over your agent list. Just give yourself two more days to make sure that you have the right list with a great query.

Then my advice switches to BE BRAVE. Send that query with confidence. Smile through the rejection. And hang on until the end.

Q--What are some of the writer's conference you have attended? Is there any one you would choose to attend over another?

Elana-- I’ve been to several conferences and meetings. LDStorymakers is the biggest here in Utah, and has the best presenters. It’s also one of the most affordable conferences around ($170 for two days!), and you don’t have to be LDS to attend.

I’ve also been to meetings and conferences for The League of Utah Writers, and they are a great organization.

I’m a member of ANWA (American Night Writers Association) and I’ve been to their annual conference in Arizona. Also very much worth it.

LTUE can’t be beat for the money. It’s only $30 for a three-day symposium. It’s great for the fantasy and science fiction writer, the illustrator, and anyone really.

UVU has a Book Academy that is great. And there are a couple of groups that do teen conferences (those are for teens, of course).

So yeah. I think there is a wealth of conferences and opportunities for writers to improve their craft, get their market savvy on, and network with other authors. Conferences are invaluable for all of that. Plus, you get to hang out with other authors! That’s so much fun all by itself.

Today we are not giving away a copy of Possession (although you should definitely go out and get your own copy, we have links on where to find it below), instead she is offering TWO lucky writers an opportunity to make their query letters sparkle brighter than a vampire at high noon.

There are many ways to enter to win today's prize make sure you take advantage of ALL of them. One winner will be chosen through random drawing and the other will be chosen by Elana following the rules below.

Entry Guidelines:

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE BY 11:59 PM MST tonight, January 17, 2012. Be sure to leave a way to be notified of your win or at least check back in the winner's Circle to Claim your prize or a new winner will be chosen.

TO ENTER TO WIN ELANA'S CHOICE YOU MUST:

1. Post a 2-3 sentence pitch/hook for the book you are querying in the comments below and Elana (or one of her clones) will get to choose her favorite and offer them an entire query critique.

TO ENTER THE RANDOM DRAWING:

2. Leave a comment on this post.

3. Become a follower of this blog (you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you are a follower to receive credit for this).

4. Follow MMW on Facebook (again, you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you have done this to receive credit).

5. Advertise this spectacular month of giveaways on your blog or Facebook page. (Comments...)

6. Follow Elana Johnson at any of the following links and let us know in the comments:

Blog: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com

League Blog: http://leaguewriters.blogspot.com

Website: http://elanajohnson.com

Dedicated Possession Website: http://possessionthebook.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ElanaJ

Facebook: http://facebook.com/possessionthebook

WriteOnCon: http://writeoncon.com

Good luck!

Purchase links:

Hardcover: http://www.amazon.com/Possession-Elana-Johnson/dp/1442421258/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325265853&sr=8-1

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Possession-ebook/dp/B004A90BZ6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1325265853&sr=8-2

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/possession-elana-johnson/1100572666?ean=9781442421257&itm=1&usri=possession+elana+johnson

Also, you can get a free short story that accompanies POSSESSION. It's available in all digital formats on Smashwords:http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/106783

People can download a free book club sampler which includes questions, recipes, and more for POSSESSION: http://pages.simonandschuster.com/somethingtoreadabout

Double Giveaway Monday: Rearview Mirror and crafty stuff for readers and writers!

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, friends! It sounds like an oxymoron, “Happy Monday”, but if you are a reader of our blog, then you know Mondays are happy days this month because we have MORE great giveaways for you!

Giveaway #1: Rearview Mirror by Stephanie Black

Today you have the chance to win your own copy (your choice of either print or Kindle version) of Rearview Mirror by Stephanie Black. Here’s a little bit more about the book:

On a rainy night eight years ago, Fiona Claridge lost control of her car and crashed, injuring herself and killing her roommate, Mia Hardy. Now, she strives to keep the painful past at bay by staying burrowed beneath the demands of her job as a college professor in a small New England town. But when someone starts leaving her gift-wrapped boxes containing malicious reminders of Mia’s death, Fiona’s guilt and grief come flooding back.

She assumes her stalker is Kimberly Bailey, a disgruntled student, and enlists the help of fellow professor James Hampton. But when Fiona encounters the angry wife of an old flame, it becomes clear her student isn’t the only one with an eye for revenge. Cruel messages escalate to danger, then murder. As past and present become horribly entangled, Fiona struggles to unravel the truth about a determined killer—before she becomes the next victim.

This book is one of those ones that will get its hooks into you and you will find yourself sneaking away to read a few pages whenever you can. While it sounds cliché (you all must know by now how I love my clichés), reading this book was like putting together a 1,000-piece puzzle. Only you’ve lost the box. So you don’t even know what the finished picture is supposed to look like, just that you have enough pieces that look like they should go together that you’re desperate to find out what will happen when they do.

The author, Stephanie Black, had all the pieces and she knew exactly what the finished picture looked like. She handed me one piece at a time, page by page, in just the right order so that I didn’t know what the final picture was until about 3 pages from the end. She would give me pieces that completed entire sections, but then when I tried to fit the sections together I realized I didn’t have the connecting pieces, and then that made me wonder if they even connected at all! It kept me guessing up until the very end.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I would like this book very much. I don’t usually read mystery novels; I’m not into the whole murder & darkness thing. The beauty of Rearview Mirror is that Black gets you to care about the characters. It’s a story that’s about more than just solving a mystery- it’s about family relationships, forgiveness, making mistakes, and how the weight of guilt can affect your life.

With Rearview Mirror, Stephanie Black brings us a world of carefully crafted mystery centered on complicated and realistic characters. She takes us on a journey through a maze of peculiarly interconnected events that bring these characters together in an urgent need to discover the truth- a need that you might be surprised to discover becomes as much alive in you, the reader, as it is in the characters.

Rearview Mirror is available at Seagull Book, Deseret Book, and Amazon. You can find out more about Stephanie Black and her other books at www.stephanieblack.net.

Author Stephanie Black

Giveaway #2: Crafty Goodies!

Now, on to giveaway #2 for today: some handmade craftiness from me to you! Today, I have choices.

Behind Door Number 1…(drumroll please)…a Twilight necklace! This necklace features a pendant made from a Scrabble tile that has been embellished with part of a page directly from Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling book, Twilight!

Behind Door Number 2…a set of Twilight clip magnets! Are you a closet Twihard? That’s okay- you can have these clips on your fridge and only you, your family, and your carton of milk will know. Read your favorite quotes and smile as you reach for your late-night snack. Plus, they’re handy for holding important papers.

And last, I wanted a choice for you non-Twilighters, so behind Door Number 3 is…a motivational scrabble tile plaque for your desk! 5 little letters (for a total word score of 8) will remind you of your passion and inspire you to get writing. The letters have been permanently affixed to the tray, so they will remain intact and inspirational for years to come. A classy and fun conversation piece to add to your home!

GIVEAWAY RULES (I agree, this giveaway totally rules.)

Just like last week, we will have TWO winners- one for Rearview Mirror and one for one of my crafty goodies. But, unlike last week, this week you can let me know which prize you'd like to win as I will do two separate drawings- one for the book, one for the crafts. You are allowed to enter both drawings- just let me know in your comment that you'd like to be entered to win both. If you don't specify which drawing in your comment, then you will be automatically entered to win both prizes. You can only win ONE prize! If you are a winner in one drawing, you will be out of the running for the other.

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE BY 11:59 PM MST tonight, January 16, 2012. Winners will be posted tomorrow morning in our Winner's Circle (tab at the top of the blog home page).

As usual, there are multiple ways to earn entries into this drawing, make sure you take advantage of ALL of them.

1. Leave a comment on this post (don't forget to specify which prize you'd like to claim if you win!)

2. Become a follower of this blog or tell us you already are (you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you are a follower to receive credit for this).

3. Follow MMW on Facebook (again, you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you have done this to receive credit).

4. Advertise this spectacular month of give-aways on your blog or Facebook page. (clearly state!)

5. And, because I want to give you even more ways to win, you can earn an extra entry this week by visiting my other blog over at The Beautiful Thrifty Life and following me over there- don't forget to let me know in your comment on THIS post if you've done that.

Can you believe we're only halfway through this month of giveaways? Make sure you keep coming back for MORE chances to win every day (except Sundays) this month!

Guest Post: Rebecca Carlson!

2012-01-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Today we get to hear from Rebecca Carlson! I'm so excited for all tha past bloggers of Mormon Mommy Writers who are stopping by to visit us! MMW wouldn't be the same blog it is today without each and every one of them! (There would be a picture if my computer hadn't crashed!)

Why You Should Keep Writing

I'd like to thank Nikki and the rest of the Mormon Mommy Writers for this chance to post here again. I've missed this blog with its warm, enthusiastic sense of sisterhood and support. In thinking about what I wanted to say to everyone, I decided to try and give back what this blog gave to me - encouragement and inspiration.

I am here to tell you why you, yes, you, personally, should keep writing.

People need stories. People need stories like they need food, shelter, and love. Every part of the world that we haven't experienced for ourselves, we can understand only through story. I believe God gave us imaginations so we could understand each other, the world around us, who we are, and most importantly, so that we could envision what we can become. Without story, there is no understanding. Without story, there is no change. No plans. No hopes. No dreams. People need stories.

But why should YOU write them? Why not leave all that hard work to someone else? Because people need all kinds of stories. Some to make us laugh, some to make us cry, some to make us think. No one in this world but you has your voice. No one but you can tell the stories that will come from the fire in your very own heart.

I'm waiting to read what you have to say.

Keep writing.

Rebecca J. Carlson

Saturday Stories and a Give-Away from Lisa Mangum

2012-01-14T05:00:00.102-07:00

Today's guest for Saturday Stories is author extraordinaire Lisa Mangum. She's also donated an awesome prize for today's give-away. Stay tuned to find out how you can enter to win.

Q—Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m Lisa Mangum. By day, I’m an editor for Deseret Book; by night, I’m a writer of novels. (So yeah, pretty much I spend all my days around words.) I’m married, and am still very much in love with my sweet husband. Three things I love besides books: when people are kind to each other, the sound of honest laughter, and the way it smells after it rains. Three things I don’t like: unwelcome changes, eating seafood, and zombies. (Don’t get me wrong: I think they are way cool, but they also creep me out.) Three of my favorite “guilty pleasure” reality TV shows: America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway, and Top Chef.

Q—When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I think I’ve always wanted to be a writer. My mom is a writer so I grew up with words and books and imagination. I remembering setting a goal that I would be the youngest writer to ever have a book on the New York Times list. After high school, though, I decided to pursue editing, which has been a joy all its own. Then, about five or six years ago, my friends and I started a writing group and decided that we would do our best to switch from being “someday writers” to “today writers” and we all started working on a book. And about eight months later, I had finished the manuscript for The Hourglass Door.

Q—Tell us about “The Hourglass Door” series.

Here is my elevator pitch: It’s a love story with a mystery that dates back to Leonardo da Vinci. That’s usually enough to catch someone’s attention and then I can tell them a little more. Abby is a senior in high school and when she meets Dante Alexander, a foreign exchange student from Italy, her life is turned upside down. Dante is guarding a secret that dates back to Leonardo da Vinci’s day and the closer Abby comes to learning what that secret is, the more her life is in danger. Hourglass Door has some great suspense and drama, but at the heart, it’s a love story between Dante and Abby. It’s a trilogy (the first two books of which have won back-to-back Book of the Year awards) and the comment I hear most from my readers is “I couldn’t put it down.”

Q—What was your inspiration for the first book in the series?

I was actually 300 pages into writing an epic fantasy novel when I switched gears and jumped into YA. I was driving to a writing conference for YA writers and I thought to myself, “What would I write, if I were to write YA?” And I knew right away it would be a love story, and that made me think of one of my favorite love stories from classic literature—Dante and Beatrice from Dante’s epic poem The Divine Comedy. (Most people just read Inferno and don’t make it all the way through Purgatorio let also Paradiso.) And that got me thinking about Italy, and because I love fantasy, I asked myself “What if Leonardo da Vinci built a time machine? And what if it worked?” After that, it was like Abby and Dante jumped in the car with me and told me the whole story. Twenty minutes later I had outlined the entire trilogy—names, relationships, plot points, snatches of dialogue—the whole bit. The feeling of having a whole book download in one huge chunk was amazing and unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced.

Q—What is your favorite part about writing stories?

I love it when the characters take over and tell me the story and all I have to do is try to keep up. It’s both fun and terrifying to force my characters into impossible situations and then see what they do to get out of it.

Q—What is the strangest thing that has ever inspired you to write a story?

The inspiration for my WIP manuscript came from a dream, which, I know, sounds so cliché. But what made it strange is that when I woke up from the dream, I thought to myself that it would make a great story—as long as I changed everything about it. In fact, the only thing that survived from the dream into the story was the moment when Sara sees Sam outside the bookstore. After that, the dream and the story took wildly different tracks, despite the fact that they were based on the same thing.

Q—If you could change the ending to any book you’ve ever read or movie you’ve ever seen what would it be and why?

I might choose the Disney version of The Three Musketeers. It came out years ago and since I’m a huge fan of the book, I was really excited to see the movie. But when they let Lady de Winter die a hero instead of a traitor, I was really mad. (I guess I still am, after all these years. Who knew?) Yes, it was a Disney movie, but they still should have cut off her head like they did in the book.

Q—What is one of the best lessons you, as an author, have learned?

I don’t know that I could pick just one. How’s this: “Write something. You can’t change it if you don’t have it.” “What’s the worst thing that could happen in this scene? Do that.” “Give yourself permission to write something stupid.” “When in doubt, blow something up.”

And then this bit of advice that I’m stealing from Rick Walton: “Give up. And if you can’t—do the work.”

I think that’s what writing boils down to. If you can’t quit—if there is something inside you that won’t let you not tell that story—then you have to buckle down and do the work. Every day. Even when you don’t feel like it. Even when it’s hard. Even when you have a stack of rejection letters as thick as your manuscript. Doesn’t matter. You have to do the work. It’s the only way the story is going to be told. I believe that inside each of us there is a story that only we can tell. If you are going to honor that story then you have an obligation to do your best to tell that story, to give life to that creative spark that is in each of us. And sometimes that takes a lot of work.

Q—If you could take any character from any of your stories (published or unpublished) and bring them to life who would it be and why?

It might be Leo. He turned out to be such an interesting character for me to write. And I think he still has some stories he hasn’t told me about his life and his past—and his future—that it would be fun to sit down and have dinner with him and find out more about him.

Q—Fill in the blank: A world without ______ isn’t a place I’d want to live.

A world without hope isn’t a place I’d want to live.

Q—Which writing device do you prefer? Computer or pen and paper?

I write almost exclusively with my laptop computer, but I find that I do my best outlining and prep work on paper. And there have been times when I don’t have my computer with me and I have to write down a phrase, or a scene, or an entire chapter on paper. I prefer the computer, though, since I like to move things around in my books (which is easier to do electronically than it is on paper).

Q—What is the strangest experience you’ve ever had at a book signing?

I don’t know about strangest, but one of the best experiences I’ve had was when I was signing in Las Vegas for the release of Golden Spiral. My husband and I had gone to Vegas to see Rush in concert and I had piggybacked a book signing on the weekend. It was a smaller bookstore, so I wasn’t sure how busy it would be. But it turned into one of my favorite signings when two girls came in wearing homemade Zero Hour concert T-shirts. They had taken the time to decorate shirts with the band’s name and logo. It was really the first time I’d seen any fan swag and it delighted me to no end. Then I found out they had driven something like three hours that morning in order to see me at the store. I signed their shirts as well as their books and took pictures with them. It was a great day.

Q—What is the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever been caught doing while writing? (i.e., talking to yourself or when you’re trying to figure out a scene or an action sequence have you ever had anyone walk in on you and wonder why you were lying on the floor in a contorted position.)

I don’t do a lot of physical play acting while I write, but I do mutter to myself a bit. I like to read dialogue out loud to make sure it flows and that the rhythm and sound of it works. Sometimes my husband thinks I’m talking to him when I do that.

***

First off a big thanks to Lisa (I just love her name) for joining us today and an even bigger thanks for her donation to our big January party. She has very generously donated the complete Hourglass Door series for one lucky winner. That's right, someone will get all three books AND they're signed. How awesome is that! (Seriously, this month of give-aways has been so spectacular I wish I was eligible.)

So, in case you aren't familiar with Lisa's books here are a few details to wet your appetite...

Awesome Detail #1: This is an award winning series.

Hourglass Door, 2009 YA Book of the Year, ForeWord Reviews

Golden Spiral, 2010 YA Book of the Year, ForeWord Reviews

Awesome Detail #2: Descriptions...

Hourglass Door

His past. Her future. Can love bring them together in time?

Abby Edmunds’s senior year of high school is going according to plan: good friends, cute boyfriend, and college applications in the mail. But when Dante Alexander, foreign-exchange student from Italy, steps into her life, he turns it upside down. He’s mysterious, and interesting, and unlike anyone she’s ever met before. Abby can’t deny the growing attraction she feels for him. Nor can she deny the unusual things that seem to happen when Dante is around. Soon Abby finds herself drawn into a mystery whose roots reach into sixteenth-century Florence, and she uncovers a dangerous truth that threatens not only her future but the lives of those she loves.

You can purchase Hourglass Door by clicking here.

Golden Spiral

The bank is eroding. The barriers are thinning. And time is running out.

The hourglass door has closed behind Dante, sending him back in time to hunt down Zo, Tony, and V. Although giving him up was the hardest test she ever faced, Abby knows that Dante is the only one who can stop the others from destroying time itself. But almost immediately, things start to change, and Abby’s worst fears are realized when Zo begins targeting her past specifically.

With each change that ripples into her present, Abby’s life continues to spiral out of control. Her relationships with Jason, Natalie, and even her family are threatened to the breaking point. Zo’s power is greater than Abby ever imagined. Will her love for Dante be enough to turn the tide?

You can purchase Golden Spiral by clicking here.

Forgotten Locket

The only way to rescue the future is to alter the past.

When Abby stepped through the hourglass door, leaving her beloved Dante blind and bleeding on the other side, it was in full faith that she could find a way to repair the damage to the river of time and restore him—as well as her family. It was a desperate chance that seemed worth taking.

But Zo had other plans.

Now Abby is trapped in a full-fledged battle for her own mind and life and heart. Even worse, Zo’s evil intent reaches beyond simple revenge against her and Dante. The whole world is in danger of collapsing unless Abby can summon her courage and undertake a journey that will lead her beyond the origins of the hourglass door.

You can purchase Forgotten Locket by clicking here.

Awesome Detail #3: How to win.

If you'd like to enter to win all three books above, that's right, all three. Check out the details below and come back tomorrow morning and visit our Winner's Circle page to see if you're the lucky winner.

Entry Guidelines:

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE BY 11:59 PM MST tonight, January 14, 2012.

There are multiple ways to earn entries into this drawing, make sure you take advantage of ALL of them.

1. Because this is such an awesome prize we're going to make you work for it a little. That means to qualify for the drawing AT ALL you must visit Lisa's website here and answer the following question in your comment on this post: What will Lisa be doing on March 14, 2012?

2. Leave a comment on this post.

3. Become a follower of this blog (you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you are a follower to receive credit for this).

4. Follow MMW on Facebook (again, you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you have done this to receive credit).

5. Advertise this spectacular month of give-aways on your blog or Facebook page. (Comments...)

That's SIX different ways you can be entered into this drawing. Look how good your odds could be.

Good luck!

Cold River by Liz Adair

2012-01-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

I think it's pretty obvious by this hauntingly beautiful cover that you want to win this book! I'm lamenting the fact that I'm ineligible. :)

About the book: Mandy Steenburg thinks her doctorate in education has prepared her to run any school district - until she tangles with the moonshine-making, coon-dog-owning denizens of a tiny district in Pacific Northwest timber country. She's determined to make a difference, but the local populace still looks to the former superintendent for leadership. When Mandy lands in the middle of an old feud and someone keeps trying to kill her, instinct tells her to run. And though she has to literally swim through perilous waters, she finds a reason to stay and chance the odds.

Check out what other people are saying about Cold River: Susan Dayley: Cold River captures the reader with suspense, romance, jealousy, prejudice, love, joy and paradigm shifts.
Laurie Lewis: Award-winning author Liz Adair makes worlds collide in her newest suspense release, Cold River. . . . Adair’s master storytelling drives this complex mystery about a school district with more secrets than Harper Valley.
Wendy Hines: Liz Adair writes a superb suspense and I can't wait to read more from this very talented author!
Nancy Erickson: You will warm to the many-faceted characters in this story and be surprised when the end comes, believe me! This is a definite “read by the fire” kind of tale for a snowy day and night. Enjoy!
Maria Hoagland: I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's the first I've read of Liz's novels, but after reading Cold River, I will definitely reach for more. I loved the alternative sunshine in an otherwise rainy, gray environment. I related well to the main character and found myself literally cheering her on in chapter 28. I liked the love triangle and enjoyed Mandy's paradigm shift near the end. The writing was impeccable, the characters so well-rounded I wondered if they were my neighbors. It was a believable, enjoyable read and perfect for cuddling up with next the fire this winter!

What do you have to do to enter to win a copy of Cold River? Glad you asked.

1. You can leave a comment about today's blog post.
2.You can earn an entry by being a follower or becoming a follower on MMW's blog/facebook page. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. You can earn an entry by advertising MMW's Blog Anniverary Giveaway Extravaganza on your blog or facebook page. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4.Follow Liz Adair's BLOG.

Be sure to post in the comments that you've done these things so I know how many entries to count for you. Don't delay!

ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 13th 2012

The Fabulous Karen Hoover and a Bundle of E-Books!!

2012-01-12T03:30:00.001-07:00

First of all, I have to tell you my news. I think I am going to attend Life, The Universe, and Everything science fiction/fantasy writer's symposium next month! It's usually at BYU, but this year it's at UVU. It's still only $30 to attend all three days!! It's an awesome event and the last time I went (the only time) I met Karen Hoover! This woman is amazing and I look forward to meeting more wonderful people like her, and maybe even seeing her again. So I'm going to throw out the question real quick: Who else is going to LTUE? We could have a get together somewhere like we did last time. It was wonderful and I really got to know Karen Hoover last time we did that.

Now let me introduce you to Karen Hoover. She is amazing and to prove it, she is giving away a bundle of FOUR e-books to one lucky winner!! Check out her books!

The Sapphire Flute:

The net of magic that has held her together for eons is eroding and the magi can’t patch it fast enough to prevent disaster. Volcanoes spew, waters rise, famine and flood and desolation threaten the world as they desperately await the coming of the Wolfchild to heal their home.

Three women begin quests for identity and freedom from the ties that held them: Ember, from her overbearing and prejudice mother; Kayla, from the rigidity of the caste that has oppressed her family; C’Tan, from her dark and evil master, the Guardian S’Kotos.

One will discover that she is the first white mage born in three millennia, another will become guardian to a keystone, the sapphire flute, and throughout it all the third will try to destroy them both.

The Armor of Light:

Ember has been accepted into the mage academy, but not without cost. She has gained a new enemy, ancient and dark, whose entire purpose is to destroy all white magic and her along with it. After nearly losing her life in a brutal attack, DeMunth is assigned her guardian, and the keystone he wears, The Armor of Light, begins the transition that will make it a true power.

Kayla has lost most everything of importance to her—the people, the prestige, and all she fought for the past ten years. With nothing left to lose, she continues her search for the birthplace of The Sapphire Flute and the Wolfchild she believes to be its player. Her journey will take her to strange, foreign, and often dangerous places, and everything she had thought to be true will be proven wrong.

In a showdown full of betrayal and heroic loss, Ember and Kayla finally meet on the battlefield, fighting a war on two fronts—against C'Tan and her people, and the mysterious enemy bent on destroying all magic—the shadow weavers.

The story is full of power, betrayal, hope, and love. The elements of the universe are coming together, and none can know who will stand in the end.

And the Mountain Burns:

A collection of poems about or inspired by nature

The Misadventures of a Teenage Wizard, Book 1: Two Souls are Better Than One

Barely thirteen, Jeremy James Johansen has had more than his share of trouble. His father disappeared without a trace and the police believe he murdered his lab assistant, though his son knows it isn’t true. His dad can’t even handle a knife, let alone a bow and arrow.

A year later Jeremy stumbles across a portal to another world and gets pulled through—but not as himself. Somehow he swaps bodies with the man on the other side before the portal disappears.

Captured by a dragon and a man in black who insists on calling him father, he tries to escape, only to plummet to his death. He awakens in his own bed, believing it was all a bad dream. The problem is there are holes in his memory he can’t fill.

In time, he discovers that the portal holds the answers not only to his forgotten memories, but most importantly, points him down the path to finding his father.

I have this ebook on my kindle and I must tell you, it is so imaginative. When the title says "two souls are better than one", it means it! When you have two people's personalities in one person's body, it can be confusing. I was nervous about this aspect. But I must say, that Karen executed it magnificently. It added a dimension to the story that you don't normally see. I think this book is perfect for middle grade readers and my children have already been fighting over who gets to read it next!!

Remember how I told you that Karen is awesome? Here's just another way that she is amazing. She started a blog for writers who want a challenge. It's called Sprint Writers Central and it's wonderful! There is a sprinting box on the blog where you can meet up with other writers and challenge them. What a wonderful motivator!! This is just one of the ways in which writers help each other and Karen is one person that taught me that!

Now it's time to enter to win these awesome e-books!!

Entry Rules:
ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 12th 2012

1. You can leave a comment about today's blog post.
2.You can earn an entry by being a follower or becoming a follower on MMW's blog/facebook page. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. You can earn an entry by advertising MMW's Blog Anniverary Giveaway Extravaganza on your blog or facebook page. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4. You can earn an entry by following Karen Hoover at any of the following links:

http://www.karenehoover.com

http://www.karen-hoover.blogspot.com

5. You can earn an extra entry by following or joining in for sprint writing and writing challenges at:

http://www.sprintwriters.blogspot.com

It's The Next Harry Potter/Hunger Games/Twilight!

2012-01-11T04:00:00.004-07:00

Our offering today is a signed ARC (advanced reader's copy) of The False Prince (April 1, 2012, Scholastic) by Jennifer Nielsen. Jennifer has been a friend of mine since high school. If I remember right, we found a mutual affinity for mock trials (I was still in my "going to be a high powered trial attorney" phase...totally snortworthy now), and we both had crushes on a couple of the juniors in the club. Actually, I had several crushes. There was that redhead, and then another with dark hair and gorgeous blue eyes...Ahem. Yes, well, that's neither here nor there. We spent basically our junior and senior years in a tight group of friends that we still keep in touch with, though we're scattered around the country now.
We lost touch after high school, going to different colleges, marriage, moving, etc. But a few years ago we reconnected, and I was thrilled to find out her first book had just been picked up (Elliot and the Goblin War). Then a few months later, SCHOLASTIC bought her Ascendence Trilogy, of which THE FALSE PRINCE is the first book. The buzz for THE FALSE PRINCE has been tremendous (including having the movie rights optioned!), and I can't wait for it to come out in April. As soon as we started planning this giveaway I begged her to participate, because I need to get the word out there to all our fabulous readers. You're going to want to say "I heard about this book before it became the next Harry Potter/Hunger Games/Twilight." Jennifer writes in a bright, tight, intelligent voice that keeps the reader coming back for more.
So without further ado, here is Jennifer's interview!

1. Tell us about yourself: you name, what you write, how long it took you to break into the business...
I’m Jennifer A. Nielsen and I’m an author of middle grade books. I have three very
different series in various stages of production. On April 1st, I’ll launch a series that I’m
just dying to share with everyone. It’s called The Ascendance Trilogy, and will begin with THE FALSE PRINCE (Scholastic). Then I’ll be writing the sixth Infinity Ring book, just announced by Scholastic as their next multi-platform series. And my debut series, The Underworld Chronicles, was published by Sourcebooks and began with ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR in October 2010. The final book of Elliot’s story will also be released this spring.

For me, breaking in was a long, hard process. Between family, community, and church responsibilities, it took years for me to inch my way closer to “the call.” And because I’m mostly self-taught (or started out just that far behind), it took my first million words just to start being coherent. I also spent a long time writing in a genre that simply wasn’t right for me. It wasn’t until I began writing for young people that I started finding success. But as I look back, I realize that I needed to go through that process. I hated the years of frustration, rejection, and despair. But I wouldn’t be half the writer I am today if I had not learned the lessons that came with those difficult times.

2. How long have you had the "writing bug"?
I think I’ve always been a writer. My first attempt at a full length “serious novel” was in 6th grade, about a girl who becomes stuck in her daydreams and everything in them becomes real. Turns out that’s probably a serious mental disorder, but at the time it was just a great story idea. I worked on it almost nonstop until the day I called a locksmith for some serious research. He scolded me and said that I needed to tell my mom why I wanted to know about picking locks. I hung up the phone, embarrassed and discouraged. That was the last day I wrote on that story, and it was years before I picked up a pen again with any serious intent of being a writer.

3. How long did it take for the idea for The False Prince to come together? Where did the germs of the story come from?
THE FALSE PRINCE tells the story of a clever and defiant orphan named Sage who is thrown with three other boys into a contest that will push them to the edge of treason. The boy who wins will ascend to the throne as an impersonator of the king’s long lost son. But, to protect the secrecy of the plan, they all know what must happen to the boys who are not chosen. Now, Sage’s life balances on the edge of a knife. He must become the false prince, or be killed.
The seeds of this story were in my head for a long time, but I had trouble finding the right protagonist to carry the weight of this plot. Then one day I heard a song called “Guaranteed,” by Eddie Vedder. Part of the lyrics said, “I knew all the rules, but the rules did not know me, guaranteed.”
I loved that line, and from it I almost immediately had the idea for Sage, a boy who knows exactly what game he’s playing, but the game may not know anything about its players. Sage is the most intense, passionate, and humane character I’ve ever written, and even in the sequels that I’m working on now, he still continues to surprise me.

4. How have you kept your head with all of the accolades being thrown at you? ;)
A lot of nice things have been said about THE FALSE PRINCE, some of them far more generous than I ever could have anticipated. But as great as that is, I keep my head by remembering that it has yet to be released, and that’s when the real test of whether it deserves those accolades will be proven.
It’ll be about two years from the time that I sold the manuscript to the book’s release. So in a way, my biggest excitement is just that it’s finally, finally ramping up to release day. All I can do now is cross my fingers that once it’s in the wild, that people will continue to have nice things to say.

5. What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received? Why was it so important to you?
I think something really key for me was the advice to keep focused on my goals. Trying to get published can become so frustrating, especially after a string of rejections, and there were times when I was really tempted to do something else to get the immediate payoff, such as a short story writing contest, for example. There’s nothing wrong with those, but for me, I knew a month spent preparing for that contest was time I wasn’t
moving in the direction I really wanted to go, which was toward the publication of a novel. Even now that I’m published, I try to keep focused. My goals have shifted somewhat, but I try very hard to stay on the path toward them.

6. What types of books do you like to read?
I read in a wide variety of genres: obviously all over the young adult and middle grade field, and then I really enjoy adult mysteries and suspense books. The book at the top of my reading pile right now is THE UNWANTEDS by Lisa McMann, and I can hardly wait to dig into it!

Click here if you want to see the book trailer for THE FALSE PRINCE.

Entry Rules:
ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 11th 2012

1. You can leave a comment about today's blog post.
2.You can earn an entry by being a follower or becoming a follower on MMW's blog/facebook page. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. You can earn an entry by advertising MMW's Blog Anniverary Giveaway Extravaganza on your blog or facebook page. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4. You can earn an entry by following Jennifer Nielsen at any of the following links:

Website: www.jennielsen.com
Facebook: Jennifer A. Nielsen, Author
Twitter: @Nielsenwriter

Please enter to win, and tell all your friends to enter! This is an amazing author, and getting an ARC is like getting in early at Disneyland!

A Giveaway so Exciting I May Have Peed my Pants

2012-01-10T00:01:00.140-07:00

I first visited Mormon Mommy Writers a little after its birth. I did not know any of the contributors, but as I read their posts I felt friendship, camaraderie, and encouragement. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that idea of prayerfully approaching my writing had never occurred to me until reading MMW. I have gathered a lot of helpful advice through the years of reading Mormon Mommy Writers. A lot of media presents characters I would never want my children to emulate, it is for this reason that I love MMW's mission statement, "Changing the world, one book at a time."

I hope that as you read our blog that you too will be encourage to read better books and writer better books.

Now, I am VERY excited to introduce today's giveaway and one of my favorite books.

I have told pretty much everyone I know about this book since the moment I finished reading it. You will get drawn in from the first page. It will make you laugh and make you cry and leave you wanting to read more books by Janette Rallison. We have the privilege to allow one lucky reader a signed copy of Janette Rallison's "My Fair Godmother." The book has made it on both the Utah Beehive reading list and the Arizona Grand Canyon reading list.
After her boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, sophomore Savannah Delano wishes she could find a true prince to take her to the prom. Enter Chrissy (Chrysanthemum) Everstar: Savannah’s gum-chewing, cell phone–carrying, high heel-wearing Fair Godmother. Showing why she’s only Fair—because she’s not a very good fairy student—Chrissy mistakenly sends Savannah back in time to the Middle Ages, first as Cinderella, then as Snow White. Finally she sends Tristan, a boy in Savannah’s class, back instead to turn him into her prom-worthy prince. When Savannah returns to the Middle Ages to save Tristan, they must team up to defeat a troll, a dragon, and the mysterious and undeniably sexy Black Knight. Laughs abound in this clever fairy tale twist from a master of romantic comedy.

Entry Rules:
ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 10th 2012

1. You can leave a comment about today's blog post.
2.You can earn an entry by being a follower or becoming a follower on MMW's blog/facebook page. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. You can earn an entry by advertising MMW's Blog Anniverary Giveaway Extravaganza on your blog or facebook page. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4. You can earn an entry by following Janette Rallison at any of the following links

Author blog

Author Website

If you don't win today's giveaway and are looking for a bargain you can go to Amazon for the Kindle version that is on sale.

When Writing Meets...?

2012-01-09T06:32:00.001-07:00

What an awesome week we've had with our giveaways! I am very excited to kick off Week #2 with a DOUBLE giveaway! This week you get not only my girly craftiness, but also a fantastic ebook giveaway from author DeAnn Ogden Huff.

First, does your neck get cold when you write? Just kidding. But after you've been sitting behind a computer slaving away on your WIP you might need to come up for air, and when you emerge from your writing cave, you'll want to look cute (not like you've been tearing your hair out coming up with story arcs). And I am here to save the day! (well, at least your hair)

Today I'm giving one lucky winner her choice of one of my handmade infinity scarf and flower sets. Each set comes with an infinity scarf, which has been upcycled from a gently used t-shirt, and a matching flower clip which can be attached to either the scarf or clipped in your hair.

I have several colors still available in my inventory (not necessarily the ones you see here- but if there's a color you're dying for, I'll see what I can do!) and a lucky winner will get to choose!

As you can see, I love to let my creative juices flow not just through my writing, but also through my crafting. Author DeAnn Huff finds her creativity flowing outside of the medium of writing as well! Which is why I am very excited about this next giveaway- if you remember a couple of months ago when MMW interviewed author David Farland, you might remember his foray into the world of enhanced ebooks. Apparently great minds think alike, because author DeAnn Ogden Huff has experimented with the very same thing by incorporating a soundtrack into her book, Master of Emotion. Read below to find out more about this great book and to read an excerpt- WITH the link to the corresponding soundtrack! How cool is that??

Below you can read more about this exciting book and its musical soundtrack, but first- here's the rules for this week:

Entering today's giveaway via comment on this post enters you to win BOTH prizes (i.e., you will not need to enter twice to be registered to win both prizes)- there will be two winners drawn at random from the entries in the comments- one will receive a scarf set and the other will receive Master of Emotion. Each of the following actions will gain you an entry:

1. Leave a comment on this post

2. Become a follower of this blog (you must state in your comment that you are a follower to receive credit for this)

3. Follow MMW on Facebook (again, you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you have done this to receive credit)

4. Advertise this spectacular month of giveaways on your blog or Facebook page! (did I mention the stating clearly?)

Remember, giveaways close at midnight TONIGHT so hurry up y'all! Winner will be posted in the Winners Circle tab first thing tomorrow morning. :-)

About Master of Emotion:

Beau’s getting loads of attention lately. Whether he wants it or not.

Even if it’s his worst nightmare.

Now his irritating twin brother expects him to embrace his abnormality, too?

Sure. His brother calls it his “ability”— Beau’s gift for feeling and experiencing someone else’s emotions with just a touch. But when he’s surrounded by an onslaught of overactive teenage emotion and a twin who eagerly touches everyone to read their thoughts, his ability seems like a curse. The safest way out is to put up a wall and hide behind it.

What is it about a girl and danger that makes a seventeen-year-old guy leap forward when he ought to step back?

Of course, Beau will be the first to admit the girl is totally worth the trauma. And it’s kinda amazing finding five more sensory enhanced teenagers, just like him, though they seriously invade his personal space. Then just when he thought life had finally cut him a break, they end up as lab rats to the psycho doctor who killed their mothers and made them orphans. What Beau didn’t see coming was having the most painful threat come from one of their own.

What’s a guy have to do to survive it all?

From Author DeAnn Ogden Huff:

Movies have soundtracks. Why not novels? Why not my novel, Master of Emotion?

Ultimately, that idea pushed me into self-publishing my novel as an e-book. By intertwining music and a novel, the words give mental images to the music and the music enhances the emotion of the words. I didn’t think a traditional publisher would be willing to allow me the freedom to pursue my idea. So I did it myself.

The musical artist that fits best with my novel is John Vesely, who records under the name Secondhand Serenade. He is a talented singer/songwriter who is a modern “one-man show” singing and performing many of the multilayered vocals and instruments himself. Check out his website at http://www.myspace.com/secondhandserenade to listen to and buy his music.

He’s not only talented, but he’s the voice that I “hear” in my head when Beau, the main character in Master of Emotion, talks. Within the text of the excerpt from the novel that you will find below, when you find a link that looks like this:

Listen to the unofficial Master of Emotion Soundtrack here

I invite you to follow the link and listen to one of Secondhand Serenade’s songs that fit the emotion of that moment in the novel. I’ve included a website address or two where you might be able to listen to the full song. But if you like the music, go back later and buy the songs—make your own soundtrack.

I hope you enjoy my unofficial attempt at a soundtrack.

EXCERPT FROM MASTER OF EMOTION –

I’d wasted a week of intense mental exertion, landing me in exactly the same place where I started five days ago. Each day progressed the same way.

Passing her house in the morning, I fought against my desire to turn my head. She sat behind me in Government, not touching or speaking to me. Yet, every day as she walked out of the room, she turned and smiled reassuringly, her sparkling green eyes as refreshing as clear pools of cool water.

At lunch, I found excuses to stay in the area after Bryce wandered off, waiting until Rose drifted out of the cafeteria always talking and laughing with someone. She managed to catch my eye even when I tried not to look.

Our English class was especially excruciating because she enjoyed it so much. Her love for the subject meant she spoke up often with comments both enthusiastic and insightful. The intensity of her smooth voice, filled with passion for the subject and so close to my ears, actually caused me pain. My chest ached with a hunger, a craving, for one more comment, one more word, one more laugh.

I was addicted.

My truck followed her car out of the parking lot every day, until she pulled into her driveway and walked into the house. Only then would I go into work. Her house and car drew my eyes like a bright light whenever I worked outside.

Running every night, I detoured past her home on the way to the high school. Then in frustration, I always forced myself to take the long way home, away from her. My school work wasn’t suffering. I poured myself into my books to avoid thinking of her.

Each day Bryce looked at me, more worried.

Would I be better off if I stopped fighting it and rushed up and touched her? The thought always made me feel half-panicked and half-mesmerized—like future road-kill caught in the headlights of an oncoming semi, loving the light too much to realize obliteration was only a honk away. And like the condemned creature, I couldn’t move, couldn’t change the pattern.

The weekend had brought the relief of work: projects at the grade school on Saturday and chores around the house on Sunday. Just because the Cross’s wouldn’t lift a finger didn’t mean we were off the hook.

Unfortunately, the weekend also brought the hope Monday would be different. But each hour without change on that Monday made me more discouraged. A year of that would be unbearable, yet there seemed no end in sight. I was a sinking turd spinning in a plugged, churning toilet.

Bryce’s previous lecture bounced around in my brain. “Our abilities shouldn’t control us. We should control them.” He’d gloat knowing I remembered what he had said. But I sure wouldn’t tell him.

As I trudged into English Monday afternoon, I realized if I wanted something to change it had to start with me. But what should I do?

Then a glimmer of an idea lit my foggy brain. While I realized the plan would probably backfire and make me more miserable, I needed to try something. So I did something completely normal for most people but totally out of character for me. I changed my routine and sat in a different seat. In fact, I sat in the seat Rose had occupied for the previous five days and left mine in the corner empty.

As soon as my faded jeans hit the seat, I knew it was a bad decision. I’d stand out as much as the hairy mole on Mrs. Cross’s chin. Besides, Rose would probably see me sitting there, interpret my action as an attempt to chase her away, and move to the other side of the room, far away from me. That would only make things worse.

Chickening out, I leaned forward to move back to my usual seat just as her voice drifted into the room as she entered and headed toward the front corner. Holding my breath, I prayed silently she’d take the seat in front of me.

“Oh ... this is different.” She paused, standing behind me. I hoped from her amused tone that she wore a smile on her lips, even though, staring intently at my desk, I couldn’t tell for sure.

“But different is good.” Walking past me, she slid into the corner seat in the front row. “Cool. Interesting desk,” she added appreciatively. She traced a swirling tattoo with her pinkie finger.

I hoped she couldn’t hear my relief as I resumed breathing once again.

(Listen to the unofficial Master of Emotion Soundtrack – “Stranger” from Secondhand Serenade’s “A Twist in My Story” album at http://www.myspace.com/secondhandserenade/music/songs/stranger-28298395)

I hope you like the combination of music and writing as much as I do!

-DeAnn Ogden Huff

Guest Post: Kasie West!!!

2012-01-08T04:03:00.000-07:00

Wow. Has it been three years since the start of this blog?? I don’t believe it. That time went by in a heartbeat and yet it feels like ages ago. So Nikki asked me to recap what I’ve been up to since I left MMW.

It feels like so much has happened. Since leaving, I have changed agents, sold my book, Pivot Point, and its sequel to HarperTeen, and am now patiently (sometimes) waiting for it to come out at the end of 2012. I should’ve waited to say this part of my life until the end because what am I supposed to say to top that, right? I truly feel so blessed and know how hard this step is to achieve. I never thought it would happen.

My advice (the thing that kept me going through rejections and struggles) is to just keep writing. If you’re querying something, start writing something else. If you’re on submission with something, write something else. Keep writing, keep trying, and keep living. Surround yourself with supportive people and be willing to listen to critiques and learn from others. Okay, I’m really not an advice giver, so that’s the best I have.

That’s the writer part of my life. As for the mommy part. My oldest daughter became a teenager this last year. For those of you who have survived teenage daughters, I look to you as proof that it can be done. And if you hear me walking around singing “I Will Survive” you know why. My youngest turned five in December and I overheard him tell the neighbor kid the other day: “You’re going down, B.” Only the B wasn’t a B. It was the actual word. Sigh. I guess that’s what happens when I let my five year old watch Avatar. Just like in the writing part of my life, I’m still learning in the parenting part as well. That’s what life’s about, trying to do better.

I love what I do. I love being a mom to four amazing children. And I love writing. Thanks for allowing me a spot on your blog again for a day. Congratulations on the three year mark!

Saturday Stories, Book Review and a Give-away all courtesy of Rod Miller

2012-01-07T05:00:00.191-07:00

The last giveaway of the week is

The Assassination of Governor Boggs

by Rod Miller.

As part of this trifecta post I'll be interviewing Rod, reviewing his book, and posting all the juicy details on how you could be the lucky winner of your very own signed copy. Are you shaking with excitement yet?

We'll kick things off with the interview...

Q—Would you please tell us about yourself?

The sad truth about me is that I border on being antisocial. I don’t like crowds or parties, and, outside of family, would as soon be alone as with somebody. Ward dinners, office parties, and that sort of thing don’t interest me and I attend only through coercion. I refuse to own a cell phone because I don’t want to be bothered. My socializing is pretty much restricted to sharing a meal with a friend from time to time. The art of small talk somehow escaped me, and after “hello” I am pretty much at a loss when it comes to carrying on a conversation with a stranger, or even a casual acquaintance. That said, I enjoy lively discussion and debate with people with common interests who I know well enough that we can let down our guards and really get into a conversation.

I grew up in a blue-collar family in a small town and have maintained the simple tastes acquired during my raising. No interest in fancy food, fancy cars, fancy houses. Growing up in a cowboy family instilled a love for the West and Western ways, and that only grows stronger over time. The history, folklore, people, and cultures of Western America are rich with stories and I have always enjoyed reading them and, of late, writing about them. Growing up in a cowboy family exposed me to livestock and agriculture, and while I have not lived that life for many years, it still feels close to me. Rodeo was a big part of my life in high school and college and I competed as a bareback bronc rider for the Utah State University intercollegiate rodeo team for three seasons. At the time, there were thirteen other colleges in Utah and southern Idaho we competed against, so we traveled somewhere to a rodeo every spring weekend, from St. George to Rexburg to Caldwell and everywhere in between. I also rode in pro rodeos around Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming most every weekend for several summers. Nowadays I am content to sit in the stands and wonder how a body can take such abuse.

Since I have worked in advertising for more than three decades, which pretty much requires working in a city, I think my interest in Western things somehow keeps me connected to my past. Writing advertising campaigns has been a good career, and I still enjoy the work.

Family is important, and I maintain close connections with my mother, as well as my older brother and two younger sisters and their families. My wife is an only child and both her parents are gone, so she’s as much, or more, part of the family as I am. We have two grown daughters, one of which has a daughter and son who are, of course, the finest kids alive.

Q—How did you get into writing? Was it something you've always loved or a late discovery in life?

Writing has always been fairly easy for me, as far back as junior high school—as opposed to math, where I am completely useless. I did best on essay questions on tests throughout school, as I could sound like I knew what I was talking about even if I didn’t. Early on, I took an interest in journalism and wrote for the junior high and high school newspapers, and, to a lesser extent, the student newspaper at USU. My degree is in journalism, but I’ve never worked as a journalist. After a few years working in radio and television stations in production, I got a job as a copywriter in an advertising agency and I’ve been at it ever since—34 years so far.

For twenty of those years, I never imagined writing anything else. Other than a few essays for advertising magazines, and a year as a columnist for an advertising newsletter, my writing consisted of newspaper and magazine advertisements, radio and television commercials, short films for businesses, billboards, and printed stuff like brochures and annual reports. Then, in the mid-nineties (which seems so long ago now) I wondered if I could write a cowboy poem. Later I wondered if I could write short story. Then a novel. Then a nonfiction book. So, it was all a matter of satisfying my curiosity. Unlike many writers, I don’t have a stack of manuscripts on the shelf. The only things I’ve written—other than several unpublished poems—are, for the most part, what I have had published. So far, that amounts to two nonfiction books, two books of poems, and two novels, with another novel with a publisher that should come out later this year. I’ve also written several articles on a variety of subjects for Western magazines, a series of essays on writing poetry for CowboyPoetry.com, and several book reviews for magazines.

Along the way, I worked on a lot of television commercials with T.C. Christensen and we became good friends. He’s getting well-deserved recognition for 17 Miracles just now, but he has worked on a lot of wonderful films over the years. Years ago, he asked to me to write a screenplay based on the children’s novel Bug Off, which became a children’s movie of the same name, seen on all the cable networks and still selling on DVD. I have written a few other things for the screen, but making movies is too much a collaborative process for my taste, so I haven’t pursued it.

So, to finally get to the point, the answer is yes—writing is something I’ve always loved, and a late discovery in life.

Q—What ignited your passion for history, more specifically American Western history?

Having grown up in the West, in a cowboy family with horses and cattle always present, I suppose I was born with an interest in the Old West. I’ve had it as long as I can remember, and it never fades. Exactly why that interest is in the history of the West, rather than the myth of the West as represented in the movies and television shows that were popular in my youth, is another question. I suppose growing up with cowboys and horses and cattle, I could see that those shows were, essentially, fairy tales that bore little resemblance to the real world. The same can be said of most Western fiction. That spurred my curiosity to see how things really were in that world. Most people, it seems to me, are content with the mythology and folklore that passes for history and are more interested in what they believe, or hope, happened rather than what actually happened. My guess is that it’s because fairy tales are simple and easy, black and white, with clearly defined good and bad guys, while history is messy and complicated and difficult and ambiguous. Still, I believe reality and truth, no matter how uncomfortable they may be, are preferable to blissful ignorance.

Q—You do a great job of painting both sides of the Mormons/Boggs story. How do you do this? How do you leave your prejudices behind and craft a story where the reader is given the opportunity to see both sides of the story so clearly?

Being a lifelong Mormon, I have had the usual one-sided, simplistic view of Mormon history thrust upon me. But I have always been skeptical, and always assumed it was more complex than what we are told, whether formally or informally. And, of course, it was. Despite our belief that Mormons were (and are) somehow different or better than other folks (which isn’t an unusual belief; it is shared by pretty much any collection of people), when it comes down to it, folks is folks. It seems obvious that there must have been some reason our ancestors got ran out of every place they ever settled, because the people who drove us out were no better or worse, on average, than we were. Again, an uncomfortable and complicated view, but true none the less. Once you realize and accept that basic fact, it’s easy—necessary, in fact—to at least try to tell a story from every side. Every event, every incident, every person, every story is multi-faceted and I think trying to see all those facets makes the telling more interesting and honest.

Q—What was your inspiration for "The Assassination of Governor Boggs?"

It started with Porter Rockwell. He has long been a hero of mine. Rockwell was a remarkable man, among the most capable and competent frontiersmen in the entire history of the West. His instincts were strong and reliable, whether dealing with cattle or horses or humans. He was kindhearted and considerate, loyal and brave. He was also an accomplished killer, both as a lawman and an outlaw. Again, a complex character with more layers and depth than we can ever plumb given the scant information available. I’ve read widely about Rockwell, and feel a real affinity for him.

Like most in these parts, I knew very little about Lilburn Boggs except that he was that nasty fellow who ordered the Mormons exterminated. Surely, anyone who would do such a thing must have been in league with the devil. Well, as usual, it’s not that simple. It turns out Boggs was a fine man, a respected leader, and a tough frontiersman. Granted, he had no use for Mormons—but keep in mind he was in the Jackson County area before almost anyone else, and did not know how to cope with a horde of religious zealots who show up uninvited to take over the place, consigning him and everyone else to hell in the process. I don’t think many of us would have known how to respond. Over the years in Missouri, things only became more difficult and complicated and it is doubtful there was any satisfactory solution. Both the Mormons and the Missourians—and I emphasize both—were behaving badly and becoming increasingly violent. As Sidney Rigdon said in a public speech, long before Boggs’s extermination order, “it shall be between us and them a war of extermination; for we will follow them till the last drop of their blood is spilled, or else they will have to exterminate us: for we will carry the seat of war to their own houses, and their own families, and one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed."

The volatile situation in Missouri spawned all kinds of interesting events, one of which was the attempted murder of Boggs. An unsolved crime of such magnitude is remarkable on its own; the accusations leveled at Rockwell add more interest. It seems too good a story not to tell, with all the elements of drama and mystery and conflict and adventure built in.

On another note, several readers have wondered what in the book is fiction and what is fact. There are only a few fictional characters, primarily the detective Calvin Pogue, and everything about his life and history is, of course, made up. A few other fictional characters were introduced to supply information from people who had died before the investigation. But everything they said, along with everything said by all the real-life characters, is taken from the historical record. Sometimes they are quoted directly or paraphrased closely from actual documents, sometimes what they say is drawn from a combination of material, but all are accurate—as much as possible—representations of what those people said or did or thought or believed. The same holds true for events portrayed.

Q—Where is your favorite place to write?

Anywhere I can sit down with my little computer (or, on occasion, a note pad and pencil). I write at a desk, the kitchen table, on the bed, on the bus, in airports and on airplanes, in hotel rooms….

Q—Who is your favorite writer of all time and why?

I don’t think I can name a single favorite. John McPhee is my favorite essayist because of his unique ability to tackle any subject and make it interesting, and I like the way he uses people to reveal the subject. I like Wendell Berry for his versatility as well as his clear thinking, point of view, and fine writing, whether it’s an essay, a novel, or poetry. The Meadow, by James Galvin, is one of the best novels ever written, and I like his poetry as well. Cormac McCarthy is such a good novelist he is beyond compare. Ivan Doig and Mark Spragg write fine novels about the West, Steven Jay Gould’s books on paleontology and related subjects make complex information accessible and interesting. Then there’s Wallace Stegner and John Steinbeck and Norman Maclean…. I could go on.

Q—If you could re-write the ending of any movie or book what would it be and why?

I don’t think I can be specific here. But I am a big fan of ambiguity, so, in general, I think it would be nice if the average Western novel didn’t always end with the bad guy getting his comeuppance, the heroine saving the ranch, and the hero riding away into the sunset. Endings that are neatly wrapped up with a happy little ribbon and bow do not appeal to me, as they are too far removed from human experience. I would rather leave a little doubt and uncertainty, and give the reader something to ponder.

Q—What is the one piece of advice you wish you could give your 20-year-old self?

Drinking beer is best done in moderation, if at all.

Q—What is your writer's kryptonite? The one thing that kills your "muse"?

So far I have avoided any such tragedy. Every advertising assignment comes with a deadline, often ridiculous, so when something has to be written you write it. That training and experience have eliminated the possibility of muses and writers block and such things. The only thing, I guess, that keeps me from writing would be laziness.

Q—If you could go back in time and visit any moment/event and be guaranteed complete safety no matter how close to the event you get, what historical moment would it be and why?

The Bear River Massacre is a sorry event that has long interested me—enough that I wrote a book about it. I would like to see, firsthand, what prompted a bunch of ordinary soldiers to go berserk and wantonly slaughter helpless men and women and children. I don’t know if it would be helpful or not, but it would be a worthwhile experiment. Bear River, Mountain Meadows, Haun’s Mill, Sand Creek, My Lai, Rwanda, Bosnia—there is something evil in all of us that, given the right circumstances, causes us to forget all notions of morality and goodness and turn into murderous beasts. It has happened throughout history, and will likely happen again. If we could understand why, maybe we could stop doing it.

Now onto the review...

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. No promise was made for a favorable review.

Book Description:

The Assassination of Governor Boggs is a cold-case investigation into the attempted murder of the former governor of Missouri. Follow Pinkerton Agent Calvin Pogue as he follows the clues from the Pacific Coast to the Missouri River and across the frontier West on a trail that leads to Utah Territory and Mormon gunslinger Porter Rockwell.

Review:

I must be ignorant of a lot more history than I thought (either that or forgotten a lot that I've learned--which is probably more the case) but I didn't realize there was actually an assassination attempt made on Governor Boggs. When I read the title to this book I thought it was just a fantastical idea dreamed up after contemplating the effect the "extermination order" had on the saints back in the early 1800s. Finding out an attempt really was made was rather interesting, to say the least.

Right away I was drawn into the world of Pinkerton Detective Calvin Pogue and the sights, sounds, and smells that accompany him on his investigation into the attempted assassination of Governor Boggs. What I wasn't prepared for was that Rod Miller did not intend to write a book that vilified Boggs but rather told the sordid story from both sides, good and bad. A truth that extends well behind and beyond that fateful night when a bullet shattered Boggs' window and almost his life.

I must admit to some level of discomfort as I first read the varied accounts and testimonies placed against the Mormons but the further I got into the book the more I began to realize that the only way for Rod to tell a truthful story was to...tell the truth. There were black hands on both sides of this event and the reality of it should be accepted, after all we're human and prone to act like it. The title of saint is something we aspire to and not all of us (me especially) always conduct ourselves to the honor of such a name.

Not only is this book chocked full of great Mormon history (told from both sides of the fence) it is well written and keeps a nice pace. Rod's voice is distinct and one I thoroughly enjoyed. His ability to capture the tone and attitudes of the time is refreshing. It is obvious he's done his homework and is well schooled on the history of the Mormons in the early and mid-1800s as well as their neighbors and fellow countrymen.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope to see more like it from Rod in the future.

Entry Guidelines:

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE BY 11:59 PM MST tonight, January 7, 2012.

There are multiple ways to earn entries into this drawing, make sure you take advantage of ALL of them.

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Become a follower of this blog (you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you are a follower to receive credit for this).

3. Follow MMW on Facebook (again, you must clearly state in your comment on this post that you have done this to receive credit).

4. Advertise this spectacular month of give-aways on your blog or Facebook page. (Do I need to repeat myself here?)

5. Visit Rod's website and in your comment on this post tell me the name of a magazine that has featured some of his writing.

That's SIX different ways you can be entered into this drawing (I can do math, #4 provides two ways). Be sure to check back tomorrow morning in the "Winner's Circle" page to see if you won.

If you don't win (so sad for you) you can get your own copy of The Assassination of Governor Boggs (which I highly recommend) by clicking here.

Good luck!

Friday's Giveaway!

2012-01-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

This is an awesome, fast moving giveaway and I hope you're all as excited as I am. In all this, I feel a little silly offering my books as part of the prizes, but here goes.

The Wild Queen, an e-book, normally priced at $2.99. This is the story of what happens a generation before The Peasant Queen, which I'm also giving away. I'll send you the paperback or e-book, whichever you prefer.

Here's a recent addition to The Wild Queen: Dear reader,

This is an epic a love story, but not a happy one. While it is romantic, like Romeo and Juliet it does not have a happily-ever-after conclusion. I caution you on this only because I’d hate for you to be disappointed because the story did not end as you had hoped.

The events that shape Lucien and Roweena’s lives are what set in motion the choices made by the characters in the following novels—The Peasant Queen, The Tyrant King, and The Lost Princess. Without their suffering there would be no other books, no other stories.

Rest assured there will be resolution. By the end of The Tyrant King, you will know Roweena’s fate. If you’re observant, then by the end of The Peasant Queen you may know what happened to Lucien. If not, be patient. All will become clear when The Lost Princess is revealed.

Happy reading!
Cheri

The Peasant Queen is my first published book, and where the action picks up after The Wild Queen. And I just send The Tyrant King to the publisher yesterday, so the story is continued!

And, just for fun, The Wild Queen will be in print this spring! I know some of you have been waiting for that.

Remember, leave comments to enter and we'll pick a winner. Don't forget to check the Winner's Circle for results! And good luck. :)

Happy Anniversary to YOU!

2012-01-05T01:42:00.004-07:00

Today marks the third year of Mormon Mommy Writers blog. Three years ago my crazy friend, Jenni James had this great idea to start a blog. I went along with it because it sounded like a good idea. Jenni did all the technical parts like setting it up and well... pretty much everything. I watched and told her how great it looked (Hey, supervisors are very important!!) Then we wrote our very first blog post:

Throw away your crazy pills cuz you're not nuts and you're not alone.

Greetings!!

We're Nikki & Jenni--

And we are starting this blog to reassure ourselves that we're not the only crazy ones out there. Okay, so we know we're crazy--lol! But it would be helpful to know there are other moms out there who wanna break into the publishing business too! So if you hear voices in your head begging you to tell their story while wiping faces and juggling Relief Society assignments, then we are the right blog for you!! Come along and enjoy our zany adventures as we take the publishing world by storm and still manage to get dinner on the table by ten.

Well, since that post, Jenni has taken the publishing world by storm. (She never does anything halfway! Oh, and did you notice that she even admits she's crazy??) Today we will be giving away THREE prizes!! Of course we have to give away a signed copy of "Pride and Popularity" by Jenni James! This book is wonderfully cute. My reluctant reader of a daughter read it in one day and didn't come up for air!!!

"Pride and Popularity" by Jenni James
Taylor always gets what he wants—until now.

Chloe Elizabeth Hart despises the conceited antics of the popular crowd, or more importantly, one very annoying self-possessed guy, Taylor Anderson, who seems determined to make her the president of his fan club! As if! Every girl in the whole city of Farmington, New Mexico, is in love with him, but he seems to be only interested in Chloe.

This modern high school adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is a battle of wits as Chloe desperately tries to remain the only girl who can avoid the inevitable—falling for Taylor.

Our next giveaway is from H.B. Moore. She was one of the first people to ever comment on our blog! I remember when I realized a real life author commented on our blog. I was so excited I emailed her right away and asked to interview her on the blog. She was MMW's first guest interview ever!! So I felt it only appropriate that one of our giveaways today be a signed copy of "Ammon" by H.B. Moore!! Watch the book trailer below to find out more!!

About the book:

Ammon received the 2011 Gold Award of Excellence by League of Utah Writers

Review in Deseret News by Sheryl C.S. Johnson

Heather B. Moore’s "Ammon" is a delightful combination of vibrant characters and epic drama. Moore seamlessly clothes historical giants like Ammon and King Lamoni in flesh and blood, making the story leap from the page and captivate readers.

Carrying nothing but hunting weapons and the promises of God, Ammon secures a position as King Lamoni’s servant in the land of Ishmael. Miracles come to life as Ammon faces the challenges of being a Nephite prince in a Lamanite land. Moore provides insights into the spiritual and physical realities of Ammon’s plight and mission, emphasizing the magnitude of his sacrifice and service.

Elena’s fair-skinned family of Nephite heritage struggles when Ammon’s message threatens the foundations of Lamanite culture. Torn between her growing affection for Ammon and her father’s insistence she marry a wealthy Lamanite, Elena weighs the expectations of her people against the promptings of her heart.

Moore’s genius with character development paints a Lamanite people rich in traditions and passionate in beliefs. She depicts the brutality of the time period without garish scenes of violence. This fictional retelling of factual accounts is enthralling, intense and unforgettable. The page-turning, adventurous pace of the book doesn’t ebb but is balanced by moments of reflection and compelling plot.

"Ammon" is the latest in a series of Heather B. Moore’s historical novels based on the Book of Mormon. However, "Ammon" more than stands on its own as a complete story in itself. Other books in this series are "Abinadi," "Alma" and "Alma the Younger."

The last giveaway today is our own e-book, "Totally Cliche"! We are working on making it come out in print as well! And when we do, you can bet on a blog post on why it's taking so long to do so!! For those of you new to our blog, here's a brief synopsis of the book we made from a short story contest held right here!

What do an escaped convict, a vampire, a zombie, and Prince Charming all have in common? They are only some of the characters to grace the pages of the short story collection that pays homage to cliches.
Mormon Mommy Writers presents "Totally Cliche", a collection of short stories including:
"Alice in Clicheland" by Kasey Tross - What's a writer to do when all she can think of is cliches? Perhaps visit Castle Cliche in Clicheland where all IS as it seems!
"Scared Stiff by Debra Erfert - Sammy is a girl that has never been scared her entire life despite her best efforts. Will that all change on a dark and stormy night?
"Mirage" by Cathy Witbeck - Leslie's mother was killed twenty years ago, yet when her mother's previous employer seeks Leslie as their newest employee, she may be headed for the same fate.
Be sure to read these and many more stories to get your cliche fix today!

So there you have it! THREE giveaways today!! That means there will be THREE winners!! Now, how do you win?

Entry Rules:
ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 5th 2012

1. You can leave a comment about today's blog post.
2.You can earn an entry by being a follower or becoming a follower on MMW's blog/facebook page. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. You can earn an entry by advertising MMW's Blog Anniverary Giveaway Extravaganza on your blog or facebook page. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4. You can earn an entry by following H. B. Moore at any of the following links

Author blog

Author Website

5. You can earn an entry by following Jenni James at any of the following links:

Author Blog

Author Facebook page

Come back throughout all of January for amazing giveaways or view our sidebar to see what is coming.

Wednesday's giveaway: Jennifer Stewart Griffith and BIG IN JAPAN

2012-01-04T04:00:00.007-07:00

I'm so excited to do today's giveaway, but before I dive in, I wanted to just say one little thing about how important it is to find the kind of people we want to be...and then be friends with them. Jennifer is my inspiration! She has an amazing ability to be, well, amazing, awe inspiring, hilarious, and a million other wonderful things I'd love to add. She makes my dreams seem possible.

Her new book, BIG IN JAPAN, is due to come out July 21, 2012, so she is graciously offering TWO gifts: a selection of Japanese candy now, and a signed copy of BIG IN JAPAN after its release! Two for the price of one entry! Awesome luckiness! (And I know of what I speak: I've eaten said treats before (so yummy!) and I've read the book: so funny, exciting, and romantic, it'll have you crying and laughing at the same time!)

Tell us about yourself: your name, what you write, what your home life is like, your Social security number...okay, maybe not that last one.

I used to go by Jenny as a kid, then Jen. When I got married and picked up a Welsh last name the whole thing had a plethora of fffs and ths and picked up the full Jennifer Griffith ffth-sound. Now I’m thinking Jenny is nice again. Is this an identity crisis?

At home, I’m The Mom. My husband works as a judge in our small town, and we have five kids from ages 14 down to 4. Day to day, it’s pretty noisy here. And kind of messy most of the time, I’ll be the first to admit. One time the Boy Scouts called me “The Maker of the Treats.” I need a t-shirt of that. It’s perfect.

When I just can’t take the chaos, I retreat into my writer mode and think about sumo wrestlers and candy and paintings and beauty pageants and mythology--and write about them. I write for my sanity, and because it’s the one place where I’m only myself, my thoughts, my ideas, my creativity.

When I first started writing, a friend’s mom (a lovely writer) asked, whether I wouldn’t like to try to write something of deep significance, something that mattered, something that would last. I double blinked. What? Why? No. I wanted to write something that would divert, something that entertained, helped a person escape the daily grind. Something that melted away sweetly, like cotton candy. My little motto about my writing is “Cotton Candy For The Soul.” Light, sweet, gone.

I’m not out to write the Great American Novel. I’m not taking myself that seriously. However, I have a cousin who lives in Egypt, and during all that turmoil last February, she emailed me and said she’d been reading one of my novels (the chocolate one.) It was just what she needed to help her get through the time of being barricaded into her house while gunshots fired at the end of her street. Deep significance? Maybe not, but it is something, something we all need from time to time.

How long have you had the "writing bug"?

I started writing in third grade, keeping a journal every day. It’s not exciting reading because “Today was a good day,” appears on every single page of the entire year 1980—except one day in May. That day I wrote, “Today I fell off the stage, hit my head, and wet my pants and had to walk home alone.” Kid tragedy! But I learned young that writing can be cathartic. I’m one of those who writes because I must.

After my first baby, I was home all day, and my husband was working full time and in school. He told me I should start that novel. And I did. And it ended up being published. Of course, I worked on it for six years. I’ve been writing ever since.

How did the idea for "Big In Japan" strike? How did all the elements come together?

My husband is my muse. One day we were sitting around, and I was telling him some of the quirky things that happened on my mission to Japan. I’d heard of an American who had come to Japan and was “getting huge” in order to join a sumo training stable. Gary said, “That would be a cool novel, an American guy who goes to Japan and becomes a sumo wrestler and falls in love.” That nugget started the story.

It was fun to dig into my personal experiences in Japan (none of them sumo-related) and impose them on my characters. I wanted to take the reader of the manuscript on a little trip to the streets of Japan, to experience (if only a taste) of what it feels like to be there. It’s an amazing country, and the people and their culture are truly unique.

You’d be surprised how little ready-information there is about sumo out there. I combed the internet for weeks and weeks trying to understand the sport, its traditions, its rules. There aren’t really even any books about it an English-speaker can read. Amassing the info was tricky, but as I dug, my eyes were really opened. I found it to be much more than we Westerners assume. It’s not just two big fat guys slapping flesh. It’s sheer strength! And the grace is astounding. Youtube videos of bouts were especially instructional.

There’s also a darker side to sumo. At first I thought the book would be a simple, straightforward, humorous sports novel. The more I learned about sumo, the more I realized the other facets of the sport needed to be delved into, and I tried to do that while keeping the tone buoyant and throwing in some funny stuff.

How did you slip inside the psyche of Buck Cooper, a tall, overweight, blond loser of a guy, when you are a petite, brown-haired superwoman?
Hahaha. That’s funny. At five-foot-one, I won’t be attempting sumo wrestling any time soon, that’s for sure.

A while back I read a book by Dwight Swain, a master writing teacher. It was called Story People, and he gave some great advice about imbuing our characters with emotion. He said writers should mine their memories, and come up with touchstone experiences—guilt, shame, fear, jealousy, hatred, elation, and so on—from our own lives. Do our best to remember every nuance of those emotions. Write them out in very detail of the crushing feelings. (This is where a personal journal becomes solid gold.)

His point was, we don’t have to have had the identical experience a story person has had, but we’ve all had experiences that produce similar emotions. We apply the feeling of our own emotion into the situation we’ve put our character into.

What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received? Why was it so important to you?

Words on the page. Words on the page. You can always go back and edit, improve, as long as there are words on the page. Stop writing back and forth. Move it forward to the end and then go back and edit. If I didn’t hear this, I think I’d get mired in editing, perfecting paragraphs and sentences rather than getting the plot on the page.

What types of books do you like to read?

Classics-wise, I love Jane Austen (who doesn’t?) and several of those dramatic Brontës. My favorite author is Anthony Trollope, who is like Dickens but without the social commentary—a zillion details, five major subplots. I also read contemporary lit, cozy mysteries, legal thrillers, YA of all kinds, anything with crisp prose. Ooh! I love reading art history, too. And about gardens. And travel books. And celebrity biographies. My secret obsession is AutoWeek magazine. Tons more. Never-ending book love.

Here are her important places to follow:
Jennifer's blog: Cotton Candy 4 the Soul
Facebook: Jennifer Stewart Griffith
Twitter: @GriffithJen

Let us know you've followed her in these places, and it will add another ticket with your name on it into the pot!

Thanks, Jennifer, for all your generous participation. I'm so jealous of the winner!

Finding Faith and a Giveaway

2012-01-03T00:01:00.017-07:00

All those who entered Kasey's Awesome Giveaway yesterday do not forget to check the winner's circle tab at the top of the blog to find out if you are the Winner. You will have 2 days to comment on the winner announcement post or email mormonmommywriters@gmail.com with your information so we can get your prize to you promptly. If we don't hear back, a new winner will be chosen. Good Luck!! And keep coming back for more chances to win.

Today's featured giveaway can be found at the end of today's post.

Last Tuesday I promised I would share with you about what has happened during my hiatus from Mormon Mommy Writers. A month or so after my last post in March, I gave birth to our second child, a handsome baby boy. When he was six weeks old my husband and I noticed some unusual bumps on his head, under his chin and arms, and various other places. A doctor within his pediatric office asked me if we had pets and basically told me with the exception of the largest bump on Little Man's head he had bug bites. The large bump she diagnosed to be a subaceous cyst that he may have to have removed later in life. None of those bumps were bites, that much I knew, but having only one bump labeled otherwise I googled subaceous conditions. The results frightened me. My fear kept growing, I needed to know what ailed my baby boy.

Following my mom instinct and the promptings of the Spirit, I made an appointment with a pediatric dermatologist for a second opinion. By the time he was two months old, Little Man was diagnosed with Juvenile Xanthogranuloma. (It is a mouthful isn't it?) The dermatologist told me the disease is very rare, but it will correct itself and not to worry. He would however have to have his eyes checked to make sure he did not have any lesions in his eyes. I was so relieved for about 5 minutes. Then, I did a bad thing... I googled AGAIN.

Juvenile xanthogranuloma, also known as JXG, is a rare, non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis that is usually benign and self-limiting. It occurs most often in the skin of the head, neck, and trunk but can also occur in the arms, legs, feet, and buttocks. JXG can affect the eye, most commonly in young children with multiple skin lesions. Less commonly JXG may involve locations such as the lung, liver, adrenal gland, appendix, bones, bone marrow, pituitary gland, central nervous system, kidney, heart, small and large intestines, and spleen.

I found posts from parents who had lost their children to this disease, and children who lost their eye site. Kids undergoing chemo. I was back to my crying spells. The first weeks after diagnosis were the worst. I scoured the internet for every scrap of information on JXG (and there really isn't much). All I knew was I was not ready to lose this precious boy. Although it appeared that when the disease is left to its own devices it will eventually spontaneously correct itself; it sometimes attacks important organs resulting in treatment is similar to cancer.

Our son had many lesions that were multiplying, and after a chest x-ray and abdominal ultrasound, we discovered he had at least one internal lesion on his spleen. Gratefully, his eyes were clear. There is no set amount of time for the disease to run its course, because each case is unique.

All of the uncertainty really got to me, it still does at times. But Little Man is so strong. He meets all the milestones early. If he didn't have the yellowish cysts you would never know he had any health concerns. Because he hasn't had any complications so far doesn't mean that they will not arise. I have talked to my mom a lot more than usual since his diagnosis. Asking her how anyone can survive the loss of a child. At the beginning, I grieved a loss that had not even occurred. I told her all the reasons fueling the fear that I would lose him. My mother's response to me? "Have faith that the Lord will do what is best."

That did not comfort me. I wanted certainty... I still want certainty. I did and I do have faith that our loving Heavenly Father will care for his children. I am also aware that this does not mean that bad things will not happen, or that we will enjoy the methods our Lord uses to shape us. I repeatedly told my mother that I did have faith. Because even if our little man were to die at a young age, I would still believe in God, I would still love God, and I would still strive to serve God. I would just mourn our temporary separation. I told my mother I needed peace of mind and acceptance.

Whether it has come through prayer or other means, I do have peace. And I have a thriving 8 month old and a witty 5 year old who keep me away from my WIP more than I would wish. But in all honesty, I wouldn't change too much. Every day I have with my little ones is a blessing, and that I will never wish away.

Is having faith the same as having peace?

GIVEAWAY

Michele Ashman Bell has graciously offered to send one lucky reader a copy of "The Perfect Fit" book three in her butterfly box series.

Description: The Butterfly Girls can’t wait to begin their fourteenth annual weekend reunion, a time to renew their bonds of friendship and honor the memory of their high school friend Ava. But a dark cloud of fear soon forms in their shared hotel room when they learn that one of their former classmates has been brutally murdered. And when new evidence suggests Ava was murdered as well, the friends realize one of them might be next.

Andi is glad to be taking the Butterfly Box with her to Hawaii, where she plans to spend a few weeks participating in a reality dating show. To her surprise, the eligible bachelor, Michael Makura, soon singles her out for attention, provoking jealous acts of sabotage from the other contestants. Soon a series of unusual events disrupts the pair’s fledgling romance, and Andi starts over in New York where she begins dating a great guy and accepts a job offer from a generous, eccentric man. But when Michael unexpectedly shows up, all is not well in the Big Apple. And soon Andi comes face -to- face with the man who killed her friend—and he aims to kill her as well.

Entry Rules:
ALL ENTRIES TO WIN "THE PERFECT FIT" MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 3rd 2011

1. You can leave a comment about today's blog post.
2.You can earn an entry by being a follower or becoming a follower on MMW's blog/facebook page. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. You can earn an entry by advertising MMW's Blog Anniverary Giveaway Extravaganza on your blog or facebook page. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4. You can earn an entry by following Michele Ashman Bell at any of the following link
www.micheleabell.blogspot.com
5. You can earn an entry by viewing the embedded book trailer and letting us know by commenting below.

Come back throughout all of January for amazing giveaways or view our sidebar to see what is coming.