Good news: my website is up and running! Somebody please click on it so it will have visitors and The Googles will start to like me again (and let me know if there are any problems). There are still some issues--namely, through efforts to make it work, we managed to create a sort of Star Trekky parallel universe situation, with other stephanieblack.net websites existing concurrently with the real one. But we'll get that cleaned up at some point and right now, the link above will take you to the right spot (caution: if you get to a stephanieblack.net that depicts me as someone who returns her library books on time and did not eat a large chocolate chip cookie for breakfast this morning, that's not the right universe).
Other fun news: I will be doing a Ladies Night booksigning for Shadowed at the Beehive Bookstore in Campbell, California on Saturday, October 6th. I'm so excited! If you're in the area, come see me! (I'll post details later when I get them).
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
My Website and Other Assorted Topics
*My website (www.stephanieblack.net) is down at the moment. My old website host stopped hosting, so I got a new host (now I'm starting to sound like a parasite), but I haven't figured out how to upload my site. This is not surprising, because I'm very un-techy--I have to ask my children for help for anything complicated, like using the remote control--but I don't feel too bad that I'm clueless this time around, because my husband was having trouble with it too, and he's a genius. But never fear: tech support will save me. I suppose I'd better get that website up soon, since Shadowed will be released in September, which is coming up fast, and how sad would it be if someone got interested in my new book and wanted to check out my website, and they typed in the URL and all that showed up was a blank, white page (which is what comes up now) and they're like, gee, that was underwhelming.
*Speaking of Shadowed, it's now available for pre-order from Deseret Book. Yay!
*For her birthday, my oldest daughter got a 1500-piece puzzle of Van Gogh's "Cafe Terrace at Night."
It took her and her sister two months to put the puzzle together. Since it was such a complicated puzzle, she figured she wouldn't want to do it again, and I suggested hanging it on the wall, like my mother does with puzzles (she has a bunch of completed puzzles decorating the long hallway in her basement). My daughter liked the idea. Sadly, it turns out I lack both skillz and common sense when it comes to turning a completed puzzle front-side down so you can put packing tape on the back (the method my mother uses). The puzzle is now, um, not as done as it used to be. The question is: do I try to reassemble the broken parts, or do I just go online and buy a Van Gogh poster, which I can get for way cheap?
*I wrote something! After a long dry spell when it came to writing new things, I finally started a story yesterday while my son was at his trumpet lesson. I've been brainstorming this project for a while now and almost have the basic story figured out, but I've been stumped when it comes to figuring out who the villain is and what his/her motive is. So this time, I decided to start writing without knowing the villain and see if ideas develop along the way. I have trouble brainstorming for too long--I love writing stories, not brainstorming stories, and tend to get bored quickly when I'm brainstorming. But I need to get moving on this project, so we'll see what happens. Will I come up with a good villain idea while I'm writing or will I get all the way to the end of the project (it's a novella, so I'm aiming for around 100 pages) and realize there is no villain--in fact, everyone is peacefully fond of each other? Oooh . . . maybe it could have alternate endings! Choose Your Own Villain! If you think the ex-boyfriend did it, turn to page 92. If you think the long-lost grandmother did it, turn to page 102. Could be a fun idea . . .
*Speaking of Shadowed, it's now available for pre-order from Deseret Book. Yay!
*For her birthday, my oldest daughter got a 1500-piece puzzle of Van Gogh's "Cafe Terrace at Night."
It took her and her sister two months to put the puzzle together. Since it was such a complicated puzzle, she figured she wouldn't want to do it again, and I suggested hanging it on the wall, like my mother does with puzzles (she has a bunch of completed puzzles decorating the long hallway in her basement). My daughter liked the idea. Sadly, it turns out I lack both skillz and common sense when it comes to turning a completed puzzle front-side down so you can put packing tape on the back (the method my mother uses). The puzzle is now, um, not as done as it used to be. The question is: do I try to reassemble the broken parts, or do I just go online and buy a Van Gogh poster, which I can get for way cheap?
*I wrote something! After a long dry spell when it came to writing new things, I finally started a story yesterday while my son was at his trumpet lesson. I've been brainstorming this project for a while now and almost have the basic story figured out, but I've been stumped when it comes to figuring out who the villain is and what his/her motive is. So this time, I decided to start writing without knowing the villain and see if ideas develop along the way. I have trouble brainstorming for too long--I love writing stories, not brainstorming stories, and tend to get bored quickly when I'm brainstorming. But I need to get moving on this project, so we'll see what happens. Will I come up with a good villain idea while I'm writing or will I get all the way to the end of the project (it's a novella, so I'm aiming for around 100 pages) and realize there is no villain--in fact, everyone is peacefully fond of each other? Oooh . . . maybe it could have alternate endings! Choose Your Own Villain! If you think the ex-boyfriend did it, turn to page 92. If you think the long-lost grandmother did it, turn to page 102. Could be a fun idea . . .
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Growing Pains
My two older daughters left for BYU this morning. After they drove away and I was crying, my twelve-year-old son said, "It's not that sad! They'll be home for Christmas." I said, "It's a mother thing." He said, "Good thing I'll never be a mother." I'm sure my daughters weren't crying either, unless it was tears of joy at being able to quit their two summer jobs and head back to school. They were very blessed to find great summer jobs this year, but let's face it--even great summer jobs tend to be boring, as well as good motivation to get your rear back to school and get studying.
It's always poignant when a child leaves for college, but last year when my younger daughter started her freshman year, I learned that the mother-pain of saying goodbye to children is cumulative. This is in contrast to the difficulty level in raising children, which I didn't find to be cumulative--i.e., having five children is not five times as hard as having one; each new Wild Thing adds incrementally to the rumpus. But I've found that saying goodbye to two children is twice as hard--or harder--than saying goodbye to one. Not only do you have two children to miss, but it provokes more of a Ticking Clock personal crisis--they're growing up so quickly, it won't be long before they've flown from the nest for good, the family size has now shrunk dramatically, your other children are growing up so fast as well . . . Last year when my college daughters went back to school after Thanksgiving, I was saddened by the realization that it was only eleven years until all our children were grown. Eleven years used to seem like a long time, but man, it sure didn't anymore. Of course, I was rather off-balance at the time, since they'd left us with a cat, which might explain the mental melodrama. As they went to pull out of the driveway this morning, I said, "You forgot the cat!" but it didn't work; they left her here. Actually, I'm accustomed to the cat now and quite fond of her, even if she is rather contemptuous of us and a suspected demon to boot.
When the kids were young, it seemed like life would be that way forever. Even the thought of having them all in school during the day was remote--it would be ages before they were all that old. Ages and eons! But nobody told me that time accelerates. No, seriously, it does. You're in baby mode, toddler mode, preschool mode; time is making its leisurely way through your life. Then elementary school, and junior high, and high school and . . . BAM. As soon as one kid graduates, that's it--life starts shooting forward like you're on the downward slope of a rollercoaster.
I absolutely love having older kids; it's a tremendous joy watching them grow and mature and develop into adults. But as a mother, I can't help but be sad when they drive away and wish I could keep them with me a little longer--even as I'm happy for them, extremely grateful for the opportunities they'll have at school, and definitely wouldn't have it any other way.
So now, it's time to go get ready to take my older son to school registration. He's turning sixteen soon . . .
It's always poignant when a child leaves for college, but last year when my younger daughter started her freshman year, I learned that the mother-pain of saying goodbye to children is cumulative. This is in contrast to the difficulty level in raising children, which I didn't find to be cumulative--i.e., having five children is not five times as hard as having one; each new Wild Thing adds incrementally to the rumpus. But I've found that saying goodbye to two children is twice as hard--or harder--than saying goodbye to one. Not only do you have two children to miss, but it provokes more of a Ticking Clock personal crisis--they're growing up so quickly, it won't be long before they've flown from the nest for good, the family size has now shrunk dramatically, your other children are growing up so fast as well . . . Last year when my college daughters went back to school after Thanksgiving, I was saddened by the realization that it was only eleven years until all our children were grown. Eleven years used to seem like a long time, but man, it sure didn't anymore. Of course, I was rather off-balance at the time, since they'd left us with a cat, which might explain the mental melodrama. As they went to pull out of the driveway this morning, I said, "You forgot the cat!" but it didn't work; they left her here. Actually, I'm accustomed to the cat now and quite fond of her, even if she is rather contemptuous of us and a suspected demon to boot.
When the kids were young, it seemed like life would be that way forever. Even the thought of having them all in school during the day was remote--it would be ages before they were all that old. Ages and eons! But nobody told me that time accelerates. No, seriously, it does. You're in baby mode, toddler mode, preschool mode; time is making its leisurely way through your life. Then elementary school, and junior high, and high school and . . . BAM. As soon as one kid graduates, that's it--life starts shooting forward like you're on the downward slope of a rollercoaster.
I absolutely love having older kids; it's a tremendous joy watching them grow and mature and develop into adults. But as a mother, I can't help but be sad when they drive away and wish I could keep them with me a little longer--even as I'm happy for them, extremely grateful for the opportunities they'll have at school, and definitely wouldn't have it any other way.
So now, it's time to go get ready to take my older son to school registration. He's turning sixteen soon . . .
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Summmmertime!
We had two family reunions this summer--three if you count the pre-reunion mini-reunion before the official reunion. My sister's family couldn't make it to the scheduled reunion, due to a new church assignment--her husband had been called as mission president, and they needed to report two weeks before the reunion date. So those of us who could make it early met at my parents' house in Utah (my parents had just returned the previous month from their mission to Portugal) to have the opportunity to see my sister's family. Southern Utah in the summer is super hot, so the visit was very laid back--mainly we sat around, talked, swam, and ate--visits to Cafe Rio and Iceberg are always important events. We love food.
Mmm, food. Let's talk about food. Tonight for dinner I made Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup, which turned out to be quite tasty. I'm happy about that, as it's nice to have another soup to add to the soup repertoire. Other noteworthy foods of late: my husband made a strawberry pie on Sunday. And on Saturday, we went to the Nestle Cafe where you could design your own ice cream cookie sandwich. Oh the joy! I didn't know this place existed, but now I'm not likely to ever forget. You chose your cookies, you chose your ice cream, and they put it all together for you in sandwich form. I had a chocolate chip peanut butter cookie and an oatmeal scotchie with double-fudge brownie ice cream in the middle. It was sooo tasty, and I wish I had one right now, and did I mention I've been trying to get back on track for losing weight and by "trying" I mean, "trying except when there are Costco muffins in the house or when my son brings out the smoked salmon and cream cheese after I already made myself a sandwich, because, come on, that smoked salmon is really good."
Hey, at least I'm exercising, right? I even tried my new Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown DVD today. So far, I haven't melted down, but give me time.
Side note: I am eating a piece of Dove dark chocolate.
Anyway . . . summer was busy. Besides, the reunion, it was crunch time for my September release, Shadowed, with edits and proofing. My publisher has posted the first chapter; you can read it here.
Once all the reunions and book stuff were finished, it was time for girls camp (good timing, right?). A couple of days before I left for camp, my daughters showed me the Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots. Loved it. In the movie, the hero's mantra is "All is well"--a phrase that came from his town watchman who would cry out "Alll izzz well" as he patrolled the town, reassuring the residents--though it turned out the watchman couldn't see well at night and didn't have a clue what was going on; he'd just call out "all is well" anyway. I kept thinking of that phrase at girls camp--all is well, all is well. And it was--problems cropped up here and there, but nothing that wasn't manageable, and all truly was well. When I was called as Stake Camp Director three years ago, I'd never been so terrified by a calling in my life, but I've discovered that there are a multitude of blessings associated with the calling.
Now that things have quieted down, I'm working on dejunking the house, a little at a time. Today I cleaned under the stove burners, which was a horrible mess. Problem is, you can't see most of my work, since it's, you know, under the stove top. I should take a picture and put the picture on the fridge, except to get the real effect, you'd need "before" and "after" pictures, and the "before" picture would be too embarrassing. Maybe I should take a "before" picture of my garage and either submit it to a reality show in hopes they'd adopt me as a project or I could enlarge it and call it art representing Angst and Confusion. I would title it "Junk Avalanche with Black Widow Spiders."
Hey . . . maybe that could be the title of that Halloween novella I'm supposed to be working on . . .
Mmm, food. Let's talk about food. Tonight for dinner I made Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup, which turned out to be quite tasty. I'm happy about that, as it's nice to have another soup to add to the soup repertoire. Other noteworthy foods of late: my husband made a strawberry pie on Sunday. And on Saturday, we went to the Nestle Cafe where you could design your own ice cream cookie sandwich. Oh the joy! I didn't know this place existed, but now I'm not likely to ever forget. You chose your cookies, you chose your ice cream, and they put it all together for you in sandwich form. I had a chocolate chip peanut butter cookie and an oatmeal scotchie with double-fudge brownie ice cream in the middle. It was sooo tasty, and I wish I had one right now, and did I mention I've been trying to get back on track for losing weight and by "trying" I mean, "trying except when there are Costco muffins in the house or when my son brings out the smoked salmon and cream cheese after I already made myself a sandwich, because, come on, that smoked salmon is really good."
Hey, at least I'm exercising, right? I even tried my new Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown DVD today. So far, I haven't melted down, but give me time.
Side note: I am eating a piece of Dove dark chocolate.
Anyway . . . summer was busy. Besides, the reunion, it was crunch time for my September release, Shadowed, with edits and proofing. My publisher has posted the first chapter; you can read it here.
Once all the reunions and book stuff were finished, it was time for girls camp (good timing, right?). A couple of days before I left for camp, my daughters showed me the Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots. Loved it. In the movie, the hero's mantra is "All is well"--a phrase that came from his town watchman who would cry out "Alll izzz well" as he patrolled the town, reassuring the residents--though it turned out the watchman couldn't see well at night and didn't have a clue what was going on; he'd just call out "all is well" anyway. I kept thinking of that phrase at girls camp--all is well, all is well. And it was--problems cropped up here and there, but nothing that wasn't manageable, and all truly was well. When I was called as Stake Camp Director three years ago, I'd never been so terrified by a calling in my life, but I've discovered that there are a multitude of blessings associated with the calling.
Now that things have quieted down, I'm working on dejunking the house, a little at a time. Today I cleaned under the stove burners, which was a horrible mess. Problem is, you can't see most of my work, since it's, you know, under the stove top. I should take a picture and put the picture on the fridge, except to get the real effect, you'd need "before" and "after" pictures, and the "before" picture would be too embarrassing. Maybe I should take a "before" picture of my garage and either submit it to a reality show in hopes they'd adopt me as a project or I could enlarge it and call it art representing Angst and Confusion. I would title it "Junk Avalanche with Black Widow Spiders."
Hey . . . maybe that could be the title of that Halloween novella I'm supposed to be working on . . .
Thursday, July 26, 2012
My New Cover!
I got the cover for my new book! I think seeing a cover for the first time is one of the most exciting parts of the publication process. The cover is designed by the publisher, not by the author (thank goodness, because I know about as much about graphic design as I do about nuclear physics). It's always thrilling and a little scary when that email arrives from my editor with the new cover attached. Here it is!!! What will it look like??? What has the designer created to convey the tone of the book and to hook potential book buyers? The cover is what people will see first when they browse a bookstore or flip through a catalog or scan through a website. This is their introduction to my story. This is a BIG DEAL.
Covenant's designers have always done a fantastic job with my covers, and I'm thrilled with this new one. Isn't it awesome?
I love it! The book will be released in September. Here's the backliner:
Gifted musician Catherine Clayton was born into a life of wealth and privilege. Following the death of her father, she makes a bold decision she hopes would make him proud: she’s using the family money to establish a music school and offer free lessons to the underprivileged. A providential suggestion from an old college friend leads Catherine to select Riley, New York, as the perfect location for her new school. Hit hard by the economic downturn, Riley personifies economic hardship: peeling paint, overgrown landscapes, and damaged buildings. But the damage runs much deeper than Catherine first realizes.Two years ago, Riley was rocked by weeks of vandalism, followed by the brutal murder of beautiful elementary school secretary Olivia Perry. Everyone in town loved Olivia—but especially the two men with whom she was caught in a love triangle. Though the murder remains unsolved, Catherine receives ominous warnings that one of these men, Adam Becket, is responsible for her death. Unimpressed by the lack of evidence against him, Catherine is drawn to the shy but endearing Adam. Could he really have been involved in Olivia’s murder?Just as Catherine is settling in and getting to know Adam, a vandal strikes again, and it’s eerily reminiscent of the events surrounding Olivia’s murder. The death threats splashed on the walls prove that the killer is back—and this time, it’s Catherine who wonders if she’s come to the wrong place at the wrong time.
Monday, May 7, 2012
LDStorymakers 2012 and Whitney Gala
May 3rd-5th was the 2012 LDStorymakers Writers Conference at the Provo Marriott, and it was FANTASTIC. I look forward to this event every year--as one of my writer friends (I think it was Karen Hoover?) remarked: "It's like a family reunion." I agree--we're a big family of writers. This is usually the only time in the year that I get to see my writer friends, so I really look forward to this conference. In additional to visiting with old friends, I love meeting new people, including people that I "know" from online. It's fun being able to match faces with names! One of my absolute favorite parts of being a writer is meeting so many great people.
This year, I was a boot camp "instructor." Boot camp is an event held on Thursday, the day before the conference officially opens. Authors who want to participate bring pages of their manuscript (I can't remember how many pages--maybe 10 or 15?) and come prepared to critique and be critiqued. As an instructor, it was my job to make sure our table ran smoothly and that everyone got their chunk of time. Boot camp goes from 12:30-6:00, which sounds like a lot of time until you try it and realize you'll never even come close to getting all the way through anyone's manuscript segment. I had five marvelous writers at my table: Camille Pack, Teresa Schanze, Alice Workman, Mona Reed Sharp, and Luke Peterson. They were wonderful--all talented writers, and all wonderful at receiving feedback on their manuscripts. It takes a lot of courage to open yourself up in that setting, reading your manuscript aloud and then listening while the others at the table offer their thoughts on what works well in the manuscript and what could be improved. It was an honor to work with such great writers!
Friday and Saturday were the conference, and it was top notch. I went to a bunch of marvelous classes and took lots of notes. A few of the classes I attended: Jeff Savage's class on voice, Dan Wells' class on writing a series, and Amber Argyle's class on different types of magic. A huge thank you to conference co-chairs Jaime Theler and Heather Justesen, the conference committee, MC Sarah Eden, all the presenters, and everyone who went to so much work to create such a wonderful conference.
The Whitney gala was on Saturday evening after the conference ended. Whitney president Josi Kilpack and her committee did a wonderful job, the dinner was delicious, and I was delighted to have my sister Bonnie there with me. I am absolutely thrilled that Rearview Mirror won a Whitney Award for Best Mystery! Wow! Thank you so much to everyone who read and enjoyed my book. You can see the list of all the finalists and winners here.
Here are some pictures from the conference and gala:
Here I am with Dan Wells and his hat. He wears that fedora well, don't you think?
Authors Krista Lynne Jensen (Of Grace and Chocolate), Ali Cross (Become), and Angie Lofthouse (Defenders of the Covenant) at the mass booksigning on Friday evening.
With Janette Rallison. Janette is amazing--she's written tons of delightful YA books, and two of her books were Whitney finalists this year: My Unfair Godmother and Slayers (written under the name CJ Hill).
With Don Carey (Bumpy Landings), Karen Hoover (The Wolfchild Saga), and Nancy Allen (Whitney Award finalist for Isabelle Webb: The Pharoah's Curse).
With Krista Jensen (Of Grace and Chocolate) and Dan Wells. Dan's novel, I Don't Want to Kill You, won the Whitney Award for Best Novel of the Year.
With Brandon Sanderson (Best Speculative novel for The Alloy of Law: A Mistborn Novel).
With Jack Weyland and his wife Sherry. Jack received a Whitney Lifetime Achievement Award. What an honor to shake the hand of Jack Weyland, one of the founding fathers of LDS fiction!
From left to right: Mindy Holt, me, Sheila Staley, Shanda Cottam (Mindy, Shanda, and Sheila run the LDS Women's Book Review), Tess Hilmo (her book With a Name Like Love won the Whitney for Best Young Adult General Fiction and Best Novel by a New Author), Jenni James (Whitney Award finalist for Pride and Popularity, and Josi Kilpack (Whitney Award president and author of the Sadie Hofmiller culinary mysteries).
With my wonderful sister, Bonnie, who not only came to support me at the Whitney gala, but patiently served as photographer afterwards. Thank you, Bonnie!
Front row, left to right: Jennie Hansen (finalist for her mystery novel If I Should Die. Jennie also received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007). Gregg Luke (finalist for Bloodborne). Back row: Nancy (NC) Allen, finalist for Isabelle Webb: The Pharaoh's Curse, Gale Sears (winner, Best Historical, for Letters in the Jade Dragon Box), and Lynn Gardner (author of the "jewel" mysteries and the Maggie McKenzie series).
I suspect that in this post, I broke a record for the use of "wonderful" and assorted synonyms, but that's just the kind of conference/gala it was and the kind of people I was privileged to associate with. Once again, thank you to everyone who went to so much work for the conference and the gala. I'm looking forward to Storymakers 2013!
This year, I was a boot camp "instructor." Boot camp is an event held on Thursday, the day before the conference officially opens. Authors who want to participate bring pages of their manuscript (I can't remember how many pages--maybe 10 or 15?) and come prepared to critique and be critiqued. As an instructor, it was my job to make sure our table ran smoothly and that everyone got their chunk of time. Boot camp goes from 12:30-6:00, which sounds like a lot of time until you try it and realize you'll never even come close to getting all the way through anyone's manuscript segment. I had five marvelous writers at my table: Camille Pack, Teresa Schanze, Alice Workman, Mona Reed Sharp, and Luke Peterson. They were wonderful--all talented writers, and all wonderful at receiving feedback on their manuscripts. It takes a lot of courage to open yourself up in that setting, reading your manuscript aloud and then listening while the others at the table offer their thoughts on what works well in the manuscript and what could be improved. It was an honor to work with such great writers!
Friday and Saturday were the conference, and it was top notch. I went to a bunch of marvelous classes and took lots of notes. A few of the classes I attended: Jeff Savage's class on voice, Dan Wells' class on writing a series, and Amber Argyle's class on different types of magic. A huge thank you to conference co-chairs Jaime Theler and Heather Justesen, the conference committee, MC Sarah Eden, all the presenters, and everyone who went to so much work to create such a wonderful conference.
The Whitney gala was on Saturday evening after the conference ended. Whitney president Josi Kilpack and her committee did a wonderful job, the dinner was delicious, and I was delighted to have my sister Bonnie there with me. I am absolutely thrilled that Rearview Mirror won a Whitney Award for Best Mystery! Wow! Thank you so much to everyone who read and enjoyed my book. You can see the list of all the finalists and winners here.
Here are some pictures from the conference and gala:
Here I am with Dan Wells and his hat. He wears that fedora well, don't you think?
Authors Krista Lynne Jensen (Of Grace and Chocolate), Ali Cross (Become), and Angie Lofthouse (Defenders of the Covenant) at the mass booksigning on Friday evening.
With Janette Rallison. Janette is amazing--she's written tons of delightful YA books, and two of her books were Whitney finalists this year: My Unfair Godmother and Slayers (written under the name CJ Hill).
With Angela Eschler, who was my wonderful first editor. So fun to see Angela at the conference!
With Lynn Gardner, the author of the "jewel" mystery series (such as Topaz and Treachery) and the Maggie McKenzie mysteries.
With Josi Kilpack (the Sadie Hoffmiller mysteries, most recently Banana Split) and Lisa Mangum (The Hourglass Door trilogy).
With my editor, Kirk Shaw. Kirk is marvelous, and it's an honor to work with him.
With Don Carey (Bumpy Landings), Karen Hoover (The Wolfchild Saga), and Nancy Allen (Whitney Award finalist for Isabelle Webb: The Pharoah's Curse).
With Krista Jensen (Of Grace and Chocolate) and Dan Wells. Dan's novel, I Don't Want to Kill You, won the Whitney Award for Best Novel of the Year.
With Brandon Sanderson (Best Speculative novel for The Alloy of Law: A Mistborn Novel).
With Jack Weyland and his wife Sherry. Jack received a Whitney Lifetime Achievement Award. What an honor to shake the hand of Jack Weyland, one of the founding fathers of LDS fiction!
From left to right: Mindy Holt, me, Sheila Staley, Shanda Cottam (Mindy, Shanda, and Sheila run the LDS Women's Book Review), Tess Hilmo (her book With a Name Like Love won the Whitney for Best Young Adult General Fiction and Best Novel by a New Author), Jenni James (Whitney Award finalist for Pride and Popularity, and Josi Kilpack (Whitney Award president and author of the Sadie Hofmiller culinary mysteries).
With my wonderful sister, Bonnie, who not only came to support me at the Whitney gala, but patiently served as photographer afterwards. Thank you, Bonnie!
Front row, left to right: Jennie Hansen (finalist for her mystery novel If I Should Die. Jennie also received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007). Gregg Luke (finalist for Bloodborne). Back row: Nancy (NC) Allen, finalist for Isabelle Webb: The Pharaoh's Curse, Gale Sears (winner, Best Historical, for Letters in the Jade Dragon Box), and Lynn Gardner (author of the "jewel" mysteries and the Maggie McKenzie series).
I suspect that in this post, I broke a record for the use of "wonderful" and assorted synonyms, but that's just the kind of conference/gala it was and the kind of people I was privileged to associate with. Once again, thank you to everyone who went to so much work for the conference and the gala. I'm looking forward to Storymakers 2013!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Storymakers and Massive Book Signing!
This week is the LDStorymakers Writers Conference, and I am so excited! I absolutely love this event. It's a fantastic conference and it is so incredibly fun to spend a few days with a bunch of writers. I can't wait to see old friends and to make new ones! This year is a very relaxed one for me. I'm helping with Boot Camp on Thursday, and I'm manning the help desk for one hour on Saturday, but other than that, I'll just be hanging out and attending awesome classes.
In other news, my two older girls are home from college. It's so fun to have them home again, and I'm not just saying that because they'll be a huge help while I'm gone at the conference :) I'm also not just saying it because my oldest daughter made gnocchi with lemon-rosemary cream sauce for dinner last night, but the gnocchi was definitely a nice bonus. Speaking of yummy things, I made a German chocolate cake for my husband's birthday the other week, and boy was it tasty. Oooh, that coconut-pecan frosting.
Do I talk about food a lot? Hmm (or should I say "Mmm"?). My diary from when I was maybe eight years old reads something like this: "For lunch, I had a salami and cheese sandwich and corn chips. For Family Home Evening refreshments, we had cinnamon rolls." In other words, apparently I haven't changed much.
The Storymakers Conference includes a bookstore, run by the absolutely amazing Julie Wright and her amazing family. All Storymakers attending the conference, all presenters, and all Whitney finalists have the opportunity to sell their books in the bookstore if they so desire. Last year, the conference included a massive author booksigning, where any author attendees who wanted to participate could stake out a table and sign books. It was a fun event, and I'm delighted that they're doing it again this year. And this year, there's a new twist--even if you aren't attending the Storymakers conference, you can attend the booksigning.
This. Is. Awesome. Giant booksigning! Loads of authors! So come visit me! You don't even have to buy any of my books--just come say hi! Or if you already own my books and would like me to sign them, I'd be happy to do that too.
Here are the details for the booksigning, which I swiped off Whitney finalist Theresa Small Sneed's blog:
Date: Friday, May 4, 2012, 5:00-6:45 PM
Location: Provo Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, 101 West 100 North, Provo Utah (801) 377-4700 (Aspen Room)
In other news, my two older girls are home from college. It's so fun to have them home again, and I'm not just saying that because they'll be a huge help while I'm gone at the conference :) I'm also not just saying it because my oldest daughter made gnocchi with lemon-rosemary cream sauce for dinner last night, but the gnocchi was definitely a nice bonus. Speaking of yummy things, I made a German chocolate cake for my husband's birthday the other week, and boy was it tasty. Oooh, that coconut-pecan frosting.
Do I talk about food a lot? Hmm (or should I say "Mmm"?). My diary from when I was maybe eight years old reads something like this: "For lunch, I had a salami and cheese sandwich and corn chips. For Family Home Evening refreshments, we had cinnamon rolls." In other words, apparently I haven't changed much.
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