2013 Eligible Books for the Whitney Awards

Last year I didn't post a list of books eligible to be nominated for the Whitney awards. Honestly, I didn't have the time and didn't think it was used by anyone but me. But a few people did ask where the list had gone. They consulted it regularily and missed having it available. So it's back. Again, I don't know how many people will really look at it, but it is useful to me.

One thing I find interesting to is to see how large the list has grown compared to the first year I posted it. The list in 2007 was 96 books long. It is the middle of April and already the list is over a hundred books. My final list for 2011 was 186 books long. It's great to see more and more LDS authors getting their work published and getting their names out there.

If you know of an LDS author who has had a book published this year and should be on the list, let me know in the comment section. If you have a suggestion on the type of format you'd like to see the list in, I'd appreciate that as well. Happy reading!

1. Abramson, Traci Hunter - Deep Cover
2. Allen, N.C. - Isabelle Webb: The Grecian Princess
3. Alsop, Cheree - Hunter
4. Alsop, Cheree - Small Town Superhero
5. Argyle, Michelle Davidson - Pieces
6. Ashton, Brodi - Everbound
7. Banks, Alex - Jump Boys: SOS
8. Bennett, Cindy C. - Rapunzel Untangled
9. Bradford, Charity - The Magic Wakes
10. Branton, Teyla - The Change
11. Branton, Teyla - The Cure
12. Card, Orson Scott - The Gate Thief
13. Carter, Stephen - The Hand of Glory
14. Cechini, Annie Laurie - Liberty
15. Checketts, Cami - The Broken Path
16. Checketts, Cami - Poison Me
17. Checketts, Cami - Running Home
18. Clark, Platte F. - Bad Unicorn
19. Cole, Frank L. - Hashbrown Winters and the Whiz-Tastrophe
20. Collings, Michaelbrent - Blood Relations: A Good Mormon Girl Mystery
21. Collings, Michaelbrent - Darkbound
22. Cross, Ali - Personal Demons
23. Daines, Julie - A Blind Eye
24. Eden, Sarah M. - Drops of Gold
25. Elkins, Russell - Sparks the Matchmaker
26. Fixsen, Jaima - Fairchild
27. Flynn, Sandra Norton - Be Mine
28. Ford, Julie N. - Replacing Gentry
29. Ford, S.R. - The Elements and the Exodus
30. Fowers, Stephanie - Twisted Tales #3: As the Sun Sets
31. Fowers, Stephanie - Twisted Tales #2: At Midnight
32. Fowers, Stephanie - Twisted Tales #1: With a Kiss
33. Gamon, Sherry - Unbelievable
34. Giles, Nichole - Descendant
35. Guymon, Shannon - A Trusting Heart
36. Guymon, Shannon - Do Over
37. Guymon, Shannon - Unbelievable
38. Haberkorn, Jim - A Thousand Suns
39. Hall, Vickie - Journey of Promise
40. Hansen, Jennie - Where Once the River Flowed
41. Harrison, Mette Ivie - The Princess and the Wolf
42. Hoagland, Maria - Family Size
43. Jacobson, Melanie - Second Chances
44. James, Jenni - Cinderella
45. James, Jenni - Hansel and Gretel
46. James, Jenni - Jack and the Beanstalk
47. James, Jenni - Rumplestiltskin
48. James, Jenni - Snow White
49. Jensen, Cecilia and Stanford A. Carmack
50. Jensen, Krista Lynne - The Orchard
51. Justeson, Heather - Pistols & Pies
52. Kilpack, Josi - Baked Alaska
53. Kurland, Lynn - Kurland
54. Larsen, W. Thor - Insecta: Zombie Queen
55. Latas, Jennifer - Fall
56. Lavering, Ashley - Star Cursed
57. Lyon, Annette - Coming Home
58. Martinson, Tyrean - Champion: In the Darkness
59. Matthews, Jean Holbrook - Safe Haven
60. McClellan, Rachel - Fractured Soul
61. McClure, Marcia Lynn - The Pirate Ruse
62. Monson, Adrienne - Dissension
63. Moore, H.B. - Esther the Queen
64. Moore, Heather B. - Heart of the Ocean
65. Morris, Chad - Cragbridge Hall: The Inventor's Secret
66. Mull, Brandon - Beyonders: Chasing the Prophecy
67. Nelson, Darrel - The Return of Cassandra Todd
68. Nelson, Kelly - The Keeper's Quest
69. Nielson, Jennifer A. - The Runaway King
70. Norton, Preston - Blud and Magick
71. Novak, Brenda - When Summer Comes
72. Olsen, Erik - Raggleroot
73. Park, Greg - Sividious Stark and the Stadium Between Worlds
74. Patten, E.J. - The Legend Thief
75. Pearson, Andrea - Rise of Keitus (Kilenya #4)
76. Pehrson, Elise - Forever Fair
77. Perkins, Luisa & Jared Adair
78. Perry, Jolene & Janna Watts - 3 Sides to a Circle
79. Perry, Jolene - Manipulation
80. Perry, Jolene - Seeker
81. Poulson, Clair - Framed
82. Pratt, Sheralyn - Unpleasant Grove
83. Rohrer, M. Ann - Mattie
84. Sanderson, Brandon and Robert Jordan - A Memory of Light
85. Savage, J. Scott - Farworld: Air Keep
86. Savage, Jeffrey S. - Dark Memories
87. Sears, Gale - Belonging to Heaven
88. Slack, Mandi Tucker - Tide Ever Rising
89. Stastny, Charissa - Secret Keepers
90. Sowards, A.L. - Sworn Enemy
91. Taylor, Keary - The Bane
92. Thayne, RaeAnne - Current Creek Valley
93. Tullis, Heather - SEALed with Love
94. Tullis, Heather - Reclaiming His Bride
95. Vasicek, Joe - Stars of Blood and Glory
96. Warburton, Carol Thayne - Poaching Daisies
97. Warnock, Caleb & Betsy Schow - Trouble's on the Menu: A Tippy Canoe Romp
98. Washburn, The Brothers (Berk and Andy) - Pitch Green
99. Wells, Dan - Fragments
100. Westover, Steve - Crater Lake: Return of the Mystic Gray
101. Wheeler, Jeff - Fireblood
102. White, Kiersten - Mind Games
103. Wiggins, Bethany - Stung
104. Workman, RaShelle - Blood and Snow
105. Workman, RaShelle - Cindy Witch

*I won't vouch for the content of any of these books. Though the authors are all LDS, there are still some books with language and content that may make some LDS readers uncomfortable.

To Teach = To Learn

Yesterday, I began teaching an adult education course in my community. Though it was a small group, we had good discussion on what makes story and on creating strong characters.

I love to teach. Being able to talk about something I love, to people who are interested in learning what I know is satisfying. What I love the most is how much I learn from researching, formulating my thoughts, and sharing my excitement. Some of the things we talked about, I do without thinking, so it was great to be able to break it down for others. It is helping me to look at my own set of skills and find ways to improve them.

It has been too long since I have written anything. I keep finding excuses -- weddings, kids starting university, several trips. Really, all the excuses in the world mean nothing. What I am really suffering from is a lack of confidence. I think we all come across this in some form or another. For me, it has been rather debilitating.

I continue to wonder if my time would be better spent elsewhere, but I always come back to wanting to tell the next story. That's why this class is good for me. It is making me examine writing closely again. It is getting the ideas percolating in my brain and making my fingers itch for the keyboard.

So I hope my students benefit from the class and are glad they signed up, but in the long run, I think I will receive the greatest benefit of all.

Summer Weddings

What do you get when you send two daughters to BYU-I at the same time? That's right! Two weddings in five weeks and a crazy summer to go with it. Our house was so swamped with wedding decorations, food, dresses, and guests, that I didn't even give writing a thought for much too long.

Our first wedding took place at the end of July. My daughter wanted me to make her dress. That took countless hours as we drafted a pattern, hunted on the internet for the perfect lace, and hand pieced all that lace together. There were way too many nights when I would tuck my family into their beds and then stay up until 3:30 am, sewing lace. It was worth it to see how much she loved the dress. My daughter spent days baking cakes for the reception and my sister did an amazing job on the decorations. With help from every member of the family, we managed to get everything put together in time for the big day.

The night before the wedding, I received a phone call asking if the temple had called and cancelled. Puzzled, I asked, "Why on earth would they do that?" I found out that there had been a hailstorm in Cardston earlier that evening with tennis ball size hailstones. There had been a lot of damage at the temple. My aunt and uncle and the best man had been staying in Cardston that night. Their cars were totalled as were hundreds of other vehicles in Cardston. (If you want to watch a crazy video of the storm, follow this link.) When we arrived at the temple the next morning, there was crushed glass all over the parking lot from smashed windshields. It made for interesting wedding pictures since the lawns of the temple were covered with broken branches and leaves.

 My three children: yes, they are all taller than me and I am wearing 4" heals!

(You can see all the broken branches and leaves on the lawn.)

The wedding went off without a hitch and we were happy to welcome our new son-in-law to the family. Since he is from Arizona, they decided to hold an open house there so that all his friends and family who couldn't make it to Canada could wish them well. Of course, I wasn't going to miss that, so three days after the wedding my husband, youngest daughter, and I headed south. We spent ten days in the U.S. enjoying the crazy 116 degree weather in Arizona and spending time with family.

Once we got back, it was on to my step-daughter's wedding. We didn't do as much planning for this one, we just wrote all the cheques. I sewed two of the bridesmaid dresses and we helped get the decorations up, but for me it was a much more relaxed event.


It was fun to see the girls' personalities come out in their dresses and decorations. All in all, it was a good summer, but I'm glad that the next daughter is only fifteen!