The Whitney Awards

by Rebecca Talley

It's hard to believe, but we only have one more month left of 2010. I remember all the fuss just before we welcomed the year 2000, or Y2K, here. Time sure flies by, doesn't it? The older I get, the faster is seems to fly by.

As we wind down this year, don't forget to nominate your favorite books by LDS authors for a Whitney Award. The Whitney Awards were created to recognize writing excellence by LDS authors and the program has continued to grow since its inception. In order for a book to be nominated, it does not have to be LDS, but the author must be LDS. Each year books geared toward the national market are nominated and win. For a complete list of eligible books please visit LDS Publisher.

To nominate a book for a Whitney Award please visit The Whitney Awards.

We have some excellent books written by our very own blog team members. Remember, each book needs at least five nominations to be considered. Make sure to nominate your favorites--I have. This is a great opportunity to recognize LDS authors.

Visit today and nominate your favorite books!

Be A Cheerful Giver

Edward Sanford Martin has said “Thanksgiving Day comes by statute once a year. To the honest man [or woman] it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.”

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Though occasional days of thanksgiving were pronounced in the early days of our country, it was not until 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving Day a National Holiday. At this time of year and particularly on Thanksgiving Day, we are reminded to offer our gratitude to the Lord, as well as to our family, friends and neighbors. As citizens of this great nation we have a rich heritage we can appreciate and be thankful for.

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We have been taught that we are to Love God and we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. How can we Love God, and how can we love our neighbor if we do not have the humility to show gratitude to them.

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The first reason it is important to show gratitude is that it shows our humility before the Lord and our love of Him. Like the healed Samaritan who returned to “Glorify God” and offer thanksgiving, we too can acknowledge the greatness of God by offering our gratitude directly through prayer, as well as indirectly by serving and being grateful to others.

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The 2nd reason we show gratitude is to show love for our neighbors.Acts of gratitude may be simple, but they are also powerful. A story is told of a grown man who had his memory pricked concerning a favorite teacher from grade school. He made the effort to locate this teacher and wrote her a brief note, offering his thanks for her teaching and care. The man later received a letter back from this elderly teacher, overcome by the note of thanksgiving she received. She explained that in all of her years of teaching, his note of gratitude was the first she had ever received. The simple note became a treasure to her.I believe as we show gratitude to others, our words and deeds of thanksgiving also praise God.

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As we love our neighbor we love our God. As we thank our neighbor, we thank our God and we are keeping the two great commandments.

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“Whatever language is spoken, “Thank you”, frequently expressed will cheer your spirit, broaden your friendships, and lift your lives to a higher pathway.” Thomas S. Monson

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Offering a simple thank you is easy to do and can have a tremendous impact on both the giver and the receiver.

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2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

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When we give repeatedly, we become a cheerful giver. When we are stingy in giving, the rare times that we do give become more of a struggle and we are less cheerful in giving. When we give our thanks and gratitude we are also giving a touch of joy and happiness. As we practice and make a habit out of showing gratitude to others we become cheerful givers.

We have so much to be thankful for. As we offer sincere gratitude we please the Lord and we are blessed with great joy and happiness. We can share that joy with others. Let us be cheerful givers of gratitude to the Lord and our neighbors.

I'm sorry this blogpost wasn't about writing, but showing gratitude impacts every facet of our lives, including writing, marketing and building meaningful relationships.

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Please take a moment to comment about one simple thing you are grateful for.

Being Grateful for Each Day

JoAnn Arnold

Yesterday, I was one of several models for a fashion show at the Jubilee of Trees, in St. George. My sponsor - Christopher and Banks. Now, this wasn't just any fashion show but one to raise awareness of Breast Cancer. Those of us who are Survivors, were given a pink rose to carry with us as we modeled. While we waited in the wings, friendships were made and stories shared.

One thing I believe we survivors all have in common is the fact that after experiencing Breast Cancer, we view the world with a different prospective. We are more thankful than we were before. More aware of life and what it brings to us. We find that we have more courage than we thought we had. We are aware that this life threatening disease could find us again. But knowing that fact makes life even more precious to us . . . more meaningful. It makes us love our spouse, our children and grandchildren with more intensity. It makes us want to accomplish something worthwhile.

The quote (and I'm not sure who said it): "It's not life that matters. It's the courage that we bring to it," is a quote I have in plain sight on my desk. The point is that it was there before my experience with breast cancer. It was there to encourage me as an author. But I found it's meaning to be much the same in both cases.

As authors, we want to accomplish something worthwhile, and we find that it takes courage to put our work out for the criticism or the delight of those who read it. But that's life. It's a life we view through an author's creative eye, and we love what we do with great intensity.

Thanksgiving is just two days away, and I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and, because of the weather report, drive carefully if you are traveling. If you are flying . . . if you are flying . . . how do I put it? If you are flying, I guess you will just have to bare with it.

It's Here!

I had a simply amazing Friday! No wonder it's my favorite day of the week.

Friday morning, my editor emailed me to say my book had arrived in the warehouse (on Thursday, actually). I got the email shortly before 10am. Now, here's my Friday:

I babysit other people's kids during the day. That day, however, two of the kids I was supposed to have didn't come because their dad took the day off. And I had one that I don't normally have--the only one that day.

My kids got out of school at 12:15pm. Early out, because the teachers had training. Fortunately, the child I was tending was one of the teacher's kids, so she said she'd take him when I picked up my kids. That was truly awesome of her.

My husband worked until 5am Friday, so he slept until I woke him up at 10 to tell him the books had arrived. And he insisted we go down and get them. I told him he needed to sleep. He said he wasn't sleeping anymore that day.

So, we packed the kids a lunch, picked them up from school, dropped the baby off to his mom, and headed for Springville. From Tooele.

Ya. I know. But, it's my BOOK! lol

I'll spare you all the details of driving that far with 5 children in a van we're outgrowing, but I will say that I gasped when I saw my book in person. A.Maz.Ing.

We walked out with 25 books, popped open our bottle of sparkling cider, and toasted my success in the Cedar Fort parking lot. That's just how we roll.

And, as of right now, I only have one book left that is not spoken for. Looks like we're going to make another trip to Springville!

Phantom Phan

                                         Phantom Phan

                                             By Trina Boice

                                                                www.boicebox.com

         

Fireworks on stage?  Yep, the Las Vegas production of the beloved “Phantom of the Opera” has it all: gorgeous sets, beautiful costumes, stunning music, a wonderful Phantom who mysteriously appears and disappears throughout the theater, and fireworks so bright you can feel their heat from your seat.  The Venetian Hotel brags “You’ve never seen Phantom like this before” and they’re right.

While the Vegas version of the show is an edited, shorter production, it is still most worthy of a standing ovation, which last Friday night’s audience eagerly awarded the performers at the curtain call.   Some might argue that a few scenes seemed rushed, while others are grateful to see the storyline move along more quickly, but either way, the 95 minute version still contains everyone’s favorite songs. 

The haunting melodies carry your imagination away, which is a very good thing since it is often difficult to actually understand what words are being sung.    The cast is solid and the Phantom’s dramatic stage presence easily earns the largest applause from the audience. 

I recommend NOT sitting too close to the stage, as the theater itself is part of the show.  In fact, this theater was designed specifically for the show.  I loved when the stage was magically transformed into a river bed with lighted candelabras rising from the fog.  My only complaint was that most scenes were a bit too dark, but then again, so is the plot.  The famous chandelier in the Paris Opera House holds everyone’s attention several times during the show and you can almost hear the mannequins in the balcony boxes cheer with delight.

                       

People have loved the Phantom of the Opera production for so many years that it doesn’t surprise me that Andrew Lloyd Webber has finally come up with a sequel: “Love Never Dies”, which opened recently in London.  The heart wrenching love story continues, but this time in America, ten years later.   I won’t tell you what happens, but it features Coney Island acrobatic sets, ensuring the Cirque-style production will end up in Las Vegas eventually.

But here's my question, do you really want to see a murderous villain win the fair maiden in a sequel?  I don't want to give away the plot...I'm just saying...   Does writing a sequel ruin or enhance the story?  Would you write a sequel to Phantom?  If so, what would you want to have happen?  Are some stories better left with a haunting ending than having everything tied up nicely in a musical encore?

  

                                  

Tickets start at $59 for rear mezzanine seating and can be purchased by calling The Phantom Box Office at or (702) 414-9000, online at www.tickets.venetian.com . Reservations for groups of 15 or more are available by calling (866) 633-0195.The Phantom VIP Experience runs $250 per person and includes the following:

• A backstage tour of the custom-built Phantom Theatre
• A private meet and greet with cast members
• Premium seating in the VIP Golden Circle Section of the Orchestra.

The Write Planner by www.WriterRemedies.com

If you're a writer, or have always wanted to write, a friend of mine has created the perfect planner designed just for you . . .

Introducing The Write Planner, a 12 month day planner designed especially for writers. Its convenient 5x7 size is perfect for everyday use, but comes loaded with features to keep you focused on your writing.

Features:

• Sturdy Cover with inside pocket
• Weekly motivating quotes
• Full 2011 Yearly calendar
• Monthly Calendars
• Weekly layouts with daily goals
• Monthly writing goals
• Card stock dividers
• NaNoWriMo tracking sheet
• Track your progress
• Visual progress bars
• New contacts
• Critique group info
• Notes
• Upcoming conferences
  
• Built-in Ribbon bookmark

Check it out here: www.writerremedies.com

Open Season on Wombats

It's great to see the promotional efforts the authors with upcoming releases are making. I have to chuckle over all the questions I've had to field about the references to Australian marsupials on my website and blog lately. Curiosity has been rampant about my mysterious "password protected" pages.

As of Monday, my WOMBAT RECRUITING site went public and the news is out. I'm not talking about cute little mammals from down under; I'm talking about marketing my book. WOMBAT, you see, stands for Word of Mouth Buy And Tell, the natural, organic way that we have been creating exposure for our books in this market for years. Blog tours, reviews, interviews, Facebook and email blasts, launch parties, posters and bookmarks have long been staples in getting the word out, and I'm sticking with those standbys for my campaign for The Rogue Shop's December 8th release. The difference is, I'm trying to stimulate even greater enthusiasm by offering some attractive incentives.

I've seen authors give away a book or two, and one recently offered up a Kindle to the person who generated the most buzz for her book. I'm trying to build a small army of WOMBAT warriors who really like or are anticipating my book, so I'm throwing out up to $255 in amazon.com gift cards to those who really take this show on the road.

Most of us know we're not going to get rich anytime soon writing fiction for our little market and publisher. We do, however, want as many people as possible to read our books. In order to maximize that potential, we need to make ourselves visible on this vast sphere of noise called the internet and make it clear that we have something worth buying. The investment in these prizes is well-worth it to me if a select group of individuals will take a few minutes and help create this visibility with me.

How well will this work? I have no idea. It's an experiment, and I'm willing to share the nuts-and-bolts and results with my fellow Cedar Fort authors so we can all learn something. If it does have a positive impact, I'll be happy to reciprocate and participate in similar programs for you when your time comes. If all goes well, I'll put more books in readers' hands and you get more blog traffic and followers - setting you up for more book sales down the line. Oh, and you may very well walk away with a gift card worth up to $50, too. This is not a random drawing -- it's purely based on the number of points accumulated with your activities.

Go to http://michaelknudsenauthor.com/676-2/ to find out exactly what kind of WOMBATical activities I'm talking about, and how to earn the rewards. Meanwhile, in the comments let's invite some of the established authors to tell about the things they've done that resulted in more sold books, or in positive buzz. Have online advertising, blog tours, or video trailers worked for you? There are no trade secrets here; we're all in this together!

By the way, if you haven't seen Don Carey's utterly charming video teaser for Bumpy Landings (even if you have, like Inception it gets better with repeat viewings), go directly to Monday's post on this blog!

psst, Don -- do I get another point for that?