Giving Thanks:I am thankful for mentors.

Several years ago, when I made up my mind that I needed to take writing more seriously, and really do something about it, I was blessed enough to find a wonderful group of mentors. Through an online forum for writers, I learned that a group called LDStorymakers (yes, only one S), was going to be holding a writer's conference in Springville, Utah. I knew I needed to go. It was a one-day event at that time, in a small theater, and it happened to be on my wedding anniversary. My husband, bless him, agreed that I really ought to go. In fact, he came with me, and hung out in the Springville Library studying (he was getting his degree at the time) while I was at the conference. Kind of a weird way to spend an anniversary, but it was one of the best anniversary gifts he has ever given me.

That conference was where I began to see that some of my favorite authors were real people. They were just like me, but further along in their writing careers. There were only about 35 attendees that first year (now it's in the hundreds), but I realized that this was a group of people who actually thought the way I did. Where else but a group of writers can you talk about the conversations the imaginary people in your head are having, and not be considered crazy? I've gone to the Storymakers conference every year since then, and every year I learn something about my craft that I didn't even know I didn't know.

I'm almost over being star-struck every time I see one of my favorite authors there. (But I still have to have them sign a book. I'll always be a little bit of a fan girl.) In general, authors are really nice people. So many of them go all out to train other writers who may end up as their competition. I suppose that's one definition of a mentor.

A to Z Challenge Blogfest - L is for LDStorymakers

That's pronounced LDS Storymakers. Yeah, I know, why didn't they just put another S in there? Anyway, despite the missing S, they are an awesome group of writers who originally got together to support each other, and later branched out to support up and coming writers. To that end, they created the annual LDS Storymakers Writers Conference, which has grown from a group of about 35 attendees at the Little Brown Theater in Springville, Utah, to this year's conference in Salt Lake City, which will have over 400 attendees.

I was lucky enough to attend the first conference at a time when I was just starting to get serious about my writing. I've been to every conference since then, and I plan to keep going, because I made a great discovery there. Published writers are real people, just like me. They started out with a talent for writing and a desire to share that talent, just like me. I found a whole new peer group of writers, both published and unpublished, who actually think the way I do. I've also learned so much about the craft of writing and the world of publishing. I've learned to believe that someday soon, I'll be a published author too.

Looking for a good book?

I'm always on the lookout for something good to read. By that I mean something that can hold my interest, is well written, and does not contain anything offensive. There are all kinds of books that could meet the first two criteria, but not the third. Too often, I am intrigued by the back blurb and get caught up in the story, only to find it's a "page skipper." You know, those books where you can tell a sex scene is coming up, skip two or three pages, and pick up the story again. Usually, the skipped pages are gratuitous. If I just ripped them right out of the book, it wouldn't make any difference to the plot. Some books have violence that is so graphic it just turns my stomach. I don't want to read things like that. It is commonplace for authors to have their characters use language I find offensive.

I don't like to waste my money or time on books I have to self-edit, or stop reading all together. Even worse is paying for a book that is poorly written. There are some books I have read, or struggled valiantly to read but couldn't finish, that should have had some major rewriting and editing before they were published. What were those publishers thinking?


But I have a great new source to find books worth reading. The second annual Whitney Awards were held last weekend in conjunction with the sixth annual LDStorymakers Writers Conference. The Whitneys were named for Elder Orson F. Whitney, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who stated, "We shall yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. . . . In God’s name and by His help we will build up a literature whose tops will touch the heaven, though its foundation may now be low on the earth.” The Whitney Awards recognize the best works by LDS writers each year. For a long list of books worth reading, here are the five finalists in each category:

Best Novel of the Year

Bound on Earth
by Angela Hallstrom

Fool Me Twice
by Stephanie Black

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, Book Three)
by Brandon Sanderson

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
by Jessica Day George

Traitor
by Sandra Grey

Best Novel by a New Author

Bound on Earth
by Angela Hallstrom

The Reckoning
by Tanya Parker Mills

Spare Change
by Aubrey Mace

Traitor
by Sandra Grey

Waiting For the Light to Change
by Annette Hawes

Best General Fiction

Bound on Earth
by Angela Hallstrom

Fields of Home
by Rachel Ann Nunes

Keeping Keller
by Tracy Winegar

The Reckoning
by Tanya Parker Mills

Waiting For the Light to Change
by Annette Hawes

Best Historical

Abinadi
by H. B. Moore

Isabelle Webb, Legend of the Jewel
by N. C. Allen

Master
by Toni Sorenson

The Ruby
by Jennie Hansen

Traitor
by Sandra Grey

Best Speculative Fiction

Ender in Exile
by Orson Scott Card

The Great and Terrible: From the End of Heaven (Vol. 5)
by Chris Stewart

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, Book 3)
by Brandon Sanderson

The Host
by Stephenie Meyer

The Wyrmling Horde: The Seventh Book of the Runelords
by David Farland

Best Youth Fiction

The 13th Reality
by James Dashner

Alcatraz vs. The Scrivner's Bones
by Brandon Sanderson

Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague (Book 3)
by Brandon Mull

Farworld: Water Keep
by J. Scott Savage

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
by Jessica Day George

Best Mystery/Suspense

Above and Beyond
by Betsy Brannon Green

Do No Harm
by Gregg Luke

Fool Me Twice
by Stephanie Black

Freefall
by Traci Hunter Abramson

Royal Target
by Traci Hunter Abramson

Best Romance

Seeking Persephone
by Sarah Eden

Servant to a King
by Sariah Wilson

The Sound of Rain
by Anita Stansfield

Spare Change
by Aubrey Mace

Taking Chances
by Shannon Guymon

And here are this year's winners!

2008 Best Novel of the Year

2008 Best Novel by a New Author

2008 Best General Fiction

2008 Best Historical

2008 Best Speculative Fiction

2008 Best Youth Fiction

2008 Best Mystery/Suspense

2008 Best Romance

Happy reading!