Janet's blog - stories worth telling

at the salon

2009-11-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

I took darling granddaughter to salon so I could get a haircut. When I was done she looked up at me and the stylist and said, "Am I next?"

I can just imagine her with bobbed hair (oh, the horror). Grammies do not mess with hair.

2009-11-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

Darling Granddaughter with Curious George hat

2009-11-04T10:35:00.002-07:00

Marketing: Playing with a new imprint

2009-11-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

JKJ

Stories Worth Telling

Heroes in the Valley

2009-10-25T13:46:00.001-06:00

Dennis and Leona Sorenson built a home in College Ward, Utah (in Cache Valley) in 1972 and raised nine children in it. Dennis and Leona are currently serving a mission for the LDS church in Scotland.

When they come home, there will be a vacant lot where their home once stood.

A brother and sister, Tony and Mary, were living in the house when BOOM! the propane tank exploded.

An off-duty sheriff and his father were nearby and rushed to the scene. They saw a woman, bloody but coherent, and helped her out of the rubble. Her brother was missing, she said. The officer and his father began to look through the debris when they saw a hand. They quickly dug through the rubble and pulled Tony to safety. Then BOOM! Another powerful explosion went off and started fires in the debris and nearby fields.

Two powerful explosions. A courageous, selfless rescue in between. Two men who risked their lives to save others. When interviewed by a TV reporter, the officer said he’d do it again.

The family’s reaction? They’re celebrating that Mary and Tony are safe. They're grateful to the rescuers for their courageous actions. Mary has been released from the hospital and Tony is being treated for burns. He is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery.

Debris was lodged in nearby trees and parts of the house landed in nearby fields.From the pictures and statements of bystanders, what was once a home looks like a pile of toothpicks.

Amazingly, a family picture was found, intact.

How two people survived the explosions and were rescued is truly a miracle.

An account for donations has been set up in the name of Dennis Sorensen at America First Credit Union to help cover medical expenses for Mary and Tony.

And I have two new heroes to add to my list: Brandon Anderson and his dad. If I had some kind of disaster, I'd want them to be the first at the scene.

Blog Valley: Women bloggers in Cache Valley are making themselves heard locally, and all the way to the White House

2009-10-21T17:35:00.002-06:00

By Brendon Butler

Published: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 3:43 PM CDT

In her upcoming film “Motherhood” actress Uma Thurman plays a former fiction writer turned “mommyblogger” who struggles to stake out a creative identity while raising two kids. Her husband is loving, but he’s forgetful and a bit clueless about his wife’s struggles. Many of Utah’s mothers-turnedbloggers can probably relate to Thurman’s character. It’s tough to find time for selfexpression as a stay-at-home mom.

That’s why blogging is so satisfying, says Kim Borchert, a mother of three who lives in North Logan. She started her blog, Prairie-Mama.blogspot. com, as a way to share her experiences while in a vocation that can feel isolating and secluded at times.

“I liked having a way to express myself ... to have something that was just mine,” Borchert says.

Her blog started out as a personal journal about knitting, one of her favorite pastimes. But six years ago, Borchert went through the most difficult experience a mother could imagine; she lost her infant daughter. Writing about the ordeal and sharing it with others through her blog was a way to get through the pain, she says. And the healing would not have happened the same way without her online journal, because blogs allow a two-way conversation when readers post comments on her site.

“There’s not that many people who you’re going to meet in your life face to face who have lost a child,” Borchert says. “The Internet has given us an opportunity to help others and to share that journey with other people. Otherwise they would never get that (support) and know that they’re not alone. When it happened, I didn’t know anybody who had lost a child. But online when that happens ... people just really come together.”

More and more women are sharing their journeys using blogs. BlogHer, an online community of women bloggers, published a study in April 2009 that estimates 23 million women each week are writing, reading or posting to blogs. Though BlogHer held its first nationwide convention just four years ago, it now claims the largest online community of women bloggers, and holds powerful influence among the growing economic and political demographic.

Cache Valley’s women bloggers are making themselves heard — and read — in widening circles that extend from friends and family all the way to the White House. After attending the BlogHer national conference, Loralee Choate, a young mother of three, made waves this past summer when her blog, LoraleesLooneyTunes.com, attracted the attention of White House senior adviser on health care Valerie Jarrett. Choate was invited to a high-level health care reform discussion denied health coverage for her recent pregnancy after her husband changed jobs. Now Choate, a self-described moderate Republican, is looking forward to an upcoming trip along with her husband and family to the White House in November to further discuss the health care issue.

Choate’s experience shows how influential one woman can be when she publishes her viewpoints. She is extremely successful as a blogger; some of her posts generate thousands of views with her sometimes irreverent but always charming writing style. She’s able to make a little bit of money from advertising on her Web site and companies often send her free samples hoping to win her approval and recommendation. Because of this, Choate says she’s rarely had to purchase diapers since her baby son was born five months ago.

“The Internet outfitted my baby,” Choate says, laughing.

But as a member of the BlogHer community she has to adhere to strict guidelines about product endorsement, so she publishes her reviews on a separate site. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission has ruled that beginning Dec. 1 bloggers must disclose any affiliation with companies if they endorse products in return for payment or free product samples.

Choate’s friend Borchert promotes her own products too. She sews baby-slings for mothers who want to wear their baby close to their body, and refers to herself as a “crunchy” mom because she gave birth to her kids at home, breastfeeds and uses cloth diapers. Both Borchert and Choate use their blogs to make a little bit of money, but it’s not much, they say. Not as much as some bloggers in Utah make, at least. Salt Lake City’s Heather Armstrong, blogging at www.dooce.com, sells enough advertisements on her blog to bring in about $40,000 a month, says Choate.

There are also professional writers here in Cache Valley who publish their work to the Web and use their writing skills to showcase their books. Janet Kay Jensen and Shaunda Wenger are professional writers and mothers who co-wrote “The Book Lovers Cookbook,” a book of recipes from famous works of literature. They are only two of many who meet at a writer’s group in Cache Valley called The Writer’s Cache.

“It’s just a way to stay connected with people and meet people who have the same kinds of goals that you do,” Jensen says. She has a personal blog for her family life too, which she uses as a way to keep in touch with her three grown sons, including her second son BJ (Jensen refers to him as son #2), who teaches American style football in Finland. Jensen’s post from January 2009 about watching her son play football is hilarious, complete with his responses pasted inside the essay.

"It’s fun to post what my kids are doing, and of course I’ll get responses from them,” Jensen says.

Though both women are part-time writers and mothers, the term mommyblogger isn’t quite how Wenger would describe herself.

The term mommyblogger may conjure the stereotypical image of a harried, sleep-deprived mother typing at the computer in her pajamas, but that’s not the way it is, says Wenger, who blogs at www.shaundawenger. blogspot.com

“I write whenever I can or whenever I’m inspired, but I don’t write in my pajamas,” she says, laughing. “I prefer to look like a decent, you know, like a human being.”

To find out when and where the The Writers Cache meets and come out to meet fellow women bloggers, visit the group’s Web site at www. WritersCache.org. Or get started blogging on your own at either of the two most popular blogging Web sites: www.blogger.com, or www.wordpress.com.

Some local bloggers:

• Loralee Choate has a personal blog called www.loraleeslooneytunes.com About her blog’s name, she says, “I do have ‘blog name regret,’ but for the most part, Looney Tunes is pretty accurate.” She recommends www.dooce.com

• Kim Borchert blogs at www.prairie-mama. blogspot.com “I write about my life, my family, my kids and just kind of the craziness that is,” Borchert says. She recommends nieniedialogues.blogspot.com

• Shaunda Wenger blogs about her life at www.shaundawenger.blogspot. com. She recommends fellow Cache Valley resident JoLynne Lyon’s blog, http:// www.mountainlyon. blogspot.com/

I have a photogenic dog who blogs

2009-10-21T12:07:00.000-06:00

In today's paper!

2009-10-21T09:23:00.001-06:00

The article featuring local bloggers appeared today in the Logan, Utah Herald Journal. It's not online yet (or I can't find it) but when I do find it I'll post the link. I'm in the featured photo and I must say, my dog Robbie is very photogenic.

Husband called from work to tell me there's a lot of buzz at his office about the article. As in being teased about his "famous" wife. That's what happens when you're married to a writer. Live with it.

Oh, and if my blog looks a little different, I tried to be creative and changed the template. In doing so, I lost all my links and my right hand sidebar. I'll be re-creating that soon. Another lesson learned.

Happy blogging!

Check out Cache Valley's Newest Blog

2009-10-21T09:15:00.000-06:00

http://misspearlbutton.wordpress.com/

I've just discovered a new blog that takes a lighter look at life in our valley. Called "Gems of Cache Valley," it was created by three alter egos who refer to themselves as Pearl, Ruby, and Adventurine. It's a fledgling blog but looks promising.

My Trip to Elwood, Utah

2009-10-18T11:43:00.003-06:00

The idyllic Old MacDonald's Farm

Elwood, Utah

Distance to Salt Lake City: 70.2 miles (112.98 km)
Location: 41.68922N 11.14120W

Elevation: 4,295' (1,309m)

Population: 678 (2000)

Zip Code: 84337

Current Weather 65 F with a chance of showers

A brief history of Elwood written by John Van Cott, quoted in Utah Online:

Elwood (Box Elder County, Utah) is on US-30S. two miles southeast of Tremonton. It was established in 1879 with an early name of Manila Ward in honor of Commodore George Dewey's victory in the Spanish American War. The name was changed to Elwood by the postal authorities to avoid confusion with the Manila Voting Precinct. Mr. Davidson, a cattle and sheepman, was the first white settler in Elwood.

From Elwoodtown.com:

Up until the end of WWII, Elwood residents operated their farms and orchards and were generally quite self sufficient. Each family had their vegetable garden, small orchard, potato patch, milk and beef cattle, chickens and pigs. The farm work was done with horse-drawn machinery with each farm having at least one team of draft horses and most had at least one saddle horse.

Recently, my friend Nadene, a most accomplished writer/editor/publisher, invited me to visit the Elwood First Ward Book Club. They had read Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys and she had promised to deliver the author. She sent me written directions, adding that the small hamlet of Elwood usually confuses GPS units which tend to send people “out in the boonies.”

So, trusting her accurate instructions and what turned out to be my inability to follow them, I set out for the adventure.

Forty-five minutes later I sat in a parking lot, squinting at my accordion-folded state map. A nagging voice in my head told me I wasn’t in Elwood. Perhaps it was the “Welcome to Garland” sign I had just passed. It is no coincidence that my favorite TV show is Lost. I had Nadene’s phone number and was tempted to call her and beg, “I’m in the middle of Garland. Come and get me!” But, in an attempt to save my pride, I plugged in my GPS unit, thinking it couldn’t get me any more lost than I already was. To my great relief it led me to Elwood and eventually to Nadene’s doorstep. I wasn’t even late.

Note to self: Always allow extra time to get lost. Print and study a MAP in advance, in addition to trusting “Mandy,” my faithful GPS unit. Thank Husband yet again for buying Mandy as a Mother's Day gift.

I think I’ll drop a note to my publisher and tell him that over 7 % of the entire town of Elwood came to the event! But he’s pretty savvy and probably knows that Elwood has about 700 residents. Still, it’s resume-padding material I’ll save for the future.

After everyone arrived Nadene dispensed with the preliminaries and said, “Thanks for coming. This is Janet. Do you have any questions for her?” They did, and as usual, the teacher learned more than the students. They wanted to know how I came up with various characters, names, and locations. They wanted to know why the border collie was named after a famous Utah poet, Eliza R. Snow. They appreciated the way I tried to balance the two contrasting cultures in the book, showing strengths and flaws in each. I asked them if the ending had thrown them a curve, or "came out of nowhere," as some reviewers have complained. “Oh, no,” they said, “you’d planted the seeds. It worked.”

Impulsively, I had brought the first few pages of Gabriel’s Daughters, the sequel (work-in-progress) to Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys. “Would you like to hear a little bit of the next book?” I asked. Their responses reminded me a little of how exciting it was when as children we were allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve. I thought I was just sharing a few pages of text, but they were getting a bit of a scoop, I guess. Who doesn’t like to be the first person on the block to share a bit of news?

Note to self: Always read a few pages of the next work-in-progress when visiting a book club.

As I read aloud, I learned that:

1) My readers already cared a great deal about Zina, the protagonist. All we know about her in Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys is that she’s been missing for years. (I should add that I love Zina dearly and that her story was originally in the first book. It became too complicated to juggle two stories occurring in different time periods and geographic locations, so I had to pull Zina out and promise her that she’d have her own book. I owe it to her).

“I’ve been wondering what happened to Zina since I read the first book,” one woman said. “I’m glad she’s all right so far.”

2) Readers think writers are normal people. Nadene and I exchanged significant looks when I asked the group, “Does it bother you when we talk about our characters as if they’re real people?” I wondered if they secretly thought writers were one taco short of a combination plate.

"Oh, no. Not when you make them real to us.” Point taken.

I belong to several online writers’ groups. One writer posted yesterday that he’d killed off one of his characters and then begun to weep, and had to take a long walk to regain his equilibrium. I feel his pain.

3) As my critique group tactfully tells me, there is too much exposition in the text, especially in Chapter One. As I sensed subtle shifts in my listeners’ attentiveness, I quickly skipped over the rest of the exposition and went back to the story. Immediately, their interest returned.

“Can’t wait for it to be published,” one woman said.

I’m taking them seriously. Out with the exposition! It can be added in little snippets throughout the book, or, heaven forbid, tossed out. W. Somerset Maugham likened it to killing a baby and delivering the bloody remains to the editor. In contrast, the wonderful late Ken Rand taught me that any work can be improved by cutting 10% from it, even if it feels like a virtual blood bath. Every word, (surprise!) is not critical. OK, tell that to Dickens and Hardy and Hawthorne, who got away with it.

Bottom line: as readers we want a good story. I owe that to anyone who picks up my books. This concept will guide me through the edits and the concluding chapters, which continue to elude me. The beginning (“think of ‘I, Nephi,’”) is there and has been rewritten many times. The middle and end need some work.

Thanks to a most interesting drive to Elwood, Utah, and the great women I met there, I think Gabriel’s Daughters will be a better book. And I’d thought that as a Published Author I was going there to enlighten/educate them.

For your enlightenment, a little more about the fascinating hamlet of Elwood, Utah. Direct quotes are from Nadene:

JKJ: Nadene, how many animals live in Elwood?

Nadene: One town council member pushed for a limit an animals and it passed based on a 1-acre lot: 2 horses, 2 cows, 4 dogs, 6 chickens… yada, yada, yada. One resident made the statement that she didn’t want anymore “Little McDonald Farms” in Elwood. Elwood is rural, with a few pockets of new development on 1-acre lots. Lotsa people want to move to the country—then they want to eradicate the smell. And let’s get real … it don’t smell all that bad!

JKJ: Is Elwood growing?

Nadene: Phemomenal growth in the last 9 years. As of 2009, Elwood's population is 828 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of 17.85 percent. The growth since the economic downturn has been minimal, but even now two new homes are being built in Elwood.

JKJ: What are typical recreational activities?

Nadene: Each summer they hold “block parties” where the town is parceled up into sections and the residents from each section come together in a back yard for a potluck and a barbeque. They also have a Summer Picnic in Hansen Park down by the Bear River.

JKJ:What's the most exciting thing to happen since you moved to Elwood?

Nadene: We’d just moved into our new home. Late one Sunday afternoon our Carbon Dioxide monitor started beeping, so we called 911 and the fire trucks and ambulance came from Tremonton. Turned out our monitor had been plugged in upside down. Felt like a fool!

JKJ: Heartwarming story, though. Thanks for the enlightening interview.

Concluding remarks:

Nadene, your directions were concise and accurate. The problem was in the head of the driver, who was born without a sense of direction. If it hadn’t been for Mandy, I’d still be driving around Box Elder County, looking for Elwood, and your book club would have had a stimulating discussion without me. They would have finished all of the banana cream pie, too.

It'll be in the Herald Journal . . .

2009-10-16T16:00:00.002-06:00

I'm one of many bloggers interviewed for an article which will appear in the Logan Herald Journal's Cache Magazine on Friday October 23.

I hope I didn't say anything really . . . dumb.

And when they come to take a picture of me blogging on Monday, I hope that turns out OK.

It's a great opportunity to connect with other readers and bloggers.

I'll let you know how it turns out!

Bet ya didn't know!

2009-10-14T10:51:00.001-06:00

From epodunk.com, a fascinating list of Best Brags:

A corn cob pipe

"America's Secret City" - Oak Ridge, TN

"Appalachian Square Dance Capital of the World" - Lebanon, TN

"Barbed Wire Capital of the World " - La Crosse, KS

"Bigfoot Capital of the World" - Willow Creek, CA

"Bird Dog Capital of the World" - Waynesboro, GA

"Birthplace of Kool-Aid" - Hastings, NE

"Cherry Pit Spitting Capital of the World" - Eau Claire, MI

"Christmas Pickle Capital of the World" - Berrien Springs, MI

"Clogging Capital of the World" - Maggie Valley, NC

"Corn Cob Pipe Capital of the World" - Washington, MO

"Covered Dish Capital of the World" - Windom, KS

"Cow Chip Capital of Kansas" - Russell Springs, KS

"Cow Chip Capital of the World" - Beaver, OK

"Cowboy Capital of the World" - Bandera, TX

"Dandelion Capital of the World" - Vineland, NJ

"Farm Toy Capital of the World" - Dyersville, IA

"Flower Box City" - Neosho, MO

"Frog Jump Capital of Ohio" - Valley City, OH

"Hubcap Capital of the World" - Pearsonville, CA

"Jackalope Capital of the World" - Douglas, WY

"Jackrabbit Capital of Texas" - Odessa, TX

"Peak of Good Living" - Apex, NC

"Spamtown USA" - Austin, MN

"The Town Without a Frown" - Happy, TX

"Town of Oil Repute" - Drumright, OK

"Town Without a Toothache" - Hereford, TX

"Turf Grass Capital of the World" - Savannah, GA

"Western Swing Capital of the World" - Turkey, TX

A hilarious discussion on grammar, spelling, vocabulary and other pet peeves . . .

2009-10-13T10:03:00.003-06:00

Visit literary agent Rachelle Gardner's blog for an entertaining and informing discussion! It started, she writes, with an invitation reading:

Y o u r I n v i t e d .

So click on the title of this post, hop on over and add your own favorites.

Where we should be living

2009-10-05T09:53:00.001-06:00

PARIS (AFP) – Norway takes the number one spot in the annual United Nations human development index released Monday but China has made the biggest strides in improving the well-being of its citizens.

The index compiled by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) ranks 182 countries based on such criteria as life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

Norway, Australia and Iceland took the first three spots while Niger ranks at the very bottom, just below Afghanistan.

China moved up seven places on the list to rank as the 92nd most developed country due to improvements in education as well as income levels and life expectancy.

Colombia and Peru rose five spaces to rank 77th and 78th while France -- which was not part of the top 10 last year -- returns to the upper echelons by moving up three places to number 8.

The UNDP said the index highlights the grave disparities between rich and poor countries.

A child born in Niger can expect to live to just over 50, which is 30 years less than a child born in Norway. For every dollar a person earns in Niger, 85 dollars are earned in Norway.

This year's index was based on data from 2007 and does not take into account the impact of the global economic crisis.

"Many countries have experienced setbacks over recent decades, in the face of economic downturns, conflict-related crises and the HIV and AIDS epidemic," said the UN development report's author Jeni Klugman.

"And this was even before the impact of the current global financial crisis was felt."

Afghanistan, which returns to the list for the first time since 1996, is the only Asian country among the bottom ten which also include Sierra Leone in the 180th spot, just below the Central African Republic.

The top ten countries listed on the index are: Norway, Australia, Iceland, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Switzerland and Japan.

The United States ranks 13th, down one spot from last year.

A visit from Darling Granddaughter

2009-10-05T09:06:00.001-06:00

#1 son and Darling Granddaughter try out Grandpa's office chair.

Our youngest Aggie at the BBQ

And if you speak the language . . . .

2009-09-20T17:08:00.000-06:00

BJ is on the right, in the white baseball cap, arms folded.

. . . Click on the title of this post and it will take you to their web page.

Go, Jyvaskyla Jaguars! Stop the Presses! They won!

2009-09-18T09:48:00.003-06:00

#2 son's football team plays for the Finnish national championship this weekend. Go, Jyvaskyla Jaguars!

I've been able to watch him coach, and he's great. This is American-style football, by the way.

Love ya, BJ!

Mommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Here are earlier links to posts about football

http://janetkayjensen.blogspot.com/2009/01/post-from-finland-with-translation.html

http://janetkayjensen.blogspot.com/2009/01/introduction-about-year-ago-i-posted_04.html

The last one includes an essay I wrote about reading books during games, and his responses.

BJ called me today and they won, 34-12. He got the traditional Gatorade shower, too. So he's a very happy camper. And I'm a proud mommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

A Review of "Organize as You Go"

2009-09-12T14:57:00.014-06:00

Visit Marie’s House of Order website (www.houseoforder.com) and you’ll find the most organized and user-friendly website I’ve ever seen. That’s to be expected, because Marie Ricks is The Real Thing, a professional organizer. I met her at a book signing, and as always, I learned so much from spending two hours sitting beside another author.

She’s outgoing, a wonderful trait for an author. She’d approach people by saying, “Hi, my name is Marie and I’ve written a book on how to be organized. And after you get organized, you’ll want to read Janet’s novel!” Obviously, Marie is more than an author. She is a wife, mother, teacher, radio talk show host, web designer, self-publisher, motivational speaker, organizer . . . and a wonderful person.

Some of us are born organized. I suspect Marie was. I know her aunt well, and she, also, is very organized. So was Marie’s grandmother. I think it runs in the family.

However, some of us are organizationally impaired. That would be me.

However, I think everyone struggles with organization at one time or another, and Marie has easy-to-implement systems for all of it: household organization, mission and travel, schoolwork, finances, paperwork, meals . . . you name it. At her website are some great free downloadable forms. For example, do YOU know where to find all of your favorite websites, usernames, and passwords? I do now, because Marie has a convenient print-out form you can download for free, and now I can find all of that information in one place.

Marie’s latest book, Organize As You go, Successful Skills for Busy Lifestyles, is based on the author’s simple premise that “It takes a lot of work to be organized, but it takes a lot more work to be disorganized!”

Chapter headings include: Organized Every Day, An Organized Home, Organization Challenges, Organization for Parents and Children, Organized for Big Events and Holidays, Organized for Traveling and Moving, and Organized for the Future. At the end of the book is a twenty-year plan. Wow! I’m not quite there yet (thank you very much, I’m still on chapter one) but it’s a marvelous idea to put your life goals in writing.

Of course organization affects all areas of your life; it’s not just about improving your efficiency at home and work. It affects the very fiber of personal, family, and spiritual life. That concept is at the heart of this book. We don’t organize just to establish a neat, orderly, low-stress life; organization will help us to find more joy and satisfaction in all aspects of life, too.

I can’t recommend Marie, her books and products and her website, or her personal influence, highly enough.

About the author (from the book's bio page): Marie has been sharing home organization skills for more than 20 years. In 1986, she began teaching an eight-week, sixteen-topic course at a local community center, which included classes on time management, food preparation, closet and cupboard organization, budgeting, teaching children to work, and shopping skills.

Marie’s classes have grown popular both in San Jose, California and Utah County, Utah, where she now lives. Marie continues to teach home organization classes and seminars at church, professional, and community gatherings. She also spends time coaching homemakers in their own homes and helping them to be more organized. Marie has seen a lot of dirty laundry, cluttered closets, and untidy paperwork, which is very exciting to her.

Marie is a presenter at Brigham Young University’s Education Week. Her House of Order Handbook addresses the many facets of home management plus offers numerous worksheets to make running a home easier for any homemaker. Another book, Project Organization, Quick and Easy to Organize Your Life, was published by Deseret book and is available in local bookstores. Marie writes columns for several venues, has had her own radio show, and appears as a featured guest on TV and radio.

She has a large library of home management materials, endorses high quality housecleaning products, and shares a weekly email newsletter for interested women. Sign up at www.houseoforder.com

Marie has been happily married to Jim Ricks for 37 years and together they are the parents of five sons. Tom is a Math Education professor at Louisiana State University, David is attending medical school at Ohio State University, Brian is a computer science doctoral candidate at Brigham Young University (and a new husband) and Tyler desires an animation degree at B.Y.U. Evan, their youngest son, passed away as a young child from leukemia.

Author Marie Ricks

Marie and her family live in Highland, Utah, where she and her husband grow a vegetable and fruit garden as their summer hobby and share creative indoor projects together on colder days.

Statue, Copenhagen

2009-09-04T15:13:00.000-06:00

I'll have to look up the story behind this statue!

Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys - review and interview

2009-08-28T15:22:00.002-06:00

Visit Cami Checketts' blog today. She's written a review and interviewed me about Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys. Click on the title of this post, leave a comment her blog and you could win a free copy of the book!

Thanks, Cami!

2009-08-28T11:24:00.002-06:00

Click on picture to see full-size version. The Sister Pact can be found at Barnes & Noble, Deseret Book,

Seagull, WalMart, Costco and Target.

Interview with Rachel Ann Nunes, author of Saving Madeline

2009-08-27T12:37:00.003-06:00

Today's post is an interview with Rachel Ann Nunes, author of Saving Madeline. Post a comment and you're automatically entered into a contest to win a free copy of the book! Visit Rachel at her website: http://www.ranunes.com/

Q: Tell us a little about Saving Madeline.

A: Saving Madeline is about Caitlin McLoughlin, a public defender, who works hard freeing too many criminal for her peace of mind. When Parker Hathaway is arrested for kidnapping four-year-old Madeline, Caitlin thinks he is just one more criminal she must get through the system, but instead she finds a cause she can believe in. Soon she is in a race to uncover proof that will free Parker and save Madeline before it’s too late.

Q: How did you get the idea for this story?

A: Several years ago, shock radiated throughout Utah when an infant was found dead after ingesting meth she had found in a plastic bag on the floor of her home. What made this tragic circumstance even more notable and horrific is that weeks earlier her father had forcibly taken her across state lines, hoping to protect her from her mother’s substance abuse.

Authorities found the child, placed her back with her mother, and sent the father to jail for assault and burglary. A little over a week later, the baby was dead and the mother was charged with desecration of a dead body for moving her daughter to cover up the mother’s drug abuse.

All charges against the father were eventually dropped. Sadly, this is not the only story of a child becoming the victim of a parent’s drug use. In my research, I found many more instances, some of which I’ve written under the Author Comments for the book on my website at http://rachelannnunes.com/. Though these true-life experiences do not appear in my book, the events inspired me to explore what might have happened in a similar instance. Questions I asked myself include, "Can the ends justify the means in some circumstances?" and "How far would a parent go to save a child they love?"

I have to add that while this book is on a series subject, there is a lot of fun there, too. And romance. I know my readers will be satisfied with the ending!

Q: So when is Saving Madeline available? Where can you buy it?

A: Mid-September. But you can read the first chapter on my website right now (http://www.rachelannnunes.com/). In Utah, all the local bookstores should have it, and you should be able to order it at any bookstore. There are many online stores that will have it.

Q: You have published a lot of books over the years. Tell us about them.

A: Saving Madeline is my 29th published book. My most popular books were probably the Ariana series and the picture book Daughter of a King, primarily because they've been out so long (the first three Ariana novels were recently reprinted under one cover). But I'm most proud of my later novels: Flying Home, Fields of Home, and Eyes of a Stranger. I enjoy writing good stories that will resonate with a wide variety of readers. I like writing family drama, with a lot of characters.

Q: What's coming next?

A: My next book, Imprints, takes another different direction as I'm jumping on the national bandwagon by including a paranormal element. On the day of her father's funeral, Autumn discovers a paranormal gift that allows her to find clues about missing people. Nothing so weird as to put off my regular readers, though. In fact, I'm sure they will enjoy what I have planned. I hope to have four or more books in the series.

Thank you, Rachel!

Book Review: Saving Madeline by Rachel Ann Nunes

2009-08-25T23:34:00.002-06:00

Saving Madeline, best-selling author Rachel Ann Nunes's latest romantic suspense novel, takes us into the world of Caitlin McLoughlin, a hard-working and dedicated defense attorney who grapples with daily challenges and conflicts in her professional life while keeping a firm and protective grip on her private life. Devoted to the needs of her beloved sister, who will always require a caretaker, and to her work, Caitlin hardly has a moment for a personal life, much less a serious relationsip. Yet she longs to have it all: her career, marriage, and eventually a family of her own.

Enter Parker Hathaway, Caitlin's new client, whose love and concern for his young daughter dictate his actions in all matters of her well-being. Caitlin struggles to honor and uphold her sworn duties as an officer of the court as she also marshals all her personal and professional tools in an attempt to control the risks her client will take to protect his daughter Madeline. Yet Parker is unpredictable and always one step ahead of her.

Caitlin soon finds herself in a quandary as she becomes increasingly attracted to her client: can she deal with the consequences of her deepening feelings for Parker? Would she be willing to put her career on the line in order to consider a future with him? Will she even consider breaking the law to be with this conflicted, passionate man, whose unquestioned loyalty for his loved ones puts him at odds with the duties and principles of her profession, about which Caitlin is just as passionate? The title of this book could easily be Saving Caitlin, as she struggles with her conscience, her loyalties and her ethics, as well as her growing feelings for Parker, which she cannot deny.

Saving Madeline also serves as a sober reminder that society's innocents, those who have the least power among us, are often those who are most in need of a voice, especially when they are the helpless victims of parental drug abuse. Dedicated and compassionate professionals like the fictional Caitlin McLoughlin and her real-life counterparts continue to be vigilant on their behalf, but protecting these children is a responsibility no one in our society can shirk.

-reviewed by Janet Jensen

Saving Madeline, a novel

by Rachel Ann Nunes
Shadow Mountain, 2009
321 pages

$17.95
Available at Deseret Book, Seagull Book, and amazon.com

Book also contains a discussion guide

Author Rachel Ann Nunes

Visit Rachel at her website: http://www.ranunnes.com/
her wikipedia page : http://www.wikipedia.org/
and her blog: http://www.rachelannnunnes.blogspot.com/

Interview with Cami Checketts, author of The Sister Pact

2009-08-25T23:10:00.008-06:00

What inspired you to write the book, The Sister Pact?
I had a nightmare about my sister being pushed down the stairs. I woke up and started writing.

Yikes! (We should mention that your sister is OK!)

On another topic, please list your other titles and their publishers – and tell us where readers can pick them up!

The Fourth of July and The Broken Path. Both are published by the Wild Rose Press and are available at amazon.com.

What is your involvement with the Romance Writers of Utah/America?

I've been a member of URWA for the past five years. They've taught me a lot about the business and mechanics of writing and are a wonderful group of supportive ladies. This year I'm the assistant newsletter editor which is a nice easy job. Their annual conference is October 9-10. Check it out here - http://www.utahrwa.com/HOWConference.html

What are your next books about, Cami? When can we expect to see them in bookstores?

My next book is a murder mystery set in a lovely retirement center. I'm hoping to get it to the publisher this week, then it takes about 9-12 months to get the book out.

Tell us more about the Child and Family Support Center and why some of your royalties will be donated to it.

The Child and Family Support Center is an amazing group of women who provide 24-hour emergency care to abused and neglected children and teach free parenting classes. Their goal is to keep families together.

I just felt impressed to donate the money to them and then realized that Jared Keller, the officer who helped me with my book, also works with them.

Thanks, Cami!

Book Review: The Sister Pact by Cami Checketts

2009-08-23T10:42:00.016-06:00

The Sister Pact
by Cami Checketts

Author Cami Checketts knows how to put her characters in danger - and how to get them out of it. It's the journey from one to the other that hooks the reader. In Sister Pact, sisters Allison and Savannah are very close, so close that one would do anything for the other. And when Allison is gravely injured by an unknown party, Savannah is determined to discover who that party is, and to see that justice is done, no matter what risks she must take. To Savannah's outrage, she is even considered a suspect and must prove her own innocence while trying to find the real perpetrator. She becomes enmeshed in a love-hate relationship with an oh-so-handsome officer of the law in her quest, and major conflicts arise as her dogged pursuit of the truth interferes with his.

The bond of sisterhood is of course a major theme in this book. The subject of eating disorders is also addressed, and through love and support from family and friends, one character whose lifestyle borders on the disorder decides to conquer it. Healthy living and healthy relationships are also emphasized, and several other characters also confront their own personal demons and realize that loving help is there for the asking.

The reader knows there are more stories to be told about these two strong and likable women, and the potential for a series is surely there.

---reviewed by Janet Jensen

Author Cami Checketts

About the author (from the book's bio page): Cami Checketts is a wife, mother, exercise scientist, and avid supporter of Cold Stone Creameries (ice cream parlor). Although clean toilets are a wistful memory, she adores her husband and three wild boys. Sometimes between being a human horse, cleaning up magic potient, and reading Berenstain Bears, she gets the chance to write fiction. Cami has a BS in Exercise Science from Utah State University. She currently has a thriving business as a pro bono fitness trainer. Cami's blog,www. fitmommas.blogster.com, offers fitness advice and strength straining routines for busy women.

Cami lives with her family in the beautiful Cache Valley of northern Utah. During the two months of the year it isn't slowing, she loves to swim, run, and bike.

For more information about Cami and The Sister Pact, check out her website: http://www.camichecketts.com/

A portion of the proceeds from The Sister Pact will be donated to The Child and Family Support Center of Cache County, Inc. For more information on this worthy cause please visit http://www.cachefsc.org/

The Sister Pact
Cami Checketts
Bonneville Books
$15.99

WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK!

VISIT THE FOLLOWING LINKS:

http://www.mybookbuds.com/

http://bookreviewsbybobbie.wordpress.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/

type in the title and you should find entry information

LATER THIS WEEK: AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR CAMI CHECKETTS