14 Things I Love . . .

1. My husband's arms around me.
2. Hearing that someone loves my child.
3. A sincere compliment.
4. Lunch dates with friends.
5. Accomplishing a goal, big or small.
6. A clean house.
7. Fireplaces.
8. My faith.
9. Chocolate covered cinnamon bears.
10. Appreciation.
11. A book that makes me think.
12. Soup.
13. Movies.
14. Believing someone else's life is better for having me in it.

 Happy Valentines Day. May you have love in it.

2010 LDStorymakers Conference my POV

It's Tuesday already? So not fair. Honestly I could have done another two days easy. So, here is my recap--I ask in advance that you forgive me for not linking--it takes too long and I've already spent a couple hours at work catching up with the e-mail that piled up (disclaimer: I don't get paid and I'm sleeping with my boss so I can take such liberties. I do not recommend that you take advantage of your employer in this way--or that you sleep with him for privileges unless you are legally and lawfully married to him/her.)

Before leaving home I set up a treasure hunt for Breanna (also called Jeanie on this blog, but since she's on facebook and linked to me I decided the pseudonym wasn't necessary any more) It was her 16th birthday that day and although we celebrated the night before and she was okay with my not being there, I felt aweful and thus the treasure hunt made me feel much better about myself. That's what it's all about, right? After setting it up I headed to Salt Lake where I picked up a case of books and headed to the airport. I picked up Nephele Tempest (prounounced Neffalee--not that I said it right all weekend, grrr) and we spent the next few hours touring Salt Lake. We went to Saltaire marina (thank you Wikipedia for teaching me all about Saltaire so I could sound like I knew my landmarks) and then we went to lunch with Lisa Mangum at The Garden and had deep fried pickles. Not bad. After that we toured Temple Square, then headed for Provo.

After getting early check-in (thank you Marriott!) I ran some errands, got checked into the hotel, helped put together syllabus binders and then went to dinner with Nephele Tempest (agent Knight agency), Laura Rennert (agent Andrea Brown), Krista Marino (editor Delacort), Annette Lyon, Heather Moore, Julie Wright (three of my favorite people in the world), Marion Jensen, Jeff Savage, and James Dashner. We went to Tucanos--a low-carb girls dream restaurant! and had a great time getting to know one another. After that it was back to the hotel, chat time with Heather and Annette who were my roomies for the evening and to bed.

Friday started at 5:30 since I helped with registration and then bootcamp. My bootcamp table was the bomb! Jewel Allen, Melanie Jacobsen and Kim Coats were gals I knew before--Sadie Starling was new to me, but fit right in. What wonderful women and wonderful writers. We weren't able to find Sadie for the picture but she is there in spirit I'm sure. :-) After bootcamp the conference began. I was the chairperson for the agents and editors so I stressed about that, taught a class on Book Launch parties and thwarted Dan Wells and Howard Taylor's attempts to hijack me--phew--after that I manned 'doors' for the pitches, caught part of a class here and there and got to hug lots of people. I had the chance to explain my spiritual philosophy to one very talented writer I deeply admire--she knows who she is--and it put me in a reflective mood that I needed, perhaps more than she did. Thank you for that, we all need those reminders and I was grateful for the chance to reflect on my own beliefs of why I do what I do.

Friday night was full of great conversation and camaraderie and just added to the high I'd been on all day. I worried I wouldn't sleep well that night, but I slept like a rock--apparently 14 hours straight of high energy takes it's toll. The next day was bootcamp again at 7:00 and then more pitches and another class, this one on Characterization where I told a particular story about myself that has been bugging me every since. Sigh. I talk too much. Anyway, I think it went pretty well and when it was over I was back to pitches again. When the pitches finally came to an end I had the chance to sit in on the entire agent/editor panel, which was awesome and the only class I was in for its entirety, and then it was time to break the party up and get ready for the Whitneys.

I had already come to the realization that it was not my year. You think I'm being all noble, but I'm not. I was up against some amazing writers and even though I hadn't read any of my competitors books (on purpose) I know them and their writing and am just glad that no one publishes the ranking so I can PRETEND I came in second :-) Now, let me say I WANTED to win, I really, really did, but I'm also a realist and had thoroughly enjoyed being a finalist amid such fabulous talent. Stephanie Black earned that award and I was perhaps the first one to applaud for her. If you didn't see the Mormon times article on the award gala, you should check it out HERE. The picture of Stephanie is priceless.

The rest of the evening was wonderful. I was at a table with Brandon Mull, Lisa Mangum, Gerald Lund and his wife Lynn, and Chris Schobinger and his wife Jennifer. It was very cool to tell Elder Lund what an impact his books have had on me, specifically The Kingdom and the Crown series to which I attribute 75% of my understanding of the New Testiment. The speeches and acheivement tributes were amazing--reminding me of how powerful words can be and what a gift it is to serve by teaching, both through books and actually teaching skills and craft. I left feeling even more uplifted and validated in the area I've chosen to invest to much of my life within.

I got home around 11:30 that night to find 3 of the 4 kids had waited up for me. They'd made a sign that said "Congratulations, you ALMOST won the Whitney!" It was awesome and so good to be home, hugging my kids, and remembering the OTHER great blessings I have in my life.

All in all it was a wonderful, fabulous weekend. A few other hightlights?

Hugs from Laura Elliot--she gives the best hugs ever and is just such a ray of sunshine in my life.

Luisa Perkins sharing with me her excitement to have had her manuscript requested. I laughed because she was telling me how the book was a dark, dark, dark YA thriller, and I couldn't get past the strand of pearls around her neck and little black dress she was wearing. That's what we call irony :-) But I was touched that she shared that with me--I admire her very much.

Kim Vanderhorst brought me Canadian candybars, which no longer exist. They were DIVINE and I was just so touched to be one of the people she thought of as she got ready to come to the confernece. I feel very out of touch with some of my favorite blog-writer-friends and was glad that she still has warm feelings toward me. And, it was Canadian chocolate, I mean THAT is love.

Shanda, Hillary, and Sheila with the LDS Women's Book Review podcast. They are phenomenal cheerleaders to have on the side of LDS fiction and I just love the opportunity to spend time with them.

Becky Clayson took second place in the First Chapter Contest! Becky has been in my writing group for four years and she's very talented but like many of us wonders if she can  compete. Well, she can--I already knew that--but the judges validated that for her and I about shot out of my chair in excitement when they named her book.

Don Carey--one of Sadie's Test Kitchen Bakers--brought me guava jam! GUAVA! Is that not the coolest? He made it himself and brought it all the way from Texas. He's a class act and I'm glad to know him.

Stephanie Humphries and Margot Hovely also won and I was so very glad to hear their names announced. I'm sure I forgot some others, my apologies.

Rooming with Annette Lyon and Heather Moore is, as always, an absolute highlight. I just love those women so much and feel like I just soak up confidence and elegance by being in their presence.

I'm sure I'm missing many things and many people, forgive me, but know that I"ll remember later and feel like crap for forgetting in the first place so justice will be served. I'm already counting the days until next years conference and hope that if you didn't make it to this years, you'll be able to attend in 2011. It's worth the juggling it takes to get there, I swear it is.

In Brigham City Tonight?

If you are, come by Reflections of Utah Bookstore for Ronda Hinrichsen's new novel, Missing. Ronda's a good friend of mine and I am so excited for her debut novel! Opening night party will be from 5:00-7:00 (47 So. Main street)

Bloggy Award and Meme

The Amazing Sandra chose me and four other bloggers for this blog award—which was very sweet. Here’s what she said by way of her reason:

3.Josi:  if you don't know Josi, then you don't know how to look at the hard parts of life and still smile

I hope this is true—but I must say I don’t see it very much. I think I whine about many things that are rather trite compared to what I see other people facing. But when people say things about me that surprise me, I try to absorb them and find the proof. So I’m going to be doing that, and I was very touched by the insightful comment. Thank you, Sandra, I appreciate it very much.

So, the five fabs I will give it to are the following: Each of them have a quality I am working toward developing in my life, hence they getting my notice:

LT Elliot—this woman is sunshine personified. Every time I see her she is just bubbly and so generous with her enthusiasm and optimistic attitude.

Ronda Hinrichsen—Ronda and I have been friends for several years and her first book comes out in a couple of weeks (If you’re in the Brigham City Area, it’s October 22 at Reflections of Utah). She's a solid woman with a strong work ethic and unfailing support of the people she loves. I very much admire her calm determination.

Don & Kara—They joint blog, so it goes to both of them, but together, and apart, they are such examples of what life really is. They have some trials, big ones that I can’t imagine, and yet if you ever read their blog they have such joy in their lives, in each other, and in their two daughters. AND, despite their family focus and optimism amid trial, they are generous and motivated toward the accomplishment of their own goals and dreams. That is a very rare gift indeed.

Julie Wright—She is my best (girl) friend and my mentor in so many ways. She just makes me feel good and when life gets hard she’s the first one I vent too—she’s always very validating and encouraging for whatever I might be facing. I just love her.

Jenna--Is the mother I want to be and I find her a very capable, courageous and inspiring woman. AND I love sending her these things because her answers fascinate me.

Now, on to the questions.

1. Where is your cell phone?.... I don’t know. Car or kitchen or pocket of the hoodie I wore last night. I do think it is charged, however.

2. Your hair? ...... Is really icky right now. I wore it curly yesterday, and the product I use is kind of sticky. I pulled it up with a red elastic this morning and need to get in the shower.

3. Your mother? ...... One of the best people I know

4. Your father?..... Gets better with age (probably my age, mostly)

5. Your favorite food? ...... Cheesecake

6. Your dream last night?.... Annoying—or I should say my husband was annoying in it. We were supposed to go to dinner with this old lady, but got distracted by a finance company who’s files Lee wanted to go through. So he rolled himself up in a sleeping bag and snuck into their office with some sidekick woman I think was his personal assistant. I was just ticked off the whole time since we were late for the poor old ladie’s dinner and then some teenagers were playing chicken in the pond out front and I finally left with Ronda Hinrichsen who was just as annoyed, but far more calm than I was about the whole thing.

7. Your favorite drink?.... Honestly, water. Boring huh.

8. Your dream/goal? .... to be at peace with myself and the people I love.

9. What room are you in? ...... kitchen

10. Your hobby? .... Oh, lots. My chickens, reading, bloggging, cooking

11. Your fear? ..... failure

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?... #8

13. Where were you last night?.....At the Box Elder High School Homecoming game—Jeanie was in the pep band who did the half-time show—it was awesome. First homecoming game I’ve ever been too.

14. Something you aren't?..... Comfortable with myself

15. Muffins? .....bran with craisens and white chocolate chips (Old Grist Mill-mmmmm)

16. Wish list item? ...... Sound canceling headphones

17. Where did you grow up?...... Salt Lake City

18. Last thing you did?...... Made pancakes for the kids and their sleepover friends

19. What are you wearing? ...... black sweat pants, black flip-flops, and an oversized Tommy Hilfiger hoodie. (flip flops were my daughters who hated them; mine now. Sweat pants were $10 on sale 5 years ago and I’ve only recently been able to fit back into them comfortably. Sweatshirt was $2 at DI about two years ago. It’s XL so super comfy and very unflattering. Good thing I’ve already got my man J)

20. Your TV? ..... 15 feet away—The Closer is on. I love TV.

21. Your pets? ......... 1 dog, Tex, and 6 chickens—who Tex would like to eat.

22. Your friends? ...... priceless and unexpected. I did not plan to have these kinds of friendships as an adult. I’m very blessed.

23. Your life?...... pathetically crazy

24. Your mood? .... anxious—I’m so far behind on my deadline and it kills me to not be living up to the expectations of my publisher. Ironically, that feeling then blocks my ability to finish the story and yet I’ve spent how much time on this blog post? It’s all very neurotic. I have a book signing today and then family pictures after that.

25. Missing someone? ..... Not really. Maybe myself a little bit.

26. Vehicle? ......Honda Odyssey (apparently creative advertising doesn’t make that big a difference when it comes right down to whether or not you’ll sell the car)

27. Something you're not wearing? ...... Make-up

28. Your favorite store? .......Deseret Industries—love that place. I get to go to the new one in Ogden today! I need some jeans and a Scout shirt. Wish me luck!

29. Your favorite color? ...... Black

30. When was the last time you laughed? ...... Last night, little man pulled his pants up to his armpits, sucked in his bottom lip and turned out his knees for the walk to our car after the game. He called himself Bartholomew Finkelton and kept snapping his fingers and saying “Ah Shucks”. It was the funniest dang thing I’ve ever seen. The kid is a crack-up

31. Last time you cried? ..... A couple weeks ago when I was alone in Vegas and feeling completely incapable of accomplishing anything in front of me.

32. Your best friend?...... My husband. I’d be lost without him.

33. One place that I go over and over? ....... Costa Rica. It is my bliss.

34. One person who emails me regularly?....... Lee—we exchange e-mails about a dozen times a day.

35. Favorite place to eat? ....... Oh, I’ll eat anywhere J

If you’re someone I tagged, be sure to tell me so I can read your answers.

Three Cheers--Ronda Hinrichsen

I've said before that one of the blessings of writing is the really great people it's brought into my life--one of those people is Ronda Hinrichsen. She and I presented at the same Enrichment night--I talked about writing books and she talked about the dozens of articles she'd written over the years. I think she was the one that thought up the idea of forming a writing group. As I came to get to know Ronda, I have been consistently impressed with the woman she is. She played the piano and teaches lessons, sings and teaches lessons, helps run their family farm, and currently serves as the Young Women's president in her ward. She has three kids, two of which are serving missions in Brazil right now and a radiant smile that she liberally applies to life. She's a steady woman, a hard working woman, and a woman who keeps her priorities and principles in the right place at all times. Therefore, it's exciting to see her attaining the goals she has worked toward for so many years.

Throughout the six years we've been in the same writing group, both of us have moved forward and experienced the ups and downs of the writing profession. This week has been a GREAT week for Ronda! She'd had a novel accepted last spring, and finally got the cover and release date this week. You can see it at her BLOG and it will be available in October. She also won first place in the League of Utah Writer's contest for her other book, Trapped--which is an AMAZING story. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. There are so many not-so-great moments in a writing carreer, and it just thrills me that Ronda has been able to experinece so many of the golden moments this week.

It's exciting to see all the hard work beginning to pay off, and it's only the beginning--Ronda is both talented and persistent, two of the most important things any writer can have.

Way to go Ronda! I wish you the very best. Run over to her blog and give her a pat on the back, she totally deserves it.

GOAL! #1 on Deseret Book

Oh I am so glad I am home alone right now. Serious. I would be forever embarrassed if anyone had overheard my maniacal laughter, shouts and unrestrained jubilation.

BUT, my neurotic-celebration is totally warranted because I have accomplished a goal I have hoped for and tried to talk myself out of for almost ten years. Lemon Tart made number one on Deseret Book's General Fiction list AND the Mystery and Suspense list! AND that puts it as #2 on the Overall Fiction list and #12 on Deseret Book's overall best seller list. Take a LOOK at the best seller's list--how many fiction novels to you see up there? Yeah, exactly my point!

Fiction is a hard sell, it really is, and any publisher will tell you that non-fiction sells better than fiction. ESPECIALLY in regard to DBs bestseller list because you a competing with General Authorities! And MY book is on the list. Worldwide Ward Cookbook is also on the list, which also makes me so very happy.

Ya know, in life there are some really icky days you have to suffer through, and honestly it's days like this that help me get through the mud-slog days.

In addition to the #1 spot on DBs list, I also received an honorable mention in Scribbit's March writing contest. You can read my entry by going to her blog--read a couple of the others up there as well, they are great.

Let me end this with a plea that you will forgive my indulgent explosion and pride in my accomplishments--I am a writer which means I will be humbled tomorrow when I wrestle with a scene that just isn't working--BUT thank you, each and every one of you that read my blog, read my books, leave online reviews, recommend my books to my friends, tell me what you liked, help me improve, listen to me rant, and cheer right along with me. I could NOT have achieved this goal without amazing support from everyone in my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

It's a good day. AND I'm done writing today. I'm going to go for a celebratory jog and eat half a box of Thin Mints.

ALSO, I did a podcast with LDSwomenbookreviews a few weeks ago, and the podcast is up and ready to be downloaded. Click HERE to find out how you can download it.

Tower of Strength Contest

Annette Lyon, my good friend, has released book 4 in her temple series--though they aren't sequels--Tower of Strength and she has worked her already-tiny-fanny off to come up with one of the most amazing contests I've ever seen. I like to think I'd support her anyway, but I really want to win stuff too :0) Sooooo, head over to her blog for details--or don't; then I won't have as much competition.



I've never embedded a movie before, so let's hope this works! Don't miss Tower of Strength--I bought my copy last week :-)

Blonde Moment # 10,569

Wednesday I had a GREAT writing day. GREAT writing days have been rather hard for me to come by lately. I'm on my very first deadline and finding it to not be nearly as cool as I thought it would be. I've been writing like mad and cranking out the words--but it hasn't been fun, I've constantly questioned what I'm writing, and though I like what I'd created I knew it wasn't fabulous. So basically I was spending all my time working on something I wasn't liking very much. I've been writing on a timer--which means I make myself write for 30 minutes, then go do something fun--like clean a toilet, mop the floor, sort socks. What, those don't sound fun? EXACTLY my point. When things like that become the reward for writing, it says a lot about how much I've been enjoying the writing, doesn't it?

But Wednesday was a GREAT writing day. Tuesday had also been good, which made Wednesday even better. I wrote for almost four hours--didn't even think about laundry or flossing or anything like that. My wonderful, fabulous, cheerleading friend Julie had put me on a 1,300/day diet back in December so I could finish this book. I'd been following her plan, but calling every few days to whine about it (keep in mind Julie has two full time jobs on top of her own writing--and I'm complaining to her because I only have 6 hours a day to myself. Yes, I have fabo friends that put up with me).

I felt like I'd finally broken that barrier and I had to call her and tell her about it--knowing she would scream and squeal on the other end of the line and drop everything to tell me how happy she was for me.

So I dialed her number, waited three rings and heard, "Hello."

(Imagine this next part being said at 100 miles an hour in my high-pitched excited voice) Hi, it's me, I just had to call you because I knew you'd be so happy for me, I'm writing, and I love it and I resolved all those stupid plot holes and I'm so dang excited and I actually like this and it's finally just coming to me, ya know, and I feel like I could write for hours--I'm like some kind of super hero--and . . . hello? . . . hello?"

She'd hung up on me!

Well, that was rather anti-clamatic. So I hit redial and just happen to glance at the number before putting it to my ear. Was that a 9 instead of a 6? It's supposed to be a 6. Did I dial the wrong number?

Sure did.

Some lady with a prefix of 849 was just reminded that she needed to talk to her kids about the dangers of drug use again.