UTAH AUTHORS DAY SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3RD, 2022 – WE’RE BACK BIGGER THAN EVER! The League of Utah Writers and Utah Humanities are working together again this year on the first Saturday of December – December 3rd, 2022 celebrating the annual community event in 19 HOST LOCATIONS around the state with OVER 100 AUTHORS!
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This past Saturday, December 4, 2021, we celebrated Utah Authors Day — a special day to encourage Utahns to share their stories and perspectives . . . Participating in Utah Authors Day reminded me how reading and writing provide vital personal connections within communities.
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Half a century has finally hit me, or rather, all the Swiss Rolls I’ve been eating during the Covid quaratine have hit my waistline.
Either way, I’m 50 years old today, people!
By the grace of God (and with a lot of help from other people) I’ve made it this far.
I thought I would take a little time to compile a list of some of my favorites and see where the list went. In no particular order, here are 50 of my favorites:
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Just the other day, one of my seventeen-year-old son’s friends came through the door wearing a t-shirt with Jaws on it. After I recovered from the trauma of childhood flashbacks from the movie, this started a conversation about why I don’t particpate in Discovery Channel’s Shark Week . But last night Shark Week tricked me . . .
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When I was fresh on the writing scene, one of the first people I met in the League of Utah Writers was Jodi L. Milner. Jodi immediately impressed me with her enthusiasm and love for writing. While Jodi and I are no longer in the same writing chapter, we still see each other often at writing conferences and author events. She recently released a YA dark fantasy Stonebearer’s Betrayal, so this was the perfect opportunity to get together with Jodi and find out more about her writing process and her book.
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When I ask new writers if they are planning on attending an upcoming conference or not, I’m often taken by surprise when they say they’re not ready to attend writing conferences yet. Whether you are a new writer or a seasoned writer, here are 5 reasons why you should consider attending a writer’s conference.
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The LTUE—Life the Universe and Everything Conference is right around the corner . . . next week from Feb. 15-17th at the Provo Marriot Hotel. At a cost of only $55.00 for three days with an average of 9 to 10 classes running every hour, it’s times like these I just want to clone myself.
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I admit it. I love going to the DI (Deseret Industries) and browsing their book section for paperbacks and hardcovers. And because there are so many books my eyes are scanning the covers for those hidden gems. I do judge a book by its cover, so if the cover is amazing, I’m quickly drawn in. I started buying books back when my kids were little and times were tight. Back in those days there were no such things as ebooks or permafree books. I made regular trips to the library with my kids to check out books, and there was no way I could afford to pay full price for a board book. So going to the DI and paying twenty-five cents for a book sounded about right for me, seeing as dining out once a month at Taco Bell was a luxury.
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Christmas is a week away and in my typical ADD fashion, instead of working on my list of things to do, I’m procrastinating and writing a blog post instead. Don’t worry though, this postponement will just make me more effective in the long run, causing my brain to kick in to high gear and get all my things done in record speed.Actually, I’m fooling myself. It will probably just trigger a migraine and set me even further behind, causing me to slash even more things off my TO DO list. That’s okay, I probably shouldn’t have half the things on my list in the first place. I mean, do my kids really need Christmas presents?
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They say opposites attract. When Brett and I got married we were the perfect couple when it came to this idea of opposites. I’m the serious one, he’s always joking. I love romantic comedies, and he loves the stupid ones (especially if the movie has Jim Carey in it). I love cats, and he loves dogs.
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Haven't we all been there at one time or another? Facing down that certain someone who can't believe we haven't read their favorite book?
Reading can be so personal, that when someone suggests a book or a genre to us and we say, “No thanks,” they can take it as though we've rejected THEM personally. Which is NOT the case. It kind of reminds of the look my kids give me sometimes. You know the one . . . the "You're ruining my life" look?
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