Why I Write

Last week I wrote about why I run. So today, in order to reach perfect circularity, I should run about why I write. Not entirely sure how I would do that. How about running on about how I write? Given the length of my recent blogs, it’s entirely doable.

Some people write because they “have to.” It’s like breathing for them. I’m not like that. Just ask my editor at Covenant. In fact there are times when I find I can’t write. I don’t lack the desire, it’s just that for whatever reason, my brain needs to recharge.

Some people write for fame and fortune. For most of us that lasts right up until you see your first royalty check. Certainly some people achieve fame and fortune from writing. But most of them keep on writing even when they have all the fame and fortune they could ever want. It’s not about the money or most of us would have stopped a long, long, time ago.

Like running, writing is hard. You have to work at it close to every day or it becomes even harder. There are times when you literally curse your keyboard, and wonder why you ever started this stupid story. For pretty much everyone except the kindergartener who gets her first story on the fridge, writing comes with lots of rejection. Even writers whose first book turns into a bestseller get rejected by someone. Just check out the one-star ratings on Amazon. And I think those rejections sting no matter who you are or how long you’ve been writing.

So why write?

For the moments like my good friend Jules experienced, where a girl and her entire family took the missionary discussions and got baptized. At her baptism, the girl said it was because of reading Jules’ book that she investigated the church. Or the man from Kenya who asked to meet with the missionaries after reading my first book. Not that those moments are always about the church at all. But just having someone feel like their life is better or more meaningful because of something you wrote is the ultimate high. Like Jules told me, none of the rejections matter a hill of beans compared to this.

For the times when you hear someone laugh, or cry, or gasp, at something you wrote. And for the times when they tell you how little sleep they got the night before, because they just had to find out what happened.

For the chance it gives you to teach others what you’ve learned. Over the next month and a half I’ll be presenting to the Nebo Reading Council Young Writers, League of Utah Writers Spring Round Up, Shirley Bahlmann’s Ephraim writing group, American Leadership Academy parents, Life the Universe and Everything Conference, and The LDStorymakers Writing Conference. I’ll get to join James Dashner, Julie Wright, Chris Schoebinger, Orson Scott Card, and a host of writers I’ve admired for years. I’m thrilled to be able to teach others and to learn from some truly great artists.

I talked last week about how often running is hard, but how there are times when you feel as if you are floating. There are times like that in writing too. Times when the hole in the page is so big you can see your world with crystal clear vision and your fingers race across the keyboard, trying to get down every word before the hole closes and you are back to picking and pecking your way through unknown passages.

Last week Lisa Mangum, my editor at Shadow Mountain, asked me to put together discussion questions for the back of my YA fantasy. At first I could only come up with things like, “If Gandalf, Dumbledore, and Master Therapass got in a fight, who would win?” Which is an intriguing question, you must admit. Later I realized there actually were some questions I came up with that made me feel pretty good about the values kids might be able to pick up from my story. Like “Marcus feels different from the other boys in his school because of his disabilities and because of the way he can grow dim and sense things before they happen. Kyja feels different because she can’t do magic. Has there ever been a time when you felt different? Does being different have to be a bad thing? How can being different be good?”

If I can expand a child’s horizons with my stories and make them ponder questions like this, I will have succeeded beyond my greatest wishes.

But ultimately I write for the readers. I write because it makes me smile when I get e-mails—even when they tell me they hated my cliff hanger ending. Okay especially that. Because it tells me that my characters have become real to them. That somehow through the magic of words on paper I have been able to convey what’s in my mind into their mind. There’s a kind of magic to that.

And on that note, I’d like to share with you a final example of why I write. I got an e-mail from Michele, a good friend and fellow writer (who happens to be up for a Whiney for her first published novel!). She said that she’d forwarded my running blog to her father who is a fellow runner and that he loved it. She also sent me an interview her daughter, Alyssa, did for her sixth grade class. Alyssa is at the top of my favorite fan list already for pre-reading Farworld and writing in her comments, “This is the best book I will ever read.” Can you get better praise than that? Her interview is with one of my characters, Shandra Covington. Her mother forwarded it to me exactly as Alyssa wrote it and I laughed my head off. She has such a great voice and such a fun style, I have no doubt she’ll follow her Mom’s writing success.

Here is the interview. I only bleeped out one line, because Alyssa has read some of my new book and I don’t her to give any of it away. If you haven’t read the first two Shandra Covington mysteries and plan to, there are a few pretty big spoilers.

Interview with Shandra Covington main character from Dead on Arrival
By: Alyssa Holmes

Alyssa: "Hello Shandra, and just how are you today?"

Shandra: "I am doing fine."

Alyssa: "So Shandra how are you feeling after the incident at Echo Lake?"

"Well," says Shandra. "To be honest I'm not doing all that well."

"You're probably doing a lot better than any other girl who gets chased by a tractor, shot in the ribs, and jumped out of a barn," says Alyssa.

Applause from the audience after the speech.

"Well," says Shandra. "I'll have to admit that those few months ago seem like a vacation after what's been going on lately."

Alyssa: "Oh, do tell us."

"Tell , Tell , Tell!" chants the audience.

"Well," says Shandra again. "It all started when a woman dressed like her father, whose name was Pinky Templeton, came in and said that his dead wife was trying to kill him, but the only problem was that he was dead. Then the same afternoon he or she really put an explosive in her car and it blew up with her father's body inside of it. But I'm still not finished, at the end I thought that Pinky was my father, but it was Pinky's only daughter. She got shot and died, so when that was all over, my friend Bobby called and had news and was coming over to my apartment to tell me the good news. but when I got there—" (Shandra crying) "Bobby was curled up on the floor with—" (More sobs and crying) "—blood coming out of his chest. And worst of all I almost lost my friend Cordelia Dunes the day of the explosion that Pinky made. She chased him on her bike and was very close and got hurt severely," said Shandra.

"Alright everybody. Let's give it up for Shandra." (applause) "Now Shandra can we just ask you a few more questions?"

"Sure," she said.

Alyssa: "So Shandra, have you ever figured out the mystery of your father, is he really dead, why did he leave, and does he really love you?"

Shandra: "I am so sorry to say but I can only answer two of the three questions. First of all, no I have not figured out the mystery of my father, and sometimes I give up hope that he is still alive. But I know my father left to protect my family, and last of all, my father did love me. Pinky told me that he loved me and was always there watching me secretly."

Alyssa: "Well Shandra thank you so much for all of the time that you have spent with us today. So everybody let's give it up for Shandra one last time!" (applause from the crowd erupts .)

(Music plays in the back ground)


Thanks Alyssa. That made my whole week. I can’t wait for an interview with Kyja!

Tipping My Hat

by Jeffrey S Savage

A little over six years ago, Covenant called to tell me they were accepting my first novel, Cutting Edge. Like most first time authors, I had a lot to learn. You mean I won’t sell fifty-thousand copies of my first book, or second, or third? I can’t retire from my day job and buy a cabin in the mountains? I won’t get to choose my cover or title? But amidst all the confusion, I found a friend who helped talk me through all the ups and downs. An extremely successful LDS author took me under his wing and explained the ins and outs of book signings, marketing, my web site, etc. His name is Chris Heimerdinger.

As a new author, it would have been easy for other more successful authors to blow me off. But I quickly learned that instead of hiding their trade secrets, the other authors (technically my competitors) were some of the nicest and most helpful people I’d ever met. They share their time and talents with others despite the fact that between writing and their “real” life, there’s not a lot of leftover time. With that in mind, I’d like to offer kudos and a comment or two about some of the people I’ve met along the way. I’ll apologize in advance now for the fact that I won’t get to everyone on tonight’s blog. But if you enjoy this one, I’ll try and do more in the future.

Chris Heimerdinger—I really have to start with Chris, since he was my first mentor. Chris has disappeared from view for awhile as he works to finish his movie, but he set the standard for LDS authors in many ways. Never one to pull any punches, he told me what to expect from the LDS publishing industry—the good, bad, and ugly. Chris has spent an immense amount of time doing good works over and above his writing. He has given advice to many others, done guided tours of the Book of Mormon lands, expanded into LDS film, and set the standard in writing books enjoyed by the entire family.

Jennie Hansen—The first time I met Jennie was at a book signing, and frankly she scared the crap out of me. She looked at me over her stack of a gazillion books and I nervously looked at my one pitiful novel. She seemed so stern and intimidating, I just about turned and ran out of the bookstore. But when she opened her mouth, everything changed. Jennie is a wonderful person and a good friend. She has been through the ups and downs of Covenant and has never wavered in her support of them. She’s written romances, historicals, westerns, and much more. Without compensation, Jennie has written one of the best LDS book review columns for years on Meridian magazine. She has been, and is still a great champion of LDS publishing.

Rachel Nunes—If Anita Stansfield is the Queen of LDS romance, Rachel is the crown princess. I’ve lost count of all the novels she’s published, but it’s well over twenty. Rachel has worked with several LDS publishers, and is currently one of DB’s top sellers. She has been instrumental in uniting LDS authors and founding an amazing LDS writing conference. By standing up for what she believes in, she has helped make the way easier for other LDS authors. When my first novel came out, Rachel invited me to join an e-mail list of other authors who taught me most of what I know. That group broke apart and reformed into LDSStorymakers. This is a group whose primary goal is educating the LDS audience about LDS fiction, helping LDS authors from all publishers to improve their craft, and teaching new and upcoming authors.

Kerry Blair—It used to be that I showed up at book signings with a pen and a smile. Usually the store manager set up a table with a poster of my book, and I was good to go.
Then one day I walked into a store and saw an incredible sight. The lady who was signing before me had turned her table into a display that would put a Relief Society teacher to shame. She had her own table cloth, cool displays, handouts, goodies. AND . . . she was the nicest person I had ever met. She was friendly to everyone, whether they purchased her book or not. She would talk and laugh with the employees. Every store manager Loved her with a capital L. She has spent countless hours turning the annual Covenant mystery dinner into a huge success. She writes books that make me laugh out loud, and she is a great friend to everyone who knows her.

Heather Moore and Annette Lyon—The first time I met Heather and Annette was my first night at a critique group. I had no idea what to expect, and I was amazed at how they could do such a good review of other’s work, while we were reading. Annette was writing a fantasy and Heather was writing kind of a mystery romance thing. Annette always handed back my work covered with red marks. Heather wasn’t entirely sure where her story was headed and we’d say things like, “Is this going to be an important clue?” And she’d answer, “I’m not sure. Maybe.” We have all improved A LOT since those early days, and much of it can be laid at the feet of the critique group (or as I like to call them, The Ladies of Wednesday Night.)

Bill Gardner (who writes as Willard Boyd Gardner)—When my first book, Cutting Edge, came out. Covenant was trying to publish more “guy” books. Bill was the perfect author. As an ex SWAT member and a writing professor he is amazing. We always go to Bill when we need to get answers to police questions. As a cop, Bill once said to himself that he’d give his right arm to be a writer. Shortly after that, his right arm was badly injured in the line of duty and he writes great books. Bill is in charge of the Boot Camp at the conference this year. He is a great teacher and a truly nice guy—even if he does give me crap about writing “girl” books.

James Dashner—As much as I hate to admit it, Dashner is a pretty fun writer. Kids love him, and he manages to make all of them feel important. And while you wouldn’t expect it from such a nerdy looking CPA, he has a truly warped imagination. Just today he sent me an e-mail about the web site of an author who shall remain unnamed, that literally made me cry, I laughed so hard. He is like the kid who sat in the back of class telling stories and flinging boogers. I just wish he would learn to use a Kleenex now. By the way, he will be the MC of the SM conference this weekend, and I guarantee he will make you laugh your rear off.

Julie Wright (aka Jules)—If you have not read “My Not So Fairytale Life,” shame on you. Go out and get it right now. Julie is the best writer I have ever met who has absolutely no confidence. She whips out these amazing books, then worries herself sick that no one will like them. She knows everything there is to know about Star Wars and Disney. Although she has suffered for years with a back that literally pained her to tears most of the time, she has been tireless in teaching classes, helping with the conference, promoting like crazy, and just being a wonderful person to be around. She and Josi Kilpack, who I interviewed earlier, have put an amazing amount of time and effort into the conference for not a single dime.

Tristi Pinkston—If you like historical novels, Tristi is your author. You will never look at the Japanese interment camps the same way. She sticks to her guns even if it means not publishing a novel she really wants to, because the publisher has a policy against polygamy in their novels. Tristi will help anyone anywhere.

Michele Holmes(Another of TLOWN)—Michele is publishing her first novel this year. It’s called Counting Stars. She has experienced all the highs and lows of getting a book from a manuscript to a finished product, and come out shining. She’ll tell you that the editing process is not for the faint of heart. She has been a big help in editing my books. And to anyone who tries to tell me you can’t get published by Covenant unless you have a book already out with them, I’ll point to her. Her new book is a great combination of drama, romance, and really funny humor. I’ve never read an LDS romance novel whose main character was as funny as hers.

There are a lot more people I’d like to blog about—especially on the editing and marketing side of things. Plus great authors like Candace Salima, Shirley Bahlmann, BJ Rowley, Matthew Buckley, Michelle Ashman Belle (aka the motorcycle babe), Betsy Green, and of course the rest of the great authors on this group. Unfortunately, I really need to get back to my latest book. But I couldn’t finish this blog without mentioning our own Sariah, who came up with the idea for this blog in the first place. I know I bug the heck out of her at times, but I really admire all the marketing work she has done to promote her excellent books. Thanks, Sariah.

Piece of Paris

by Stephanie Black

I’m a lousy book reviewer. When I review something on Goodreads, it’s usually with one line—“Great mystery! Creepy!” I’m not skilled at whipping out insightful and intelligent comments on a book. It takes me forever to come up with something to say, and I really admire people who are good at reviewing. Good reviewers have skills, or possibly magic powers. I have . . . the ability to procrastinate by reading other people’s blogs while I’m supposed to be writing a review (Heather Moore has a great piece on her blog discussing her writing journey, by the way.)

But I was fortunate enough to receive a review copy of GG Vandagriff’s Pieces of Paris, which means I’m going to review it, so here it is: “Beautifully written! Exciting!” See you next week!

Ahem. Okay, fine. I guess I should make more of an effort or I’ll never be able to get my paws on another review book again (somewhere there’s a list, you see, and my name will be on it. Don’t send a book to her, it will say. She’ll only write one line and then she’ll meander off into a story about how her six-year-old has a cow every time there’s a Cheerio on the table. Cheerios are more feared around here than the boogeyman).

Anyway, here we go: first off, Pieces of Paris has a gorgeous cover. Don’t you love it? It has a gorgeous cover and an extremely talented author: GG Vandagriff is both a skilled and versatile writer. Her epic historical novel, The Last Waltz, won a Whitney Award in 2009. She is also the author of the Alex and Briggie mystery series; the sixth book in the series, The Hidden Branch, was released last fall. She also co-authored the book Deliverance from Depression: Finding Hope and Healing Through the Atonement of Christ.

Pieces of Paris is in yet another genre—women’s fiction, or, for Whitney purposes, we’ll call it general fiction. Annalise is living with her husband Dennis and her son Jordan in a tiny rural town when flashbacks from her past begin to torment her, threatening to wreck both her peace of mind and her marriage. Before marrying Dennis, Annalise was passionately in love with a troubled, brilliant musician named Jules. The relationship ended so traumatically that Annalise coped by shutting it out of her mind, and cutting herself off from the music she associated with Jules. She started a new life with Dennis, a handsome, idealistic crusader searching for a paradise he thinks he’s found in the Ozark mountains. This strategy works for a few years—until her past begins to fight its way to the surface.

Dennis, who thought his wife was the epitome of calm and steady, is unnerved by the moody, tearful, unpredictable woman Annalise has become as she struggles to cope with vivid flashbacks of her life with Jules—a part of Annalise that Dennis knows nothing about. Her struggles force him to examine his own attitudes and expectations as he realizes he has cast Annalise into a role where perhaps she doesn’t fit. Annalise has to face up to the fact that, as a doctor and friend explains to her, the only way to get past her pain is to go through it. She needs to face what happened with Jules, and she needs to open up to Dennis about her past. It’s a difficult process for both of them.

I like the way Annalise and Dennis are both deep, rounded characters. Dennis has his own past and his own problems—he’s fighting against a company that has contaminated the soil with toxic waste, a quest that puts him in danger as someone works to deter him from pursuing the matter. Annalise and Dennis are both facing some difficult growth in their characters and in their relationship. I didn’t get much done the morning when I was finishing the book because I was eager to find out how it ended.

Pieces of Paris is a compelling, multi-layered novel. It was published by Shadow Mountain, Deseret Book’s national-market imprint. It has no specifically LDS content, but general Christian beliefs are important to the resolution of the story. Visit GG Vandagriff’s website here.