A great writing workshop

Well, I had a great time at LDStorymakers workshop last weekend. The workshops were packed with excellent information and the presenters were very good as well. Met many people I'd only known from online contact, so that was wonderful. Sold some books and signed some books, so there was a bit of buzz about Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys, and I met the folks from yourldsneighborhood, where my articles show up every week or two. And I had a good visit with Cedar Fort's new publicist, who really wants to get our books out there.

Last week brought some disappointments, as the SPUR and WILLA results were announced (no luck in those contests) and I was not a finalist in readerviews.com's literary awards. Competition is very stiff, and that makes me more determined than ever to improve my writing.

But I did receive an honorable mention in the Marilyn Brown LDS Novel Competition. Marilyn Brown is a writer and person I respect very much, and to get a nod from this competition is a validation of my work. I hope to meet her one day.

I also got a good review from Carolyn Howard Johnson. See my #2 blog. So far we have these things in common: we both wrote novels about polygamy, we both have won some of the same awards, she'll be attending the Erma Bombeck workshop next week as a presenter, and I'm going as a first-time participant. She teaches at the UCLA Extension Writers Program and I'm thinking about enrolling in it. She contributed to a literary cookbook and I wrote one. She is an Aries and so am I. We will both have birthdays during the workshop so we plan to celebrate. I can't wait to meet this multi-talented and accomplished woman!