RANDOM THOUGHTS

A number of things have been running through my mind today. First let me tell you about my nephew who is on the board of directors for an orphanage in Haiti. His group is trying very hard to collect tents for their orphans and for other orphanages they are in contact with in that unfortunate country. He's been working around the clock trying to get children who are already in the adoption process out of the country and the adoptions completed to make room for all of the new orphans who need help. These children need shelter and that means tents. Because transportation is a problem, he says it's better to donate money than to try to ship tents. He's urging donations in two ways, 1) the LDS humanitarian effort (donations can be made by marking the Humantarian Aid box on any ward or branch tithes and offerings form and enclosing a check) or 2) donate through Shelter Box at http://www.shelterboxusa.org/. The LDS Humanitarian effort has provided many of the tents the Foyer de Sion orphanage is currently using, but more are needed. One ward in Idaho has been working for a couple of years to make a hundred quilts to donate to a humanitarian cause. They've decided to send their quilts to the Foyer de Sion orphanage and a company that processes fish has agreed to transport the quilts to Miami where my nephew will arrange transportation to Haiti. I have been deeply touched by the generosity of people in this country and other countries who have opened their hearts and wallets to the people of this poor, tragedy stricken nation.

For the past three weeks I've been reading as fast and furiously as possible. I was asked to be one of the judges to help whittle down the Whitney nominees to five finalists in two of the categories. I had already read most of the books in one category and enjoyed the few I hadn't previously read. The other category was much harder because I hadn't read or even heard of most of the nominees. Most are not as well edited as those in the first category either, which made reading them more difficult. But I'm excited to announce I finally finished reading them all. I can easily pick the one I liked best in each category, but placing the rest in numerical order is going to be much harder.

One of my daughters had a serious close brush with death a few days ago. This sudden, unexpected emergency threw my whole family into a tailspin, but it also left me extremely grateful for my children and their closeness to each other. It also reminded me of how a strong, loving ward expresses their love for one of their own. Children were cared for and comforted, blessings given, meals prepared, and messages relayed. The first couple of days family accomplished these things, now we have a hard time finding helpful things to do because the ward is rallying around this little family.

Each day I get a little spiritual thought from LDSNuggets. Today's was a quote by James E. Faust. It particularly struck a chord within me and I decided to pass it on since it is particularly pertinent to the turmoil and trials our world faces at this time and the questions we have concerning the future. "'As we look into the future, we are going to need to be stronger and more responsible for our choices in a world where people “call evil good, and good evil.” We do not choose wisely if we use our agency in opposition to God’s will or to priesthood counsel. Tomorrow’s blessings and opportunities depend on the choices we make today.'"

A DAY LATE, BUT HERE ARE THE WINNERS - ON TO THE NEXT CONTEST

JOLYNN READS and SUZANNE PERRY are the winners of a CD copy of High Country or any book I reviewed on Meridian last year that hasn't already been claimed by a previous winner. Send a list of five options (books you would like) and your mailing address to bhansen22 at msn dot com.

For Christmas my son and his wife gave my husband and me a weekend at the Homestead in Midway and this is the weekend we were to go. We had a great time and it is beautiful up there. It is the reason I didn't announce winners yesterday. Last night as we slowly dined on prime rib before a beautiful fireplace, a number of thoughts flitted briefly through my mind.One of those thoughts involved the next contest on this blog. What if the prizes were limited to books that featured snow? When I got home I discovered there aren't many LDS novels set in a snowy backdrop other than Christmas books and the Willie and Martin Handcart tragedies. So here are the books I found that are set in snow.

A train to Potevka by Mike Ramsdell. This is the story of an American intelligence agent who becomes trapped in Eastern Russia and must make his own way out of the country sometime between 1988 and 2002.

Through Deepening Trials by Robert H. Moss, a man who served an LDS mission at Martin's Cove and became deeply entrenched in the story, the location, and the faith of the people who met tragedy there in the late fall of 1856.

Winter fire by Rachel Ann Nunes a touching love story linked to the social issue of foster care.

The Best of Times by Anita Stansfield the beginning of a new series that takes place at a Dickens style bed and breakfast.

There are others, I'm sure.

Though it was extremely cold, I enjoyed walking toward the main building for breakfast this morning and watching several small groups of deer who had wandered onto the resort property.

I'm not a person who ordinarily indulges in winter vacations or activities anymore, but I do enjoy watching wildlife summer or winter. Another writer, one of my favorites, who enjoys the outdoors a great deal is Clare Poulson. His adventure books nearly always include the outdoors and wildlife. So I'm adding all of his books except Relentless to this contest's possible prizes.

Winners will be chosen at the end of the month from those who make comments during the next two weeks on any of my blogs and those who sign up as followers.

Reading Whitneys

I haven't done much blogging this month, I'm mostly avoiding Face Book, and the amount of writing I've done is zilch. I've been busy reading. I'm not reading just anything; I haven't even spent much time with the newspaper. It's the Whitneys. At some insane moment in the past I agreed to be one of those people who reads nominees in an effort to whittle down their numbers to a managable five finalists. And I'm doing this in more than one category. I won't say which categories, but one has some really great nominees and one has . . . well, let me say . . . a few really good ones.

I've made some observations during my reading: 1) copy editing is a lost art at most publishing houses, 2) some writers have more friends than talent, 3) when LDS writers are good, they're really good, 4) realistic dialog improves a story while course, vulgar language detracts, 5) LDS writers run the full gamut from silly, sappy, boring, negative, sloppy research, to funny, realistic, great research, thought provoking, and enlightening. Some write the same old boring drivel over and over and some have keen imaginations and powerful messages to deliver, and 6) sometimes within a single book some writers write brilliantly for awhile and childishly in other sections.

Over the many years I've been writing, I've discovered readers vary as widely as writers do. There are some who like the predictable Barbara Cartland type romance; some will only read novels if they're closely linked to Church history; some consider fictionalized novels loosely based on a scriptural event or time period sacrilegious, some want lowest denominator novels that dwell on Church members weaknesses and shortcomings, complete with raw vocabulary; some want stories that are strictly imaginative with no direct reference to the church---but with the language cleaned up; some don't care whether there's a Church link or not as long as the book is entertaining; some like social issues; some want mystery and adventure, some consider genre fiction beneath them and seek what they consider literary only; some like to mull over a novel for weeks on end, and others prefer quick reads.

Fortunately I like to read and find it interesting to sample so many different styles and topics. So far I've only found one book that was so lacking in appeal that I only read the first sixty pages, then touched briefly on subsequent chapters and read the final one. I liked one I expected to dislike and was bored by one by an author I usually enjoy a great deal. Some are pretty much what I expected, good or bad. I have five and a half books left to go---then there are the new books I need to read and review for my Meridian column and one I agreed to edit for one of my daughters. Perhaps one day, I'll find time to write again.

The winner for the previous contest never claimed her prize, so I will draw two winners this time, one from followers and commenters and one just from commenters.

STARTING THE NEW YEAR OFF WITH A WINNER

Ann Moony is the winner of the audio version of High Country or a book of her choice from last year's offerings. Ann please contact me at bhansen22 at msn dot com by Tuesday Jan. 5 to give me your mailing address and to let me know which prize you have selected.

The new contest begins today. Leave a comment at the end of this blog and/or sign up as a follower to be eligible for a drawing to win a free book. Each time you comment on one of my blogs between now and January 15 you will receive another chance to win. Any book I reviewed on Meridian last year, and some from previous years, can be your prize (unless already claimed by a previous winner).

Newspapers, magazines, and television channels are full of year end wrap-ups of the best and worst of 2009, so I propose we do the same for LDS fiction. If anyone wants to do a top and bottom ten, okay, but I'm only going to ask for a top three best. I hope everyone got their Whitney nominations in, if not you're too late. Anyway I think it's safe now to ask which three novels by LDS authors published in 2009 did you enjoy most? I'm also going to ask which LDS novel is your all-time favorite? I seldom agree with anyone else's top ten best or worst dressed, movies, news stories, books, photoes, etc. and I don't expect we'll all agree on the three best LDS novels, but it should be fun to recap which novels left a lasting impact on someone.

And speaking of favorites, this is my favorite photoes taken this Christmas. The little angel is my eight-year-old granddaughter and Mary is my nine-year-old granddaughter.

I can't believe it--the shopping is done and the presents are wrapped. I even sent out
Christmas cards. Of course there are still meal preparations, neighborhood gifts to deliver, some shirts to iron, and a few phone calls to make, but basically, I'm ready. I'm not ultra efficient; I just have an early deadline. You see, there won't be time for shopping and wrapping and all of those things tomorrow. I have the most important Christmas preparations to do when I arise in the morning. It's my day to serve all day in the temple. Wednesday is my day to concentrate on serving the Lord. There couldn't possibly be a better way to prepare for Christmas.

I love the beautiful rich language of the nativity story in the King James version of St. Luke. Reading it was part of my Christmas lesson at Primary Sunday and it will be part of our Christmas Eve family celebration Thursday night. My younger grandchildren will dress up like angels and shepherds, one of my two granddaughters will cradle a doll as Mary, and Joseph will be a grandson who hasn't had a turn for a few years. As our family shares the beautiful story of our Savior's birth and share this Christmas celebration, we will draw closer to each other and to Christ whose birth we celebrate.

Merry Christmas from me to all of you. May you share in the joy and warmth of this wondrous season.

AND THE WINNER IS . . . . . .

TRIBES is the winner of a Christmas book. Please let me know by Friday which book you would like along with your mailing address. Send it to bhansen22 at msn dot com.

The prize for the last half of December contest will be a little different. The winner will get the audio (CD) version of High Country by me or your choice of any of the books not chosen by earlier winners this year.

This seems to be my year for attending Christmas concerts. First there was the Christmas Orange concert with Marshall MacDonald. I loved it, but there wasn't much leg room between seats. Then we went to the Tabernacle Choir Concert with Natalie Cole and David McCullough. Fabulous! Then we were given tickets to the Messiah performance at Salt Lake Community College South. It was different. I barely recognized a couple of the numbers and the rest not at all. The songs were all jazzed up and sung as Southern gospel songs. This Sunday, a granddaughter is singing in her ward's Christmas program in the morning, then our own will be presented by the choir in the afternoon. Every time I get in the car or turn on the radio at home, there's Christmas music. I'm not complaining. I'm hearing it better than I ever have before.

Something happened a year and half ago, to me a small miracle, and I suddenly started hearing sounds I'd never heard before and I could even tolerate being in the same room as a violin. I've always been tone deaf and unable to hear in the upper ranges. Suddenly I discovered street lights chirp, birds outside my office window sing, and dozens of other small sounds I had been oblivious to. Along with this has come a new awareness of music. It's kind of fun to hear songs I once studied so intensely in order to appreciate them at all, now sounding so glorious.

I loved Christmas music even when I didn't hear it well. I especially like Silent Night and O Holy Night. I think Handel's Messiah, not the jazzed up version, is beautiful. I'm enjoying some of the lighter songs too like Little Drummer Boy. I think the music of Christmas brings the many facets of the season together. Through the pop songs we share the fun and magic, through the spiritual hymns our souls are touched bringing us closer to understanding this greatest of all gifts, the birth of our Savior.

We're all so busy, but take a moment to consider the small miracles in your life or share the ways Christmas touches you.

OH THAT CHRISTMAS LETTER!

Love them or hate them, Christmas letters are a part of Christmas. Personally I love getting them, even if it's just a couple of lines scrawled on the bottom of the card. Some say they're brag fests, others are "woe is me." Most, fortunately, are a great way to catch up on what is happening in the lives of people we care about. I love the inclusion of photos too. Some are original, some are poetic, some touch the heart, and some are just plain funny. We've all seen the Elf Me cards on line, which are cute and often funny. One of my daughters posted her Christmas letter online this year which I found amusing. You can take a peek at it here http://keepingupwiththehansens.blogspot.com/ , but I think the funniest one I ever received came from a niece and it was a little late. It read:



Merry Christmas from the Chandlers!

If, by chance, this card is late
Just credit it to Chandler fate!

We ordered the photos in November's third week
And, as our luck would have it, there was a tweek:

"The machine broke down" the printer guy said,
They had to get a new one. Guess the old one was dead!

Then they lost our order, failing our trust
And our pictures sat around collecting dust!

Then they called to say that the cards with our faces
Had all been delivered to the wrong places!

I demanded my money, or some compensation
And they just smiled and gave the poor explanation
That there was nothing they could do.

The boss was gone, and they were alone
And they tried to call, but his wife wasn't home.

So, they offered to print our letter for free
And include a picture of another family!


I accepted their offer; what else could I do?
I had to get this card off to you!

Hence the happiest of holidays is our Christmas wish
To you from the Chandlers, and these guys with the fish!

Oh well, our pictures finally came. Happy Valentine's Day!


Last night my husband and I and my cousin and her husband attended the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performance with Natalie Cole and David McCullough. It was fantastic. I was particularly impressed with the organ solo by Richard Elliott. Talk about multi-tasking! We planned to eat at the Lion House before the performance, but the line was so long that after an hour wait, we gave up and hurried to the conference center for the performance. The line didn't look so bad after the performance so we tried again. Success this time and we had a delicious late dinner. We planned a liesurely stroll through temple square to see the lights after the performance, but the sidewalk was so slippery and the temperature so cold, we didn't linger.

This contest ends Tuesday. The winner will get a Christmas book (see earlier post listing prize books). If you've already left a comment on an earlier post or signed up as a follower, you're already entered in the drawing. You can enter again and improve your chances of being a winner by commenting on this post.

A WRITING PET PEEVE

Books, plays, and movies have a lot in common. There's a whole different world that opens up on stage or in the pages of a book. Most people read, attend the theatre, or go to a movie to escape for a time into a fantasy world, to discover something new, or to see the ordinary from a different perspective.

I can't imagine attending a play where all of the action takes place off stage and only the emotional reaction of the major character is shown to the audience. Yet I just read a book like that. I usually read several books a week, but I struggled through this one for nearly three weeks. I kept telling myself it had to get better. Afterall, the author is a well-known and popular writer. It didn't get better and I felt cheated.

Most writers leave some of the action off stage, especially less important transitional material, but I suspect most readers want and expect something to actually happen before their eyes. Info dumps are a form of off-camera action and most readers are quite adamantly opposed to this devise. I suspect most readers are equally annoyed as was I, when they get only the reaction and not the action.

Of course action novel fans expect to see something happen, but what about character fans? Am I wrong to think these readers expect to see growth and change in the characters rather than just be told that the experience caused a change?

Writing a book is a lot like staging a play or producing a movie. Each scene is plotted out with a goal or objective the point-of-view character is trying to achieve. We see the steps he or she takes to achieve the goal. Usually a disaster occurrs to prevent achieving the goal or the goal is reached and the result isn't as expected. Then comes the sequel portion of the scene. There is a reaction, followed by the formulation of a new plan or goal. The story falls flat if the reader sees only the zooming ahead to achieve goals and it falls even flatter if the audience only glimpses reactions without any of the action. If the writer can visualize the story and allow the reader to see it unfold, the story will be much stronger and far more rewarding than the book I just finished. Remember to show---not tell. Put the action on the stage.

I'd love to hear other readers views on showing vs. telling, reaction without action, or any other peeves readers find objectionable. The current contest ends next Tuesday. Comments on my blogs on the V-Formation also count in this contest.

Book Signings

I'll be signing at the West Jordan Seagull Book store on Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Then I'll be at the Family Center in Taylorsville from 2 to 4 p.m. Come see me!

TWO WINNERS And a new contest begins

Two grandsons came to play today and while they were here they picked the winners for both contests. The winner of a copy of Stolen Christmas is Elizabeth Morgan. The winner of my regular contest is Jolynn Reads. Please send me your snail mail addresses to bhansen22 at msn dot com and JoLynn, please include a wish list of at least five (more is better)LDS novels you would like and if I have any of the books on your list one of them will be your prize. Winners must notify me by Friday or another winner will be chosen.

A new contest begins today and in keeping with the season, the prize will be a Christmas book.

Choose from the Christmas Jars by Jason Wright, The Christmas Box Miracle by Richard Paul Evans, Christmas by the Book by Beverly King, Christmas for a Dollar (booklet size) by Gale Sears, The Spirit of Christmas by Jennie Hansen, Betsy Brannon Green and Michele Ashman Bell, Santa Maybe by Aubrey Mace, or Mysterious Ways by B.J. Rowley.

Christmas isn't Christmas without stories. I about wore out my mother's copies of The Bird's Christmas Carol and The Little Matchgirl while I was growing up and I've found some new favorites in this year's new releases---read my December column on Meridian which will be coming out soon. There are some really great new releases this year. I also found through the years that there are a few Christmas stories I distinctly dislike like Dicken's Christmas Carol.

This contest will center around Christmas stories. Write a paragraph or two about your most loved or most disliked Christmas stories. If you don't have a specific favorite, tell us what kind of Christmas stories you like or which kinds most annoy you. And please don't list the nativity story from Luke, that is most people's favorite including mine, but I want to hear about your favorite fiction stories. (I particularly like the picture book When Jesus Was Born in Bethlehem which is the scriptural account illustrated with beautiful paintings by Joseph Brickey.) So think about it, and let me know how you feel about fiction Christmas stories. The contest begins now and ends December 15th at noon.