MAY 2010

Authors Incognito
Newsletter
May 2010

Taken at the Mix & Mingle on Friday Night, April 23rd
at the 2010 LDStorymakers Writers Conference


FROM THE MODERATOR
- Nichole Giles

I’d like to extend a hearty welcome to all our new members who joined at the most recent conference. We’re so glad to have you among us. We here at Authors Incognito have a strong bond of unity and I hope you’ll take in this opportunity to make writerly connections and friendships that will last a lifetime.

This is a group of encouragement and inspiration, support and shared knowledge. May you learn as much as I have over the past six years, and gain the confidence to forge a bridge over the publishing ocean.

Please, take a minute to read our news and feel free to share some of your own in the comments section. We’re so happy to have you!

Nichole Giles ~ Authors Incognito Moderator
Head on over to Nichole's blog and see what she's been up to this week.


FROM LDSTORYMAKERS
- Jaime Theler

Hello old AI friends and new AI friends! I hope you’re recuperating from the lack of sleep and having your brain stuffed with great information from the classes, workshops, and boot camp. Hopefully you still feel motivated and inspired to dig into your writing. Crystal and I want to express our gratitude and appreciation for the AI members that pitched in to help. In so many ways the conference wouldn’t be the same without Authors Incognito. Thank you so much for attending, and for your energy and enthusiasm!

After the conference I spent time with the agents, Nephele and Laura, and they were both very impressed with the great atmosphere and the friendliness of the people they met. They enjoyed their time so much that they would love to return to future conferences. (Yea!) Nephele and Laura also commented that they heard a lot of fresh, good ideas in their pitch sessions. Nephele joked that it must be something in the water. They’ve alerted their agencies to be on the lookout for great submissions from attendees, so keep writing, polishing, and getting your work ready. You already have a step up over the rest of the slush pile!

So far the majority of feedback from the conference is positive, but we know there are things that we can improve on for next year. Please take a moment to fill out the online feedback form if you haven’t already. You can find it on the 2010 Conference page at www.ldstorymakers.com. The committee reads and discusses all the feedback and we already have some changes in mind for 2011. Thanks again for attending and helping us make the 2010 LDStorymakers Writers Conference a huge success!

Jaime Theler, 2010-2011 Conference Chair

Head on over to Jaime Theler's blog, where she writes about what she learned while being the Queen of the Conference.

CLICK HERE!!

Jaime was gracious enough to give us permission to post this video.
Please note that you must get permission from LDStorymakers to repost or embed this video on your blog.
Enjoy!!! And don't forget the contest for next years video.
Details in the back of your conference syllabus.



IN THE NEWS
- Jenn Wilks

Every year at the LDStorymakers conference, a member of Authors Incognito is recognized for receiving the most number of rejections for the previous year. The idea, of course, is that the more submissions you send out, the more likely you are to receive an offer. This year, the prize was awarded to:

Elana Johnson

189 queries sent.
147 query rejections.
42 submission requested and sent.
41 rejected.
188 total rejections.
1 offer of representation.

It only takes one. Congratulations, Elana!


Authors Incognito Members were busy at this year's Storymakers Conference. Many of our members taught classes and workshops throughout the two days of the conference.

John Ferguson, Daron Fraley, and Darvell Hunt presented a 2-hour workshop on creating your own author website.

Elana Johnson presented a 2-hour workshop on writing a killer query and also taught a class on the querying process.

Mary Greathouse taught a class on writing memoirs.

Rebecca Talley taught a class on writing short stories.

Joshua Perkey taught a class on writing for the church magazines.

Karen Hoover taught a class on Pacing at the last minute due to a family emergency with one of the Storymakers.


In other news, AI members Tamara Heiner, Ali Cross, Keith Fisher, and Heather Justesen were quoted in the Mormon Times in an article about the Whitney Awards. You can read all about it here.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Jane Still was born in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. The first two years of her life she lived in a log cabin with a dirt floor and slept in a cardboard box. Her best friends were a dog that was half wolf and a baby deer. They kept her from wandering off into the woods.

She grew up in Cardston, Alberta Canada and attended College in Rexburg, ID. She is married and has six children. Jane writes books for fun and revenge.

Her first book, Mother's Daze, hit the National Market. in March. She is currently working on Mother's Daze 911.

GREAT BOOKS FOR MOTHER'S DAY

ByJane Still
* * *
By D.N. Giles & C. L. Beck
* * *
By Mary Greathouse

UPCOMING CONFERENCES & WRITING CLASSES

League of Utah Writers spring workshop
May 15th, 8:30 am-3:30 pm
Free for members, $10 non-members. Lunch available for purchase. $7.00 (order in advance)
Guest speakers include Dan Wells, Ben Behunin, Elana Johnson, Angela Eschler, and Melissa Dalton.
Hampton Inn and Suites of Orem
851 W 1250 S
Orem, UT 84057
Seating is limited. Register by email: roxyhaynie @ mac.com

CONduit 20: Space Pirates of CONduit
sci-fi / fantasy convention
May 28th-30, 2010
Radisson Hotel, Salt Lake City, UT
Adult price $35 in advance, $45 at the door (for the whole weekend.)
For more information or to register, check the CONduit website.

Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers
(Formerly held at BYU)
June 14 – 18 at the Waterford School in Sandy, Utah.

Registration is open until June 11th.
$475 full day tuition --Includes in-depth critiques of your work--excellent
$125 half day --Includes plenary and breakout sessions as well as banquet.
Click here for more information.


NEW BOOKS BEING RELEASED


Rebound by Heather Justesen

Lost Children, Coping with Miscarriage by Rachelle Christensen

Trapped by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen
For Launch Party info click HERE!

Other recent releases:

Heroes of the Fallen by David J.West

CONTESTS YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS

D.N. Giles and C.L. Beck are on tour with Mormon Mishaps and Mischief. Check out the Humor blog for information on how to win a $150 advertising package through Your LDS Neighborhood. The contest runs from May 4-17th, and you can enter on any and all of the participating blogs.

Nichole Giles, Elana Johnson, L.T. Elliot, Jenn Wilks, Suzette Saxton, and several other authors are participating in a Spread the Awesome 10 Star Review program in which several participants are giving away copies of 10 star books. Stop by any or all of their blogs on May 3rd to see their recommendations and enter.

The League of Utah Writers is now accepting submissions for their "Diamonds in the Rough" 2010 Contest. Cash prizes will be awarded, and there are numerous categories in which to enter, including poetry, short pieces, as well as entire manuscripts and published novels. Click here for more information.

TECH CORNER
- John Ferguson

Something funny to look at:
http://xkcd.com/627/

QUOTE ON WRITING

I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.

~Richard Wright, American Hunger, 1977



"FIRST CHAPTER CONTEST"
WINNERS

Nonfiction

Third place
"Memorize the Book of Mormon in 24 hrs"
by Darvell Hunt

Second place
"Dad Has Alzheimer's"
by Cindy Williams

First place
"In Memory of the Almost Kiss"
by Dawn Davies

General Fiction

Third place
"The Keeper"
by Tamara Passey

Second place
"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
by Rebecca Clayson

First place
"Dear John, It’s Me Maggie"
by Robbin Peterson

Mystery/Suspense

Third place
"A Strand of Hope"
by Donna Fuller

Second place
"Peacock Stone"
by Kathleen Clayton Perrin

First place
"Saints and Spies"
by Jordan McCollum

Historical

Third place
"The Sower"
by Margot Hovley

Second place
"Stealing Mercy"
by Kristine Tate

First Place
"I, Nephi"
by Karen M. Mittan

Women’s Fiction/Romance

Third place
"Broken"
by Michele Tolley

Second place
"Wild Rose"
by Stephanie Humphreys

First place
"Forever in My Heart"
by Christine Bryant

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Third Place
"The Orphan"
by Mark Greer

Second place
"Please Don’t Tell Me Everything"
by JoLynne Lyon

First Place
"Gods and Spiders"
by Mark Greer

Youth
Third prize
"Nobody's Angel"
by Lori Nawyn

Second prize
"Children of the Gods"
by Ali Cross

First prize
"Burning Amber"
by Julie Daines

And the Grand Prize Winner is

"Broken"

By: Brodi Ashton

THE WHITNEY AWARDS
- Danyelle Ferguson

The first time I attended The Whitney Awards was for the 2008 Awards Gala. As a wanna-be author, I sat in awe as I watched emotions play across the finalist’s faces – anticipation, disappointment, and a few who radiated joy as their books were announced as the winner in their categories. In that aspect, this year’s 2009 Whitney Awards were no different. But there were a few changes that made this year stand out from years past.

This year’s gala was much more formal. For instance, attendees checked in at a ticket table hosted by two lovely women – Erin Wells and Danyelle Ferguson (um, yep – that’s me!). Once tickets were in hand, guests were greeted by dashing ushers and gorgeous usherettes, one of whom led an attendee or group to their assigned tables and seats. The award presentations were quite different as well. Last year, attendees found themselves chuckling and outright laughing at all the jokes the award presenters came up with. This year though, the presenters took a much more insightful and inspiring approach. Dan Wells’ speech introducing Dave Wolverton for the Outstanding Achievement Award had me and most of the room in tears, as he spoke of how Dave’s influence had spread and touched the lives of each person in the room. It made me (and hopefully other guests) think about how the things I do not only directly affect those around me, but are passed on to everyone they come in contact with as well. Dave encouraged all of the attendees to continue sharing and influencing the writing world for good. The 2009 Whitney Award Gala was most definitely both an entertaining and uplifting night for all who attended.

As a member of the Whitney Committee, it was quite interesting to see the awards progress from reading tons of books, to narrowing down the nominees to five finalists in each category, and then the grand coup – the winners. The crème de la crème of each category. Some of the winners surprised me and others I had been hoping and crossing my fingers for their names to be called, then was elated to see them walk to the stage and accept their awards.

But honestly, one of my favorite parts of the Whitney Awards Gala is when it’s over. Not only is the work done and the Whitney Committee breathes a huge sigh of relief, but most of the authors stay and visit. If you choose to attend the Gala next year, be sure to plan for extra time to meet the finalists! They are each delightful in their own way and completely down to earth. Although some nominees and guests, like Howard Taylor (who was a guest this year), are complete goofballs and tend to attract a LOL rowdy group. It’s groups like these that come up with the most interesting picture poses – such as Julie Wright and her crowd of friends eating their consolation Chocolate Mousse pie. Wanna see pics? Well, pop by my blog the first week of May to read take on the Storymakers Conference & The Whitney Awards!

Click HERE to visit the Whitney Website

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Best Romance:
"Counting the Cost" by Liz Adair

Best Mystery/Suspense:
"Methods of Madness" by Stephanie Black

Best Youth Fiction:
"The Chosen One" by Carol Lynch Williams

Best Speculative Fiction:
"Servant of a Dark God" by John Brown

Best Historical:
"The Last Waltz" by G.G. Vandagriff

Best General Fiction:
"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford

Best Novel by a New Author (tie):
"I am Not a Serial Killer" by Dan Wells
"Gravity vs. the Girl" by Riley Noehren

Best Novel:
"In the Company of Angels" by Dave Wolverton

Outstanding Achievement Award:
Dave Wolverton (Dave Farland)

Lifetime Achievement Award:
Gerald N. Lund