New Cover for When Hearts Conjoin

This is a copy of the new cover for my book. Every day this past week has provided a new and exciting step along the way to making the publication of my first book a reality. I got tears in my eyes when I actually saw the PDF file showing the layout and read the dedication I wrote myself to my family. Come on! I shouldn't cry when I wrote it, should I?

Anyway, I spent an hour proofreading the PDF yesterday (it amazes me how many mistakes appeared between the final draft I sent in and the one they sent back from the designer. Do they just go through and toss in spelling errors, take out italics, and change punctuation marks for the fun of it?)

The official release date is still May 1st, but pre-orders are going great on the website. If you want a copy autographed by Erin or the girls, you can get those there. If you want me to autograph your copy, we'll have to work something out between us.

Thanks for all the support everyone has been through this crazy process!

When Hearts Conjoin

Pre-Order the highly anticipated book - When Hearts Conjoin The complete and true story behind the Herrin Twins miracle. On August 7-8, 2006, the whole world watched as a team of doctors performed a miracle at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. For the first time, four-year-old twins Maliyah and Kendra Herrin were having surgery—in separate rooms. Born conjoined from mid-torso down, these two angels captured the hearts of millions of people around the world! When Hearts Conjoin is the heart-warming story of Erin Herrin, her husband Jake, and all five of their children, Courtney, Justin, Austin, and, of course, Maliyah and Kendra. It is also a story of faith, hope and the power of a mother’s love. Features never before seen pictures. Foreword by #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans. All of the royalties from this book will go to the girls’ medical fund. PRE-ORDER YOUR COPIES NOW!! Book ships April 1, 2009 When Hearts Conjoin Paperback $12.95 When Hearts Conjoin Limited Collectors Edition $19.95 (Actually signed by the girls) To contact Lu Ann for interviews or speaking engagements, send an email to: luann@luannstaheli.com Copyright (C) 2009 Herrin Family All rights reserved.

Book Updates

If any of you are on Facebook, you might want to check out the new Fan Pages that have been set up for both When Hearts Conjoin and David Osmond, my two current projects.

The Herrin book is getting very close to the release date. I've submitted the final draft to the printer, cover photos of the Herrin girls are being taken this week, and the web site should be up and running by March 1st, ready for pre-sale orders. They believe the book will be ready by the end of March or the first of April. The Herrins are going to Disney World in March to tape a TLC special (maybe along the lines of jon & Kate, Plus 8). I haven't heard a date for an Oprah appearance yet, but that should be coming as well, and Oprah will also link her website to the direct-sale site for the book. The book will credit me on the front cover, so it will say: "When Hearts Conjoin" Erin Herrin at the top, and with Lu Ann Brobst Staheli at the bottom. I'll post the cover, exact release dates, and website info for ordering copies as soon as that comes in from the publisher.

In the meantime, I've started my next book, a biography of David Osmond. Did you see him on American Idol? He had laryngitis and got kicked off the show during group auditions. That was hysterically funny to those of us who know him because he's been singing in a group since he was 4! Anyway, I've been running his blog, helping with his website, and writing some promotional materials about him as well, just like I used to do when he was a kid! Life goes in such circles. He's going to release a single on iTunes February 20th, so he's off on a radio tour for several weeks promoting the song. He performed it on Entertainment Tonight a couple of weeks ago and we've had lots of positive response.

I may be doing some signings of my own soon, but in the meantime, I will be presenting at the UVU Forum on Children's Literature in March and for the Wordcraft chapter of the League of Utah Writers in April. My topic for UVU is "When they STILL Won't Read," and for the LUW, "How Show, Not Tell, Can Help You Find your Voice." I'll also be on a panel for UVU, "Books I Wish I Had Written or Edited."

If any of you have conferences coming up and you need a speaker, please let me know and I'll send a proposal for a topic that could fit your need.

Insanity: Thy Name is Lu Ann

The last six months have been a very interesting part of my life. First, I was enrolled in the final class to complete my Masters' degree in Instructional Technology and Library Media Administration when I took my sons to Los Angeles for a vacation. My husband had been working on a television series there and hadn't been able to get home for several weeks, so we thought going to California to see him would be a lot of fun.

It was until the night we attended the symphony at the L.A. county arboretum, and I took my great fall. To make a long story short, when I got back to Utah and we got past the July 4th holiday, we discovered that what we thought was a sprain and a simple fracture in both of my arms, turned out to be a dislocated elbow and a crushed radial head.

I couldn't do surgery until my two day required face-to-face graduate class presentation was complete, so my left arm was in a sling for about six weeks once all was said and done. Two days after surgery I wrote my final grad paper, finishing the class and graduating with a 4.0, and I returned to my own classroom a couple of weeks later.

But that's not all that I've finished since then, while my arms were nearly non-functional. I wrote a screenplay adaptation of an LDS novel, "Seasons of Salvation", which is in pre-production.

I wrote and published several magazine articles, including "Bringing the Library Back to Life after the Library Dragon is Slain" which will be in the March issue of Library Media Connection Magazine and "Mr. & Mrs.: What's in a Name" in the current issue of Desert Saints Magazine.

But the biggest project of all is the book I wrote with Erin Herrin titled "When Hearts Conjoin". This is the true story of the Herrin family, including their daughters Kendra and Maliyah who were born conjoined in 2002 and separated in 2006 at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City. We're both excited about this project because the family will soon be featured on a TLC special and Oprah will have them on her show again as well.

One thing all of this has shown me is that, no matter what the obstacles, if I just keep plugging away at my writing, good things can be accomplished. Even though there have been times when I thought I was losing my mind, that a project was too hard or taking too much time, I managed to make it through in the end. I think it all turned out okay, despite the stress and pain.

But then of course, the insane usually do believe their lives are normal.

Good News for Joey + Rory

Joey and Rory just found out this morning(2/11/09) that they have been nominated for "Top Vocal Duo" at this years Academy of Country Music Awards which airs on April 5th in Las Vegas, Nevada.

There is stiff competition:
Big & Rich, Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry and Sugarland.

You can check out all the other nominees online at acmcountry.com

From the Typewriter to the Bookstore: A Publishing Story

I found this on Jason Wright's Facebook and had to share!

New Year's Day: A Time for Goals

The New Year has begun, so it's time for me to talk about accomplishments and set some new goals (or at least let all of you know where I'm heading.)

The biggest accomplishment the past few weeks has been that I finished the rough draft of Conjoined at the Heart: The True Story of the Herrin Family. I know there is much work to be done, but I wanted to be able to say I had finished the all the chapters that were on the outline I was given, and I did. This is a pretty good accomplishment since I started in August and wrote while teaching school and healing from my elbow replacement surgery!

I also wrote and retyped an entire screenplay for Seasons of Salvation at the same time. The last word I hear was that
production could begin in February.

Enough with the updates, here's what's happening in the next few months with my writing and editing careers:

I'll be writing books this year with both Alan and David Osmond. We've started the drafting on Alan's and have David's partially outlined.

I'll be editing Devin Davis's new book in the next weeks.

I'm drafting Fablehaven Teacher Guides for Shadow Mountain Publishers.

I've queried a couple of magazine articles and I'm just waiting to see.

I have future projects already lined up with Deborah Dennis and BookWise Publishers.

That's enough for now. It's wearing me out already just thinking about it!
Hope all of you had a great Christmas and and enjoyable New Year's. I'll be at work on these projects again tomorrow and Saturday, then Monday it's back to the grind of teaching school! (Although the year IS nearly half-way over.)

Look what I found

I am a woman of many occupations, and one of them is freelance editor. I was surfing books on amazon when I ran across this book from Shadow Mountain that I did the final proofread edit for. It was a pretty good story, and kids will like it. The book will be released February 4, 2009. I'll do a full review then, but just letting all of you know to watch out for it.

"What is courage? What is honor? What does it feel like to have friends you would give your life for? And what role do fear and apprehension play when a person is faced with life-changing choices? Slathbog's Gold, the first book in an exciting new young adult epic fantasy series, sends fifteen-year-old Alex Taylor on the adventure of a lifetime. Right at a time when Alex is wishing his life could change, he sees a sign in Mr. Clutter s bookshop window: Adventurers Wanted. Apply Within. The sign seems to be referring to him. Moreover, not just anyone can enter Mr. Clutter s bookshop. But Alex does, and the adventure begins. Alex is the eighth man needed to complete a band of adventurers seeking the lair of Slathbog the Red an evil dragon with a legendary treasure. Along the way, Alex learns about honesty, integrity, honor, and, most importantly, friendship."

Lewis Black on Writing a Book

If you are an aspiring or publishing author, you have to take the four minutes necessary to watch this video from amazon.com. Only a true, dedicated writer will ever understand!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m2V8K4RI7ULD39

An Interview with Richard Paul Evans: The King of Christmas Fiction

From December Issue of DESERT SAINTS MAGAZINE,
Please visit them ONLINE.

by Lu Ann Brobst Staheli

Nearly sixteen years ago, Rick Evans wrote a book—The Christmas Box—as a present for his daughters, Jenna and Alyson. But like all good things, this story soon took on a life of its own. Passed from hand to hand among friends and neighbors, the book was an instant favorite with those who read it, and soon they were begging for copies to give to their friends
and family. Unable to find a traditional publisher, Evans self-published the eighty-seven page novella in paperback and distributed copies to bookstores in the Salt Lake City area.

The Christmas Box became a local best-seller, and the next year it hit #2 on the New York Times best-seller list, despite it’s humble beginnings and self-published status. National publishers clamored for the opportunity to release the book in hardcover. After a bidding war that is now historic, Simon & Schuster came out victorious, releasing the book in hardcover and paperback in 1993, where both editions hit the number-one position on the Times lists simultaneously, a feat never before accomplished. And The Christmas Box has been a seasonal favorite ever since.

I had the opportunity to interview Rick, the undisputable king of Christmas fiction, and I learned about not only The Christmas Box, but also about his family.

How did The Christmas Box change his life? Evans was quick to respond: “I could write an entire book on this…in fact I did—The Christmas Box Miracle.” But, all joking aside, he also says, “Besides taking me away (from home) every Christmas since I wrote the book, it fundamentally changed everything.” Evans had been in marketing before, but with a run-away bestseller like this, his new business became writing.

But not all of his books carried on the theme of Christmas, although recently he has returned to his literary roots. I asked Rick what brought him to focus so strongly on this season as the focus of so many of his novels. “There is wisdom in the saying, ‘Dance with who brung you to the dance,’” he said. “After The Christmas Box trilogy, I tried to distance myself from Christmas. (The Last Promise, The Locket, The Carousel, The Looking Glass, The Letter) It was a mistake. I’ve now reclaimed the season and my books have done even better.”

And the theme of Christmas has become a centerpiece for both Evans’ life and work. In addition to his novels (Timepiece, The Locket, A Perfect Day, Finding Noel, The Gift, and this year’s best-seller, Grace), children’s books (The Christmas Candle, The Light of Christmas), non-fiction (The Christmas Box Miracle), and special publications (Christmas Every Day, First Gift of Christmas), Evans has inspired the dedication of Christmas Angel statues in the U.S., Canada, France, and Japan, as well as Christmas Box Houses across America and a sponsored orphanage in Peru.

With all this Christmas spirit surrounding him all the time, it might be easy for Evans to want to step away, becoming more like Scrooge than feeling like Santa, but he tells me, “When it comes to Christmas in my own home, I’m more like…Santa? Definitely Santa. I love Christmas and giving.”

I asked about a typical Christmas in the Evan’s household, and discovered they are very traditional. “My in-laws are Italian, my mother Swedish,” Rick says. “So we’ve taken the best of both of these worlds—celebrating Christmas with my mother on Christmas Eve after a festive Italian dinner at my in-laws. Unfortunately with the recent passing of my mother and Keri’s father, the traditions we’ve so cherished will change somewhat. But we’ll do our best to keep them.”

One tradition has always been to keep the kids close to home, and even though their oldest, Jenna, recently married, Evans thinks this Christmas will be even better than before. “We didn’t lose a daughter, we gained a son,” he says. “Jenna’s been gone away for school for quite awhile, so she’s actually closer now.”

This year, the Evans family—Rick, Keri, Alyson, Abby, Michael, McKenna, Jenna, and her new husband—plan to honor their traditions, and celebrate the memories of the family members who have passed away, while Rick’s fans enjoy yet another Christmas story by their favorite author.

Evan’s most recent novel, Grace, opens with the story of The Little Match Girl, then takes readers into a poor neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1962, where we meet two brothers who spend as much of their free time as possible looking for treasures in the garage and working on their tree house. When the older boy, Eric, meets a young runaway girl, Grace, and decides to help her by allowing her to stay in the tree house, he doesn’t realize that it will be his life that is changed forever. And so will yours as you read Grace.

Writing the Novel

Here's a note about a class being taught by my friend, Carol Lynch Williams and Cheri Earl.

Carol Lynch Williams and Cheri Pray Earl are holding two one-day novel-writing classes in January and February 2009. The January class is for writers who have never written a novel before (Level I) and the February class is for writers who have perhaps begun a novel but need work completing and polishing it (Level II).

Dates: Saturday, January 10th, 2009 and the tentative date for the Level II class is Saturday, February 7th.
Place: The Provo Library, Bullock Room
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (brown bag lunch discussion at noon: Plunging into Publication)
Cost: $50 for each workshop

What you can expect to learn from each class:
Both classes are interactive and discussion oriented and will include some hands-on writing exercises; neither includes a formal critique/workshop session.

Level 1: Structure; coming up with ideas; voice; good versus not-so-good prose; genre distinctions; plotting the novel; beginnings, middles, and ends.

Level II: *For this class students should have a novel-in-process or the outline of a novel to work from in class.
Diagnosing structural problems; developing ideas; strengthening voice; identifying strengths and weaknesses in the prose; defining the genre; improving the elements of the story arc; writing spectacular beginnings and unforgettable endings; brainstorming the murky middles.

If you’re interested in either or both of these classes, email Carol (carolthewriter@yahoo.com) or Cheri (cheri_earl@byu.edu).

Carol Lynch Williams is the author of more than 20 books for young readers. Her novels include The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson, If I Forget, You Remember, Pretty Like Us, and her most recent book The Chosen One, due out in May ’09. Her books have been recognized as ALA Best Books for Young Adults, IRA Teacher’s Choice Award, PEN Nomination among others. She co-writes the early mid-grade novel series George and Gracie, Just in Time (Fall ’09) with Cheri Pray Earl. She has her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and is the mother of 7 children.

Cheri Pray Earl graduated with her M.A. in Creative Writing from Brigham Young University in 1995. She began teaching freshman and advanced writing courses for the Honors program in 1993, where she continues to teach. As a part-time instructor, she has created and helped to write courses for Honors, including "Writing for Publication" as well as "The Publishing Lab,"
to encourage students to write for publication. She also teaches Creative Writing for the BYU English Department and the BYU Honors Summer Scholars Academy and was awarded Honors Professor of the Year in 2005.

Cheri considers herself a young adult novel writer, winning the Utah Original Writing Competition in 1994 in the YA novel category and taking honorable mention in 1997. However, her first publications are for younger readers. She is the co-author of an early chapter book series with Carol Lynch Williams, published by Peachtree Publishing (the first two books in
the series are scheduled to come out in the fall of 2009). Cheri also co-authored an American Girl non-fiction book with Rick Walton (scheduled to launch in the spring of 09). She lives in Provo, Utah, with her husband and three of her five children, two cats, and a dog.

Carol and Cheri organize the annual BYU-sponsored Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop which is now in its 10th year.

Star Trek - The Wait is Over

My husband got the chance to work on a few days of the new Star Trek movie, and finally the trailer has been released so we can see how those scenes came together. Click the link and you can see it, too.

STAR TREK TRAILER

My Crazy Life

If you haven't been over to check out Josi's blog on Writing on the Wall about "Write What You Know," and this comic rings all too true for you, then now could be the time to read what she has to say.

In the meantime, I have three minutes to write an update of my crazy life. Two weeks ago, I attended and presented at the Book Camp for WriteWise in Salt Lake City. Heather Moore and I teamed up for two classes: How to Work with Your Editor and Self-Editing Your Manuscripts.

Last week, I was again off to Salt Lake to attend T. Harv Ecker's Millionaire Mind Intensive where I learned lots of ways to increase my income and avoid the pitfalls of today's economy.

I took a few hours off from that on Thursday night to take my boys to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert at the E-Center. I've been to a tons of concerts in my life, and I'm here to tell you this, one ranks as #1. The place was sold out, the concert was rockin', and I think we've just found a new Christmas tradition in our house.

Today I was the guest lecturer for Dr. Kay Smith's Young Adult Literature and Literacy Methods classes at UVU. It was really great to have the chance to talk with next semester's student teachers, as well as future English teachers and writers about the things that I know from all these years in the classroom and as a writer.

Tonight I taught my online class for WriteWise, and tomorrow night it's back to the E-Center for the Carrie Underwood concert.

Wrapped around all of that were actual days teaching my regular classes at Payson Jr. High School, working on a screenplay and the Herrin book, and trying to balance time with my family. It's a good thing Thanksgiving break is almost here. Maybe I can stop long enough to think about all that I am grateful for!

PARENT Job Description

Alan Osmond sent this to me awhile back and I never got around to posting it. I ran across it again tonight and thought I'd go ahead and share.

PARENT Job Description

If it had been presented this way, I don't believe any of us would have done it!

POSITION:

Mom, Mommy, Mama, MaDad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The rest of your life! Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.00. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:

None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:

Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS:

While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

** A FOOTNOTE:

THERE IS NO RETIREMENT -- EVER!!! ** If you are fortunate enough you will become grandparents!

Will I See You at Book Camp?

Heather B. Moore and I will be teaching two classes at the WriteWise Book Camp this week. Here's the agenda. Hope to see some of you there. Location: Salt Lake Downtown Marriott

Monday
9-11 a.m. Richard Paul Evans
11-12 Meet Your Designers
12-12:30 Hall of Fame

2-2:45 p.m. Breakouts:
Rance Parker - Self-Publishing & How I Got into Cosco
Dian Thomas - Publicity
Meagen Bunten - Ins & Outs of Free Web Marketing
3-4 p.m. Breakouts:
Brandon Mull - The Road to Fablehaven
Dian Thomas - Book Proposals
Phil Davis - Self-Promotion with The Box

4-6 p.m. Richard Paul Evans & Robert G. Allen

Tuesday
9-12 Robert G. Allen
12-12:30 Hall of Fame

2:30-3:15 p.m. Breakouts:
Phil David - Self-Promotion
Heather Moore/Lu Ann Staheli - How to Work with Your Editors
Joycebelle Edelbrock - Out of the Box Marketing

3:30-4:30 Breakouts:
Mark Steele - The Importance of Your Website
Heather More/Lu Ann Staheli - How to Critique Your Own Book
Joycebelle Edelbrock - Out of the Box Marketing

4:30-5:30 Richard Paul Evans & Robert G. Allen

Wednesday
9-10:45 a.m. Richard Paul Evans & Robert G. Allen
11-12 Lyle Mortimer/Cedar Fort Publishing
12-12:30 Hall of Fame

2-2:45 Breakouts:
Joycebelle Edelbrock - Self-Publishing Checklist
Brandon Mull/Ranse Parker - Where Do We Go from Here? #1
WW Illustrators - Working with Illustrators
3-3:45 Breakouts:
Joycebelle Edelbrock - Self-Publishing Checklist
Brandon Mull/Ranse Parker - Where Do We Go from Here? #2
WW Illustrators - Panel Discussion with Illustrators

Some People Will Do Anything for Votes. . .

I saw this on a friend's blog and couldn't resist! Hope my readers all can have a sense of humor in this election year.

The Professional

I know this is one of those silly emails that gets forwarded a million times, but I related to the fact that sometimes we need professional help, even if they aren't exactly what we thought we would be getting. Smile when you read this.

The Coat Hanger. . .

A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her small daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication. She got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in the car. She didn't know What to do, so she called home and told the baby sitter what had happened.

The baby sitter told her that the fever was getting worse. She said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."

The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been left on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time had locked their keys in their car. She looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this."

She bowed her head and asked God to send her help. Within five minutes a beat up old motor cycle pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head.

The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful.

The man got off of his cycle and asked if he could help. She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?

He said, "Sure." He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute the car was opened.

She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man."

The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour."

The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud, "Oh, thank you God! You even sent me a Professional!"

Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live

Season of Sacrifice

If you’ve ever looked into your family history, you might find stories there that are much more exciting than just the names and dates on a genealogy chart might predict. That’s just what happened for author Tristi Pinkston as she read two family history books and discovered that her ancestors had been among those who were on the wagon train known as the Hole in the Rock expedition. An idea was born, and soon Season of Sacrifice was underway.

Season of Sacrifice is the story of Sarah Williams, a young Welsh immigrant, coming to Utah to join her sister Mary Ann Perkins. When the Perkins are asked to join the San Juan mission to pioneer a trail through Southern Utah, they take Sarah along to help care for the children. But a six-week journey turns into six agonizing months of hard work and toil as the Saints blast their way through a cliff to bring their wagons through what would become the famous Utah landmark Hole in the Rock. Finally settled in the San Juan, Sarah's true hardship begins when her brother-in-law Ben Perkins asks her to be his second wife. With their faith and testimonies challenged to the core, both Sarah and Mary Ann struggle to find the true meaning of Christ-like love and obedience.

Tristi explains, “I was blessed to have access to a short life history written by my great-great-grandfather as well as several life sketches written by his descendants. I relied heavily on the family history books, as well as books written about the expedition that had been put together by scholars in that field. I also found another LDS novel which had been well researched. That gave me even more insight into the people and their experiences.”

When writing a novel such as this, it might be easy to offend a family member in some way. To insure this didn’t happen, Tristi visited with her father who assured her that the project had to go forward. “I didn't want any of them to feel that I was trying to make money off the story,” Tristi says. “My goal in writing this has always been to commemorate the past and to help my children understand the richness of their heritage, not to make money.”

Of course, when writing historical fiction, an author must take liberty in recreating people, conversations, and sometimes even events, but Tristi says, “I stuck as closely as I could to the journals and family history books. It's my hope that I've told it in a way that mirrors the real experience as much as possible. To be honest, I didn't know a lot about these ancestors on a personal level when I started the project. Of course, the stories have been passed down through the generations and I knew who they were, but it wasn't until I started the research that I felt like I came to know them as people.”

And through that journey, she feels she came to know Sarah the best. “I identified with each character in a different way,” Tristi says. “But I would have to say, I'm most like Sarah, my great-great-grandmother.” If there were any character she would like to know more about, it might be Tom Wilcox. “It might be fun to see what happened to Tom after Sarah set sail,” Tristi says. “Or to Thomas while in Australia. A lot of possibilities there!”

Many people don't understand that marketing plays a huge role in success as an author. When asked about her marketing strategies, Tristi says, “Mainly, I've gotten out there and interacted with the reading public as much as humanly possible. I've done book signings, library events, readings, boutiques, literacy events and firesides, all to create name recognition and to help people put a face to that name. I've also done virtual book tours and other forms of Internet marketing, which is hugely helpful.”

Her advice to anyone who wants to become and author? “Actually do it. Don't talk about how you want to write a book or how much you would like to be an author— do it. The only thing standing in your way is you. And after it's written, let someone who knows what they're doing edit for you. Don't be too proud to accept constructive criticism.”

Because many of my readers are students or teachers, I asked Tristi what were her favorite books as a teen. “Wow—what didn't I love! I'm an avid reader and gobble up anything contained within two covers. Let's see—Little Women, Girl of the Limberlost, Anne of Green Gables, A Wrinkle in Time, The Prydain Chronicles, everything by Norma Johnston and Ann Rinaldi. Ann is actually the author who got me interested in writing historical fiction.”

Although researching family history was an interesting experience for Tristi, she has decided to do something completely different for her next project. She says, “I'm writing a series of contemporary mysteries about an elderly Relief Society presidency who turns to espionage to save a family in their ward from wrack and ruin. It's off the cuff silliness and I've had so much fun writing it.”

And it sounds like a lot of fun for those of us who will be reading it.

If you’d like to read more about Tristi, or purchase a copy of Season of Sacrifice, visit her website at http://www.tristipinkston.com/.