Classy Vs. Trashy

by Terri Wagner

Vanity Fair, Miley Cyrus, Annie Leibovitz, MySpace photos, oversexed, apologies, Disney, exploitation, parental responsibility, societal responsibility…classy vs. trashy. Have you noticed how it all comes down to that?

I never cease to be amazed how black and white things really are when viewed through the lens of the gospel. What seems gray becomes crystal clear. I often think of the Liahona and the very clear directions it gave for Lehi and his family. When I compare the gospel to my previous beliefs, I always come back to this one startling truth: there is more, so much more. Most Old Testament believers if presented with the concept of a Liahona would accept it. But just having the Liahona wasn’t enough; Lehi and his family were required to be obedient and faithful for it to work; hence, the “more” part.

I was listening to Dallas morning radio show as I was driving in today. They were discussing Miley Cyrus. The only woman on the show took the low road by saying all 15-year-old girls go through this stage, it’s normal, blah blah blah. And frankly yes I agree I was after all a 15 year old once.

The big name on the show took the high road. He was the dad of a former 15 year old and felt strongly that 15 year olds should not exploited, that this is what happened to Miley and where the heck were her parents and what was this “artist” thinking.

Others on the show took the middle road by exclaiming: it’s art; it’s not good for 15 year olds but what are you going to do; it’s all about the money; her parents are caught up in the Hollywood version of morals so to them it wasn’t a big deal; Disney will never let her go, she’s worth too much to them; blah blah blah.

Not one, mind you, not one said this is wrong on every level. This is classy vs. trashy. This is not the message we want to send our kids. Even the dad backed down a bit in the face of the overwhelming chorus of acceptability.

Elder Oaks told us in the recent conference, we must stand as witnesses of God in all places and in all things. Let’s use a Liahona in writing. Keep it classy and leave the trashy to all the others. What say you?

Books From Our Youth

by Joyce DiPastena

It isn’t often I write book reviews, other than the Amazon.com type, but I wrote a book review last week. The idea simply wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote it down. If you want to read the entire review, you can do so on my medieval research blog (click on my link under “Team Members’ Blogs” to the right). But I would like to share just the introduction and conclusion of my review here, and then pose a question to you all:

“I first read this novel (Walk With Peril) some 30+ years ago in junior high school, most likely because my sister was reading it. She’d checked it out from our local library. Judging from how much I had forgotten, much of it must have been over my head at the time, but I was struck enough with the characters that I remember going back to the library, checking it out for myself, and reading it a least a couple more times between junior high and when I graduated from high school.

“Oddly enough, I never paid any attention to the title or author. I just remembered that it had a light blue/gray binding (without a dust jacket) and I always knew which shelf to look on at the library to find it. Sadly, my carelessness meant that when I reflected on the book many years later, long after it no longer sat on that library shelf, I had no way of tracking it down to ever read it again.

“Then, this past March while visiting my sister in Salt Lake City, the subject of this long lost, but never quite forgotten, book surprisingly sprang up in a conversation between us. My sister remembered it, too, and while she had also forgotten the title, she at least remembered that the author’s name started with a J, '…something like Jackson or Johnson', she said.

“Oh, for the wonderful and blessed miracle of modern technology! I immediately jumped on her computer and Googled, ‘novels about Henry V by Jackson’, or something like that. And what should pop up almost immediately but the title: Walk With Peril. 'That’s it!' my sister exclaimed. We read a brief blurb together to confirm it was the same book, whipped over to Amazon.com, and I promptly ordered two used copies, one for me and one for her. Because, of course, the book had since gone long out of print.

“I just finished reading this splendid book again. I was afraid I might be disappointed, that the book might be somehow ‘less’ than I remembered from my youth. Instead, it was much, much more….

“This book read almost new to me. I was shocked by how little I actually remembered. But two very, very brief scenes had continued to hover in my memory all these years, and influenced my writing in ways known only to myself and to Heaven. (No, I promise I didn’t plagiarize!) The scenes—actually, they were more like mere moments in the book—had somehow melded in my mind as one, but on my recent re-reading, I discovered they were, indeed, two separate moments within two separate scenes. I’ll not tell you what they were, for what touched me may well not touch you, and each reader should have the joy of discovering favorite, influential scenes and moments of his or her own.”

And therein lies my question. Do you have a book from your youth with a character, scene, or moment that subsequently influenced in any way, subtle or large, your writing as an adult? If so, please share your stories with us here. I, for one, would love to hear them!

Casting a Long Shadow

By Liz Adair

As a writer, I have this really high-class problem: I enjoy my day job as much as I enjoy writing. My day job has a flexible schedule, and it pays better, which gives it precedence when I’m trying to decide which tasks will get done tomorrow. Those day job ‘tomorrow tasks’ have been piling up higher and higher lately, so that writing has been getting short shrift.

Some of you are aware that Cecily Markland has formed a publishing company called Inglestone Press and will publish my next novel this fall. It’s not targeted to the LDS market, though Latter-day Saints will certainly read it with a different perspective and understanding than the general public. It’s a historical novel—and when did half a decade before I was born become historical?—set in New Mexico and Arizona cattle country during the depression. It’s a story of passion, love, conflict and redemption, and, no, it doesn’t have a title yet. The working title is The Honest in Heart, but though it’s a very good title for the book, it doesn’t have much of a Velcro effect for snagging interest.

With the book coming out soon, I decided I finally had to have my own web site rather than depend on the Liz Adair page on the Deseret Book site. My son-in-law Rich agreed to build it and be my webmaster, and so it was hung. I pretty much forgot about it, because the day job was taking all my time and energy and besides, I had no faith that anyone would bother to look there.

However, yesterday Rich asked me to look at something on the web site. I navigated around a bit and found a comment by an ANWA sister named Karen. As she posted it for anyone to see (though she may have had the same expectations as me about the paucity of visitors), I’m taking the liberty of repeating it. Here’s what she said:

Liz- I always read your insightful comments on the ANWA sites, but since I rarely contribute (ME: too lazy, too tired, too preoccupied, too boring, etc.) you probably don't know me. BUT, I just had to write and tell you I found your family history blog and your family blog (Evan's World). I appreciate you not letting facts get in the way of a good story. I have many wonderful stories of my mom's conversion and things she experienced but had never considered using them in my fiction! I just keep them recorded for my siblings and children. I think Mom woud love to see her experiences (albeit from 'the other side') read by others! Thanks for the idea and your wonderful writing!
Karen _____ - ANWA Shadow
Monday, March 31, 2008 - 03:15 AM

First, I want to tell Karen that she doesn’t know what that comment did for me. I was at a very low point, wondering if I could cover all the bases I had to cover, and it gave me renewed determination to post, post, post on my personal blog and on my family history blog.

My personal blog can be found by going to www.lizadair.net and clicking on blog. There’s only one posting right now, but I’ve made a vow to blog at least twice a week. I’ll ramble about general things, but I’ll also announce the new book title—maybe even ask you to comment on possible titles—and post the book cover when it’s done. (By the way, in one of those strange cyber-irregularities, neither Rich nor I named my personal blog page Evan’s World. Rich has removed it twice, but it has persisted. I think it’s gone now. That’s what Karen was referring to.) (Or maybe it’s a sign that I should change my protagonist’s name to Evan and name the book Evan’s World?)

My (and Cecily Markland’s) family history blog is at www.familywriters.blogspot.com . This is a subject that is dear to my heart, and Karen’s validation of my efforts there has made such a difference in my commitment to make something good of that site.

Karen calls herself an ANWA shadow. I hope she understands how long a shadow she has cast.

Romance

by Kristine John
(This was something I entered recently in a "romantic moments" contest)

In the early days of our marriage, it seemed that no matter what my new husband and I did, as long as we did it together, it was memorable and romantic.
One day that stands out as being particularly romantic is our first wedding anniversary.
As our first anniversary approached, we were a little nervous about how to make it special without spending a lot of money.
I had just finished student teaching, and my husband was still in college, making our finances fall well within the “starving student” range.
To celebrate our first anniversary, my husband took the day off of work in order for us to spend the day together.
This was a sacrifice in and of itself because he was paid by the hour and had no paid time off. From sunrise to sunset on our anniversary, we spent the day making memories and recording them for our future posterity.

We started the day by driving to a nearby lake and watching the sun as it rose over the bluff and reflected on the water.
After eating our picnic breakfast together, we spent the day driving to a handful of important and meaningful spots in the town in which we lived.
After spending a few minutes at each spot, we each took the time to write down why this spot was significant in our lives.
This was followed by a walk, hand in hand through the downtown area.
We were ended the day watching the sunset color the sky beautiful hues of pink and purple. Sunset was followed by an Italian meal, which we had both helped prepare.
It was a day of true romance.
Romance which did not depend on the dollars spent, but on the time we gave to each other.