Mormon Mishaps

Today, I'm going to be a part of a blog tour for the humorous book, Mormon Mishaps & Mischief by D. N. Giles and C. L. Beck. At the end of my blog I will tell you how to win a $20 Gift Card to Barnes & Noble!

This book contains about two-hundred short stories, and it’s a quick read. One thing I like about this book is you don’t have to read the entire thing at one sitting. After one short minute you can put it down, that is if you want to. I didn’t want to and I read the entire book in just a short time. While preparing a talk for church, if you’re looking for something short and humorous this book will help. Almost anyone would love to receive this inexpensive gift for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

I am including three short anecdotes that I really liked.

Swimming Stress by D. N. Giles
At the baptism of a family member, six-year-old John became overly agitated when the divider was opened and the full baptismal font was revealed for all to see. When his mother south out the reason for his distress, he cried, “I didn’t even bring my swimming suit. Why didn’t you tell me they had a pool at the church?”

The Plea by C. L. Beck
Tired of sitting, a bored little girl began fidgeting and acting up during sacrament meeting. Seeing a potential for disaster on the horizon, Mom picker her up, tucked the youngster under her arm- with the little girl’s head sticking out behind-and got up to leave. As they hurried down the aisle, the little girl’s impassioned plea to the congregation trailed behind, “Save me! Somebody please save me!”

Read Your Scriptures by C. LaRene Hall
At stake conference, a speaker told how one night his daughter didn’t want to stay in bed. He firmly told her she had better not get up. Soon, he and his wife heard the youngster asking for a snack. Her mother told her no and tucked the girl back into bed with another warning to stay there. She soon returned, holding a paperback Book of Mormon, and said, “But what about Mosiah 4:14?”
The speaker looked at the children in the congregation and said, “The scripture reads, ‘And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry.’ I want you all to remember this scripture because you might need it someday.”
When the next speaker spoke, he said, “I want to do something similar. Will all the young women stand? When your dates pick you up, I want you to tell them this scripture. It is Mosiah 13:3, and it says: ‘Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me.’”

Click on my sidebar where it says Giles/Beck and you can read a fun blog by the girls who put this humorous book together.

I asked both of them to do an interview with me.

Question – What inspired you to put this book together?

Beck – I love humor. I love to hear people laugh, to say things that make them laugh (although I'm not very good at being a stand-up comedian) and because of that, I'm always ready to laugh. Which means when something funny happens in church, I'm one of those who gets the giggles. It seemed to me to be a shame for so much humor to take place in the LDS culture and for it to be lost once people moved onto the next event in life, so I started writing down the funny things I saw happening. And it's my hope that people's spirits get a lift when they read the stories.

Giles – I love to laugh, and it occurred to me at some point that Heavenly Father does too. It gave me a whole new outlook on church meetings or activities and why they can often be so enjoyable--spiritually, emotionally and physically. If your stomach aches when you get home, you know you've had a great time.

Question – Will there be a sequel?

Beck – Let's hope so, because I need to pay some bills. Oh, you didn't mean for that reason? Okay, well, I already have copious notes and I'm sure Nichole does, too. And we have about 20 stories already sent in by contributors, so that's all there is to it. There has to be a sequel.

Giles – We're ready to write one as soon as the publisher gives us the okay.

Question – I notice you each have several short stories in this book. How did you come up with so many humorous things?

Beck – Observation, my dear Watson. Or is it dear Sherlock? At any rate, my ward sacrament bulletin is usually scribbled full of notes by the time church is over on Sunday, because people do and say the funniest things. For example, the other day during Sacrament meeting, a mom sent her little girl to the bathroom to get some TP, probably to blow her nose. The next thing you know the little girl comes running down the aisle in the chapel, with a long ...
Well, I'll save the story for the sequel, and you can read about it then. (Sorry Connie, I know you hate not knowing the full story. :)

Giles – I either witnessed them all, or had close family members or friends who were party to the stories. The truth is, I have a tendency to find humor everywhere. The trick was figuring out how to share it.

Question – How long did it take you to put this all together?

Beck – Hmm, I hope Nichole's answer and mine match here. Maybe we should have put our heads together before answering this one, huh? I'd been collecting stories for some time, but once we decided to write Mishaps, it took about 6 months to get all the contributors stories edited, our stories written and edited, and the manuscript ready for submission. From there it took almost a year and a half or so ... but it felt like ten ... to go through the publishing process.

Giles – From the original idea, to writing proposals, accepting stories, putting the book together, editing and finally publication--about two years. However, now that we have it down, the next one shouldn't be nearly as long of a process. I hope. Thanks Connie, for the interview and for contributing so many stories to the book. This has been fun.

Now for the good news – GIVEWAY –

Giles/Beck will have a giveaway for a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble for one lucky tour commenter. How do you enter to win? Each time you leave a comment here telling me about what you did, I will enter your name in the drawing.

1. For your first entry, you can become a follower on my blog, and leave me a comment. If you’re already a follower leave me a comment telling me.

2. Post about my blog and this contest on Twitter or Facebook.

3. Blog about this contest and link back to my blog or the Mishaps website or humor blog.

4. Leave a positive review on Amazon, Deseret Book, Goodreads, or any other book-reviewing site – then leave me a link.

You may enter as many times as you like for the prize drawing. Just remember to always leave a comment here so I can keep track of all that is going on. You need to do this soon, because the drawing closes on Feb 19 and they will announce the winner on Monday, Feb 22.

You might want to check out the other stops on this blog tour, and maybe enter the drawing on their blog as well.

Feb 5th Rachelle Christensen
Feb 6th Ronda Hinrichsen
Feb 10th Cathy Witbeck
Feb 11th Dan Olsen
Feb 12th Danyelle Fergusen