Contest and Interview

Today it is my turn to do an interview with C. L. Beck and D. N. Giles about their book, Mormon Mishaps and Mischief, but first I need to tell you about their FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY going on! They're running a blog tour, with a terrific prize ... a $150 advertising package in the YourLDSNeighborhood.com Newsletter . This is a great prize because you get to advertise your product/self/blog/books/what-have-you for a FULL year for FREE if you win.

If I were you, I’d enter now. As you can see today is the last day of the blog tour, and if you’re anything like me, you might forget and miss the deadline which is May 16.
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The Mormon Mishaps and Mischief Giveaway and Blog Tour!

In celebration of Mothers, and all they do for us, Mormon Mishaps authors C.L. Beck and D.N. Giles have put together a giveaway in conjunction with a week-long blog tour. If you aren’t interested in winning a fantastic advertising package valued at $150, you can stop reading now.

Wait, you’re still reading. That must mean you want to hear about our prize package, correct? Well. Okay then.

Let me first tell you a little about our sponsors, yourLDSneighborhood.com and YourLDSradio.com.

yourLDSneighborhood.com is an online shopping mall which features innovative products and LDS-based services, and great ideas for your home, all without the worries of questionable content. Shopping categories include Clothing, Music, Preparedness, Family Entertainment, Scrapbooking, Books and Art, Health and Food, Travel and Recreation, Weddings and more! Visit yourLDSneighborhood.com today.

Your LDS Neighborhood Newsletter is a free online newsletter that comes three times a week right to your email inbox. It provides topical stories and insights that set the tone for your day. The newsletter brings you articles, products, services, resources, and interviews from around the world, all with an LDS focus. Sign up today by clicking here!

YourLDSradio.com commits to bringing you the best in LDS Music – all day, every day and it is totally FREE to listen! Make them your web-surfing companion. It's free and easy to use and makes for the perfect online companion. Listen for yourself at yourLDSradio.com!

Okay, and now for the prize!

Your LDS Neighborhood has offered a YEAR LONG advertising package which includes space on the Neighborhood website as well as tiles in the newsletter. Were you to purchase advertising with them, this package would cost $150.

Here’s the best part. You don’t have to be LDS to advertise with the Neighborhood. As long as the business, blog, or product you’re promoting is family friendly, this advertising package will benefit you. Neighborhood ads are viewed daily around the globe, and by thousands of people.

So how do you win?

Entries will be accepted between May 4th and midnight, MST, May 16th. On May 17th, (or as close there about as possible) the winners will be chosen and announced on the LDS Humor blog. Although it's not required for entry, please take a minute to read the Mormon Mishaps and Mischief review/interview I've posted. Then, you must do the following four things to enter (but don't worry, they aren't hard):

1. Follow my blog, here.
2. Leave a comment here, at this blog.
3. Follow the LDS Humor blog.
4. Follow the Your LDS Neighborhood Newsletter blog.

Extra entries:
1. Blog about this contest, then come back and leave either a url address or a link in a comment.
2. Follow me on Twitter. (Bloggers, you can hyperlink this to your twitter page if you’d like, or include your twitter username.) And then tweet the contest. (Make sure to mention this in a comment.)
3. Facebook the contest. If your Facebook page is private, and I’m not your friend, I can’t see that you’ve done this, so you’ll need to friend me.(Same goes here.) Be sure to leave the link to where you've FB'd the contest in a comment.

All of these options can be mentioned in a single comment, and you can enter at all the participating blogs, as long as you follow and leave a comment for those bloggers so they know you love them.

You may enter this contest here, as well as on any of the tour posts at the following blogs:

May 4th Rachelle Christensen
May 4th Shirley Bahlmann
May 5th Karlene Browning
May 5th Heather Gardener, Fire and Ice Book Reviews
May 6th Kellie Buckner
May 6th Rachel Rager
May 7th Shauna Chambers
May 7th Heather Justesen
May 10th LDS Humor Blog
May 10th Keith Fisher
May 11th Tristi Pinkston
May 11th Rebecca Talley
May 12th Taffy Lovell
May 12th Kimberly Job
May 13th Connie Hall
May 13th Ali Cross

To purchase Mormon Mishaps and Mischief click here.
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For those of you who haven’t heard about this book on the back jacket is says: This collection of humorous anecdotes from celebrated LDS authors shows off Church members at their finest. From Primary pranks to cheeky comments made by Zion’s youth to high priest hijinks, no age group is immune to the potential for humor. Though it might not be in the official Word of Wisdom, laughter really is the best medicine. Whether you’re a senior missionary or an eight-year-old graduating to senior Primary, you’re bound to get a kick out of these silly stories.

Some statistics about this book are listed below:
* 200 stories in the book.
* 78 are written by Cindy.
* 48 are written by Nichole.
* The book took six months to write, and another year and a half to publication with Cedar Fort Inc.

Now for the interview –
Q. What prompted you to write Mormon Mishaps and Mischief?

Cindy: The moon was full, Aquarius was on the cusp, and the chickens were molting, all of which combined to make this the right time for a book of humorous anecdotes. Well, that and the pantry was empty, so a book that might actually sell a few copies seemed like a good idea.

Nichole: What Cindy says might be true. Or it could be that one sunny spring morning, one of us woke up and said, “I think I’ll write a book of humorous anecdotes today.” Then there was email involved. Lots of email. And brainstorming and collecting and chocolate eating. And maybe some Twinkies. Thus, the proposal for a book of humorous anecdotes was born.

Q. What’s your favorite story in the book?

Cindy: There’s this fantastic story about a crotchety old man who gets visited by three ghosts at Christmas, and by the end of the story, he vows to keep Christmas … oh wait, that’s Charles Dickens’ stuff. All right then, my next favorite is “A Good Impression” contributed by Cathy Witbeck. It’s about a little girl who gets all decked out for Easter and puts something interesting into her purse to take to church. (But I’m not going to tell you what, because it would ruin the fun.) On the other hand, I do have to tell you that because they’re all so funny, my favorite story changes about every five minutes.

Nichole: I’m with Cindy. Choosing just one favorite would be like playing favorites between my children. Which I’ve never done. Ever. I’m a good mother. I promise. Oh, but speaking of motherhood, there are several stories about children doing funny things, like licking worms and bringing a head of lettuce to pray. Love all of those.

Q. Where do the stories come from?

Cindy: From the demented … er … I mean, the creative genius of our minds. And from the funny events that we, and our contributors, saw happening at church, home and everywhere in between. Rest assured, however, that all contributors to the book signed a statement that the stories were true, and so even though real names were seldom used in the anecdotes, the situations actually happened. Which means if you think you recognize your bishop in there, well … we’ll never tell.

Nichole: None of them came from my current ward. They all came from other people’s wards, which I visited while wearing my invisibility cloak. So if you happen to be in my ward and recognize a story or five or twenty, well I didn’t see those things or write them down in my handy-dandy notebook. Er. Um. I mean…I plea the fifth?

Q. Thank you for letting me interview you. Do you have anything you’d like to add?

Cindy and Nichole: It was our pleasure! Readers can visit us at our website, MormonMishaps.com, or laugh with us at our humor blog at ldshumor.blogspot.com. In addition, there are our personal blogs—follow Nichole at nicholegiles.blogspot.com or Cindy at bythebecks.blogspot.com.

We really like having followers. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Plus, we like to post funny stuff and make you laugh.

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Monster Concert

Lately, I’ve been telling you about different book that I just read, but today I want to tell you about an amazing concert I attended on Saturday evening. It was the 2010 Monster Concert, held at the Libby Gardner Concert Hall at the University of Utah. I love all kinds of music and I’ve attended many concerts every year.

As soon as I walked in, I knew this was different from any concert I have ever attended before. On the stage were 13 pianos. Now picture this picture 12 more times. That's how many piano's there were.

Then I scanned the program. It wasn’t about Beethoven and Bach. Instead, it was music from the 70’s. The music I was going to hear was from The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. There was even disco music. One of my favorite songs played was Dancing Queen.

During some of the songs, every piano was in use. When they performed, After The Love Has Gone, they used only seven pianos with fourteen piano players, two at each piano. This concert only lasted a little over one hour, but I was enjoying it enough they could have gone on for many more hours.

With all the challenges going on in my personal life right now, this was a lifesaver for me. I needed a night to just relax and enjoy something worthwhile and uplifting. Too often, I fail to take the time to enjoy an evening listening to one of the better things in life, good, clean music.

Awakening Avery

Everyone should preview Chapter One of "Awakening Avery" at http://bit.ly/cbMyQd
Laurie is an amazing writing. Her characters are real and after one chapter I want to know the rest.

Laurie is a fantastic writer, and after reading her Free Men and Dreamers series I will forever be a fan. Check her blog out at http://www.laurieclewis.blogspot.com

Contest

There is a new contest being held. I love contests and I always hate to tell someone else about it because then my chances of winning go down. But if I tell you about this and add her link to my sidebar I get more chances. So I'm encouraging you to at least look at her blog at http://www.melissajcunningham.blogspot.com. It's okay if you don't enter the contest, but at least become a follower so she can reach her goal.

The prizes sound great - especially the book. Good luck to me.

Shudder

I couldn't believe how quick I was able to read this book. I could not, and didn't want to put it down. Any woman who has ever suffered any type of abuse will like and relate to this book. Any woman who is in that type of situation should read this book. Maybe it will give you the courage to do what you must.

Jennie Hansen is a great story teller. This book is full of suspense and will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what Blaine will do to Claire next. I felt sympathy for Darcey that she had to endure watching her best friend suffer so much. I was angry that Claire couldn't and wouldn't help herself until it was almost too late. I felt gratitude that my life is peaceful and not so full of trials.

If you are one of those lonely, isolated women who witnesses bruises, broken bones, and are fearful of someone hurting you, I encourage you to read this book. I'm sure it will give you hope and maybe the courage to improve your situation.

Dawn's Early Light

This book is the third volume in a series, Free Men and Dreamers, by L. C. Lewis. I can’t think of anyone better suited to write this book than someone born and raised in the historical setting of Washington D.C. and Baltimore where this entire series is set. I envy her being able to spend so much time in this part of our great country. Those of you that know me are aware of how much I love history and visiting the places where history was made.

Laurie made this part of history and the war of 1812 come to life. I fell in love with the main characters immediately, and I cheered when Jed freed the slaves living on his plantation. This story made me wish that I could have been there fighting alongside those living at the Willows when Sebastian Dupree attacked their home. I have visited Washington D.C. several times, and I have read the stories about the British burning our nation’s capital during this era. Al though, I knew the story, I still cried when Laurie made this part of history real with her descriptions of destruction.

Laurie had a way of making me truly experience the pain and passion of the American’s, the slaves, and the British as they endured that week in American history when Washington burned. Anyone that enjoys reading historical fiction will certainly enjoy this book.

Mother's Daze

My friend, Jane Isfeld Still’s “Mother’s Daze book was written to make every woman on the planet laugh--even in pregnancy when they feel like they are the size of a small apartment building and can’t see their feet. I was able to relate to this humorous book. I still remember during my last pregnancy how horrified I was when I couldn’t even see my own feet. I felt like an elephant.

This book was great and I found myself relating so many times to the stories told. I think most mothers’ will find themselves among these pages and will certainly enjoy a good laugh.

I’m sure that most of you will be looking for a gift really soon. I have a suggestion. On Mother’s Day, I honestly believe every woman deserves a good laugh, as well as some chocolate. Jane has set a goal to move 7,000 copies of Mother’s Daze out of Amazon on April 21st. Let’s everyone help her reach her target.

How can you help? Following are three easy steps of things you can do to help my friend.

Step 1: Copy and paste this email to a blank email and send it to your friends and family members. Then, put your first name, city, state or country at the bottom of the email before you hit send.

Step 2: Go to www.amazon.com, order your personal copy of Mother’s Daze by Jane Isfeld Still, and email the receipt of purchase to jane@janeisfeldstill.com. *Only receipts dated April 21 will go into a drawing and will be eligible for prizes listed on her blog. *(E-mail address will not be kept)*

Step 3: Visit Jane’s blog www.janeisfeldstill.blogspot.com (or it’s on my side bar under friends) push the April Contest button (beneath trim under the pictures) for more information and a list of prizes. Maybe you’ll even win my book. (Then visit her blog to see blurbs from her book)

REMEMBER, you have to do this today. Not tomorrow or next week, it has to be now.