There was a time when I couldn’t get enough of Orson Scott Card’s writing. I read “Ender’s Game” in middle school and loved it, and read it a few more times as a teen and was fascinated by the things I’d missed the first time around. It was a masterpiece. I especially used to like ...
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you guys how much the Mormons love to compare themselves with the Jews (or, if you do need a hint, read this post). This comparison is usually kind of one-sided — Mormons love to contemplate the parallels, and the Jews are (usually) blissfully unaware of their Utah-based secret ...
Dad was a master salesman who could talk anyone into anything, and life on the road with him was the wildest adventure any kid could possibly imagine. Unfortunately, since he was often unreliable and occasionally violent, it wasn’t always the good kind of adventure — but it was a great escape from a home run ...
I am accepting short stories dealing with unconventional Mormons for an anthology to be called “Marginal Mormons.” The stories should be 25 pages or shorter, though length will not necessarily disqualify a submission. Payment will be $20 and one copy of the book, in exchange for perpetual, non-exclusive rights. The stories may be original or ...
I also learned that the great stories of the world have second acts. This may seem like a silly thing to say, but so many stories set up the problem (the job of the first act) and then resolve it (the job of the third act) with little to no struggle in between. I’m here ...
Have you ever wondered what spirit prison would be like? Mormons believe that when people die, their spirits go to either “spirit paradise” or “spirit prison” to await Judgment Day. They also believe that missionaries from spirit prison can teach the gospel to spirits in spirit prison (who can be baptized for dead — perhaps ...
The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Deseret Book won’t carry Utah author’s latest novel “This latest book from James Dashner contains language some of our customers would find offensive,” said Gail Halladay, managing director of marketing at Deseret Book … The Scorch Trials, the story of teenagers trekking across a dystopian landscape … includes words such ...
It seems like we haven’t discussed arts and literature in a while, and then boom! A whole bunch of projects show up at once — including things that you bloggers at home can do! (Is this a Fall/”back to school” thing? Or something else?) First, non-fiction. The Mormon Lit journal Segullah is offering a fifth ...
I love to joke around. I’ve got the perfect joke for just this occasion. It’s an oldie, so stop Me if you’ve heard it: Way back when Jesus and I were creating the world, I turned to Him and said “Hey Jesus, let’s create a really gorgeous mountainous region, with lakes and rivers full of ...
Many of you are no doubt aware that almost all of the novel ExMormon has been posted online — serialized from here. And now it’s getting to be time to finally post the last chapter! There’s just one catch: Remember how I’ve said that each of the individual novellas can be read alone? Even the ...
The Our Visions, Our Voices: A Mormon Women’s Literary Tour is over now. It has been discussed quite extensively throughout the bloggernacle, but I find myself still thinking about the experience. I thought I’d share those thoughts with you. I was just back from the OVOV tour when my husband and I were watching a ...
It has been a big week for the arts!! First of all, check out Tom Clark‘s gorgeous book of photographs: The Utah Collection. (It’s a little bit NSFW, otherwise I’d post a picture of the cover here for you.) We’ve watched Tom build this collection over the past year, and now it’s finally available — ...
Critically-acclaimed author Walter Kirn — whose books and films include Thumbsucker, Up in the Air, andLost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever — has been voted “2009 William Law X-Mormon of the Year”!! Good choice, folks — Walter Kirn is a credit to the X-Mormon community! I hope he comes by to give ...
Really enjoyed these latest chapters. As an atheist with LDS friends, it’s a fascinating (and a little scary) look into the Mormon mission world. I’m also impressed with your ability to empathize with and accurately characterize a teenage male’s sexual drive! I went back and read the whole thing together in one sitting. I like ...
Feeling the light breeze on my face, I looked out at the water. The edges of the moving water between the feet of the bridge curled into little whirlpools here and there. I tried to drag up all the rusty memories of my former life in Orem, back when everything was so much simpler. I ...