MORE HATE MAIL: Princess Tinkle Winkle aka Lori, heard me on the radio the other morning. See, I was on 97.1 ZHT, with Frankie, Danger Boy and Jessica, and it was a lot of fun. They were very awesome and gracious hosts, and I had a blast. But, as is usually the case, someone took exception to my comments and my book.

See, if you are MORMON, you get to go around telling the world you have the ONLY TRUE RELIGION, and the rest of the masses are idiots. But if you are no LONGER A MORMON, you better just shut the hell up and never speak again.

Princess Tinkle Winkle thinks I’m just “horrible, like, totally horrible.” I think she is just “deluded, like, totally deluded.”

Here is what she had to say:

Email: princess7tink@xxxxxxxxx
Message: I just want you to know that I think you are horrible. I heard you on the radio the other day talking about your book and thought I would check out your site just to see what it was about. I just got through reading your story on leaving the Church and having your name still be on the directory. BIG DEAL!!! GET OVER IT!!! PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL PANTIES AND STOP CRYING ABOUT IT!!!
Just because you don’t like the LDS church and the teachings you shouldn’t be discouraging others from having the missionaries come to their house or opening
their door to them. If others are discouraged because of reading what you had to say, I hope you are severely punished when you get to the other side and see
what you are missing and what others missed because of you.

This is a fun one. SO let’s dissect it section by section.

I just want you to know that I think you are horrible.

And I think you’re intellectually challenged and repressed. Does that make us even?

I heard you on the radio the other day talking about your book and thought I would check out your site just to see what it was about. I just got through reading your story on leaving the Church and having your name still be on the directory. BIG DEAL!!! GET OVER IT!!! PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL PANTIES AND STOP CRYING ABOUT IT!!!

Big deal? Get over it? I have, silly girl. I’m so over it I get irate emails from people like you and instead of reacting with anger and venom, as you have done, I put them on my blog for fun and amusement. Loved the “big girl panties” comment. You are too, too witty. But relax. There are no tears on my pillow. Why, if the Mormons ever left me alone, what would I write about?

I do have a few questions for you, however. Can you explain why my wishes mean nothing, but the LDS Church should be able to do whatever they want, to whomever they want, whenever they want? And when they do that, why do I not have the right to WRITE about what they have done to me? How do you reconcile that?

Just because you don’t like the LDS church and the teachings you shouldn’t be discouraging others from having the missionaries come to their house or opening
their door to them.

Why shouldn’t I? I believe it to be an entirely false entity. Apparently, if YOU think someone is wrong, you don’t hesitate to tell them so. Just consider your above email. And if someone chooses to READ my Web site, or my blog, or buy my book and read it, that’s a choice they’ve made, isn’t it? As opposed to, say, GOING DOOR TO DOOR AND telling people it’s the only true religion in the world. Gee, who does that?

I can promise you right now that I have NEVER EVER gone door to door selling my book. And as for going on the radio, well, do you NOT have an off button?

The stories I tell are the stories of a lot of people, and just because SOME OF YOU have a good experience, it doesn’t mean that ALL OF YOU WILL.

If others are discouraged because of reading what you had to say, I hope you are severely punished when you get to the other side and see what you are missing and what others missed because of you.

Lori, Lori, Lori. I can tell you are strong in your faith, and I hope it helps you get through the rough times. But grow up. There are good Mormons and there are bad Mormons, just like there are good Catholics and bad Catholics. If you automatically decide someone is BAD because they don’t believe what you believe, and choose to write about it, then you live in a very narrow world and I pity you. There’s a lot you are missing out on. And no one could ever punish me as much as sitting through a dreadful fast and testimony meeting. That is the worst type of torture.

I wrote and told Lori she would be spotlighted on my blog today, and this was her response. (The botts typo is hers, not mine. I’m guessing she means boots, since I can’t see anyone shaking in their botts.)

Do you think it scares me that I’ll be on your stupid blog today? Wow, I’m shaking in my botts. Like I care if I’m “spotlighted” by someone like you. Really, readers from all over the world? There are so many other real authors that write wonderful LDS fiction: Anita Stansfield, MIchelle Ashman Bell, Rachel Ann Nunes. Women who live in Utah also and know the workings of the LDS church and faith. They are great authors and don’t need people like you ruining the name of women authors in Utah.

Apparently, these Mormon authors are REAL, and I am not. And she doesn’t believe I have readers from ALL over the world. So weigh in, people. Come on! Tell her where you are reading from.

UPDATE: Want your OWN big girl panties button or magnet? Just go here.

http://www.usillygoose.com/biggirlpanties.html

Or here:

http://www.stickergiant.com/page/sg/PROD/bz/y4296

And Tinkle Winkle wasn’t even original…..

Today it is my particular pleasure to welcome my good friend, author Deborah LeBlanc, to Trapped by the Mormons. Deborah’s newest book, A HOUSE DIVIDED, just came out, and it is getting rave reviews, which is no surprise to me. Deborah is an incredibly talented writer with a knack for suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat, all the while admiring her prose.

A HOUSE DIVIDED tells the story of Keith Lafleur, who thinks he’s cut the deal of a lifetime. The huge old, two-story house is his for the taking as long as he can move it to a new location. It’s too big to move as is, but Lafleur’s solution is simple: cut it in half. He has no idea, though, that by splitting the house he’ll be dividing a family, a family long dead, a family that still exists in the house . . .

Angelica Batiste is a young, mentally challenged woman with a unique gift. Her mind, no more advanced than a ten-year-old child’s, sees things before they happen. Not only does she see them, she draws them with extraordinary perfection.

When Angelica moves into part of an old, two-story house with her cousin and a friend, her gift suddenly turns into a terrifying power she can not control. The house feeds it. The house needs it. And only death can make it stop.

Sounds fascinating, huh? Want to know more about Deb? Well, here are her answers to the regular Trapped questions.

1. If you had to be “Trapped” somewhere, where would it be?

A Caribbean Island.

2. If you could pick your “Trapped” companions, what three people would you want with you, and why?

My three daughters because they’re funny, creative, and they’d get so bored they’d find a way back home FAST!

3. If you could only pick five books to be “Trapped” with, what would they be?

Ugh, that’s hard! I guess it would 5 in the Potter series. Not that they’re my favorite, but they’re big, which means more to read.

4. What ONE famous person would you absolutely NOT want to be “Trapped” with?

President Bush

You can bring three things from your “former” life to “Trapped.” What would those three things be?

My computer, my dog, my books.

5. Where is one place you absolutely would NOT want to be “Trapped.”

Walmart on a sale day!

~~~~~

So there you have it. Make sure you check out Deb’s new book, and all her fabulous books, because she is a “thrill-ride” of an author and very, very talented. I’m proud to call her my friend!

Apparently, Weenie Rat Face, aka Warren Jeffs, has checked OUT of the Evil Dictator Relocation Program and has been spotted, yet again, near Colorado City. His purpose, as far as anyone knows, was to touch base with his evil henchmen and perform a few marriages of underage girls to old men.

Thank God he takes his responsibilities seriously.

The theme of abuse that is not reported and is, in fact, covered up by the LDS hierarchy, is one of the strong plots that runs through WIVES AND SISTERS. It is also one that I get the most hatemail about, as Mormon writer after Mormon writer proclaims that this does NOT happen. “The Church does NOT cover these cases up. They do NOT try to handle these cases themselves, without consulting authorities.”

BULLSHIT. Here is yet another case where authorities were NOT notified until the PARENTS of the victim went to the police themselves!

And while the abuse happened years before, its revelation, subsequent excommunication of the abuser, and criminal charges (which were dropped due to technicalities) were as recent as 2003. And the family involved is still going through the pain of all the events. While the LDS Church continues to claim they find abuse among the most heinous of crimes, ecclesiastical leaders are still trying to keep these cases lowkey and hidden, thus aiding the abusers. The only REAL solution is proper training for ALL Church leaders. And I mean training, not a laying on of hands and a “here you go. Here’s the Church handbook.”

The case I’ve mentioned here is even more sad, because the now-grown victim has accepted he is gay, and for that reason, members of the ward where the abuses took place–and the abuser was a bishop–have EMBRACED THE ABUSER and shunned the victim.

Yes the abuser was excommunicated. Yes a flag went into his “Church” record. But he was NEVER charged with any crime, and thus could, easily, abuse other young men. In fact, another young man DID come forward.

And Mormons who are saying this doesn’t happen? It’s time for a wakeup call. DAVE could be living in your neighborhood. Among your children. And he could be friends with YOUR underage son. You, of course, will never know this, because he was not charged with a crime, and is not tagged as a sex offender. And you can be damn sure YOUR bishop isn’t going to tell you.

How comfortable does that make you?

In my other life, as a suburban dance mom and worker bee for Dance Teacher, I often encounter the nastiest of the nasties–Psycho Dance Moms. To my understanding, Pyscho Dance Moms are like Psycho Soccer Moms, and Psycho Baseball Dads, etc., etc.

I just happen to encounter them in the dance world.

Tonight was the dress rehearsal for our Night to Remember, and I’m telling you what, I encountered a DOOZY of a Psycho. It’s taken me FOUR Frodkas (Fresca+Vodka) just to be able to say my name again. Only now I’m pronouncing it Natatalieeeee.

It seems like the pyscho-est Psycho Dance Moms are those with spectacularly untalented daughters. Not that Dancing Daughter is Ginger Rogers, but she does not have to dance with a paper bag over her head to save embarrassment to the family. In fact, this Psycho Mom’s daughter is in the Paper-Bag-Over-Head class, although we aren’t listing them that way on the roster.

PM was having a melt-down, finger-in-face rant at one of the young teachers, when I stepped in to intervene. “And WHO are you? WHO ARE YOU?” she screamed at me. She was pretty bent because the teacher of the class did not hand out the notes about the review practice. But of course they were not blaming the TEACHER (who was recently let go for just this sort of thing). No, they were blaming the owner of the studio. “You do NOT want to make me explode,” pyscho screamed at me after I told her to calm down.

“What, it gets WORSE than this?” was my reply. She didn’t much like that.

When she FINALLY calmed down, I explained to her the many ways she could get needed information, such as our TEAM WEB SITE, or email notifications, etc., but she said that after the review SHE WAS DONE.

“I think that would probably be BEST,” was my reply.

I took her money for the review, and then she started up AGAIN when Dance Teacher came in.

Weird thing was, I never really figured out what she wanted, because she GOT an apology. That wasn’t enough. She just kept going.

The ONLY thing that would have made her happy was to be able to scream and yell and be allowed to do it for as long as she desired.

No wonder I am writing an entire series about these psychos…..