Some days, this blog gives me a headache. Just saying.

I found I like Playlist better than the first service I used for the Playlist, and I found a ton more songs that I am listening to as I write the book, so HERE you go.

I found this comment today, and I am just SHOCKED, shocked, let me tell you.

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Name: Joe Martin | E-mail: rockon101@iamstupid.com |

THIS SITE IS FUCKED UP!!! GET A LIFE AND STOP BITCHING ABOUT MORMONS. IF YOU DON’T BELIVE IT THATS YOUR PROBLEM STOP TRYING TO FUCK UP OTHER PEOPLES LIVES.

Posted Oct 2, 2:22 PM | Edit Comment | Delete Comment — Edit Post “Mainstream Mormons DO Believe in Polygamy” | View Post

Such language! Such spelling! Such idiocy! Go away.

And a bit above it, we have yet another “GET A LIFE” incarnation. This one’s a witty and funny one, eh?

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Name: get a life | E-mail: getalife@getalife.com |

get a life

Posted Oct 3, 9:58 PM | Edit Comment | Delete Comment — Edit Post “Mormon Roundup” | View Post

You first.

We went to a dance convention this past weekend, in UTAH COUNTY, the heart of Utah. Really it is. Just ask commenter Camille who feels I should appreciate the virtues of Utah County much more than I do.

That’s okay. You can love you some Utah County all you want. I reserve the right to be consistently creeped out by the Stepford-ness of it all.

But we just stayed in the hotel down there, so it wasn’t too bad. And we got to meet Mandy Moore, who was teaching, along with the incredible Rino Nakasone.

It’s fun to see the excitement on the faces of these girls. My friend was down there with her daughter, and it was their first “big dance convention” experience. And when I told her daughter that Matt from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE had been dancing in the Senior Ballroom the night before, her eyes got HUGE. She was so excited. It’s fun to see that.

And now YOU can see where I got my ideas for the Jenny T. Partridge series, because there are many stories behind the scenes of the world of dance.

But I gave copies of my books to both Rino and Mandy, and they were SO nice and cute about. Rino said, “I’ve never met an author!” like I was some kind of celebrity. Ha!

The above are pictures of Mandy Moore teaching. I’m not sure why her eyes are all white and anti-demonic (red is demonic, right?) in the second picture, but it still shows her passion for dance.

Those of you who read my books are aware that I am currently working on THE TIES THAT BIND, a new book for St. Martin’s Press. As with my other books, it is set in Utah, in a fictional counterpart to my own hometown, and it features a female police detective as the heroine.

Samm is a bit of a enigma in her local community, with a troubled past and maybe just a little bit of the “axe to grind” that so many people accuse me of carrying around.

Most people come here either to make fun of Mormons, or to defend Mormonism, neither of which I am all that big on. I find much of my culture amusing, which makes a lot of people mad, but still, it is mine, and I embrace it. And reserve the right to still find my humor in it.

But the real reason I started this blog is because I write books set in Utah Mormon country. I find that writing about it helps spur the creative process, especially writing on a regular basis.

And the reason I WRITE on a regular basis on this blog, is so that I can WRITE MY BOOKS. And yet I don’t talk about them that much. Why is that? Who knows.

So I decided I am going to talk about my books more than I have been. I remember one commenter made a nasty little jab about how my blog was nothing more than an attempt to sell books, and I thought, “Um, well, yeah, I guess it IS.”

Nasty little jab turned into flat dull poke. Means nothing.

I am going to start with the songs I am listening to, that inspire my writing. So here is the Playlist for THE TIES THAT BIND.