From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #586 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Thursday, January 24 2002 Volume 01 : Number 586 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2002 16:08:39 -0700 From: "Christine" Subject: Re: [AML] Annual Movie Tabulation From: "Cathy Wilson" > This is not one of this year's films, but did anyone like "The Fifth > Element?" > So I only just recently got to see > "The Fifth Element." And now it's one of my favorite movies. Anyone else > like this one? Loved it, loved it, loved it! Great good guy (and a cat person, no less!), good special effects, cool strong heroine, great bad guy (how can you not love to hate Gary Oldman?), and clever dialogue. Good story. And the Diva's aria gives me chills every time I hear it. Interesting to note that it was directed by Luc Besson, who also directed _La Femme Nikita_ which was recommended at some point earlier in this thread. Another great movie. (Just definitely follow the previous advice and skip the American remake.) - -Christine Atkinson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 02:10:49 -0500 From: "Eric D. Dixon" Subject: Re: [AML] Ayn RAND, _Atlas Shrugged_ Eric Samuelson wrote: >Here's my question, though, for all y'all that like >Ayn Rand: How are her ideas different from >Korihor's? I really want to know. I've started the >Fountainhead many times, can't wade through it. Far >as I can tell, though, her Objectivism is Korihor >101. The only real similarity between Ayn Rand and Korihor is their atheism (something which Korihor confessed to faking). If one has never had a spiritual experience, it seems to me that atheism itself is a pretty reasonable position -- I don't think disbelieving in God is evil in and of itself, it's just misguided. Korihor became a bad guy by ridiculing the beliefs of others, but I think the biggest evil in Korihor's argument was his assertion that since there's no God or afterlife, "whatsoever a man did was no crime." This attitude that without religion there can be no morality is completely antithetical to Rand's rigorous moral views. If you're looking for a literary parallel of Korihor, I'd say that Nietzsche and Stirner are much better candidates. You could have your character carrying around copies of Stirner's "The Ego and His Own," which is pretty nihilistic largely as a result of atheism: http://www.blancmange.net/tmh/teaho/theego0.html And although Nietzsche wasn't exactly nihilistic himself, your character might find inspiration from Nietzsche's meditations on the subject. For that matter, your character could read a lot of Rand and just not understand it. I remember someone on another LDS mailing list told a story about a guy who would bring "Atlas Shrugged" to church with his scriptures, and acted pretty haughtily toward other ward members. Later, the ward found out he had been systematically abusing his wife. Clearly this was a guy who latched onto Rand's glorification of the individual without understanding the corollary that all other individuals are to be respected as well... Incidentally, I did a search for "Korihor" and "Ayn Rand" at google.com, to see if anyone else out there had compared them, and the only web site google pulled up was this guy's: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/4405/autobiography.html It's an autobiographical essay by a Rand devotee who went to school in Utah, and after extended brushes with Mormonism he decided he was kindred spirits with Korihor, and now uses Korihor's name in his email address. So I guess there's a little informal precedent for a connection between the two, but I maintain Korihor and Ayn Rand's philosopies are pretty much diametrically opposed to each other. Not that I'm a Rand devotee myself, or anything... But you should at least cursorily familiarize yourself with Rand's ideas before going out of your way to trash them. It's probably too late to give her novels a fair reading -- it's much easier when you're young and don't realize at first that her stories are hiding a philosophy in plain sight. I didn't pick up on it when I read & loved "The Fountainhead" in high school -- it wasn't until three years later when I read "Atlas Shrugged" that I realized Rand had a philosophical motive to her work. Finally, a corrective note. Robert Lauer wrote: >Actually this is a widely circulated mistake. Rand's follows did NOT found >the Libertarian Party. (Though that Party's founders say that they admire >Rand's work. Their magazine, LIBERTY, routinely prints features on different >aspects of Objectivist philosophy. I'm a contributing editor for Liberty magazine, and can vouch for the fact that Liberty is in no way affiliated with the Libertarian Party. In fact, the LP is pretty steamed at us for printing so much about their recent leadership scandals -- big & controversial news in the libertarian world, which most of you have probably never heard of at all. A tempest in a teacup... Eric D. Dixon - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2002 19:20:39 -0800 (PST) From: Darlene Young Subject: Re: [AML] Books By Your Bed By my bed: Don Quixote Short Stories of Wallace Stegner God's Army by Geoffrey Card The Evening and the Morning by Virginia Sorensen My Father, Dancing by Bliss Broyard Of Curious Workmanship . . . and, just this week, I added the AML Annual, which finally arrived! ===== Darlene Young Eschew obfuscation. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 11:43:43 -0600 From: Jonathan Langford Subject: [AML] Changes in AML-List Leadership Folks, As most of you know, Ben Parkinson was the AML-List's founder and guiding spirit for the first five years of its existence. Since I took over as moderator in 2000, he has continued behind the scenes as AML-List administrator, handling the various technical details at which I am so inept. Ben has now chosen to bow out of AML-List administration entirely (though not, we hope, out of participation in the list, as time demands allow). Instead, list administration is now being handled by Terry Jeffress, AML site webmaster. Thanks to Ben for many years of service, and best wishes to Terry as he takes on this new facet of responsibilities. Also, now seems a good time to announce that Andrew Hall has been brought on board as assistant moderator. I'm not quite sure what the assistant moderator will do at this point: possibly spell off the moderator at times in managing the list; possibly assisting in handling individual issues as they arise. In any event, don't be surprised if you start receiving messages from Andrew at times in an assistant moderator capacity, or if you see Andrew's name copied on any "moderator messages" from myself. Thanks also to Debra Brown, who forwards news items from Mormon-News, and to Jana Remy, who runs AML-List's "solicited reviews" program. And, of course, to all the rest of you, who continue to contribute in a variety of ways to making AML-List what it is. And thanks to the Association for Mormon Letters for paying our bills (yes, we do have some expenses that are covered by AML; those of you who might want to contribute should feel free to go the AML Web site and find out how to make donations) and for providing broad oversight of AML-List policy. And now, back to our regularly scheduled program... Jonathan Langford AML-List Moderator - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 11:32:50 -0700 From: "Scott Parkin" Subject: Re: [AML] Garbled Sayings Christopher Bigelow wrote: > I have a novel character who always mixes up or conflates common sayings. I > guess these are sort of glorified malapropisms, which are usually more > substituting one word for another, aren't they? ("Polo bears" instead of > polar bears, "Remember Pearl Island" instead of harbor, etc.) > > For example, my wife always cracks me up when she says, "Stick that in your > craw and smoke it." Heard on ESPN SportsCenter the other night: "That gives him another feather in his quiver." Scott Parkin - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2002 08:57:44 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] 2001 Mormon Novels in Review 2001 Mormon Literature in Review It is the New Year, which means it is time again for that hoary chestnut of a tradition, my Second Annual Mormon Literature Year in Review. I try to cover all of the significant publications and performances of Mormon fiction, theater, and other literature. Although I try to read as much as I can, I rely heavily on the reviews and discussion found on AML-list, Mormon magazines, the Utah newspapers, and other web sites. You should know my biases: I am not very interested in romances or adventure/thrillers, which make up a big chunk of the Mormon fiction world. Historical fiction and speculative fiction usually perk up my interest, as does fiction with contemporary settings. I admire works that intelligently challenge our culture and conventional wisdom, but I have little interest in works antagonistic to Mormonism. I like novels that have a balance of literary flair and an engaging plot. Please remember that I'm just a fan who likes to read, so don't be insulted if I don't praise your work (do mention it, however, if I miss something in the total list at the end). I will start with novels and publishers, then move on to short stories, theater, film, and essays. Novels While the number of Mormon novels continues to increase each year, I have not seen as many excellent novels published in 2001 as in 2000. 2000 was a fruitful year for quality Mormon fiction. = =20 There were at least ten of what I would consider high- quality novels, by Louise Plummer, Margaret Blair Young and Darius Gray, Dean Hughes, Orson Scott Card, Eric Samuelsen, Alan Mitchell, John Bennion, Marilyn Brown, Curtis Taylor, and Benson Parkinson. Publishers specializing in Mormon books released all but one of these (Plummer's _A Dance For Three_), which gave me great hope for the future of the Mormon publishing world. In 2001 there were fewer novels which reached the level of those mentioned above, and Mormon presses published only half of them. So, while there was more quality Mormon literature published by non-Mormon presses, there appears to have been a drop in the number published by Mormon presses. Clearly the most remarkable Mormon novel of the year was Brady Udall's _The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint_ (W. W. Norton). After only one novel Udall shows promise of becoming a Mormon writer of great national renown. In Edgar Mint he skillfully demonstrates a distinctive and appealing literary style, an ability to create an absorbing plot, and a wry sense of humor. Udall's focus is more on the West than on Mormonism per se, but he does deal directly with Mormons in about a quarter of the book, as well as in about a quarter of his published short stories. He approaches Mormonism through the eyes of fringe outsiders, forcing the Mormon reader to view his or her culture in a different perspective. Unfortunately, most Mormon readers probably will be put off by the R-rated situations and language in Udall's work. But the nature of the material is very different from, say, the stories and plays of Brian Evenson and Neil LaBute. When I read the stories by those two authors, which reveal the evil lurking inside all kinds of people, I am impressed by their skill, but I come out feeling dirty, unhappy, and a bit incredulous. Udall's situations and characters are much more human. For all of their rough edges, I enjoy getting to know these people. Udall shows that there is more to them then their rough edges, that their humanity makes the rough edges trivial. This is unlike Evenson and LaBute's characters, who might be squeaky clean on the outside, but are full of rottenness on the inside. More likely to appeal to mainstream Mormon readers, but still of high quality, are new historical fiction novels from Deseret Book by Orson Scott Card and Dean Hughes, established and prolific authors with national reputations. They are the best practitioners of what might be termed "popular Mormon fiction." That is, their novels are engrossing and easy to digest, but not simplistic. They challenge readers through the themes and conflicts they present rather than by their literary style. Their newest novels represent no major change in their previous styles and themes, which I suppose could be considered a fault. I for one do not mind--I find them consistently entertaining, and I gobbled the new books up as quickly as their earlier ones. Hughes completed the five volume "Children of the Promise" series about World War II in 2000, and in 2001 released _The Writing on the Wall_, the first of a new series. It is set in the 1960s, with the children of the characters from the first series as the main characters. The primary conflicts are inter- familial, which Hughes uses to portray a great diversity of reactions within Mormon society to the social changes of the 1960s. Besides his ability to recreate the flavor of the past, Hughes manages to invest his characters with an amazing amount of emotional heft, without becoming emotionally sloppy. Card's _Rebekah_ is the second in his "Women of Genesis" series. The main theme of the work is how good people, despite their dedication to the Lord, can still make costly mistakes which hurt the people that they love. Card tends to present all his characters as glib know-it-alls, and I can see how that would annoy some. Card's blowhards, however, blow intelligently enough to keep them entertaining to me. I found _Rebekah_ to be thoroughly fascinating. While Hughes' novel is clearly aimed at Latter-day Saints, I have seen Card's "Women of Genesis" novels in regular bookstores all around the country. Card also released _Shadow of the Hegemon_, the second in the Bean series of books in the Ender's Game world, early in the year. _Shadow= =20 of the Hegemon_ is an exciting military/political thriller, more on the model of _Ender's Game_ than the philosophical Speaker for the Dead series of books. Unlike Card's better novels, however, I hardly remembered a thing about it a few months after reading it. It is an enjoyable puzzle, featuring, as Card is want to do, lots of brilliant young people battling it= =20 out. In the end, however, it is one of the more superficial, just-for-fun= =20 novels Card has produced. Hey, nothing wrong with that. Marilyn Brown's _The House on the Sound_ (Cedar Fort), set in a town on Puget Sound around the time of Pearl Harbor, came out late in the year. It was originally written in 1986, and it won the Utah Fine Arts contest that year as an unpublished manuscript. It promises to be a quality work, based on Brown's other novels and Darlene Young's review on AML-List. Young particularly praises Brown for her poetic use of language. I look forward to reading it. Two books about Mormons from small Western regional presses gained positive reviews. The first is Curtis Oberhansley and Diane Nelson-Oberhansley's novel _Downwinders: An Atomic Tale_. It is a government-conspiracy kind of mystery about the Cold War- era nuclear tests held in Nevada and Utah, and their impact on the health of people in the region. It won the prestigious 2001 Utah Book Award, and was reviewed positively in Sunstone. I have not read it, so I do not know enough about it to say if it should be considered Mormon literature. The authors are not Mormon, so it is a question of whether Mormonism is an important factor in the text. The second is Gerald Grimmett's _The Ferry Woman_ (which actually came out in December 2000, but I did not notice it last year, so I am including it here). It is one of three recent novels about the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the John D. Lee family. The Salt Lake Tribune's book reviewer Martin Naparsteck raved about it, declaring it "the best book published in and about the West in 2001." It was also one of the finalists for the 2001 Utah Book Award. I am always skeptical of Naparsteck's reviews of Mormon=20 literature, however, as he seems to judge works based at least as much on whether they seek out what he sees as the darkness at the core of Mormonism than on their literary merit. Apparently= =20 Grimmett's portrayal of Brigham Young as an evil manipulator fit the bill. It appears, however, to be well written and something more than just an anti-Mormon screed. I await more reviews,= =20 or my own experience reading it, to see. Grimmett also in 2001 produced an e-novel, _The Wives of Short Creek_, which is online. Dave Wolverton (under the pseudonym David Farland) released the third installment in his Runelords fantasy series, _Wizardborn_. I like Wolverton's work a lot, but so far I am only up to his third novel, published in 1993. Based on his previous work, I assume it should be listed as one of the quality novels of= =20 the year. I plan to start reading the series this year. Gordon Laws' first publication, the short novel _My People_ (BYU Family Studies Center), is about a Mexican-American gang leader who joins the Church. I like how Laws does not take the easy way out. The protagonist's conversion does not solve all his problems, take him out of his dangerous neighborhood, or expunge his sense of responsibility to his friends who continue to live violent lives. Laws does an good job at depicting the grittiness of barrio life, and the struggles of a character caught between= =20 two worlds. Finally, J. Scott Bronson's excellent novella _The Whipping Boy_ represents one of the few cases in Mormon literature where literary excellence, emotional heart, and powerful religious themes are found in one work. In fact, it is the most thoroughly religious= =20 piece of Mormon fiction I have ever read=97not in a soft squishy way, but in= a=20 painful exploration of a family's troubles, which act as an allegory for the atonement. Unfortunately it remains unpublished. Perhaps it should not go in the 2001 list, but hey, it is my list, and besides, Bronson first made it publicly available on request this year. Although I am not ready to list them as quality works yet, I want to mention two historical fiction novels published in time for Christmas which have apparently sold very well. They are Gerald Lund's _Come Unto Me_, the second volume of his series set in Palestine during Christ's ministry, and N. C. Allen's _A House Divided_, the first in a series set in the Civil War. I think most Mormon readers are well aquatinted with Lund, and know whether they plan to read more from him or not. Allen is more of an unknown quantity to me, and I am interested to see whether the book is any good or not. Trends: In 2001 historical fiction (especially the hardback, multi-volume series) in particular remained a big part of Mormon fiction. There were also, as usual, a few last days and missionary novels. Another trend I noticed this year was the number of novels with British authors and British settings. Of course every year national author Anne Perry releases one of her Victorian murder mysteries, but there were also novels set in the British Isles by Sian Ann Bessey and Anna Jones for Covenant and Anne Bradshaw for Cedar Fort. Since the success of Richard Paul Evans, national publishers have picked up several sentimental self-published books by Utah authors. This year Camron Steve Wright's _Letters for Emily_ (Premiere Publishing Group/Evans Books), about a grandfather with Alzheimer's whose poetic letters help to keep a family together, was picked up by Pocket Books (Simon and Schuster) to be published in 2002. Another trend is novels about the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the John D. Lee family. In 2000 there was Marilyn Brown's _The Wine-dark Sea of Grass_, in 2001 Gerald Grimmett's _The Ferry Woman_, and in January 2002 Judith Freeman's _Red Water_. It would be interesting for someone to compare the three. Two nationally published novels for middle school aged readers by Mormon authors appeared in 2001, both set in World War II. One was Dean Hughes's _Soldier Boys_ (Athenaeum), about a Utah farm boy and Hitler Youth German who participate in the Battle of the Bulge. Another was Michael O. Tunnell's Brothers in Valor (Holiday House), based on the true story of Helmuth Hubener and his friends, German Mormon boys who produced anti-Nazi pamphlets which resulted in their arrest and Hubener's execution. Next I will look at the individual Mormon publishers. Deseret Book Deseret sits on top of the roost, with nine novels by many of the field's most popular authors. I thought 2000 was their best year ever, with excellent books from Young and Gray, Hughes, and Card. 2001 was about the same, with new books from Hughes and Card, and the second volume of Young and Gray's Standing on the Promises=20 series released in January 2002. Robert Farrell Smith is very funny, and Gerald Lund, Sierra St. James, and Jack Weyland do what they do quite well. Still, the Standing on the Promises series is the only really adventuresome thing they have done so far. I'd like to see some more. Bookcraft, Shadow Mountain, and Eagle Gate are Deseret Book imprints. Covenant Communications Covenant published around nineteen Mormon novels in 2001, by far the largest number of any publisher. They have developed a stable of at least eight authors who produce a novel a year, while they also gave several authors their first chances in 2001. In 2000 they first entered the "multi-volume hardcover historical fiction" arena,=20 which heretofore has been dominated by Deseret, with the first volume of David Wooley's Book of Mormon series. I did not think it was very well written, however, and the second volume has not yet appeared. They are trying again in 2001 with N. C. Allen's Civil War series. Allen has published several novels for Covenant under her full name, Nancy Campbell Allen. Maybe they thought that having a female author's name on a Civil War book would keep sales down. Otherwise, Covenant published mostly romances and thrillers, which I do not care for much, and so have not read. I have seen fairly good reviews of the new novels by Grossman, Savage, and Stansfield, and terrible reviews for one by Poulson. Cedar Fort With twelve novels, Cedar Fort has passed up Deseret for second in terms of the number of fiction books published in the year. Because it is an "author participation" publisher, which expects many of the authors to help pay for publication costs, the quality of work it produces is suspect. However in 2000 three of its novels, by Marilyn Brown, Alan Mitchell, and Dory Peters, received strong reviews, which gave me reason to hope for more of the same. Except= =20 for Brown's newest, I have seen no reviews of any of the 2001 Cedar Fort novels, so we will have to wait and see. Marilyn has said positive things on the list about the novels by David Turrill and A. Dean Byrd. A small nucleus of authors writing more than one book (besides part-owners Brown and Nelson) is beginning to form, including Anne Bradshaw, Chad Daybell, and Lisa J. Peck. Bonneville, Salt, and Council Press are all Cedar Fort imprints. Signature Signature usually publishes only a small amount of fiction each year, but what it does publish tends to be of higher quality than the average of other publishers. In 2001 its output was particularly small, just one short story collection by Lewis Horne and a collection of essays by Eloise Bell. In 2002, however, it promises to release novels by Margaret Blair Young, Paul Edwards, and Jack Harrell (the one that won the Marilyn Brown contest a couple of years ago), and a collection of essays by Linda Hoffman Kimball. Excel Entertainment Excel is primarily a music label and a film distributor. It did start to do a small amount of book publishing in 2001, however. Most notable was Geoffrey Card's novelization of _God's Army_, which I found to be not bad considering that it had to stick closely to the film script, which takes away all the tension of reading a novel for me. There are two more forthcoming novels based on the movie's characters. Excel also handled the distribution of Gordon Laws' "cinematic novel" _My People_, which was published by the BYU Family Studies Center. It is also about missionaries in Los Angeles, although it is told mostly from the POV of the investigator and his friends, rather than the missionaries. Cornerstone I had high hopes for Cornerstone after they published notable works by Eric Samuelsen and Linda Adams in 2000. The collapse of a proposed buyout of another Mormon publisher, Horizon, early in 2001 apparently was a drain on the time and recourses of both companies. Cornerstone did release one new fiction book in December, a collection of short stories by Jack Weyland, and shows promise of rebounding. Horizon has not published any significant fiction for years, so it is not a surprise that they did not in 2001 either. Others Granite has floated at the bottom of the Mormon publishing world for several years now, putting out a couple of books of little distinction each year. Gibbs Smith published its annual "Fable for Our Times" by Carol Lynn Pearson. Brent Rowley published two of his own novels under his own "Golden Wing" label. Novels published in 2001 (or very late in 2000) Allen, Nancy Cambell. Echoes. Covenent. - ----, A House Divided. Faith of our Fathers series, volume 1. Covenant. Bardkull, Larry. Zion: The Long Road to Sanctification. Maasai Publishing.= =20 Zion series, volume 2. Bell, Michelle Ashman. Love Lights the Way. Covenent. Bessey, Sian Ann. Forgotten Notes. Covenant. Blair, Kerry. The Heart Only Knows. Covenant. Bradshaw, Anne. Chamomile Winter. Bonneville/Cedar Fort. Brown, Marilyn. The Macaroni Christmas Tree. Salt/Cedar Fort. Serialized by= =20 the Daily Herald. - ---, House on the Sound. Salt/Cedar Fort. Byrd, A. Dean. Walking in Winter. Bonneville/Cedar Fort. Card, Geoffrey. God=92s Army. Excel. Card, Orson Scott. Shadow of the Hegemon. Tor. - -----, Rebekah, Bookcraft. Carter, Ron. A Cold, Bleak Hill. Prelude to Glory series, #5. Bookcraft. Drake, Michael. The Wise Man in the Checkered Shirt. Cornerstone (2000). Edwards, Wendie L. Hidden Light. Millenial Glory series, #1. Seventh Seal Publishing. Evans, Richard Paul. The Tower. (Children's illustrated book.) Farland, David (Dave Wolverton). Wizardborn. Tor. Runelords #3. Gardner, Lynn. Opals and Outrage. Covenent. Gardner, Willard Boyd. Race Against Time. Covenant. Gates, John. Sister Wife. Walker & Co. Green, Betsy Brannon. Hearts in Hiding. Covenent. Grimmett, Gerald. The Ferry Woman. Liberlost. Grossman, Jeni. Beneath the Surface. Covenent. Guymon, Shannon. Never Let Go of Hope. Bonneville/Cedar Fort. Hansen, Jennie L. Beyond Summer Dreams. Covenant. Heimerdinger, Chris. Warriors of Cumorah. Covenant. Tennis Shoes series. Hickman, Tracy and Margaret Weis. Dragons of a Lost Star. TSR. - ----, Sovereign Stone: Guardians of the Lost. Avon Eos. Hughes, Dean. The Writing on the Wall. Hearts of the Children #1. Bookcraft. - ------, Soldier Boys. Antheneum. Huls, Craig. Just Wait. Happy Ending Press. Johnson, Heather. The Trevelyan Trap. Bonneville/Cedar Fort. Jolley, Joann. Keepers of the Heart. Covenant, 2001. Jones, Anna. A World Away. Covenent. King, Beverly. Picture Perfect. Covenant. Laws, Gordon. My People. BYU Family Studies Center. Leach, Frank. Mission Accomplished. Bonneville/Cedar Fort. Lund, Gerald. Come Unto Me. Kingdom and the Crown, #2. Shadow Mountain. Miller, Sherry Ann. Gardenia Sunrise. Granite. Nelson, Lee. Wasatch Savage. Council Press/Cedar Fort. Newman, Marsha, and Buddy Youngreen. Joseph and Emma, A Love Story. Wellpring. Nunes, Rachel Ann. Bridge to Forever. Covenent. - ----, This Very Moment. Covenent. - ----, Daughter of a King. Covenent. Picture book, illustrated by David Lindsley. Ohberhansly, Curtis and Dianne. Downwinders: An Atomic Tale. Black Ledge Press. Pearson, Carol Lynn and Kathleen Peterson. The Gift: A Fable for Our Times. Gibbs Smith. Peck, Lisa J. Nauvoo Magic. Truth Seeker series #3. Bonneville/Cedar Fort. Perry, Anne. Funeral in Blue. Ballantine. William Monk series. - -----, Come Armegeddon. (Just in the UK, US publication due in 2002). Poulson, Clair. I'll Find You. Covenent. Randalls, Vickie Mason. Red Moon Rising. Out of Barren Ground #1. Bonneville/Cedar Fort. Ritter, John H. Over the Wall. Philomel. YA. Rook, B. Weston. The Junction. Xlibris, 2001. Rowley, BJ. Sixteen in No Time. Golden Wing. - -------, Sting. Golden Wing. Savage, Jeffrey S. Cutting Edge. Covenant. Siddoway, Richard M. Christmas of the Cherry Snow. Eagle Gate. Smith, Robert Farrell. Captain Matrimony. Bookcraft. Stansfield, Anita. Where the Heart Leads. Covenent. Smurthwithe, Donald S. A Wise, Blue Autumn. Bookcraft. St. James, Sierra (Janette Rallison). Masquerade. Bookcraft. Stansfield, Anita. When Hearts Meet. Covenant. Tunnell, Michael. Brothers in Valor. Holiday House. Turner, Barbara. Treasure in Ghost Town. Bonneville/Cedar Fort. Turrill, David. Bridge to Eden. Bonneville/Cedar Fort. Udall, Brady. The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint. Norton. Ungrict, G. Phillip. Noel's Miracle. Granite. Weyland, Jack. Megan. Bookcraft. Wolverton, David. The Mummy Chronicles: Revenge of the Scorpion King (1), Heart of the Pharoh (2), The Curse of the Nile (3), Flight of the Phoenix (4). Transworld/Corgi Yearling. Wright, Camron Steve. Letters for Emily. Premiere Publishing Group/Evans Books. Wright, Julie. To Catch a Falling Star. Bonnevile/Cedar Fort. Next time: Short stories and Mormon magazines. Andrew Hall Fukuoka, Japan _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 20:39:50 -0500 From: "robert lauer" Subject: Re: [AML] New Yorker article On the NEW YORKER story, Chris B. wrote: However, I am still struggling >to understand President Hinckley's media strategy of playing dumb about >Mormon theology, which he also did in the 1997 Time cover story and other >places. I wonder if he just thinks nothing good can come of talking about >our defining, distinctive "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may >become" outlook. (At the Ensign, I was told that's the same reason the >Church doesn't deal with polygamy--"nothing good can come of it.") For me, >without that distinctive theology, Mormonism would just be another >terrestrial Christian sect. > >Yet, on the other hand I was stunned that President Hinckley brought up >what >appears to be the Adam-God theory in a favorable way, or at least not >discounting it. > President Hinkley's reference to the Adam-God doctrine stunned me! I was overjoyed to see it! As far as I know, this is the first time that a General Authority--let alone a Church president--has even admitted that Brigham Young taught the doctrine. In the 1970's and early 80's while I was attending BYU, I was very troubled by authorities such as Bruce R. McConkie and Mark E. Peterson delivering sermons against this "false doctrine", as well as insisting that Brigham Young never taught it. How ridiculous to insist on such things when any body could open the Journal of Discourses or read a number of published sermons by Brigham Young and see that he did indeed teach it. (One also finds a entire chapter defending the doctrine in the 1870's Church sponsored book, WOMEN OF MORMONDOM.) What was rational person to make of such ridiculous statements? Such blatant contradictions and denials troubled me greatly and contributed to my leaving the Church for over a decade. Thank goodness our beloved prophet is being so open about our past. This can only be for the best. I agree with Chris that without our distinctive doctrines were would be nothing more than a mainline denomination. I converted to the Gospel because it IS different, and because I have an unshakeable testimony that those differences are Gospel truth. ROB. LAUER _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 21:26:13 -0700 From: "Jacob Proffitt" Subject: RE: [AML] New Yorker article - ---Original Message From: Christopher Bigelow > I too was glad to see the long (and long-awaited) New Yorker > article on the LDS Church. It could have been a lot worse. > However, I am still struggling to understand President > Hinckley's media strategy of playing dumb about Mormon > theology, which he also did in the 1997 Time cover story and > other places. I wonder if he just thinks nothing good can > come of talking about our defining, distinctive "As man is, > God once was; as God is, man may become" outlook. (At the > Ensign, I was told that's the same reason the Church doesn't > deal with polygamy--"nothing good can come of it.") For me, > without that distinctive theology, Mormonism would just be > another terrestrial Christian sect. I understand this. The problem is that the concept is too complex to explain to a contemporary U.S. Christian in a short interview. With a reporter who isn't usually *that* interested in understanding the answer (he wants to obtain, not understand, an answer), it just isn't worth it to answer even partially. Any answer you give is going to be inadequate so it's better just to move on. He isn't removing it as doctrine, he's just concentrating his superficial reporter interview responses on things that don't require a lot of depth. Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 08:14:26 -0700 From: Steve Subject: [AML] URL for New LDS Movie Sound Track Clips Hi Folks, If you wanna smile, go to the soundtrack page for the soon-to-be-released movie "Singles Ward," and click on the "Popcorn Popping" link. http://www.singleswardthemovie.com/soundtrack.html Steve - -- skperry@mac.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 00:23:05 -0500 From: "Debra Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN Intimacy and Spirituality Lost: Deseret Book News Release 19Jan02 US UT SLC A2 [MOD: This isn't a book that falls within our usual purview, but I thought I would post the announcement anyway, since it seems to provide interesting fodder for our ongoing discussions of the various streams of Mormon culture.] Intimacy and Spirituality Lost SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- In times of stress like economic hardship, world tragedy, and raising children in the world today, the first things to go in a marriage are intimacy and spirituality. Purity and Passion: Spiritual Truths about Intimacy That Will Strengthen Your Marriage (Bookcraft, $17.95) shows couples how to hold on to these ideas and strengthen them simultaneously. Is it possible for marital intimacy and spirituality to co-exist? Author Wendy L. Watson says not only that "they can, but they should" in her new book Purity and Passion. Dr. Watson helps readers understand how eternal truths about sexual intimacy can clear away the obstacles and misconceptions that have plagued many couples who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It contains practical suggestions on how to show love, how to make positive changes in your marriage, and how to increase your marital intimacy-providing wonderful opportunities for discussion and action. "I believe that as couples come closer to the Savior, they can experience more joy and power and peace and comfort and light and love and truth in their marriages," she writes. "Indeed, I believe that as husbands and wives increase their personal purity-laying down impurities such as anger, unrighteous dominion, resentment, unforgiveness, pride, dishonesty, and blatant sin-there will be enough and to spare of all they have been longing for within their marriages." Dr. Watson discusses how the world's view about sexual intimacy actually prevent couples from enjoying it, how changing a couple's perspective about love and sex can draw them closer to each other and the Lord, and how they can find greater love, peace and joy in their marriages than ever before. An experienced marriage and family therapist for more than 25 years, Dr. Watson brings to Purity and Passion insights that will help every couple find greater marital happiness and satisfaction in these times of stress. About the Author Wendy L. Watson holds a Ph.D. in family therapy and gerontology and is a professor of marriage and family therapy in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. With a rich professional background also as a nurse and a psychologist, Dr. Watson has worked as a marriage and family therapist for more than 25 years, and has spent two decades teaching, researching, writing, supervising, and consulting in that field, both nationally and internationally. A native of Raymond, Alberta, Canada, she lives in Salt Lake City. Source: Intimacy and Spirituality Lost Deseret Book News Release 19Jan02 A2 >From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events Forwarding is permitted as long as this footer is included Mormon News items may not be posted to the World Wide Web sites without permission. Please link to our pages instead. For more information see http://www.MormonsToday.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 12:51:18 -0800 From: harlowclark@juno.com Subject: Re: [AML] American Book Publishing First a story, lest what I say be taken as negative or contentious. At the end of last year the Lindon planning commission and the city council approved construction of a new school on a piece of ground the owner hadn't been able to find an acceptable use for because it was across the street from Lindon Elementary and neither the PC or the council wanted to see a large increase in industrial or commercial traffic past the school. Then Timpanogos Academy received its charter from the state and the founders started looking for a building, then talking with Leonard Lee about his property. When they brought the idea to the PC (for the 2nd time?) the commissioners questioned them rigorously about traffic and how they would handle it besides starting and ending 1/2 hour later than Lindon Elementary. One of the parents in the group got frustrated at the questions and blurted out, "Why don't you like our school?" Now to anyone who had been following the story it was clear that the PC liked the school, felt it was the best use Leonard Lee had yet proposed for the land, but this parent didn't understand the intent of the questions, or how the PC works, didn't understand that it is the PC's duty to ask tough questions and set conditions that will protect the city and its environment and way of life, that a city without an effective PC ends up getting burned by developers. American Book Publishing is asking for a considerable investment, $1000s of dollars in time, from its prospective editors. So it behooves prospective editors, as it does anyone thinking about investing several thousand dollars, to ask some tough questions. First, the position requires 8-10 hours a week for at least 18 months before there's much payoff. 8 hours x 78 weeks x $20/hour = $12,480 ($15,600 for 10 hours a week). The pay offered is 5% of the book's price after publisher's markup (about 40%) and printing (10%?), or 50 cents on a $20 book, which means 25,000 $20 books must be sold to make that $12,480. In other words, half a million dollars worth of books have to be sold before recouping the value of an editor's time for a year and a half. So, tough question 1. Is it reasonable to assume that American Book Publishing can sell 25,000 copies of the book(s) an editor works on for a year and a half? What is the company's track record? Tough question 2 What guarantee do editors have of getting paid? ABP takes a deposit from authors. Is there some kind of escrow account for editors? Does the business plan treat editors like stockholders, or bondholders? From the fact that ABP pays royalty not salary I'd say it treats them like stockholders, who, as I've heard repeatedly, are the last people who have legal claim on a company's assets if it gets into trouble with, say, too many off the books partnerships--which are legal (oh, wait, we're not talking about energy trading here--unless you think of an editor's energy). Further, I take it that this statement means ABP does not consider the editor's time something to "pay as we go." > Since we have a zero debt policy in the company and we "pay as we > go" all our expenses monthly or quarterly, we have no financial > burdens on our future, are doing very well now and are well > capitalized and do not foresee no dark clouds in our future. Tough question 3 Why should I trust American Book Publishers? This is not a rhetorical question, and please don't say I should trust them because they're members of the Church. That just brings back memories of Dallin Oaks exhorting BYU students in 1976 not to trust people who trade on their Church membership. I am saying this not to raise a spirit of contention or fear but because it is a particularly tough question for me. A few years ago a local travel agent, a member of the Church, approached a list-member and showed her a grant letter awarding a sum to put together a travel guide book. The list-member hired several writers on the travel agent's behalf who put in a lot of time, and the travel agent wrote out a $10,000 check from which the list-member paid the writers. Yes, it bounced, and the travel agent had forged the grant letter, and I only lost $1000 of my time--against which I had written checks. Others lost more. So when I ask why should I trust ABP, it is a sincere question born of painful experience. Tough question 4 I am a superb editor. How do I support myself for the year and a half? I could rephrase the question this way, are the directors & owners of ABP--on the solid ethical grounds that you shouldn't ask other people to do what you would not be willing to do--willing to wait a year and a half for their pay? This is not a rhetorical question, and I would love to hear a little more discussion before I decide whether to invest in this company. Harlow S. Clark ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #586 ******************************