LUCKY CHARMS: Deseret Book Celebration Dinner

It was the annual Deseret Book Celebration Dinner for all the authors, illustrators, musicians, etc. who accomplished a work in the year 2011. It was on the 9th Floor of the Joseph Smith Building and as always.....it was beautiful. They had all of the pictures of the books and C.D.'s on a display as you walked out of the elevator. My book was next to the book titled The Teachings of Thomas S. Monson and I decided that is the closest I will ever be to him. :)

Sheri Dew is at the left of this picture walking past. You may wonder why I am so star struck by her, but I just love everything that comes out of her mouth. She doesn't mince words and she is SO strong. The last time I heard her give a speech at Time Out for Women she said, "There is not one cell in my body that is neutral to the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Yeah......love her!

The table was beautiful and the dinner was delicious.

When we left the event that evening Chad confessed to me, "I think is my favorite night of the year." Last year we were sitting at the back of the room and this year we were 2 tables away from the podium........not bad, not bad. :) Michael McClean, Jennie Oaks Baker and Josh Wright sat behind us. I wanted to take a picture of each table with people who were actually a big deal, but I had to play it "cool" and act like I wasn't star struck.


Carol Shelley Xanthos (Illustrator) and I standing in front of our labor of love. It was so nice of Carol to fly from Oregon to attend the event.

Chad snuck this picture in the corner to take a picture of the evening. I wanted to ask to take a picture with so many people, but again, I had to play it "cool." :) As we were walking in, I told Chad that I wasn't going to say anything awkward to Sheri Dew like I did last year. He said, "Well, why don't you just not say anything to her and then you won't have to worry about it?" That was a great idea until we passed each other in the hall and I thanked her for the event. She said she couldn't shake our hands because she wasn't sure if she was sick. I thanked her for that. Well, at least I kept it in check. Chad and I were talking to Chad Lewis by the elevator doors and suddenly the doors opened and out bounced (literally) Elder L. Tom Perry (you can see him in the top right corner of this picture). He came up to us and said, "What is going on here?!" He and his wife shook our hands and he was so warm and funny. He was the guest speaker for the evening and when it was his turn to speak, he jumped onto the stage like a spry, young man. He began his talk by saying, "I want all of us to be really quiet and listen. Can you hear that? It is the sound of my mother laughing in heaven because I am speaking at an author's convention. When I was 10 years old she used to pay me 10 cents to go to the local library and read a book--I didn't like to read. I have produced one book called Family Ties and it is probably the ONLY book you will ever see from me. My mother must have laughed again when she saw that they named a library after me at BYU." It was so cute! He then talked about how the Lord is opening the windows of heaven to have the people of the world notice our church and learn to understand it. He talked about the Presidential Race and how we had 2 Mormons in the running. He then gave us a challenge to continue to produce good works for the church so those who are interested in the gospel can learn through our writing. So, with his challenge in mind, I will buckle down and finish my next book in the series. Wish me and Carol luck! :)

This is the box they gave us as an appreciation gift. It contained a statue of Joseph Smith, Legacy, and a journal. I love the box as much as I love its contents.