Author Spotlight

James Dashner

James was born and raised in Georgia, but now lives in Utah with his wife and 4 kids. He served an LDS mission in Japan and graduated from BYU with a Masters Degree in Accounting.

The 13th Reality
The Journal of Curious Letters

This book sat on my shelves for some time. Something about the cover just didn't appeal to my interest as much other books. However you can't judge a book by its cover.

James Dashner takes the reader on a journey that is unique and appeals to the imagination. While the idea of Quantum Physics has been used in several books, tv-series, and movies, his approach is unique enough to make it stand out against the competition.

Tick is a young boy that eventually teams up with several others to save the Realities from Miss Jane. Miss Jane is the only real drawback to the story in my opinion. However the story was written well enough for me to overlook that aspect of the book. Looking forward to reading subsequent novels in the series.

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UtahWriting.com's e-zine!

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UtahWriting.com's Social Network!

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  • Join the ForumUtahWriting.com's Social Network!
  • Create/Join a group - great for critique groups
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Join us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterWe are now on Facebook and Twitter. Come socialize as a Utah writing community. Then join the UtahWriting.com Forum to discuss conferences, workshops, publishing news, or even the rejections you've taken.

Get On UtahWriting.com

Are you not yet listed on UtahWriting.com? If you are a local Utah published author and not listed under our local authors section, email me with a bio, picture, website & blog address, and list of your published works. If you are involved in the Utah writing community as an editor, book publisher, etc... and want to be added to the resources page, email me with website and information about the services that you can provide for Utah writers.

SCBWI

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators: Writing With the Stars: A Conference for Readers, Writers, and Teachers of Children's Literature

 

  • September 11, 2010, Saturday
    Boise State University
    1910 University Dr
    Boise, ID 83725
    Student Union Building, Jordan C Ballroom
    8:30 am to 5:00 pm
Fire Petal Books - MG/YA Writing Retreat
  • Owner Michelle Witte & literary agent Lauren MacLeod with the Strothman Agency
    ***Only room for 20 participants***
    September 24-26, 2010
  • For $475, participants will receive:
    • Two nights lodging at a cabin near Bear Lake
    • Meals
    • Classes and discussions
    • 10-page critique from Lauren
    • 15-minute one-on-one meeting with Lauren
League of Utah Writers League of Utah Writers - Diamonds in the Rough
  • Airport Hilton and Convention Center
    5151 Wiley Post Way
    Salt Lake City, Utah
    September 17 - 18, 2010
Utah Chapter Romance Writers of America - Out, Out, Damned Plot
  • October 8 and 9, 2010
    The Grand Summit Hotel
    The Canyons Resort, Park City, Utah
  • Authors: Christine Feehan, Bree Despain, Jessica Day George
  • Editors/Agents: Heather Osborn (TOR, MacMillan), Laurie McLean (Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency), Candace E. Salima (Valor Publishing Group), Sue Grimshaw (Borders)
Salt Lake Community College - Community Writing CenterCommunity Writing Center
  • Be Involved: Volunteer Training for Coaching and Mentoring - Monthly - 2nd Tuesday from 5 - 8:30 p.m. and the last Saturday from 12 - 3:30 p.m.




David Farland's Writing Workshops:
  • Million Dollar Outlines
    March 7-12, 2011
    Ramada Inn
    1440 East Saint George Boulevard
    Saint George, UT 84790
  • Writer's Death Camp
    November 1-6 & November 15-20
    Ramada Inn
    1440 East Saint George Boulevard
    Saint George, UT 84790
Life, the Universe & EverythingLife, the Universe & Everything
  • BYU
    February 10-12, 2011
LDStorymakersLDStorymakers
  • The Sheraton Salt Lake City Hotel
    Bootcamp - May 5, 2011
    2-day Writers Conference - May 6-7, 2011
    Registration for Conference 2011 will begin on December 1, 2010.
CONduit XXICONduit XXI


  • Radisson Hotel - Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah
    May 27-29, 2011
  • Author Guest of Honor - Tamora Pierce

Childrens

Cookbooks
Education Fantasy\Science Fiction
Historical Fiction
Inspirational
LDS
How-To Legal Thriller Middle Grade
Mystery
Poetry Romance Self-Help
Young Adult

Come meet Utah's aspiring authors. Maybe one of them will produce the next best-seller. If you are an aspiring author and not on the list and want to be, email your website or blog url.

C Scott Morris - CScottMorrisBooks.com - fantasy/steampunk

Cathy Witbeck - Story Pianter -

Chase Davies - ChaseDavies.com - fantasy/middle grade

Cherylynne Whipple Bago - Critiquing the World - fantasy/mystery/romance

Kylie Klein - Life's a Journey, Take Notes! - YA

Jill Campbell (j.a.c.) - Me Outside the Lines - humor/children/YA

Jason King - Jason King's creative writing web site

Fiauna Lund - The Sprightling Diaries - middle grade/YA

Yamile Saied Mendez - The Che Boricuas - adult fiction/YA/childrens

Elise Rasband - Elise Rasband's Awesomest Site Ever - YA & childrens

Paul West - Writings and Musings of Paul West - historical young adult

Online Writing Communities

  • Utah Children's Writers - is an email listserv where writers of children's literature who live, have lived, or are tied to Utah in some other way, can share ideas, network, commiserate,pass on news, and help each other along. Also check out the blog run by Kiirsi Hellewell, Tiffany Dominguez, Sarah Southerland, Scott Rhoades, and Anji Sandage.
  • S.C.wR.I.B.E.S. -
    Our name, quite literally, stands for: "Society of Creative wRiters; Inspiration, Backing and Enthusiastic Support" Those are the things were are really here for. Our goal is to help each other in our climb toward becoming published authors. There is no competition, only cooperation. You will get out of this group as much as you are willing to put into it, and along the way, you'll help others with the same hopes, dreams, and aspirations as yourself. We are actively looking for new members right now. All we ask is you are active in posting and critiquing every month. The group works if everyone makes an effort. Either email me or follow the directions on the scwribes site. Happy writing everyone. Michelle @  write.at.home.mom@gmail.com
  • Absolutely Write -
  • Backspace - is a discussion forum designed for writers of all levels. Once a month there is a Q&A forum run by an editor. There is a yearly subscription fee of $40 with a 5-day trial available.
  • authonomy - was founded by HarperCollins in 2008 to help flush out new rising talent. There are currently ~24,000 members and about ~120,000 visitors per month. There is a minimum of 10,000 words for submission to the site.
  • NaNoWriMo - stands for National Novel Writing Month which is November, however the site is active all year round enticing the first time novelist to experienced writers finding it hard to get time to write. The goal is to hit 50,000 words by the end of the month.
  • Writing.com - a free online community with over 700,000 members. There are 5 different paid memberships that are available that offer different services.

Writing Contests

Writing Classes & Workshops

Utah Writing Links

Utah Editors

  • Precision Editing Group - A group of editors and authors in Utah that includes: Heather Moore, Lu Ann Staheli, Annette Lyon, Josi Kilpack, and Julie Wright. Each member of the team is either working, teaching or publishing in the book industry. They also run a useful blog Writing on the Wall.
  • Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt - is a local freelance writer with experience proofreading novels or theses, copyedit company newsletters, or review annual reports, press packets, or grant submissions for consistency, clarity, and grammatical errors.

National Writing Links

Brainstorming - get new ideas or blow through writer's block

Reference\Other Useful Links

  • Writer's Digest - provides information that helps writers succeed as they pursue their passion, through hands-on techniques from top authors, insider tips on working with agents and editors, listings of hot markets for their work, and news about the writing world.
  • Reverse Dictionary - find the word you're looking for with only a description from Ask.com's Dictionary.com
  • The Elements of Style
  • Merriam-Webster Online - Dictionary and Thesaurus
  • Online Writing Lab - (OWL) at Purdue University - brush up on your grammar skills and writing techniques
  • QueryTracker.net
  • QueryTracker.net the Blog - Blog site that keeps you updated about agents and publisher editors along with other useful information about writing in connection with QueryTracker.net in a blog format.
  • Nicole Warburton - Nicole is a staff writer for the Deseret News. She provides book reviews as well as tips for getting published.

UtahWriting.com was designed to be a one-stop resource for Utah writers. The main purpose of the website, is to showcase Utah authors and provide information on the upcoming conferences and workshops. There are many plans for this website to help it grow and help unify Utah's writing community. This website will be used to spearhead several projects used to benefit local writers and also help provide means to read for the less fortunate groups in our great state.

I am a Registered Nurse working for Intermountain Healthcare as a Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Nurse Coordinator and work PRN in ICUs. My wife Kristin is an ENT guide for About.com writing articles related to disorders of the ears, nose & throat. You can also check out her blog her at UtahWriting.com to see what is newly updated on her site.

We are always looking for ways to expand our site and make it more useful to everyone. Please take a moment to tell us what you like/dislike about our site or what you would like to see in the future. Email UtahWriting.com

Mike & Kristin Hayes