Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys Hits Australia
Author Janet Kay Jensen’s new book is causing quite a stir in Australia. Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys is front page feature story in Brisbane Australia's Australia.TO 24.7 News this week.
This is Janet’s first novel, although she has co-authored other non-fiction books. She says, “Oddly enough, Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys has received little notice in Utah. I sent emails to all the papers with no response. But I persisted, and found reviewers in Canada, and NJ among other states, and now Australia. The great thing is they ‘get’ the story. That is so important to me, to spread a little truth about our religion and culture in my book.”
The book’s title is proving a hook for both LDS and non-LDS readers alike. Janet comments, “It’s actually the title of a clever old folksong I’ve heard since childhood. Depending on the occasion, ‘Mormon’ can become ‘Kansas’ or ‘Idaho,’ or wherever. At a recent bookstore signing, one man commented, ‘Now, that’s one heck of an eye-catching title.’ He had glanced at the poster and stopped in his tracks to look at the book.”
The folksong goes like this,
Gather round, girls, and listen to my noise, Don’t you marry the Mormon boys; If you do your fortune it will be, Johnnycake and babies is all you’ll see.
Janet continues, “Usually, people react to the title with a smile or a chuckle, because the rhythm and wording of the phrase also hint at the humor within the story. In fact, chapter one begins with native Utahn Andy McBride singing the song to his dog, Eliza R. Snow (named after a famous Utah poet). I think it sets the mood and gives us a hint of who Andy is as he’s driving to his new medical practice in the beautiful Smoky mountain region of rural Appalachia.”
When Janet began writing the book in 2000, a Mormon wasn’t running for president, Big Love wasn’t airing on HBO, and a fundamentalist polygamous leader wasn’t on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. A friend told Janet she had good timing with all this heightened national interest, but the release date of Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys was not intentional on her part.
Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys is a light read with some interesting insights into two ways of life with which most of us are not familiar. Janet says she has learned a lot in the seven-year journey to getting this book published. She adds, “Besides my writing style and editing improving, I also found that nobody wanted to publish a book about polygamy—until Cedar Fort’s Bonneville Books took it on board.”
The story involves Mormon bachelor Andy McBride, who falls for fellow medical student Louisa Martin—a product of polygamy, a way of life Andy cannot embrace and Louisa cannot escape.
Set in the striking red mountains of southern Utah, cosmopolitan Salt Lake City, the rural Smoky Mountain region of Kentucky and the beautiful, forest and lake-studded country of Finland, Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys deals with engaging characters from two opposing lifestyles with honesty and humor. Can a man and a woman from two antagonistic cultures (mainstream Mormon vs. fundamentalist polygamist) overcome the daunting barriers that would deny them a life together? What sacrifices will each have to make in order to be together? What impact will their choices have on family, friends, and even whole communities?
Janet says, “The book has several messages. First, Mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or LDS) aren’t polygamists, and polygamists aren’t Mormons. That’s a distinction many people don’t understand, and media reports are often inaccurate, so I think that is an important clarification. Other themes I explore are tolerance, acceptance, and willingness to accept others as they are. Life is richer when we can expand our ability to embrace diversity.”
Two reviews, chosen from many, read as follows:
In this compelling story, the clash of religious cultures creates conflict between two characters the reader cares about. The writing is clear and often gorgeous. I was fascinated by American subcultures the author seems to know so well, and I think many readers will be. A great love story—and more. I search for this kind of book and would snap it up.
—Catherine deCuir, Berkeley, California, author of Peace Prompts: A Guided Journal
A thoroughly captivating story with unusual characters. Janet Kay Jensen shows us that truth and love can triumph over anything life might throw our way.
—Rachel Ann Nunes, bestselling LDS author
Awards
Runner-Up, Best New Writing: The Eric Hoffer Award
Finalist, USA Best Books 2007 (religious fiction)
Finalist, Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year (religious fiction)
Semi-Finalist, Reader Views Critics Awards(religion/spirituality)
Whitney Award Nominee for LDS authors
Honorable Mention, Marilyn Brown Unpublished Novel Award
Third Place – Fiction Excerpt, Association for Mormon Letters 2005
Second Place, Full-Length Book 2006, League of Utah Writers
Finalist, Religious Fiction, USA Book News Best Books 2007
Semifinalist, Religion/Spirituality, ReaderViews 2007 Literary Awards
Finalist, Religious Fiction, ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award (winners TBA Book Expo America May 29, 2008)
Finalist: Aunt Tuesday, a screenplay based on a scene from Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys, 2008 LDS Film Festival Seven-page Screenplay competition.
Whitney Award for LDS writers, nominee 2008
Honorable Mention, Marilyn Brown LDS Novel Award, 2007
Finalist, Commercial Fiction-Best New Writing: The Eric Hoffer Award for Independent Books, a platform for and the champion of the Independent Voice.
Janet Kay Jensen is currently looking for an agent and hoping her latest novel will help get her foot in the door.
Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys, 324 pages, paperback, was released November 1, 2007 by Bonneville Books, Cedar Fort, Inc. It is available at area bookstores; by telephone at 1-800-sky-book, amazon.com; or online at www.cedarfort.com.
Janet has a webpage, http://www.janetjensen.com, and a blog: http://www.janetkayjensen.blogspot.com. She loves to hear from readers.
Posted by Anne Bradshaw at 6:21 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Books, Janet Jensen, LDS Church, Mormon Church, Polygamy
