I miss my dad, and that's OK

"Editor-for-a-Day" Contest Leader Board

With eleven days to go in my Editor-for-a-Day contest, I thought it was time to reveal our Top Eleven on the leaderboard out of hundreds of entries.

Here are your leaders as of 10:00 AM, EST today:

1. Chris Dalton
2. Cheryl Salzman
3. Patty Byrd
4. Lisa Kuper
5. Nancy Greenhouse
6. Stephanie Shirts Robinson
7. Sherry Booher Derby
8. Liz Frederick
9. Melissa Glad
10. Jody Ayres
11. Kathie Marshall

It's not too late! Keep those visits to your pages coming!

How goofy is this on a scale of 1-10?

Angels Among Us: Not yet

A short and poignant note from another reader who believes the veil is thin.

Angels Among Us: He clearly whispered, "not yet"
Tony J.

When my Grandpa came home from the hospital for the last 4 days of his life in 2003, he spent the entire time in a hospital bed in his bedroom.  The last day or two, he didn't even talk.  The night he died, I just assumed it would be his last, so I sat in his bedroom with him for several hours.  At the time, I was the only other person in the room, but at one point he raised his hands in the air and clearly whispered "Not Yet".  He died a couple hours later.

Angels Among Us: Dad came to get mom

Another sweet story from a reader who agrees that there are certainly angels among us:

Angels Among Us: Dad came to get mom
Claudia C.

I had experiences with both my Father's passing and my Mother's. Dad came to get Mom. She had thrown up on her way back from the bathroom and then collapsed on the floor. The cute young girl who was taking care of her said that a nice looking dark headed man came into her room and said he was a family member came to get Lou. She told him she needed to clean her up and would be just a little while. He went out the door, but no one ever saw him again, and no one had signed the sign in log at the front door, as a visitor for her. The family all knows that it was Dad coming to take her with him. This has helped me to know that there is life beyond this one and that we will not be alone when our time comes.

A truly FAB book club shout-out

I don't normally do book club shout-outs, but not all book clubs are quite like this one!

It was a thrill today to chat by speaker phone with the FAB (Friends and Books) Book Club in University Place, Washington. I'd met two of the members at a signing last fall, and despite my efforts to scare them off, they contacted me anyway.

Today we discussed The Wednesday Letters and the club's ten gorgeous gals asked some really wonderful questions.

So thanks, ladies, for a swell time! Hope the salad was good ;-)

Wright Words: I am a Mormon

I am guilty of waiting. For much of my career I have shyly waited for people to ask my religion, waited for the subject to come up, waited to share what I hold most precious.

Because I enjoy weaving spiritual themes into my signings or during more formal speaking engagements, often someone will approach and ask what church I attend. I love the conversations that follow. Frankly, there isn’t much I'd rather talk about than the faith that in many ways defines me.

I am a Christian. I am an imperfect follower of a perfect Savior. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Or, if you prefer the nickname sometimes used to describe members of the Church, I am a Mormon.

If you've read any of my novels, you know that I do not write books specifically about my religion. I write stories that contain the flavor of faith, but do not promote one religion over another. I write about broad themes important to all of us, no matter what church we call home.

I write about Christmas, forgiveness, redemption, family, marriage, charity, miracles, and life-after-death. Admittedly, I've learned and grown more from writing my own books than anyone ever will from reading them.

When I began my career as an author I was involved in frequent discussions about how prominent I should make my religion. Should we mention Brigham Young University in my bio? Should I reference my two-year mission to Brazil? Should we advertise that one of my two publishers is Salt Lake-based, home to Church headquarters and a high concentration of Mormons?

How shameful.

Five years and seven books later, I am ashamed those debates ever took place, and I accept that the blame rests on my shoulders alone. I am embarrassed that for years I simply wanted to be a New York Times bestselling author who you may or may not find out later just happens to be a Mormon. How shallow that I allowed the small percentage of consumers who won't buy a novel by a Mormon to dictate how I was introduced to readers.

Recently I stumbled across a blog that inferred a number of Mormon authors, including me, had been deceitful. The blogger complained that he never would have bought our books had he known we were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He even expressed pride at having uncovered the secret through a series of online searches and a complicated game of connect-the-dots. A modern-day Sherlock Holmes, no doubt.

This blogger's theory was that books like mine by Mormon authors, especially in the genre of inspirational fiction, are just thinly veiled attempts to spread our faith. He's half-right, at least in my case. I do hope my books spread my faith that God lives, that He loves us, and that the challenges we face everyday are universal and the occasionally painful lessons absolutely necessary to our growth.

But I also hope they are good ole fashioned page-turners that entertain and beg a second reading. If a reader wants to find inspiration and faith, that's wonderful. If a reader wants nothing more than to sit in a comfortable chair and escape life for a few hours, I'm just as thrilled.

In either case, in the future this well-meaning though misguided blogger won't have to don a black deerstalker hat to uncover my religion. I've added my faith to my website biography and press kits.

I wonder if this blogger or anyone else who won’t buy a work of Christian fiction by a Mormon knows just how much I appreciate his or her own religion. I have dear friends from all corners of religious faith and two of the most trusted people in my day-to-day career are Catholic and Jewish. One is my editor, the other my agent. I trust them both. I love them both.

I wonder if this blogger or anyone else who won’t buy a work of Christian fiction by a Mormon knows how many churches have invited me to speak in their chapels, sanctuaries, etc. Just this month alone I will speak in two Methodist churches and at Trinity Ecumenical Parish, a combined congregation of Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians. Next month I’ll speak to the Knights of Columbus and in years' past I've spoken to Baptists, Catholics and many more. I cherish those experiences more than any other.

Naturally it is important to know that I am not just a Mormon. I am proud to be a brother, husband, father-of-four, volunteer, neighbor, and friend. I am also a son of a loving Heavenly Father and the son of earthly parents who raised me to embrace my faith and to love the Lord and follow His example.

Perhaps I owe this blogger a thank you for jarring me from my quiet complaisance and for reminding me just how proud I am of my heritage, my faith, and the Church I love so dearly.

So, if you're reading this column and thinking, "I had no idea he was a Mormon," I sincerely apologize.

If you're reading this column and want to know more about what I believe, ask me. I’d love to tell you.

Finally, next time you're in a bookstore and you see a book with my name on the cover, it's buyer beware from this day forward: I am a Mormon.

Meeting the Harveys

This post begins the telling of one of the neatest stories in our lives. For those of you who have read The Cross Gardner, you will recall where they discuss an apple called the Ginger Gold and the story of how it came to be. For those who haven't had a chance to read the book, this will mean much more to you when you do. But in the meantime, here is one of the references from The Cross Gardener:

---

EXCERPT:

We chatted on the way about the history of apples in Virginia and how I ended up an orchardist. He was interested in the decision making Scott and I went through after Father’s death. Curious how often I saw my brother. Interested in Tim and whether I thought he might have ended up on the orchard someday.

The Cross Gardener had a way of making everything I said interesting. In his presence my stories and ideas were important. A rare talent, I thought.

“Here we are.” I pulled into the driveway and stopped just shy of the fence.

“Great fence,” he said. “I love picket fences. You build it yourself?”

“With my wife, yes.”

“Wonderful.”

We got out of the truck and I led him down the closest row of apple trees. “There isn’t much to see by way of fruit, obviously, because the harvest is over.”

He reached down and picked up a rotting apple. “Why are there some on the ground?”

“If it’s a mature apple, which that one is, it probably fell during harvest. That happens a lot. Or it could have just fallen from an apple bin. That happens, too.”

“How long can it sit on the ground before it starts to rot?”

“Not long in Valley heat, that’s for sure.”

“And you don’t go by and pick them up?” He placed the apple back on the grass.

“Not usually. They can bruise if they fall. And no one wants a bruised apple.” We walked to another row.

“Are all these trees the same?”

“No, we try to alternate rows. A lot of orchards do. That first
row was Red Delicious. These are Ginger Golds.”

“Ginger Golds. So those aren’t red, one assumes?”

“One assumes correct.” I smiled. Standing there and looking at his curious eyes, almost childlike, I realized that I hadn’t told anyone about my favorite type of apple, or why it was my favorite, in a very long time.

“Ginger Golds are special.” I looked to the end of the long row of appleless trees. “They’re also the first we harvest. These were picked before Emma Jane, my wife, died.”

“I see why they’re your favorite then.”

“It’s not just that, they’ve always been my favorite apple. The Ginger Gold is a result of Hurricane Camille back in the sixties. Nineteen sixty-nine to be exact. The hurricane about washed away the orchard of a man named Clyde Harvey. Almost nothing left but devastation. Some time later when they were saving what trees they could, they came across a tree Mr. Harvey hadn’t ever seen before. It produced a yellow fruit instead of the red on the other trees around it. Eventually they planted more of them and he named it for his wife, Ginger.”

“Thus, the Ginger Gold,” the Cross Gardener said.

“That’s right.”

“What a miracle that something so sweet, something that brings joy to many, came from something as tragic as a hurricane. That’s lovely. One of the sweetest things I’ve heard.”

---

Back at the end of March the Barnes and Noble in Charlottesville, VA held a discussion and book signing for The Cross Gardner.




Among those in attendance were three very lovely and special ladies: Ginger, Gayle and Debbie Harvey.

Now let me tell you a little bit about these amazing ladies. Ginger Harvey is a beautiful woman inside and out. She is married to the late Clyde Harvey and has two equally beautiful daughters, Gayle and Debbie.

The Harveys owned an orchard in Central Virginia for many years. During their time in the apple world they experienced something not many ever do. They nearly lost the entire orchard to the floods brought on by Hurricane Camille.

There was much tragedy in their little valley, but as they began the recovery process they found a young tree that was not familiar to them. It turns out the tragedy of the floods had brought them a special "Gift from God," as Ginger likes to say. The Harvey family was blessed with a one-of-a-kind tree produced entirely by God and Mother Nature. It yielded a beautiful, tasty apple which later became known as the Ginger Gold.

After meeting the Harveys at the book signing we were eager to spend some time with them. Just last week Gayle and Ginger made the drive up to the Valley to see the orchard that inspired the story.





Meet Tracy, the talented orchardist who shared his knowledge with Jason.







After saying goodbye and sending them on their way, Jason and I kept saying to each other, "How cool is it to meet someone who has an apple named after her growing right now on trees all around the world?"

We feel so honored to know them and we look forward to a long and fruitful (LOL) friendship.

Library Journal Reviews TCG

Thanks, LJR!

###

Library Journal Reviews
April 15, 2010

SECTION: REVIEWS; Christian Fiction; Pg. 70
LENGTH: 134 words

HEADLINE: The Cross Gardener

BYLINE: Nanci Milone Hill

BODY: Wright, Jason F. The Cross Gardener. Berkley: Penguin Group (USA) . 2010. c.304p. ISBN 978-0-425-23328-3 . $22.95. CF

John Bevan and his young daughter, Lou Lou, try to heal after a tragic accident takes the life of his wife and unborn child. Struggling to understand God's purpose, John erects a small cross on the side of the road where his wife died. One day, he meets a man painting his wife's cross, and the "cross gardener" eventually helps John see that his wife would have wanted him to live his life and enjoy every moment with his surviving child. VERDICT: This latest book by best-selling author Wright (The Wednesday Letters; The Christmas Sweater with Glenn Beck) is sure to be devoured by his large fan base as well as by new readers who enjoy wiping their eyes while reading a great story.

LOAD-DATE: April 6, 2010

Angels Among Us: The Fall

Another wonderful story from a reader. Thanks for sharing, Bri!

Angels Among Us: The Fall
Bri C.

In 2004 my husband and I were in our first home. Chris began clearing the side lot of our home which was covered in trees. One of those trees was right beside an electric pole. As he climbed his 22 ft ladder high above the previous stumps that were left of the adjacent trees he secured a winch to a tree limb while he prepared to saw (using a chainsaw) away the limb. Later he would say that he felt the Spirit prompt him not to use the winch. He sawed anyways and the limb snapped lodging in his forehead and throwing him to the ground where he landed on a stump. He was unconscious and couldn't see.

When he awoke he was very disoriented. He said he felt someone simply carry him the 75 ft where he landed to the front door. He said that he felt an overwhelming sense of comfort and warmth. The physical proof of this event was the lack of blood. That 75 ft from the door to the spot where he landed was completely free of any blood. There was blood on the front door all over the carpet and in the foyer. But no stains on our paved driveway or the dried dirt under the trees. We have speculated it is a ministering angel. Surely it was something divine.

Interview on News Channel 8's "Let's Talk Live!"

Wright Words: Failure is an option

Failure. Look it up in Merriam-Webster's and you'll see more than just my name and mediocre mug. You'll also find my thumbprint, Social Security number and shoe size. I challenge you to find anyone who's failed at more endeavors, large and small, than yours truly.

Did I work at Mr. Donut in high school? Yes. Was I fired for playing basketball in the kitchen with a coconut crumb donut wrapped in scotch tape? Yes.

Months later I took a job at a popular ice cream parlor across the street from the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Virginia. Weeks later I gave a generous discount to an attractive coed buying a single scoop of Moose Tracks. Then just hours later I surrendered my apron and was shown the door. Turns out the cute pre-med student was the shop's owner.

Before graduating from high school, I also worked as a tuxedo-wearing doorman, as the Easter Bunny at the local mall in a giant fuzzy costume that smelled like tobacco and gin, and as a telemarketer selling tickets to a blind circus for children. To this day I have no idea what that actually meant, I just read the script. And, evidently, not so well.

What did these early failures teach me? Only that I hadn't failed enough yet. So over the years these jobs followed: Commercial actor, nightshift at a grocery store, model for a clothing catalogue, pizza delivery guy, construction, singing telegrams with my wife and our St. Bernard, Portuguese teacher, nightshift security guard at a telephone factory, nightshift security guard at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, sales for a time-management seminar company, computer consulting, door-to-door t-shirt sales, co-owner of a company that made paper placemats for restaurants, nightshift cleaning bathroom at BYU, weekend janitor of a dental college, and night watch at a home for troubled teens.

But wait, there's more! I also was the co-founder of one of the web's first sporting goods stores, director of sales for an e-commerce software company, co-founder of an Internet design company, co-owner of two video stores, owner of a cell phone store, candidate for U.S. Congress, founder of a public policy think-tank, founder of a popular political blog, ghost writer to members of Congress, and, finally, a fulltime novelist.

Wedged into that resume meatloaf is also a fulltime mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Belo Horizonte, Brazil. With the exception of marrying my wife, it remains the single most important decision I've ever made and brings me more satisfaction than any bestseller list.

Each of those career stops, even those that were odd and brief, taught me something about myself. I learned how to be a better employee and a better teammate. I learned what failure tasted like and how to take risks. But I also learned what risks not to take, and how to recognize the taste of success. Perhaps most importantly, I learned how to be a better me.

Admittedly, even my current and hopefully final career has had its share of failures. Some books connect with readers, some don't, and all I can do is to continue telling stories and hope I succeed more often than not, getting better each time.

So yes, I've had dozens of jobs, some ending wonderfully, some ending with failure, but each taught me to identify a new weakness and massage it into a strength.

If I hadn't failed, I never would have written Christmas Jars.

If I hadn't failed, I wouldn't be a New York Times Bestselling author.

If I hadn't failed, I wouldn't now live in one of the world's most beautiful places, the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

If I hadn't failed, I wouldn't be happy and at professional peace for the first time.

Please don't let the world convince you that failure isn't an option. Quite simply, nothing is too big to fail. Not even the guy in the Easter bunny costume.

Angels Among Us: A Visit from Dad

Another wonderful story from a reader. Thanks for sharing, Edgar!


Angels Among Us: A Visit from Dad
Edgar P.

My father died when I was 16. I carried a lot of guilt for the longest time because I was the last one to see him alive. I saw him on October 30th. Our town had decided to trick or treat that night because the 31st is normally a holiday in Nevada. So instead of having kids with sugar hangovers at school on the 1st of November, they had the kids trick or treat on the day before Halloween.
 
A couple of friends and I stopped by my father's house that night. He did not recognize me in my mask. I took it off and he grabbed me and kissed me on the cheek. Of course I thought I was too cool to be kissed by my old man, so I pushed him away. He died at work the next day.
 
A few months after his death, I had a very realistic dream in which he came in to my room and we went for a walk. He knew he was dead. And I knew he was dead. We talked about the moment when he died. He told me that everything became dark for him realizing that he was leaving his children behind. He and my mother had divorced years earlier, but we could still feel his love. We had a good talk that night. I could still feel his love.
 
The next morning, my mother told me that he had had a very strange dream the night before. She said she woke up because she felt that someone was in her room. When she opened her eyes, she saw my father standing there. She asked him what he wanted. He responded that he was there to see me and wanted her permission. She told him that it was fine. He walked through her door and headed to my room.
 
I filled her in with the rest.
 
My father still comes around to talk to me. I see him about once a year.

Checking in from the road

What's my name again? What city am I in? It's Day 11 of the current tour and it's been an adventure everyday. I've met the most wonderful people and been reminded that while I love writing, it's meeting people and hearing their stories that makes the journey worthwhile.

Earlier today my publisher, Penguin, released this web video. It's a short interview montage we shot in NYC a month ago. Give it a look, and if it trips your trigger, please share!

Zzzzzzzzzzz. The early wake-up call awaits.

Angels Among Us: Taking The Bus

To celebrate the release of The Cross Gardener, I recently asked friends and readers to send me their stories demonstrating that the veil between this life and the next is thinner than we sometimes realize. If you have an inspirational story of someone passing on, perhaps having help from the other side, please feel to share it by using the contact form at http://www.jasonfwright.com

The first story I'd like to share came from a good friend. I think you'll enjoy it. Others will be added soon.

Angels Among Us: Taking The Bus
Angie B., Winchester, VA

Most people look at death as a very sad and final thing when it can be a joyful and eternal. Everyone has to deal with death at some point in their life. Many of us have dealt with lots of death during our lifetime. A few years back, we lost 5 family members within 18 months.

I have had the experience of being with both of my grandparents as they left this world. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have witnessed.

In the days leading up to my grandmother’s death she kept talking about people she saw, people that were waiting for her, that were there, in the room, to get her. Several days before she died she kept telling everyone that a bus was coming and that she was going to get on the bus. The evening she died a winter storm was taking place outside, however her room was warm and filled with many family members. There were only 3 people physically in the room, my grandmother, my aunt and myself, but it felt like there was not space for anyone else in that small nursing home room. I know that family and friends came to greet and escort my grandmother as she passed through the veil into the spirit world.

The next day on the news we heard that there had been a bus accident with many casualties. I guess there was a bus coming to take her home to her Father in Heaven.

I believe we are never alone even in death, there is someone on the other side waiting for us, beckoning us to come, to take us by the hand and lead us home. I also believe that we will be reunited with our loved ones after this life, that knowledge makes death a lot less difficult. Don’t get me wrong I miss my grandparents, but I know I will see them again and that they are preparing a place for me when the time comes. I am grateful for my Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ, who make it all possible.

Is it finally March 2?

It's hard to describe what it's like for an author after so many months on Release Day.

I submitted the manuscript eight months ago on July 7, 2009. Since then we've edited, fine tuned, published, printed, shipped, planned tours, planned advertising, planned media, and waited...

And waited...

And at long last, the book is born in stores across the country.

After seven books, it's just as exciting!

I hope you'll give The Cross Gardener a spin. It's my most personal story to-date and it means the most to me. I hope, perhaps, it will mean something to you, too.

Oh, and always remember to take the long way.

Two weeks and counting to The Cross Gardener

Exactly two weeks to go until the release of The Cross Gardener. So why not give away another Advance Reading Copy?

In TCG, the Shenandoah County Fair plays a prominent role. In the comments below, tell us your very first memory of visiting a County Fair, Carnival, Disney park, etc.

I'll pick a random winner tomorrow. Good luck!

A third trailer for The Cross Gardener, my new favorite!

New Trailer for The Cross Gardener

Big thanks to my good friend, Aaron "Al" Lee, for another lovely book trailer.

Click here to watch it on YouTube.

Photo Caption Contest

Write a funny caption for the photo below. Author of the funniest caption will win a free advance copy of The Cross Gardener three weeks before it goes on sale.

Captions will be judged by a panel of prestigious judges. (Jason, Kodi and Pilgrim.)

Winner announced Wednesday. Good luck!