Each year, the young women and young men (ages 12 to 18) in our church congregation have an "etiquette dinner". They learn about proper ways to behave on a date.
This year's dinner was close to Halloween, so my wife asked me to come up with some epitaphs for those that didn't follow the rules.
These will mean more if you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but even if you aren't, keep in mind that some of these guidelines may seem old fashioned today. For example, waiting until 16 to date, when slow dancing, making sure there is space between the couples and such.
Without further ado, here are some of the epitaphs:
The life of Riley
Is now at an end
Asking the question,
"Can't we just be friends?"
Rest now peace
Our noble Aaron
Asked out Haley
In front of Darrin
Struck down by lightening
Were Maddie and Norman
The space between dancing
Just one Book of Mormon
Dear McKay was quite wise
He was never home late
But foolish in taking
Two girls on the same date
Please rest in peace
Our sweetest Kelley
She choked on butterflies
From inside her belly
No longer on this Earth
Is the unwise young Tom
When he told Carla
You remind me of Mom
Deep in this grave
Is our dear Nate
He tried to kiss
His very first date
At the zoo died Dallin
Dating a girl that he dug
Took too literally
Request for a bear hug
Dear Julia is gone
Not high, low or in-between
'Cos she went on a date
Before she was sixteen
Madsen is quite dead
It's hard to believe
From trying to wipe
His mouth on his sleeve
Here lies the very young Alex
He felt like such a dork
Died from embarrassment
From using the wrong fork
The far too young Morgan
Buried there in the sands
On a date with Derrick
Tried to drive and hold hands
Passed away is Daniel
On a date was this dude
Ate with his mouth open
Misunderstood "sea food"
Gone away is Brycen
Accidently mistook
While picking up his date
Beautiful Blair for Brook
David didn't have much
Between his two ears
Asking twenty-six girls
To wait for two years
This review has special insight since Angie Lofthouse read both the first and second editions. Her blog can be found here.
Here is what she had to say:
"The Hidden Sun by J. Lloyd Morgan, 2nd edition is a fun medieval adventure, with plenty of intrigue, action, secrets, heroes and romance. This is actually my second time to read and review this book. I reviewed the first edition a little over a year ago. Since then, The Hidden Sun was picked up by my publisher, Walnut Springs, and issued in a shiny new edition, newly edited, with a new cover.
So, what do I think of the second edition? Same great story, wonderful new package! In my first review, my main complaint was a large number of typos that I found distracted me from the story. That issue has been resolved, and without those distractions, I found the story even more fun to read this time around.
I love the way Morgan uses symbolism in the book. His characters are well-developed and easy to love and root for. I found I really cared about what happened to them and to their beloved kingdom of Bariwon. But the story itself is not the only thing to love about this book. I had fun noticing (on my second time through), Morgan's skillful naming of characters and places. Can you guess the secret of Bariwon and it's seven districts (Erd, Grenoa, Lewyol, Regne, Lebu, Donigi, and Teviol)? Not to mention such events as the Mortentaun and Shoginoc.
The Hidden Sun is full of surprises. It's also a good, clean read with no objectionable content. Just the sort of thing I'm looking for!"
Kaitlyn Kline has posted her review of The Hidden Sun on her blog "Kaitlyn in Bookland". I'll have to admit, my heart sunk when I read one of the lines. It said, "I wasn’t really sure what to expect from The Hidden Sun, but it sucked. . ." It wasn't until I read the next line when I started breathing again. It continued, ". . . me in from the very beginning."
Ah, good thing I'm not running for office. I'm sure that is something my opponent would use out of context.
Here is her full review:
This cover is totally worthy of a fantasy novel. There’s the castle and surrounding grounds, plus gold font. It really works.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from The Hidden Sun, but it sucked me in from the very beginning. Like with any fantasy, the names take a bit of getting used to, but there was a nice pronunciation guide in the front of the book. After about 30 pages, I didn’t even stumble over the names anymore.
The corrupt leaders had me fuming throughout the book. This is a novel that really evokes some emotion from the reader. There are so many twists and turns, that I thought I had things figured out, only to be told something else. It was amazing.
J. Lloyd Morgan does not hold anything back in this fantasy novel. You will read about death, love, politics...everything. Even when I wasn’t reading this book, I was thinking about it. I wanted to solve all of the mysteries throughout the book and see the fates of my favorite characters.
I *think* this novel was billed as young adult, but I think it could really work for adults as well.
I am so excited for the sequel, The Waxing Moon. It should be available sometime next year.
One of the most frustrating classes I took in college was media ethics. The name in itself almost seems to be an oxymoron. Consider this: I went to school at what could be considered one of the most conservative universities in the nation. It had a highly regarded Television program, and was fairly competitive. From those looking from afar, they might wonder why a school like BYU would spend so much time and money on a program designed to put people in the media workforce. My take on is that media in and of itself isn't bad, just like the internet or the printing press aren't bad. However, there are those that can, and do, use it for purposes that are less than noble. The goal from the school's point of view was to get people into the media that would use it for good.
In this media ethics class, we discussed all sorts of different situations and what we would do. For example, the question was brought up, "Would you publish, or announce, the name of someone who was raped?" My gut feeling was "no". This person had been through enough without having their name put out there for everyone to know. However, there were arguments for it. Granted, at this moment I don't recall what they were, because my answer would still be "no".
The teacher of the class was a master in the art of debating. He would ask a question to the class, expect people to voice their opinion, and then he would take on the other side and tear them to shreds. Hence, the reason it was very frustrating.
It didn't take long for me to pick up on one of his tricks. Whenever someone would state their opinion in the form of a generality, for example, "people should always wear seat belts", he would counter it with a specific, "I know of a friend who wasn't wearing a seat belt, and in an accident, he was thrown from the car. If he had his seatbelt on, he would have been crushed to death."
He would also do the opposite. If you stated your opinion as a specific, for example, "My wife got married when she was 19, and we've been happily married for 20 years", he would counter with a generality, "89% of women who get married at 19 end up divorced". (I'm just making up that stat—I have no idea what the actual number is, nor do I care)
So how do you argue with someone who has spent a good chunk of his life debating ethical issues? For me, the answer is you don't. In other words, I have strong core beliefs that guide my actions on a moment by moment basis. I've developed these beliefs over the course of my life. I try to keep an open mind about certain things and I go by the principle of "live and let live". If someone is going to try to convince me to change a core belief, they will have a difficult time doing so.
At the end of this media ethics class, the teacher said he wanted us to see that things were never black or white. There were all sorts of shades of gray in everything. His final statement was, "There are no absolutes"—to which I responded, "Not even that one?"
Erika Stroop has reviewed The Hidden Sun on her blog Moonlight Book Reviews.
Without futher ado. . .
"Let me start off by stating that the cover fits in perfectly to the setting of the novel and what I imagine places in it to look like. I bet all of you are thinking, "Whats the twist in the story Erika? Are they vampires, werewolves, witches"? The quick answer is no and I know you guys are all shocked. Morgan doesn't add that element to the novel and I am perfectly fine with that. The lush landscapes that were created held my attention fully.
Eliana was the perfect character in this tale. I would have thought and done many of the things she did in the situations she was placed. Rinian was amazing and I want him all for myself. I mean what is not to like about a hot guardian? Well nothing in Rinians case. The complex relationships and tangled web of politics was incredible. I fully understood their situation, but yet wanted to find some sort of loophole for them.
The Hidden Sun is a gem of a novel that will captivate readers from any age. Morgan adds incredible detail that will transport you to a time long and far from the computer screen you are staring at right now. I can not wait for the next novel which is due out in 2012."
Thank you Erika for the review!
This review is a bit different from the other ones I've posted. The reviewers are some wonderful folks who run a "guild" on an online game called Everquest 2. Since the setting for The Hidden Sun is similar to elements found in the game, I thought they would be able to have a unique insight on the book.
And did they ever!
Here is their review:
"We’ve had the wonderful opportunity of sharing J. Lloyd Morgan’s first novel The Hidden Sun. If we were asked to describe this book in one word we would have to say a breathless “Wow”. His eloquent writing method using multiple character relationships interwoven with riveting action scenes give this novel a unique “one of a kind“ style compared with some of the books being released today. It’s an invigorating change to the “one hero, one villain, one story approach and one we thoroughly enjoyed.
The Hidden Sun subtly grabbed us in what could only be accurately described as a “great big warm bear hug” and enveloped us into a vast array of twists and turns always leaving us suspecting but not quite sure, only to be pleasantly surprised as each relationship unfolded.
And what relationships they are! Portrayed in the “Middle Ages”, we find ourselves taken back to our youth when imaginations ran vivid and wild with visions of “Robin Hood and Maid Marian”. We find ourselves rooting for almost all the characters. Almost you might ask? Well there’s no shortage of “lower morality” incorrigible types who brought out the “revenge is sweet” emotion in us. In the end we found ourselves smiling and crying, laughing and shouting, demanding justice, and dreading the moment when the pages would end as we knew the story would unfortunately come to a close.
We made a pleasant discovery however, by being curious enough to read the prologue to The Waxing Moon. We found that the story from The Hidden Sun seems to continue, to our immense satisfaction, but now we find ourselves in a greater quandary being hopelessly hooked and impatiently awaiting what we are confident will be Mr. Morgan’s next great novel.
Thank you, J. Lloyd Morgan for allowing us to share such a wonderful story. We strongly recommend that everyone add this book to their “must read” list and rush out to get this book. It’s one fantastic read."
Their review can be found here.
The website for their guild can be found here.
I'd like to thank them again for their thoughtful review!
I'm pleased to have Aislynn Thompson post a review for The Hidden Sun on her blog "Stitch - Read - Cook".
Here is what she had to say:
"Have you ever had one of those books that you picked up and couldn't put down? Where you were so engrossed in the book that you stayed up all night to read the book in just one sitting? For me, this was that book. It was such an incredible story, that I stayed up until 3am so I could find out what happened!
Eliana, the daughter of the current leader of Bariwon is coming of age where she must marry and must produce and heir. Unfortunately for Eliana, she's fallen in love with her royal guardian Rinan. Breaking every law, these two try and find a way to be together. Sadly, nothing ever goes the way they planned.
J. Lloyd Morgan has written such amazing characters!! They draw you into the story and keep you wanting more. This story has so many ups, and downs, and twists, and turns that it keeps you on your toes right up until the very last page. I don't want to give away any details on the story, there are so many small events that are tied that could spoil the whole story for someone.
I can't wait for the next book by this author: The Waxing Moon. This author has definitely been added to my auto buy list and will have a permanent home on my book shelf! I highly recommend this book, and think that almost anyone who enjoys romance, fantasy and a bit of mystery will love this book."
I dare say that's one of the best reviews of The Hidden Sun. Thank you again to Aislynn Thompson!
