The Green Jell-O Book Club: A Goodreads Group about Fiction Written by LDS Authors discussion

Welcome to the group! We're so glad to have you here and hope that this club will be a good source of information, whatever your reading preferences.

Please say hello and tell us something about yourself!

I'll start.

I'm A.L. Sowards. When I read fiction, my favorite genre is mystery/suspense or historical. But I'm willing to try out novels from other genres, as long as they're well-written and thoroughly edited.

I'm Charissa Stastny. I absolutely LOVE reading great books and writing them too. Clean romance is my favorite (it's like a non-calorie dessert), but I don't mind reading other genres occasionally too.

Welcome, Charissa!

Hello! I'm Stephanie Black. I enjoy reading Mystery/Suspense and a variety of other genres--I love a good story with characters I can root for!

Welcome, Stephanie! So happy to have you here!

This is a wonderful idea! I'm so happy to be here. I am Braden Bell, and I'm basically omnivorous in my reading habits. I really love good historical fiction and middle grade fantasy--but I read just about anything. Courtesy of my critique partners, I have even read beta read a few romances.

Welcome, Braden! Glad to have you here!

Authors, please introduce yourselves on the author thread too. And feel free to post information about your books in the appropriate genre topics and add them to the group bookshelf.

Love this idea. I'm Rebecca Belliston. I'll read just about anything in any genre as long as there is some kind of romance in it (clean romance). My to-read list is long enough to last me a lifetime, but I somehow keep adding to it.

I'm Kelly Nelson. I love clean romance, historical fiction, Christian fiction, and YA. Basically I like a riveting story and characters I can believe in. I write in the above genres as well.

Welcome Rebecca Belliston and Kelly Nelson! Glad you joined us!

Hi! I'm Sara and I love all kinds of books. I've been reading LDS fiction since my pre-teen years. My favorites include anything by Chris Heimerdinger, Gerald Lund, and Dean Hughes.
Recently, I finished reading The Spider and the Sparrow by A.L. Sowards and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have become a fan of the Proper Romance books also.
I enjoy LDS authors because I know that the book will be clean and adhere to good standards.

Welcome, Sara! I'm so glad you joined us! (And I'm so glad you enjoyed my new book. Yay!)

Hi! I'm Kim and I love reading any book that inspires me to be a better person or encourages me to see the world differently. Until recently I actually avoided books written by LDS church members and I'm really grateful for friends who have introduced me to some great books of late! There's always room on my to-read list....

I love the wide variety of books by LDS authors!

Hi! I'm C. David Belt. I write LDS Horror (and LDS SF). In my mind, LDS Horror is the equivalent of an LDS war novel (which I'm not qualified to write, never having served in active combat): placing a good member of the Church in a terrible situation and seeing how they deal with keeping their covenants in the face of great evil.

Yea! We're glad you're here, Kim.

Kim wrote: "Hi! I'm Kim and I love reading any book that inspires me to be a better person or encourages me to see the world differently. Until recently I actually avoided books written by LDS church members a..."

Hi! I'm Sheila Holman and I love to read books from many genres. My mantra is "So many books....so little time!" I am looking forward to being introduced to some good reads in The Green Jell-o Book Club.

Hi, I'm Julie Bellon! I love to read and my favorite genre is clean historical romance. I also like to read contemporary romance, women's fiction, mystery, and romantic suspense. I have a lot of sagging bookshelves in my house and a completely loaded Kindle to prove my book addict status, but I can't seem to help myself! LOL

I'm excited to get to know you all better!

I'm Paul Gephart, and I was invited by my friend and superlative author, A. L. Sowards. I am the moderator of a group called "The LDS Reader" (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...), but it is rare than I can get a conversation going on that site because the original moderator and successor got too busy and left it to me.

That being said, I'm interested in LDS Fiction because it seems to be the only genre of books that doesn't have offensive language and sensuality, and I'm trying to follow the counsel of Moroni to "let virtue garnish [my] thoughts unceasingly."

Hi! I'm Kristen. Thanks to Charissa for inviting me. I love reading too many genres to list, so instead I 'll mention that my favorite books cause me to think and consider the world in a new way.

Kim wrote: "Hi! I'm Kim and I love reading any book that inspires me to be a better person or encourages me to see the world differently. Until recently I actually avoided books written by LDS church members a..."

Welcome, Kim! I went through a phase where I avoided books by LDS authors too. Then a few experiences and a few books changed my mind. Now I write for Covenant.

C. wrote: "Hi! I'm C. David Belt. I write LDS Horror (and LDS SF). In my mind, LDS Horror is the equivalent of an LDS war novel (which I'm not qualified to write, never having served in active combat): placin..."

Welcome, C. David! Were you singing with the choir this last weekend? They sounded beautiful! (C. David is talented--he not only writes books, but also sings with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and I'm guessing he has a day job too.)

We have threads for horror and sci-fi, but those are genres I'm not up-to-date on, so I'd love your help adding some suggested reads (including your books).

Here are links:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Sheila wrote: "Hi! I'm Sheila Holman and I love to read books from many genres. My mantra is "So many books....so little time!" I am looking forward to being introduced to some good reads in The Green Jell-o Book..."

Welcome, Sheila! So glad you joined us! I feel the same way about books . . . every time I download one to my kindle, I wish there was somewhere I could go to download a few hours of reading time to go along with it!

Julie wrote: "Hi, I'm Julie Bellon! I love to read and my favorite genre is clean historical romance. I also like to read contemporary romance, women's fiction, mystery, and romantic suspense. I have a lot of sa..."

Welcome, Julie! Thank you for joining us! (Something about LDS Bookaholics was on the list of name ideas for this group--so an addiction to reading means you'll fit right it.)

Paul wrote: "I'm Paul Gephart, and I was invited by my friend and superlative author, A. L. Sowards. I am the moderator of a group called "The LDS Reader" (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...), but it is ..."

Welcome, Paul, thank you for joining us! The LDS Reader does a lot of nonfiction, too, right?

I think you nailed on the head why so many of us are here--we want to read novels that are wholesome, ones we don't have to hide from our kids!

Kristen wrote: "Hi! I'm Kristen. Thanks to Charissa for inviting me. I love reading too many genres to list, so instead I 'll mention that my favorite books cause me to think and consider the world in a new way."

Welcome, Kristen! We're glad to have you!

Kristen wrote: "Hi! I'm Kristen. Thanks to Charissa for inviting me. I love reading too many genres to list, so instead I 'll mention that my favorite books cause me to think and consider the world in a new way."

Hi Kristen, I'm glad you're here. This group sounded fun and you are one of the biggest readers I know, so I thought you might get good ideas here...or can share a bunch of yours with us.

Hi. I'm Karlene. I tend to gravitate toward Speculative, YA, and Mystery/Suspense, but love a well-written story with strong characters in any genre. I usually only read Romance or Historical if they're written by friends or Whitney Finalists. I read about 100 novels a year, sometimes more depending on my schedule. This group is a great idea!

Welcome, Karlene! Glad to have you here!

Hello, I read just about anything. :) I just like it to be clean.

Lisa wrote: "Hello, I read just about anything. :) I just like it to be clean."

Amen! Glad to have you join us, Lisa.

Hi, I'm Katie! I taught myself to read when I was about four years old and I haven't stopped reading since. I love anything clean, but especially romance!! I love to escape into the lives of others and watch their journeys unfold.

Hi, I'm Melanie! I love to read lots of different genres, but gravitate towards romantic suspense and dystopia the most. I love to read clean books and am glad that there are so many quality books to choose from that fit this category. I'm a true book addict: I currently possess more books than I can possibly ever read and I'm always searching for more!

Welcome Lisa, Katie, and Melanie! Thank you for joining us!

Hello, I'm Robyn Echols also writing historical romance, mostly novellas, as Zina Abbott. I have a few books under Robyn Echols--two in a NA time travel series and one contemporary women's fiction--and plan to write some WWII fiction. My goal is to write a full suspense novel including some history from my father's WWII history, but first I am writing a short piece for a box set that will be set in December 1941 with a group of international authors . I live in California with my husband.

Welcome Robyn! It's great to see you here!

Hi everyone! I love reading clean romance with a strong plot, contemporary and historical mainly. I enjoy some fantasy occasionally as well. I got hooked on reviewing books to help offset the cost of my ever-growing to-read list. I blog at Heidi Reads... and love to share giveaways and book sales on my facebook page. I'd love to learn about more LDS authors and help support their writing!

Welcome, Heidi! Thank you for joining us!

Hi my name is Nari. I was hooked on reading as a young child. I love all different genres but my favorite is probably regency. I love a well written book with characters that become friends.

Welcome to the group, Nari! We're glad you're here!

Hi! I am a reviewer (mainly for myself!), but hoping to share my love of clean reads for others too! I read a wide variety of things, but mainly clean romance as my favorite genre! I am planning on starting a book blog in June after my last daughter is married in April! Thank you to all the authors who have let me review for them! I so enjoy the creativity of all the LDS Authors I have read!
To all of them! YOU AMAZE me! Thank you for sharing your talents! I love reading a very safe read for me! Genuine, honest, characters that fall in love for real! Not just lust! I am a HEA kind of reader, but love to read anything that has tension, drama, mystery, humor, but mainly characters that are genuine and real!
Blessings to you all!! Thanks for letting me join!!

Welcome, SL! Glad to have you in the group! I look forward to hearing about the clean books you find!

Hi! My name is Alisa Hancock; I'm from Dallas, Texas and I read a little of everything, but I especially love clean contemporary romances (thanks to all you LDS writers who write these types of books for me to read)! I also like Fantasy and Regency.

Welcome, Alisa! Thank you for joining us!

My name is Jennie Hansen. I read mostly adult interest LDS novels since that is what I review for Meridian Magazine, but I read an occasional YA. I also read quite a few children's books to my granddaughters. Face it; I just plain read a lot. I read all genres, but prefer action oriented works to psychological drama. As long as a book is well-researched, written and edited well, uses clean language, and has a compelling plot I'm in.

Welcome, Jennie! I'm thrilled that you've joined us!

Hello, Everyone! I am David Armstrong. I am a reader and a writer. I was a voracious reader of SF when I was in high school and college. Over the years my tastes have changed, and I now prefer historical fiction and biographies. The lives of real people inspire me. When it comes to writing, however, I enjoy fiction. I love the creativity of seeing a story and characters evolve before my eyes. I also read plenty of LDS non-fiction by both General Authorities and others who have a message to share. I write non-fiction as well, mostly faith-based essays, which I post on my blog. I'm happy to join a group of enthusiastic LDS readers. Like one of the earlier introductions said, "So many books, so little time!"

Welcome, David! Glad to have you here!