Tristi's Take - Continued

The salad, as Jaime has hinted, was delicious. I, however, have not yet caught sight of James Dashner in a suit. I've seen Rob Wells in a tux -- very snarky. From where I'm seated, I can see Gale Sears, nominee, as well as Dean Hughes -- I'd better be careful -- poor man already thinks I'm stalking him. I'm a Dean Hughes wannabe. I also see Rachel Nunes, Gary Hansen, Kirk Shaw (editor from Covenant.) This place is simply buzzing.

Back to the atmosphere, because I'm so visual -- everything has been organized to the slightest detail. The red in the carnations is picked up in the red of the linen napkins, which echoes the red on the program. The berry salad dressing is mimicked with the berries on the cheesecake. I can see that nothing was left to chance with this ceremony. Tremendous care and planning went into each aspect.

I've also caught sight of Nancy Campbell Allan, Kathy Jenkins (managing editor at Covenant) Kerry Lynn Blair, and I just saw Anita Stansfield, looking lovely in a country blue suit. (Well, Rob said we could blog about clothes -- I wasn't going to do it until he said I could.)

Nichole Giles, seated to my left, says that coming to the awards dinner gives her a feeling of validation for the craft. There's a sense of excitement for what our future as writers could hold. There's support from people who are like us and who love to write. She says she would love to win a Whitney someday, and in fact, it's not a dream -- it's a goal. Of course she's going to win a Whitney someday.

This, I think, is one of the best things about the Whitneys. We are brought together with a common goal, that of wanting to succeed, and even though the nominees are coming up against each other and there can only be one winner, I'm sensing no attitude of competition. I think those nominated will be able to feel geniunely pleased for those who win, and not resent the loss to themselves.

Tristi's Take - the First

What an amazing night for the Whitney Award ceremony. After the successful conclusion of the LDStorymakers Writers Conference, we cleared the ballroom and came back to find it transformed into an elegant dinner setting. Centerpieces, linen, atmosphere -- it's all beautiful. From where I'm sitting, I can smell the flowers in the center of the table. The florist in me is begging a description -- spider mums, waxflower, and red carnations -- just one of the many touches.

The atmosphere is electric. We've never had anything like this in the LDS market before, and everyone is curious -- what will happen? Who will win? What surprises are in store from our Master of Ceremonies, Robison Wells, and our presenters?

All the chatter has been positive. Everyone is thrilled with the idea, with the possibility that they might win one of these beautiful awards.

We began with an introduction by Robison Wells, who explained to us how the voting took place. He took a moment to introduce the live bloggers -- that was so nice -- and gave us carte blanche to comment on everyone's clothing. I must say, we're all looking lovely. Or handsome, depending on gender.

We're starting dinner now, with a lovely salad (not your ordinary iceberg -- we're talking, actual rabbit-approved salad with dark lettuce and raspberry viniagrette. If you'll excuse me, just for a moment . . .