job perks

Today I met a Broadway star, and a television star.

Pretty good day, I must say.


And not only that, we all had a full on conversation. Grandpa Gilmore (Edward Herrmann) chatted about the fact that his on-air daughter would soon be starring on Broadway as Adelaid in the new revival of Guys and Dolls. And the amazingly talented Brian Stokes Mitchell joked that Deseret Book should distribute the DVD of Ragtime (I complained that I never got to see him on stage in that show).

Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell is in town as the featured artist in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert. Ed Herrmann is the narrator. I was lucky enough to go to a VIP reception this afternoon with my colleagues, and had the chance to meet these fine fellows. We chatted, snapped a few photos, and Stokes (as the choir guys tell me he likes to be called) even signed a few things my friend Arron sent along to have autographed (he was flattered I had a Playbill from his concert at Carnegie Hall).

Tomorrow night (Friday) I'm going to the concert with a few friends, and then working the CD signing in our store after. Then on Saturday, Arron is flying all the way from Washington, D.C. to go to the concert with me. A few friends went and saw it tonight and said it was amazing. I'm looking forward to it.

Here's a clip of Brian Stokes Mitchell's concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir back in September:

that's ... different

So my name is in the Deseret News today. No, not as a reporter, but as a "spokeswoman for Deseret Book." Yeah, that feels weird.

Update on the job: I love it. It's a total change of pace. It's amazing to see how stressed I was in the newspaper world. Now, not so much. I'm lucky enough to have some amazing people at work mentoring me and teaching me the ropes of the PR world. I've already made what I believe will be lifelong friends in just a few short weeks.

The Joseph Smith Papers (and the fact they are flying off the shelves) kept me busy all day today. A lot of my time lately is spent working on getting publicity for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They are such a great group to work with. I was fortunate enough to finally meet the director, Mack Wilberg, the other day and he was such a kind man. I'm so excited for the big concert this weekend with one of my favorite Broadway stars, Brian Stokes Mitchell.

Other than that, I'm just busy planning things for our spring books. Its sure nice not to have to worry about daily deadlines and instead focus on the big picture. Looking back, after more than two months on the new job, I definitely feel like I made the right decision.