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Show Utah Press Association 1521 E3900SSte 100 Salt Lake City UT 84124-1550 A N F D I T I O N O F P R I D E & lliiliiliil The Spanish Fork News p M I O C A L L Y A N D O W N E D O P E R A T E D WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3 1 , 2008 50^ VOL. 3 / NO. 53 SPANISH FORK, UTAH '-' • ^ AY W £ff Jffi * r. I" V J t. :••' Aspiring author seeks to get published in spite of cancer Marilyn Nielson STAFF WRITER Salem author Donna Clark has teamed up with illustrator Josephine Elkins, also from Salem, to create a series of books entitled ."Heavenly Story Books." The books, written on a child's level, are an explanation of Latter-day Saint doctrines in clear and simple terms. - Clark is the oldest of six children, and grew up all over the Western United ;States. She spend her high school years in Murray, ;Utah. Ever since she was a child, she has loved stories from the Bible. ;•• "My mother read every inight to my sister Ellen and ine from a book of Bible stories," Clark said. "Mom ijidn't just read the stories, She made them come alive." C In high school, Clark ijied her hand at writing stor e s of her own. She wrote bne story called "A Dress for Graduation" which several of her teachers liked, and from time to time she also kept a journal. Clark says her journals gave her. lots of practice in writing. And as she wrote, she improved. "I can hardly stand to read my first journals because they are so poorly written/' she said. "But the journals for the past 20 years are a pleasure to read." Another hobby Clark became interested in, even as a teenager, was genealogy research. "Once I sit down to do research, I am lost to the world and am unaware of the passing of time," says Clark. In 1976 she decided to write a how-to book for genealogy research. She selfpublished the book, and discovered that people really liked it and found it helpful. At that point, Clark said, "I figured there was hope for me as a writer after all even though I failed an English class at the LDS Business College." Clark's inspiration for be- ginning the series of Heavenly Story Books first came in the year 2000 through her own scripture study, when she was studying the story of Adam in the Bible. She said, "The stories fascinated me and many days I would study the scriptures all morning long. Some of the questions that came to my mind were things like, Did Adam write his Book of Remembrance on gold plates? How and what did he teach his children? Was Cain ever righteous? Was Cain the first born or did he have older brothers and sisters? Did Adam have tools? The questions seemed to go on and on." Determined to find out all she could, Clark began writing Adam's story as a sort of biography. As she wrote, she showed her work to others, and asked for input from church leaders to make sure she was getting fundamental doctrines correct. At one point, she received the suggestion that instead of chapters in a longer book, she make each chapter into a separate children's book. Clark liked the idea, and began to work towards that goal. As she wrote the books, Clark had three goals in mind. "First, clearly teach our children and grandchildren how God has a plan to allow them to reach their highest potential," Clark said. "Second, prepare individuals for the missionaries to teach, and third, to inspire others to search the scriptures." Like many prospective authors, Clark has faced the challenges of finding a publisher for her books. But instead of giving up once she realized the difficulties of getting published, Clark decided to try an unconventional method of marketing, she created a website (www. heavenlystorybooks.com) to inform others about her books before they are published. After people learn about Clark's series on the website, they can fill out a Courtesy photos OVERCOMING CHALLENGES: Pictured, above, is author Donna Clark before chemotherapy. Below are Donna and her husband on their 47th wedding anniversary. mmm form showing their interest in buying the books once they are available. The idea is that this will, in turn, give a publisher an indication Clothing drive a success that there is a market for the books. While continuing to work on her book project at the beginning of 2008, Clark became sick and was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. In spite of the challenges this has brought her, Clark sees her cancer as a part of a larger plan. She quotes Brigham Young, See CLARK • A12 DUP Pioneer Heritage Cemetery statue project moving forward Jen Allen STAFF WRITER Courtesy photo CLOTHING DRIVE: Glenn Gilliam, Resource Development Director of United Way of Utah County is pictured with Jon Christensen, left, of Security Home Mortgage and Dana Robipson, right, of the Spanish Fork News, who delivered the end results of their holiday clothing drive, a truck-load of winter clothes for distribution to deserving organizations throughout Utah County, including The Promise of Women and Family in Spanish Fork. I \ With the 2008 year coming to a close, the time to reflect on the past year seems appropriate. For the local chapter of the Daughter's of the Utah Pioneers, or DUP as it is called, it is equally fitting. In the past year the DUP has worked hard on several projects but most notably is the one down at the old Pioneer cemetery. For the past year Jen Allen / Spanish Fork News members of the DUP have worked tirelessly to collect DUP: Pictured is the Pioneer Heritage Cemetery where funds to complete their the DUP has worked hard to improve the area with projplans that include a beau- ects such as placing a bronze statue in the middle of the tiful bronze statue in the plaza — a current work in progress. middle of plaza surround- formation to the cemetery, depicts four of Spanish ed by indigenous plant life After contracting Alex and Fork's original citizens. g and sidewalks. Erasmo Fuentes for a beau- A mother, father, daughAlthough the project tiful, breathtaking statue, ter and small child stand has been in the pipeline the DUP moved forward for several years, this year with their fundraising efmarked the largest trans- forts. The hfe-size bronze S e e M 0 N U M E N T • A12 |