Angel Falling Softly contains extraordinary writing and fine storytelling. Eugene Woodbury's brilliance and depth of knowledge is clearly evident. However, mixing LDS fiction with vampire fiction limits its appeal to a narrow audience. Congratulations to Woodbury for pulling off this bizarre combination of genres with flair and fangs. (Brett Wilcox)

A little less recently:

I was dubious at first - I've read a lot of rather bad vampire fiction. But Angel Falling Softly was extremely good. The characters were so real and believable, and the backdrop of the life of an LDS family was so unusual, I found myself riveted.

There was an undercurrent of how some people use faith in their lives, but not in a preachy manner--more that there was an honest insight into how some of the characters--like some real people--use faith not as a tool of blind belief, but as an inner compass to allow them to face practical worldly problems. (Coyote Osborne)

Labels: angel falling softly, angel reviews

Justine at the Segullah blog recalls an encounter with an enthusiastic Twilight fan and wonders which real-life book settings are actually worth visiting. Conclusion: Stratford-on-Avon: yes. Forks, Washington: no. And for that matter, Sandy, Utah: also a no.

Prince Edward Island is a major holiday destination for Japanese fans of Anne of Green Gables. As a general rule, I would say that there must be some historic--other than pop literary--or aesthetic value to the place. So, while Sandy doesn't qualify, plenty of other tourist traps in Utah do.

But if you want to test the waters first without going there, try Google Maps. Type in the address or the general location. The satellite resolution available for places like Stratford-Upon-Avon is amazing. And you can even walk around Temple Square using Street View.

I'm writing a sequel of sorts to Path of Dreams. Part of it takes place at Mt. Koya. Although I spent a touristy day there when I was living in Osaka, Google Maps is an extremely useful tool for reminding myself where everything is. The bird's eye view alone kindles surprising feelings of nostalgia.

Being on the subject of (Mormon) vampires, Justine also links to her (favorable) review of Angel Falling Softly.

Labels: angel falling softly, anne, books, google maps, japan, lds, path of dreams, photo tour, twilight

In chapter 17 of Angel Falling Softly, Milada and Kamilla walk into a bar. It is kind of a joke.

They had to buy a four-dollar membership to get in the door--the product of some strange nexus between state liquor laws and the teetotaling Mormon population.

This remnant of 19th century "blue laws" has long irked the tourism industry here in Utah, so much so that the Mormon governor (Huntsman, who recently resigned to become ambassador to China) pushed hard for repeal. On 1 July 2009, it was finally put out of its misery.

Also gone is an actual physical barrier. A provision in the old law forbade bartenders from directly serving customers, and running down the middle of the bar in every bar was a partition fondly known as the "Zion Curtain." In the novel I pretended it wasn't there because even in a story about vampires, reality can be stranger than fiction.

The distinctions between a "social club" (a bar), a "dining club" (50 percent of receipts from food) and a restaurant (70 percent of receipts from food) remain, along with restrictions on when alcohol can be served, (10:00 AM or noon to midnight or 1:00 AM) and whether minors can be admitted unaccompanied by an adult.

But the more things change, the more other things remain the same. In chapter 22 of Angel Falling Softly, Milada "savored a respectable 1993 Merlot and watched the quiet neighborhood dramas play out in the driveways and front lawns," and muses to herself that "obtaining the Merlot had approximated a visit to a twenties-era speakeasy."

In fact, "packaged liquor, wine, and heavy beer [over 3.2 percent]" will continue to be sold only in duly licensed state liquor stores. Utah's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control boasts that Salt Lake City "offers a world class wine selection at four specialty wine stores."

Count 'em, four! (There are 37 "full service" liquor stores state-wide.) But the legislature did agree that wine bottles no longer needed to carry the official Utah tax stamp (which had to be tediously pasted on every single bottle sold), as the smuggling of bottled wine into Utah was pretty much determined to be a nonexistent crime.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes, lds, politics, utah

Newgate Prison in London remained in operation from the late 12th century to the early 20th century. It was located at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey (the central criminal court).

Newgate was originally intended to be a "new" gate into London City (in addition to the existing four), hence the name.

In contrast to Newgate's corrupt reputation--at many times during its history being run as a for-profit penal institution--high status criminals and royalty were usually housed at the Tower of London (which enjoys its own spooky reputation).

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

RNA interference controls the behavior of a cell by "silencing" or turning off specific genes. When treating cancer with gene therapy, the challenge is to develop a delivery system (a "vector") for injecting the RNA silencing instruction (RNAi) into the tumor cell. One method for doing this is by infecting the patient with a virus that contains RNA (a "retrovirus") instead of DNA. This method remains experimental.

In this case, though, Kamilla is describing how the homo lamia virus actually works.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

A fascinating news story from Germany about a leukemia patient with AIDS (unrelated to the leukemia) who was given a bone marrow transplant from a donor who had the Delta 32 mutation. When the patient recovered, the AIDS had disappeared as well. Commented Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases in the U.S.:

It helps prove the concept that if somehow you can block the expression of CCR5, maybe by gene therapy, you might be able to inhibit the ability of the virus to replicate.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

Portland Head Light is the historical lighthouse located at Cape Elizabeth, Maine.


The Valkyrie are female deities in Viking mythology who escort valiant warriors killed on the field of battle to Valhalla. The word means "chooser of the slain."

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

Mathew [sic] Hopkins (1620-1647) was the most famous witchhunter during the English Civil War between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists. Puritan supporters of the Parliamentarians, led by Oliver Cromwell, were known as "Roundheads." The term "witch pricker" refers to literally poking suspected witches with needles to see if they bled or not. Hopkins also employed the "floating witch" test popularly derided in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

"And so you have done what is good in your eyes."

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover."

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, "Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. (2 Kings 20:1-3 NIV)

By the end of the chapter, consider what King Hezekiah has bargained for and what he ultimately trades away.

"Is that what troubles you? Why life is given to the bitter of soul?"

Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? (Job 3:20-22 NIV)

" . . . whose way is hidden and whom God has hedged in?"

Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? (Job 3:23 NIV)

"If he wills that you tarry till he comes, what is that to thee?"

Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. (John 21:22 KJV)

"Perhaps a time to prepare to meet God"

[T]herefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead. (Alma 12:24)

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

The story of Hannah, Samuel, and Eli is told in the Old Testament, comprising 1 Samuel, chapters 1-2.

"That man came from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."

And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. (Job 1:7 KJV)

"Tell me, where are my fourteen-thousand sheep and my six-thousand camels and my seven sons and three daughters?"

The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. (Job 42:12-13 NIV)

1 Samuel 3:14 (KJV):

And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV):

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

"Pascal's wager" refers to the syllogism put forward by the 17th century French philosopher Blaise Pascal. He argued that in terms of eternal salvation, it is better to bet that God does exist. If God does not, then the gambler loses nothing. If God does, then everything is gained.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

The fabulous Anastasia and Sam series by Louis Lowry.

Anastasia Krupnik
Anastasia Again!
Anastasia At Your Service
Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst
Anastasia On Her Own
Anastasia Has The Answers
Anastasia's Chosen Career
Anastasia At This Address
Anastasia Absolutely

All About Sam
Attaboy, Sam!
See You Around, Sam!
Zooman Sam

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

Chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 5 (CCR5) is a gene on human chromosome three. Because of its effect on T cell function, a mutation on this gene known as Delta 32 (CCR5-D32) imparts full or partial immunity to a surprising number of diseases, such as smallpox, Black Death and HIV.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

A Hungarian reader provided the following historical clarification:

[The novel] describes the three sisters' travels in "Budapest, London and Paris," apparently around 1600. Budapest originally consisted of three independent cities: the old Obuda, Buda, the seat of kings, and the more "bourgeois" Pest, and did not become Budapest until 1873. So in the 1600s they would have been in Buda.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

The eyes of many predatory animals—and the animals they prey upon—glow in the dark because of the tapetum lucidum, "a special, reflective surface right behind their retinas." NPR's "Science Out Of The Box" explains it here.

At the end of the chapter, Milada quotes from Paradise Lost, Book I:

In ancient Greece; and in Ausonian land
Men call'd him Mulciber; and how he fell
From Heav'n, they fabl'd, thrown by angry Jove
Sheer o're the Chrystal Battlements: from Morn
To Noon he fell, from Noon to dewy Eve,
A Summers day; and with the setting Sun
Dropt from the Zenith like a falling Star[.]

The verse Rachel remembers is from the Book of Revelation, chapter 12 (KJV):

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

From Luke 18:2-5 (KJV):

There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto [the judge], saying, "Avenge me of mine adversary."

And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, "Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me."

And the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge saith."

Be you a believer or not, the story of Saul and the Witch of Endor in the Old Testament is one of the great all-time Bible stories. Starting with 1 Samuel 28:3 (NIV):

Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.

The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all the Israelites and set up camp at Gilboa. When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. Saul then said to his attendants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her."

"There is one in Endor," they said.

So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. "Consult a spirit for me," he said, "and bring up for me the one I name."

But the woman said to him, "Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?"

Saul swore to her by the Lord, "As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this."

Then the woman asked, "Whom shall I bring up for you?"

"Bring up Samuel," he said.

When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"

The king said to her, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?"

The woman said, "I see a spirit a coming up out of the ground."

"What does he look like?" he asked.

"An old man wearing a robe is coming up," she said.

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?"

"I am in great distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."

Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. The Lord will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines."

Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel's words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and night.

When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, "Look, your maidservant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do. Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way."

I will allude to these final verses again in chapter 36.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

"Blue laws" originated during the Colonial period of American history, referring to laws intended to enforce the Fourth Commandment. I'm old enough to remember blue laws still being occasionally enforced in upstate New York, even in the wake of the 1962 Engel v. Vitale decision.

In Utah, state liquor stores are closed on Sundays. Aside from those governing alcohol, there are few explicitly religious regulations. However, some local Utah governments have skirted with the appearance if not the fact by closing municipal swimming pools on Sunday.

In the case of Provo, it was argued that they were closed for lack of use, an argument that paradoxically makes sense considering that the city closed the municipal swimming pool but not the golf course, a clear indication of the priorities of Sabbath-breaking Mormons.

In any case, it must be said that laws governing the consumption of tobacco and trans-fats and the like are proving just as puritanical as the blue laws originally enacted by the real Puritans.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes, lds

A mixed but mostly positive review of Angel Falling Softly in the most recent Salt Lake Tribune entertainment supplement, In Utah This Week.

What is surprising is that Woodbury is also able to write convincingly from the point of view of a worldly vampire whose experiences are decidedly more carnal than that of any Latter-day Saint . . . . Woodbury did well to make [bishop's wife, Rachel] not too much of a stereotype . . . [and he] does a good job of letting us inside the minds of these two women.

The reviewer's main criticism is that the "novel comes off feeling more like a novella" that left her "longing for more complexity, more depth, and a fuller picture of the characters' lives."

Point taken, though I'm reminded of Michael Blowhard's arguments here and here that perhaps the novella format is what fiction needs to stay alive. "What an odd taste [novel reading] is," he observes, "staring at oceans of text, dutifully trudging from one page to the next."

He's describing what in Japan is called the "light novel," basically an illustrated novella. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books are being subdivided and published in Japan as light novels. (And for the record, I finished the first draft of Angel Falling Softly back in 2001.)

Labels: angel falling softly, angel reviews, light novel, publishing

The "swamp cooler" is more technically defined as an "evaporative cooler." It cools the air by forcing air through a water-soaked filter, producing cool, humid air (hence the term "swamp"). Swamp coolers only work well if the summer dew point is consistently below 60. They're inexpensive, low-tech, much lower-power than conventional air conditioners. But they use water in an arid climate (not a lot, but constantly), and being exposed year-round to the elements, tend to spring leaks.


Because the Great Basin is predominantly high-altitude desert (Sandy has an elevation of 4,450 feet), even during the summer the temperature can fall from over 90 degree during the day to below 70 degrees at night, so any kind of whole-house ventilation can quickly cool things down.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

Milada's quip that "Rome never fell" originated with this review of Fitzgerald's translation of The Aeneid (which I wrote several years ago and recently posted).

2008-2009 will be Keith Lockhart's final season with the Utah Symphony. He was appointed its music director in 1998. He will continue conducting the Boston Pops, which he has led since 1995.

Nobu Matsuhisa is co-owner (along with Robert De Niro) and executive chef of Nobu New York in TriBeCa, New York City.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes

James Christensen's Voyage of the Basset (text by Alan Dean Foster and Renwick St. James) is the illustrated story of one Professor Algernon Aisling's journey in search of the ancient evidence of modern myths and legends. The title was inspired by Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle.

Labels: angel falling softly, angel notes