A Sun Mountain Award for Chanson over at Letters From A Broad…

In my mind’s eye, Chanson’s blog, Letters From A Broad, is like a ring that mounts a precious jewel — the jewel being Chanson herself, of course. She appears to have everything in the way of class, intelligence, and decency, and she seems to have created in her blog the perfect platform for showing those traits to their best advantage.

Chanson is an ex-Mormon and atheist who managed to gracefully exit religion without incurring bitterness or cynicism, and without forming a disrespect for people of faith. That’s class. She also has a commanding intellect — her insights into Mormonism, for instance, often strike me as approaching the veracity of science. And she habitually treats visitors to her blog with respect and decency. Indeed, it’s hard not to like the broad.

Besides being a blogger, Chanson is a novelist who serializes her work on her blog. Her prose is simple and straightforward, yet rich enough to express subtle nuances of character and emotion. In Saturday’s Warrior, which is part three of her novel, Exmormon, Chanson writes about a 15 year old girl’s coming of age through the trials of love, lust, and religion. The work seems to me at once accessible to teens and very likely fascinating for adults.

Perhaps because she is such a talented and skilled writer, her personality seems to come through her blog more so than it does for most of us bloggers. At times while reading her, you feel as if she’s in the next room to you, rather than half a world away. For that and all the various reasons I’ve mentioned, I am insufferably happy to shamelessly inflict upon her the Sun Mountain Award.

Thank you for your outstanding blog, Chanson!