The front of the book quotes comments from some of my favorite posters. Sincere appreciation to MnRN, Nomonomo, Deja Vue, Ohdeargoodness Nli, gOrgone, also fellow author the wonderful and inspiring Donbagley, Soft Machine, Gemini, and another inspiration to me, blindguy. The publisher limited comments to one page but thanks to everyone who offered support.

Amazon is attracting very favorable reviews. The book offered there is $12.95 and Kindle is $2.99 or free here on RfM. Several posters wanted to be notified when it came out in hard copy. To be clear, it's a very high quality paper back book in a large format to make it sturdy and easy to read. Sorry if it sounded like a cloth bound library edition. https://www.amazon.com/Plural-Bride-Be-Cheryl-Vaught/dp/194171367X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1528477400&sr=1-1&keywords=plural+bride+to+be+cheryl+vaught

Eric agreed to let me post this message as my book will hopefully spread important information as it helps the recovery of many deserving exmos and those questioning the faith. The ugly underbelly of mormonism will never wane until it's fully exposed.

The novel follows the historic 1953 state-wide investigation of polygamy which involved my family when I was growing up in a polygamy cult. It shows the reality of polygamous groups and of the main stream mormon church cover up at that time.

Unfortunately, the dragnet only temporarily tamped back the practice. Today, it's as widespread as ever and still doing damage to its followers, particularly women and children.

Those who have read the book give it high marks for readability and insight. Several book clubs have expressed interest in featuring it. For those who are interested, I say enjoy.

Thank you, Eric and RfM.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/2018 05:49PM by Cheryl.

I’m pulling out my Kindle as I write this! Big hugs, Cheryl!

And I definitely will. Very anxious to read this, Cheryl, as I always enjoy the way you write. I'm sure I am going to enjoy it.

congratulations Cheryl.... how wonderful to have it published.

Wow, Cheryl! Congrats! I told my guy about the book you wrote and that I was going to download it to my kindle. He said, "that is a book you want to have in hard copy." He's right. I'm ordering it !

Just downloaded it into my Kindle library. I have to finish the current thriller "The President is Missing," co-authored by former Pres. Bill Clinton.

Looking forward to the read!! And congrats!!

I have read Cheryl's book - it is a page-turner!

My never-mo wife also read it. She is an avid reader (3 to 4 books a week!) and had high praises for it.

Any feelers about film rights, Cheryl? It would make a great movie!

I agree it would make a good movie.

This is exciting Cheryl. Thanks so much for being here for so many years.

Thank you, Cheryl!

You have always been a great asset to RfM and we love having you here.

CZ (admin)

Wow, Cheryl. What great news.

You are too good to us, offering it for free.

I'm going to go for the hardback as well. I have a favourite little bookshop where they order in a lot for me upon request. The staff says they love it as they learn of different books they wouldn't maybe notice otherwise. The last book I reserved (about a First Nations artist who had just passed away, featuring many of her wonderful works), was viewed by quite a few of their customers before I got there. I didn't mind, they didn't wreck it, and the staff said they all really enjoyed thumbing through it and some ended up ordering their own copy.

I hope that happens with your book when I ask them to order it in for me. Of course, I could order it online and get it delivered but I love going into my beloved local bookshop and supporting them and they are so good to me. I hope I can get your book into their consciousness and that they will sell a few more.

With everything you've gone through I am in awe that you could write a book too. I did see the notice before about your book but, due to the heavy demands of life, didn't get a chance to check it out. Now I look forward to it. I still recall our discussions about the children in the plyg towns and how upset I was at reading about the cry for help on a wall in a hidden room. Obviously I also remember Deb Palmer, a Canadian woman forced at the age of 15 to become the 5th "wife" of an over-50 plyg leader in the commune of Bountiful here in British Columbia. That man's son is in and out of court on charges of his own. Our justice system is beyond slow and his proceedings have been going on for years.

I don't have a lot of hope that outside society will clear the problem any time soon. But every bit of publicity for the plight of the helpless women and children helps. You've sure done your bit in that regard, Cheryl.

I wrote a fuller description about the format above. The book is larger and better quality than most paperbacks but it isn't a hardback library type cover. I wouldn't want anyone to be disappointed.

I was told the price had to be what it is or higher in case book stores started picking it up. To facilitate that possibility, we had to set a minimum $12.95 sales price.

That's OK, Cheryl. I will be happy just to have it, whichever way it comes.

I don't think it's a terrible price to ask at all. (Of course, I only have measly Cdn dollars. Sometimes it's a bit of a shock with exchange rate). Oh well, c'est la vie. I'll be happy to hold it in my hot little hands. I tried reading online one time but enjoy so much better the tactile experience of the book itself in the flesh, so to speak.

There are so many flashbacks to the 1950s - I made note of a few: S&H green stamps (I hated those things; my mother made me glue in all the stamps into those little books. For my efforts, I was allowed one book for every ten I pasted together. Of course, it always felt like a freebie, "something for nothing," and I think I squirreled away a couple of books and came away with a pair of rollerskates - the old fashioned that could be re-shaped to fit several different sizes of shoes. I loved them, until the key disappeared so the skates could no longer be used.

I suspect to this day that my mother got tired of bandaging skinned knees and hands (even though I usually turned to my grandmothers, who had raised 7 kids between the, and knew how to clean and bandage scrapes) and SHE stole the key.

Richard, about a movie, it would be a good one, but unfortunately I have no prospects at this time. LOL

I have it, and I've read it. It's a unique view of cult life. Thanks, Cheryl.

I read your book here on RFM and enjoyed it thoroughly. This brought tears to my eyes to see it is now out in print. I think this is wonderful news and I can not wait to get my copy.

just bought it off Amazon ~


thanks OPie ~

Just bought the Kindle version and I look forward to reading it!

Congratulations, Cheryl, on the publication of your book.

That's pretty awesome.

Impressive. I read here when it first became but will also buy the print version. Thank you Cheryl for taking the time and making the effort to put it down in print. Many will benefit from reading about your life events.

It's a very good (and exciting) book which I'd recommend to anyone.

Tom in Paris

Congratulations, Cheryl! I am looking forward to reading it when I have more free time over the summer. Polygamy is a very ugly, and continuing legacy of Joseph Smith.

I just bought it on Amazon. Congratulations Cheryl.

I've read Cheryl's book, and it's extremely engaging. I was very disappointed when I came to the last page and would very much like a sequel, the story that came after. I was not raised in polygamy, but my great grandfather had two wives and the detrimental effects of that lifestyle upon women's roles and their value in my family haunts me today. Residual damage. So, even though polygamy wasn't my personal experience...it kind of was. Reading about it gave me a sort of objectivity that enabled me to identify the horrors more keenly. I recommend it to every exmo.

I'm enjoying it very much.

WOW! Congratulations! HOW did you do it? Can you share your writing process with us? Did you imagine the whole story first, or did you expand from a small scene? Did you combine a series of short vignettes or was it like a long series of journals
From persons characters point of view ? Did childhood scenes draw into the narrative from your perspective?

And did you type it word process from the first or start hand writing on loose binder pages? Pencil and erasers editing or writing in pen? Handheld stylus writing on mac held screen tablet or across interactive whiteboard with memory? Did you write large on whiteboard broad markers organizing pr tiny iPad mini? Hand write or direct to type laptopbor desk top? Narrate it typed as you talked? Take as you walk or a years drives commutes across freeway traffic cars making a racket calmly passionately narrating speaking your story while an app was recording speech to text? What? How did this happen? How did you make this story etched into paper digitally / how'd your story flow? How did your story flower ?

The story started with a childhood memory of lounging in the old barn hayloft. I wrote a short story about it and the novel grew from that. I didn't plan the plot in advance but just plugged in scenes and chapters in a vine-like way until it was done.

The first chapter was chapter 15 in the finished draft and I decided to move it to the front and let the story unfold from there. My husband is also a writer and he read through it with me quite a few times. I also met with writing critique groups and took suggestions from friends. But it's my book which is an embellished version of my own story at about that time in my life. No one could have written my story except me.

I had to move the plot back one year which made me a year older than reality. I did this to incorporate the historic Short Creek police raid. Two different police officer friends helped me with police terminology and policies. I know next to nothing about firearms and they were a great help in that area.

To write the saloon scenes I had to do research by going to the actual bar many times while visiting my mother in Ogden. I made friends with the generous owner and his remarkable wife. The real life stories they told me about their experiences are incorporated into the plot like the part about a bishop drinking an orange soda there once a month before going to the house of ill repute across the street. As a mormon kid, I had only walked along that street and had no idea that many of the owners and customers were actually kinder and more honest than the staunch mormons I knew.

The setting, family members, friends and neighbors are overall true to life although some are a bit exaggerated for interest sake. My grandmother looked and talked exactly like the book character, but we were never actually close as she had too many grandchildren to take much notice of me although I do remember her fondly.

One thing that amazes me is that many readers disbelieve the real parts of the book and fully believe the parts that I simply pulled out of thin air. I always get a kick out of that.

Thank you for your questions.

Anything to get my mind off those MAGIC RAYS they will be shooting into my poor, already surgically-abused breast at 1:45 p.m. tomorrow, where the tumor was found. They got it, and the surgeon said she took "Nice, wide margins" around it, but she wants this follow up set of radiation treatments to make sure that the last of the cancer cooties have decamped. Not sure if radiation and Kindle are compatible, and I am fond of my Kindle device. It doubles as my phone. It doesn't sound like the sessions are long or boring.

I have already fortified myself with both Cetaphil lotion, recommended by the local cancer center, and "California Baby Cream with Calendula," recommended by an RfM poster. Since I spent my first quarter century in California, I am sentimentally attached to the latter potion.

I may take the fragrant little container with me just for something to hold, like a teddy bear, a magic object of extraordinary healing power. It IS imbued with the well-wishes of the whole RfM crew via long distance, isn't it??

We aren't big on "woo," but we care about each other.

It's so nice, to have you guys in my corner for this treatment, which is expected to FULLY take out any remaining cancer cooties.

Hijack over - BACK TO CHERYL'S BOOK as soon as I am home from radiation!!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2018 12:46PM by Cheryl.

I posted a review on Amazon, under the name of my first tortoise-shell cat! You'll probably figure out who wrote it - I sound just like me, no matter where I write!

Your story was gut-wrenching. It was hard enough to read about it. But you survived it. Five whiskers, from this old catnip!!

Thank you so much, Catnip! It's very kind of you especially since you are now dealing with such challenges.

I showed our daughter our copy of the book and asked if she wanted to read it. She said enthusiastically yes, but she is going to buy her own copy. :-) She wanted to support this.

Congratulations on the book publication!

I think it is so important for these stories to be told and for people to realize that this happens in places other than FLDS compounds.

Consent of the parties involved is so important to outsiders like me trying to grapple with polygamy. But when a child is raised and groomed to become a plural bride in an abusive cult, where is the consent? When women are trapped in abusive, exploitative polygamous relationships, where is the consent?

Your posts and your story has given me an insight into this world and its effects on women and children that is invaluable to me. Thanks for your work.

I’m very excited to read this.
And so fun to see your pic on the back. What a beautiful lady you are!

Congratulations on the publication of your book on Amazon and Kindle. I hope you earn a lot of money out of it.

As for being an inspiration (sic), thank you for the kind words. When I was younger, I used to not take very kindly to those who told me I was an inspiration to them, believing that being inspired by others meant that one overlooked the fact that we all have feet of clay. However, the passage of time and experience have convinced me that many of us do want somebody to look up to, if only to give us the sense of strength we need to do what we have to do.

My days on this board go back years--when I first joined, Cheryl, SLCabbie and Deanie the Dreaded Single Adult were regulars and some of my favorite posters.

I don't visit much anymore, but yesterday I did, and seeing that Hit 'em with the Garden Hose Cheryl has published a book made my day!!!!

I'm headed to Amazon now . . .

I am about 1/2 way through the book. Great read!!!

Excellent way of using Mormon customs and belief in the stories.

Getting rich isn't my goal. Perhaps spreading a bit of wisdom? That's what I hope to do.

Thanks so much for publishing your book. Thanks to you I have a copy and will be reading it this fall/winter when the summer craziness slows down.

Your contributions here at RfM Mormonism over the years are not only impressive but meaningful to many on a personal basis.

You have done quite well for yourself escaping Mormonism and marrying that "aspousestate" husband of yours was a smart move too! LOL

It actually is quite a good little novel. And it's free on RfM for those who like to read such things on their monitors.

Cheryl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sincere appreciation to MnRN,
> Nomonomo, Deja Vue, Ohdeargoodness Nli, gOrgone,
> also fellow author the wonderful and inspiring
> Donbagley, Soft Machine, Gemini, and another
> inspiration to me, blindguy.


I'm honored to be in such good company! :)