This past weekend, I took my daughter to see “It’s a Wonderful Life” for the first time, but not in a movie theater. Instead, I took her to see a radio play version of the story performed by our local theater group.

Now, I tend to avoid local theater for the most part. I was spoiled growing up in such close proximity to Broadway. I’ve seen more than a dozen Broadway shows on Broadway and even the smaller theaters in the area have high-caliber talent. So, my standards for quality theater are ridiculously high.

And Lincoln City is a very small town.

But Nola’s third-grade teacher was in the performance and Nola really wanted to see it. So, I bought us all tickets and we went.

And I’m so glad we did. It was delightful.

I’d never seen a radio play before, and, of course, Nola hadn’t. At first, she was confused. Why were there only microphones and chairs on the stage, she asked. But once she understood the concept, she thought it was great. So did I. It was fun to experience something from a different era. It even had a live band.

And I love that story. I’ve watched the movie I can’t count how many times. It always makes me cry at the end (as the radio play did today). George Bailey is such a selfless guy. Everyone rallying around him at the end to help him gets me every time.

George’s guardian angel makes me think of some of the mentors I’ve had in my life. Those who helped me see my value and worth in this world, even when I couldn’t see it.

Good mentors can make all the difference in a career. Which is why when Dean Wesley Smith told me he was going to offer a mentorship program for writers, I was thrilled.

You can read more about it here. But if you’re interested, act fast. There’s only one spot left.

Speaking of acting fast, if you’ve been procrastinating buying one or more of the WMG surprise gift boxes, Thursday at noon PST is the last moment you can order them. We have one for writers and one for the whole family. Each is valued at more than $250 but is an amazing holiday deal for $50. Buy one for yourself and give others as gifts. You can find out more and place an order here.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.