Winning a Book

Every month someone wins a book from my Out of Jerusalem series. All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter to be entered into the drawing.

Maria Zannini was selected, but it wasn't until I emailed her with the news and she emailed back that I realized which Maria it was. I've been reading her blog for a few months now and really love the information on writing that she shares. I probably check it 2-3 times a week and always find something of value. Well, yesterday was one of those times. Something on the sidebar caught my attention. It said "H.B. Moore". I clicked on it and she had reviewed my book.

Of course I was nervous because she's not part of the target audience for my LDS book, but I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that she looked beyond the specific genre and caught the flavor and essence of the story and characters.

Below I've quoted Maria's review:

"A while back I mentioned that I won a book from H.B. Moore’s “Out of Jerusalem” series. I got my choice of books and chose book 2 because the title was "A Light in the Wilderness" and I have a soft spot for survival stories.

This book did not disappoint. I love historical fiction in all its forms. This one is based on scripture, which at first sent up red flags for me because I don't want a novel to preach to me. I adore Orson Scott Card and Anita Diamant so that makes me doubly picky about my scripture-based fiction.

In the end, it's all about the people. No matter what you write, it has to be a story with characters you care about. You want to feel as if their journey was your journey. It gives you a warm satisfaction to be a part of their lives.

I loved the way Heather weaved her story from one scene to the next. Her historical knowledge was spread across the pages like grains of sand, giving the story a wonderful texture without being heavy handed. I really appreciated the subtlety in how she introduced customs, social mores, and every day life.

If you like historical fiction based on scripture, I can recommend this book. It's a book of journeys that speaks to the wanderer in all of us."