Thursday, June 4, 2009

Release Date finalized!

Today I heard from my publisher and my next book, ALMA THE ELDER, will be released September 1, 2009.




Yay. I'm relieved to know when it will be out and now I can start preparing the marketing plan. It will be a little hard to market until I have the book cover, but since it will be going to press in July, I should have it in a few weeks.




In other news, my third book: Towards the Promised Land will be available in softcover next month (July 2009). The hardcover version is impossible to find. I'm hoping to find a handful to put in a box somewhere for posterity. I have 0 copies of it . . . so if you see any at bookstores along the Wasatch Front in Utah, give me a shout. This book has a bit of an interesting story. I wasn't planning on writing four volumes in my Out of Jerusalem series, but when I discovered that it took Nephi and his family 2-3 years to build the ship, I decided the event needed it's own book. Of course, it's not all about hammers and nails, but an adventure across an unknown sea and a triangle romance. I also read Thor Heyerdahl's book Kon Tiki to learn about the sealife and the weather patterns that Nephi's ship may have encountered. In Thor's book he tells of his journey from Peru to the Polynesian Islands on a raft made from nine balsa logs. It took him nearly three months to make the open-sea journey.


Here is a picture of that raft. Amazing journey:



Also, I'm not sure why the 2nd volume is not in softcover yet. But it's probably because there are still enough hardcovers out there to meet the mass demand (just kidding).


I'm really excited for the Teen Writers Conference this Saturday. Registration is now closed, so if you missed it this year, catch it next year. It's promising to be an incredible event.

8 comments:

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Oh good, something to counterbalance the terror of sending my oldest child to school for the first time. At least I'll have a good book to distract myself with!

Rebecca Irvine said...

Yay for getting your release date. My book is supposed to be released then as well.

BTW, you left a comment asking about the Nephite temple (I had my brother sketch one). I finally found a photo of a South American ancient temple that is not too pyramid-y that I like and can use as a model. Since Nephi said the temple he built was based on Solomon's temple I just could not feel good about the pyramid structure. Maybe the architecture of temples evolved to a pyramid style by the time Christ appeared to the Nephites, but I don't believe that was the case early on. When I get my drawing done I will post it on my blog for you to see. Thanks for your interest.

Nancy Campbell Allen said...

Woohoo on your release date!

Also, I love Thor Heyerdahl. So cool that you used him for research.

Incidentally, my 2nd book is still only available in hardback, too. But only certain stores have them...

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!

My Two Seasons said...

That's great news! I can't wait to read it! I am happy to see the 3rd book in your Out of Jerusalem series is in softcover. I was wondering if the rest were going to be that way. I bought the first one in softcover, and I just have to have all my series books in the same format! So I've been waiting to read the rest in the series. I don't have anyone to borrow them from!!

Heather Moore said...

Is it kindergarten, Kimberly? Here kindergarten is only 2 1/2 hours, so not too bad. My youngest will start this fall. That will be a time trip.

Becky, I'd love to see your brother's sketch. Al Rounds did a painting of "Nephi's temple"--which he fashioned quite a bit like Solomon's temple albeit in a jungle-like setting.

Nancy, how cool that you've read Thor Heyerdahl. I know it was a big deal and was made into a movie, etc.

Julie Wright said...

congrats on your release date. I loved seeing you and your cute daughter at the teen conference!

Sandra said...

Having the release date is so exciting. And I can put a countdown on my blog. Yay!
Are you going to do a blog tour? If so can I be a stop. And I will do a review even if you don't do a tour.

Heather Moore said...

Julie, next time bring your daughter :-)

Sandra, I'll definitely be doing a blog tour for Alma the Elder. I'll announce details in August. Stay tuned . . .