Category: 2009 Releases

Title: Heart’s Desire (Two Runs of Stone, v3)

Author: Steven D. Nielsen

Publisher: Granite

Release Date: May 28, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599360416

Size: 360 pgs, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Historical

Series: A Beckoning Call, Windships America

Elizabeth Anne Brown’s only daughter had been buried at sea. Belief in the Lord Jesus Christ had sustained our Lady of Herbs through the intense trauma and difficult voyage, but now huddled alone in her blankets on a snow bound prairie in America, Elizabeth Anne found her faith in God and His true and living Church, wavering.

Meanwhile laying awake on the same lonely prairie a few tents away, Peter and Maren Jensen were warm enough as they snuggled together under their heavy bed roll, nevertheless the cold chill of possibly losing her baby had Maren fretful.

Now listening to oxen bawling for fresh grass and her husband s fitful snores, Maren had her doubts. Expecting their first child had the young bride feeling awkward, ugly and extremely vulnerable. Why does God try women so severely?!!

Meanwhile in far away Manhattan, another group of immigrant Saints crowded the rooms and hallways of an aging four story hotel. Having recently processed through immigration at Castle Gardens, over three hundred church members had clamored down the icy, wet narrow streets of the dark city and up dim lit stairways into heaven.

Whether out on the prairies or on trains leaving New York City, searching among the throng of immigrants, the readers will recognize many old friends from Denmark and England and despite the harsh conditions, adventure and romance blossom as these Saints of God make their way West.

Title: The Light Above

Author: Jean Holbrook Mathews

Publisher: Covenant

Release Date: 2009

ISBN: 978-1-59811-726-4

Size: 304 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Historical

When the Hogge family, exhausted and covered with coal dust, made the trek up the hill to the cottage, they found the Kenny family and a few other friends from the pit gathered around the small, whitefaced form of Sandy, which lay on the kitchen table. . . . As Isabel put her arm around Carrie Kenny’s waist, Carrie laid her head on Isabel’s shoulder and whispered, “He looks like he’s sleeping.”

“The lad is sleeping. He’s sleeping in the Lord,” Isabel responded, offering the only comfort she knew how to give. “And he’s free from the pits.” . . . George offered a short and simple prayer. “God take home to yourself this wee laddie and give his parents comfort, we pray, in the knowledge that he is with Thee and not in the pits.”

From the dark, dangerous, and deadly pits of the Scottish coal mines, to the crowded and bustling streets of Edinburgh, to the perilous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, to the long and arduous trek across the plains to a “promised land,” The Light Above takes readers on an unforgettable journey.

In this exceptionally heartfelt and moving historical novel, gifted LDS author Jean Mathews has created a riveting and well-researched story of the Scottish Saints, whose courage in the face of relentless odds lifts them from the depths of despair and guides them to triumphant faith in an eternal destiny.

Title: One Last Chance

Author: Jerry Borrowman

Publisher: Covenant

Release Date: April, 2009

ISBN: 978-1598116816

Size: 352 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Historical

Artie Call can’t get a break. Orphaned during the Depression, he steals food to survive. When mischief lands him in juvenile court, he’s offered a home by fellow ward member, David Boone, but then suffers under Boone’s unkind and unyielding treatment.

After Artie helps the victim of a robbery gone bad, he’s abandoned by Boone and sentenced to juvenile hall. Then his luck and his life suddenly change. Mary Wilkerson, the feisty widow who was robbed, sees potential in Artie and takes him into her custody. Ray McCandless, the wise yet firm chauffeur, teaches Artie about cars, life, and the connections between the two. Under their care, Artie develops the desire and the ability to leave his past behind and grasp the hope in his future, which shines like Mary’s luxurious Dusenberg. But when cornered by old enemies, will he defend his honor with his life?

Jerry Borrowman masterfully combines emotion, morality, suspense, and humor in this tender coming-of-age story. Readers will struggle and rejoice with Artie as he discovers the value of integrity, the sweetness of family ties, and the reality of the American dream. And they will never forget the triumph that unfolds when a good boy with bad problems is given one last chance.

Title: Tower of Strength

Author: Annette Lyon

Publisher: Covenant

Release Date: April, 2009

ISBN: 978-1598116948

Size: 336 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Historical

It was 1877 when Tabitha Hall Chadwick left Manti as a young bride. Now, nearly seven years later, she returns as a widow with her young son to make a new beginning. Tabitha’s strained relationship with her mother-in-law adds more difficulty to her life as a single working mother. Yet with a stroke of courage, Tabitha makes two purchases that become her passions: the local newspaper business and a traumatized horse.

As she struggles to meet the challenges of her new roles, Tabitha welcomes the friendship of Samuel, a recently widowed British immigrant. Working together to train the abused horse, the two discover a second chance at love. But when Samuel is critically injured during the construction of the Manti Temple, Tabitha faces the pain of old wounds and the risk of new ones.

Weaving themes of loss and renewal, this poignant tale explores a vital choice each of us must make: to seek safety in isolation or to embrace the painful yet beautiful complexities of life and love.

Book Trailer:

Title: Abish: Faith Among the Lamanites

Author: Brenda Andersen

Publisher: Cedar Fort

Release Date: April 15, 2009

ISBN: 978-0882909578

Size: 226 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Historical

Abish, a young Lamanite, wants to believe her father when he proclaims he had a vision from God. Raised in traditions of hatred toward their enemies, the Nephites, she has a hard time swallowing his claims that the Nephite religion is the true gospel. Unable to deny the witness that bears the truthfulness of his words, Abish joins her father in his conversion.

But when their secret is discovered and they are threatened with treason, Abish must flee the city in order to protect herself and the precious knowledge she possesses. She journeys to the king s palace in the hopes of becoming a servant to the queen.

When Ammon, a Nephite missionary, is captured and brought to the palace, the Lamanites are shaken by the miraculous powers he possesses. When Ammon s preaching of the gospel causes extraordinary effects on the palace, Abish suddenly realizes why the Lord has brought her there, and what she has to do.

Abish, Faith Among the Lamanites is a compelling fictional story based on the true story of Abish as found in the Book of Mormon.