Thank you for joining us for our next segment in our exclusive interview with LDS novelist Annette Lyon. If you missed parts one or two, click these links to get caught up.
Annette, I understand that your novels “House on the Hill” and “At the Journey’s End” mark the beginning of a series of books about the temples. How many books are in the series, and which temple comes next?
I don’t know how many temple books there will be; I’ll have to play that one by ear. During research, I’ve come across many stories that I would love to tell–but they’re decades too late for the current book or I otherwise can’t fit them in. I’ve thought it would be fun to revisit the same temples again and write a book about, say, St. George in the early 1900s.
I’ve just finished a book about the Salt Lake temple, and with any luck, it’ll be out next fall. It’s not connected to the other two besides having a temple as the focus. In fact, it takes place a good ten years before “House on the Hill” ever opens. Readers who have read the first two books will recognize ten-year-old Abe running around one scene and his adoptive father making a brief appearance in another, but the main story has an entirely new cast of characters.
It began as an attempt to retell Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” but as my characters evolved and took on lives of their own, they decided the story couldn’t end up quite the same way as the Bard’s did. It was a fun ride to discover where things would go!
Since I had forty years of temple construction to pick from, I decided on my story first, then looked at the research to figure out what time period of the temple would best fit what I wanted to accomplish with the story. I picked 1867, when the original sandstone foundation that cracked had already been ripped out and the new granite one had finally exceeded the height of the old one. It felt like a time of change and growth for the temple, something that I wanted to portray. It helped that some technological advances the story needed also fit that period.
Next up is the Manti temple, where the construction was almost concurrent with Logan. I’ve just begun the research there, and since I often find my characters and storyline through the research, I don’t yet have any idea what that book will be about. I’ll find out soon!
Will you be writing any books about the more modern temples?
Good question. The answer is a bit complicated, but the basic one is that I’m just not sure. Right now I’m keeping my focus on my next project, not thinking too far ahead to what is beyond that. I really enjoy writing historical fiction–and readers seem to be responding to it–so I may stick in the past for now. I have at least one historical I want to write that may not be a good fit for a temple book because of the geography of that story. I may end up doing several non-temple historical novels as well.
What sparked your interest in writing about the temples?
Like I said, it began with the one temple in Logan. I had no idea at the time that I would start branching out elsewhere. And to be honest, the Logan temple will always be the most dear temple to me. It also has a remarkably rich history that’s connected to me and my family.
But once I decided to do another temple–and then another–I came to love the process. I know a decent amount of basic LDS history, but the stories behind the temples aren’t ones that are widely known. Only a small percentage of what I learn ever reaches the page, but I come away with all kinds of new knowledge and appreciation for those who have gone before me.
That feeling only increases with each temple I research. I get almost giddy as I start reading for a new project. I can’t wait to find the golden nuggets of the history that I never knew–and that the majority of Latter-day Saints don’t know, either.
We’ll conclude our interview with novelist Annette Lyon tomorrow. Thanks for joining us!
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