Heather Brown Moore granted an interview to Families.com blogger Candace Salima in the spring of last year. Some exciting things have happened to her since then and she’s joining us again today to fill us in.
Heather, we’re excited to hear that the third novel in your series has been released. Can you tell us about it?
“Towards the Promised Land” is the third volume in my Out of Jerusalem series. The story of Nephi’s family continues, and the reader is taken into a world of shipbuilding, interactions with local tribes in the Dhofar region (Bountiful), and the perils of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The book follows the scriptures found in 1 Nephi 17:7-18:23. I spent a great deal of time researching the details that are associated with this location and time period.
Where did you find the research materials? I confess I wouldn’t have a clue where to even start.
I had access to the transcripts from the Journey of Faith documentary film (F.A.R.M.S.) and used the knowledge from a broad range of scholars to develop the plot. I studied the possible locations of iron ore, the types of palm that one could fashion a rib for a ship, and read records from ancient sailors and explorers who traveled along the Arabian and Indian
Coast. One of the biggest challenges that Nephi’s family faced was sailing from the Polynesian Islands to the coast of South America (the Promised Land). I used the adventures of Thor Heyerdahl (“Kon Tiki”) to formulate experiences that Nephi might have encountered on the open sea.
Wow. When was it published?
“Towards the Promised Land” was released in September 2006 (Covenant Communications).
How many more books are yet to come in the series, and do you know when they will be released?
Volume Four is the final book in the series. It will cover the early events in the Promised Land–including Lehi’s death and the division between Nephi and Laman and their respective followers. I put off writing it for several months because I had to prepare myself for writing about the heart-wrenching separation of the family members. Even though the brothers are at odds, and Nephi is commanded to flee by the Lord, it must have been difficult for cousins, sisters, and best friends to separate in this manner.
The manuscript was just accepted by my publisher and will be released September 2007. The Out of Jerusalem series is meant to focus on Nephi’s life, and as
I wrote volume four, I could see a place to end on a positive note.
What projects do you have planned for the future?
I’m writing a new Book of Mormon series that is set during the lifetime of Abinadi. This will probably span three to four volumes and include the prophets Alma and Alma the Younger. I’ve just barely started to dive into the research and one of the most compelling things that I’ve discovered about Abinadi . . . well, you’ll just have to wait and find out. I plan to
turn this book in this year and hope that it will be available in 2008.
You’re just going to leave me hanging like that? Sigh . . . I understand you’ve started an editing company. Can you tell us about that?
Yes! I’ve seen the demand for unbiased and strong editing grow in this market. So I started Precision Editing Group. I have four editors on staff, and we are all currently writing and publishing. Each editor has strengths in specific genres, and your work will be sent to the editor who specializes in your type of writing. We offer free evaluations (send us 30 pages and we’ll tell you what we think you might need . . . line edit, content edit, both, etc.). We are also running a winter special and will critique the first 10 pages of your manuscript for free. Therefore, you can see if you like the feedback and hire us to do the rest!
That sounds like a really good deal. Thanks for catching us up-to-date, Heather. I’m excited to read your new release and the Abinadi series sounds fascinating.
Be sure to visit Heather’s website to learn more about her and the first two novels in the “Out of Jerusalem” series.
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