Book Review: Women of the Book of Mormon by Heather B. Moore

All right. You know me. I have a published book titled Mormon Mishaps and Mischief. And while my general reading list is mostly national YA fiction—cuz that’s what I love—every once in a while I read something religious as well. It’s good for me.

Admittedly, I’m pretty selective in my religious reading choices. Yes, I have issues. Some of them having to do with my tendency toward boredom. However, having said that, I can honestly say that I LOVE Heather Moore’s work. I’ve read all of her books, and enjoyed every minute of each one. This is the first non-fiction work by Moore, and I have to admit, it took me a while to open the e-file and get started for that reason alone. But when I did finally open it to read, I was surprised at how quickly I was pulled in. This stuff is seriously interesting. I should’ve known I could trust this particular author to tell the facts in an interesting manner.

And not only that, each chapter is headed with spectacular art. The whole book is beautifully done. Here’s the blurb:

Explore the lives, circumstances, and choices of women in the Book of Mormon in this uplifting and inspirational volume that illustrates the parallels between the lives of the women of the Book of Mormon and LDS women today. With new insights on practically every page, author Heather B. Moore explores the written and unwritten stories of the prominent women in the Book of Mormon — taking familiar material and providing vivid details about family dynamics, domestic practices, and other aspects of daily life. By applying historical and cultural contexts to the situations of women like Sariah, Abish, Eve, Mary, and the faithful mothers of the striplings warriors, you will peek beneath the surface of the scriptural accounts to better understand both the righteous women of the Book of Mormon — and the women who didn’t use their agency wisely.

My thoughts:

There are very few women mentioned in the Book of Mormon, so I was surprised by the number of chapters and the parallels that clearly line up between these women and those mentioned in the Bible. The customs and traditions during this era of time seem so difficult in my mind, and yet some select women not only accepted their lot, but embraced it in order to raise righteous children who changed the world with their faith and influence.

Moore manages to give us insights that aren’t necessarily apparent in your every day scripture study. Or at least, not mine. And I appreciate the views, especially the chapter about Eve, and her vision of what had to be done for the good of mankind, rather than having been beguiled into making a bad decision.

I highly recommend this book for all LDS women. This book is a quick read, and makes a great Mother’s Day gift for the faithful women in your life.

To learn more about Heather B. Moore and her other books, click here.

To read a sample chapter of Women of the Book of Mormon, click here.

To purchase your copy of Women of the Book of Mormon, click here.


**I received an electronic file of this book in order to read it and give an honest review. In receiving this file, I have agreed NOT to share or sell it to any other party, thus, it has no monetary value for me. It does, however have intellectual value for which I’m sincerely grateful to the author. And I do believe I shall purchase multiple copies to give as gifts to the important women in my life.

Book Review: "Alma" by H.B. Moore

By Nichole Giles

I first met Heather Moore at an LDS Storymakers writing conference. I remember thinking what a nice person she was, and wondering what kind of things she writes. That was several years ago (five, maybe?) and since then, Heather has released a number of books, including her Out of Jerusalem series and her Book of Mormon prophet series starting with Abinadi. She won Whitney Awards in 2008 and 2009 for Out of Jerusalem and Abinadi, and I’m positive her most recent release, Alma, will gather a nomination as well.

Here’s the blurb:

King Noah is thundering with rage. On Amulon’s watch, the former high priest Alma disappeared from the city of Nephi, and every night more believers manage to escape. The king threatens certain punishment unless Amulon recaptures Alma—a seemingly impossible task. But Amulon has a plan. An equally valuable prisoner is at his fingertips: Noah’s wife, Maia, whose newfound faith means bitter humiliation for the king and an opportunity for Amulon to seize power.

Amulon’s disavowed daughter Raquel is making plans of her own. Alma and his followers are building a colony by the waters of Mormon, and she’s determined to begin a new life there despite the deep grief she suffers daily as Abinadi’s widow. Abinadi’s watchful brother Helam deems the journey to Mormon too risky, but when Lamanites plunder and burn the settlement, Raquel has no choice but to flee with her young son.

Drama and danger escalate as Alma the Elder organizes the Lord’s church and baptizes its members, bringing an outpouring of divine grace and power. But even as they rejoice, the believers have profound and perilous trials to face, from the outward threat of Amulon’s treachery to the inward threat of pride and disobedience. With poignant emotion, gripping suspense, and rich inspiration, this new epic story from H.B. Moore vividly brings the Book of Mormon to life.

Yes, Heather and I are friends. And I’m really glad. But being the honest person that I am, I refuse to let that color my opinion of her writing. So here’s the truth. I read this book in two days. You know, because I actually did have to put it down to be the mom and stuff. Every time I put it down, I had to rush through whatever I was doing to hurry and pick it back up again. Loved the whole thing from beginning to end.

I know, I know. I should already know this story, right? (Ahem, that is, I should have read it in the scriptures—or at least a similar story.) Except this is very different from scripture in that Heather has done a smashing job of bringing the characters to life. It’s easy to read and, if you can believe it, romantic. That’s right. I said romantic. This story is loaded with romance, intrigue, and trial after trial of faith building experience for all the characters involved. Never in my life have I seen the scriptural prophets in such a human light as this. Heather has done an excellent job of portraying life as it might have been for the ancient believers.

Nitpicks:

Yeah, a while back, I committed to my readers that I’d do a nitpick section when reviewing. There are times when I find it extremely hard to keep that promise. Especially when I read a book that I love as much as this one. So…my nitpick for this book is going to be…hm. Oh, I know, how about that I have to wait another year for the next one. Yep, that’s it.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a conference where Heather taught a very informative and helpful class. We also got to hang out a little bit, which was way fun. She was even nice enough to let me interview her on the most important things every reader wants to know about excellent authors like her.

The Interview:

NG: What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? Today, my new favorite is Ben and Jerry’s Key Lime Pie.

HBM: Dreyer’s Pink Peppermint ice cream—the one they sell only around Christmas time. I’ll have to try that Key Lime Pie flavor. Yum. But those orange cream shakes at Arby’s are really good too.

NG: Okay, that just sounds way too good right now. No wonder we get along so well. Well, that and because we both love to write. Speaking of writing, who is your favorite author? (Besides you or me, since everyone already knows we’re both awesome.)

HBM: Oh, that’s hard then. Besides you . . . two of my classic favs are Mary Higgins Clark and Maeve Binchy. I think I’ve read every single one of their books.

NG: Awesome. I love Mary Higgins Clark, too. Never read Maeve Binchy, but I’ll have to check out something by her.

(Takes time out to make a note on the list of books to be read.)

NG: Other than attending awesome, fun writing conferences, what is your most favorite thing to do when you’re not writing?

HBM: Reading! I read a lot—I consider it part of my job to read the bestsellers out there. Such a hard job J

NG: Well, hm. No wonder you love your job. For that matter, I love it, too. Reading rocks. I recently read a book about people who morphed into wolves. It was awesome. So, the question begs to be asked. If you were an animal, what kind would you be and why?

HBM: Lion. I’ve loved lions since I was a kid and still have many books on them. Something about being the king of the jungle has always fascinated me.

NG: So not what I expected. But definitely cool. You’d make a beautiful lioness. Personally, I’m more of a sea creature myself. Last week I thought I’d be a dolphin, but this week I’m thinking I’d be a mermaid. That way, I could swim along the bottom of the ocean looking for treasure. Speaking of which, do you prefer diamonds or pearls?

HBM: Umm . . . I have a diamond ring and a pearl necklace, but I hardly wear either. Maybe diamonds because they are so sparkly.

NG: Sparkles really do make a difference. You should wear both more often. Jewelry makes a girl feel good.

NG: One more question then I’ll let you get back to your writing. Name one or two power snacks that keep you going as you write.

HBM: Almonds and juice. (Did I mention that there is chocolate covering the almonds—does that count as a power snack?)

NG: Um, yes, definitely. Can we say almond M&M’s? Yes, chocolate does special things to the creative mind I think. And juice is just plain old good. Much better than the Dr. Pepper sitting next to me at the moment.

Thanks, Heather, for taking the time to let us have a glimpse into the important things that make an award winning author tick.

To learn more about Heather B. Moore, click here.

To purchase your copy of Alma click here.

For information on Heather’s professional editing services (along with those of her colleagues) click here.

Work or Recreation?

By Nichole Giles (Well, who else would it be by?)

This weekend I had the privilege and opportunity to attend another writer’s conference. This one was for the League of Utah Writers. I try to go to as many conferences as I can (you know, if time and budget both allow) because I am of the opinion that I need to learn all I can, and network, and all that good stuff. Plus, it’s fun.

It was held in Midway, Utah, which—if you’ve never been there—is a tiny mountain town, surrounded by trees, and grass, and gorgeous mountains. The view was absolutely stunning with the colors beginning to change and the sky going from clear, to cloudy, to rainy, and then clear again. But the most awesome part—aside from the uber-informative classes that will definitely help me hone my writing skills—was hanging out with so many awesome, incredibly talented authors.

Anyway, as a group of us were hanging out, we got into a discussion about movies, and the merits of watching them to see how the plots progress, and to notice dialogue and things. I have to admit, most of the movies that came up for discussions I either never saw or saw so long ago that I have about zero recollection of details. But the point is that we made the conclusion (or at least, James Dashner did, and then convinced us all to subscribe to his way of thinking) that seeing movies is as important a part of our job as reading books.

(In the picture: Taffy Lovell, Me, Richard Paul Evans, Connie Hall.)

Seriously, after the discussion, I decided James is absolutely right. I should totally see more movies. In fact, I should make a point to watch old movies when I can, too. (Remind me to ask my accountant if there’s any way I can deduct the price of movie tickets…)

(In the picture: James Dashner, Clint Johnson.)

What other people do in their off time for entertainment is actually part of what we do as artists and writers. I love that thought! And you know what else? Going to conferences where we can sit (or stand) around having intelligent conversations about the merits of this movie or that, or this book or that and why this worked but that didn’t is also part of our job. (I did know that, by the way.)

(In this picture: Rachelle Christensen, Connie Hall, Me.)

The problem I’m having is that it just doesn’t feel like work. Not that writing always does either, but at least that requires my butt being in a chair and my computer on (or notebook open) and concentrating for blocks of time. Hanging out chatting with friends (who also happen to be authors/agents/editors) feels more like recreation, just like seeing movies.

So the question begs to be asked: Can there be a more rewarding, fulfilling, awesome career on the planet?

Hm. I’m thinking no. No way, no how. I’ll take my rejections and run with them (and by the way, I’m accumulating quite the collection) because this is definitely where I want to be, what I want to be doing. It’s my dream career. How ever did I—lowly housewife and mother—get so lucky?

(In this picture: Heather Moore and Richard Paul Evans.)

For your enjoyment, a few pictures of some of my author friends at this conference. (Somehow, I failed to get a picture of all of us together, and didn’t get one of Eric Swedin, and a few others who were also our conference buddies. My bad, and now I’m sorry. Catch you all next time, guys! And just for clarification--I don't personally know Richard Paul Evans, but I did meet him and can testify that he is genuine, kind, and extremely smart.)