Round #2 of 2009 Book Releases

Author, Annette Lyon, known for her wonderful "Temple" series (House on the Hill, The Journey's End and Whitney Award Nominee and winner Best of State 2007 book called, "Spires of Stone") has written a fourth book in the series called, "Tower of Strength" which will be released March of 2009 by Covenant Communications. Annette knows so well how to write historical fiction with a twist of romance to flavor her stories. I have always liked how she brings her characters to life where you learn to care very deeply for these fictional characters.

I went to her blog and found one entry where she talked about this new book,

"My next book, titled Tower of Strength, has been accepted for publication and will be released next spring.My fourth temple-related book, it's set in 1884 Manti, a few years before the temple there was complete. Much of the story centers around events (both real and fictional) that took place in and around the city's Temple Hill.I love the title they picked; Tower of Strength can refer to both the temple (the towers are under construction during the story) as well as the heroine. Tabitha really is a tower of strength, and that plays a huge role in the story.This book has been an interesting ride. I loved uncovering the story and characters. I struggled with some of the research. I laughed. I cried.And in the end, I'm excited for my readers to meet Tabitha Chadwick and get to know her for the strong woman she is . . . even if they have to wait almost a year before meeting her!"

Well, you will not have to wait for a whole year to read this book. I always enjoy a book where a strong woman is at the center and where we can garner wisdom from her trials...even if she is a fictional character. This leads me into another book that Annette is working on that will also be released in the Fall of 2009. It is a story about five woman, their friendships, and difficulties while their husbands are deployed in Afghanistan. She is calling it, "Band of Sisters", but is not sure if the title will stick with the publishers. I will anxiously await being able to read this story, which many of you may be able to relate to if you or a loved one have lived this story.

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Now for you Fablehaven fans out there...and if you haven't read any of them yet, shame on you! They are fantastic books! Brandon Mull has finished writing Fablehaven 4 which is being called, "Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary." (I couldn't find a picture of the cover for book 4) Now of course it has that word in it that creates great excitement for me "Dragon". Now since I have read the first three books I have an inkling where this is heading and that has me bouncing in my seat! I really liked reading what he said about this book on his website...

"I'm thrilled to have Fablehaven 4 completely written. Now instead of getting the story on paper, I can concentrate on polishing. I think this one might be my best work so far, and am very curious to start getting reactions from some of my early readers."

For him to say that this is his best work so far, and I really thought Fablehaven 3 was his best, I can't wait to read this one. He also said on his blog, "Fans will be pleased and in general, I think the excitement over the series will increase." In my case, I don't know how much more excited I can get and not have a heart attack! Seriously, you will love them and your kids will love them. Fablehaven 4 is set to be released on March 24th by Shadow Mountain. Now if I only knew who I needed to write to get an ARC of this book, that would really make me happy.

Here are the women of LDS Womens Book Review (Sheila, Shanda and Hillary)with Brandon Mull at the 2008 Whitney Awards last March.