MBM: Writing the Movie in Your Head by Gerald N. Lund

Welcome to the eleventh day of MARCH BOOK MADNESS! (Full explanation and schedule here.) 

Today, my favorite author of all time is here. Gerald N. Lund is my favorite for many reasons, but foremost, because he’s my dad. :)

His books include fiction, non-fiction, dystopian, contemporary YA, and doctrinal discourses. He’s best known for his religious historical fiction including The Work and the Glory series (which have had a few movies made based on them). His current series, Fire and Steel, is set during WWI and WWII, and chronicles the lives of two families, one from Germany and one from rural Utah.  He’s won several awards, sold millions of books, yet he’s just the nicest, sweetest, smartest man.

If you couldn’t tell, I love him to pieces. :)

1 Typewriter used to write first Lund novels given to Rebecca Belliston
My dad gave me the typewriter he wrote his first book with
Layout 1SIDE NOTE: He also writes lyrics and I write music (like my mom), so the two of us recently worked on a choral song which was just published by Jackman Music. The song is called “Come and Be With Me,” based on Frederic Chopin’s Etude in E. It’s available in SATB with vocal solos coming soon.

 

 

 

Today my dad is here to talk about writing the movie in our mind.

Continue reading “MBM: Writing the Movie in Your Head by Gerald N. Lund”

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Father/Daughter Book Giveaway

I live pretty far from my dad, Gerald N. Lund. I’m in Michigan and he’s in Utah. That’s 1677 miles of a very long, very boring, very torturous I-80 drive through Nebraska and Wyoming. That’s a lot of Kum & Gos.

I love getting his advice on writing, books, and pretty much anything else (like how to survive 3 teenagers). But we aren’t able to do many book signings together because of the distance. So I thought it would be fun to do a book giveaway. I don’t remember my dad doing a giveaway like this in his forty years of writing, but when I asked him, he said, “That sounds fun. How many books do you want?” Love him!

He donated 5 signed books, and I’m donating 4.

Here’s the official info:

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The Desire to Create

Six years ago next month, I had this idea for a novel that wouldn’t leave me alone. It was silly, because I’d never had the desire to write a single word in my life. My dad is an author–a famous one even. I was a composer, a crazy music lady. Not an author.

writing bug surrender

But, the writing bug struck, and I was hit hard.

I started writing clean romances in May of ’08, and I haven’t stopped since. It’s been a blast. I love it! But it hasn’t been without its struggles.

Or major doubts.

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Countdown to AUGUSTINA: Names

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Day 3 of the countdown to Augustina.

Josh’s siblings play a bigger role in Book 2. He has five younger brothers and sisters. I happen to have five kids, so…his siblings’ names are based on the names of my kids. :)

My kids love this.

I do, too.

My dad, Gerald N. Lund, sometimes wrote us into his stories, too. If you’ve read the Work and the Glory series, you might notice the youngest daughter is named Rebecca Steed. And in the Alliance, Eric’s little sister is named Becky. :)

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So…I kinda did the same.

Josh’s siblings are named Jake, Lauren, Mike, Drew, and Katie, all versions of my kids’ names.

Fun, fun, fun.

Guess What Came In The Mail: THE GUARDIAN – by Gerald N. Lund

(reading)

Guess what came in the mail. My dad’s newest book…

I’m so excited!!! 

It’s been awhile since my dad has written fiction. His last three books were a doctrinal trilogy. But he’s back to fiction, and I’m thrilled. I love fiction. 

I’ve read The Guardian already, so I can tell you that it’s AWESOME. One of the perks of being the author’s daughter is he likes to have input on his books before it’s published. All authors do. That meant I got to be one of the early readers, which is so way fun.

Now the book is on shelves for all you other fiction lovers to love and enjoy.

Here’s a little about it:

THE GUARDIAN – by Gerald N. Lund

I withdrew a small card from the pouch. The front of it was filled with lines of elegant, hand-lettered script. 

 
“What does it say?” Dad asked, leaning forward.
“The Four Remembers of Life,” I read. “Number one: Remember you are unique. Number two: Remember, there is purpose to your life. Number three: Remember, you are free to choose what you are and what you become. And number four: Remember, you are not alone.”
 
When Danni McAllister receives an antique pouch as a birthday gift from her grandfather, her first reaction is disappointment. “Don’t assume that something is empty, just because there’s nothing there,” her grandfather warns. Danni learns that for nearly two hundred years, the mysterious pouch—with its astonishing hidden secrets—has been handed down from generation to generation, and each new owner has had to discover for themselves how to access the power it holds, or suffer the penalty of using the pouch unwisely.
 
While Danni struggles to understand the power of the pouch, her father’s discovery of a rhodium mine makes her parents the targets of a deadly extortionist plot and the strange pouch is Danni’s only hope of saving her family.
 
In the spirit of The AllianceThe Freedom Factor, and Leverage Point, author Gerald N. Lund blends gripping, fast-paced suspense with a timeless message for readers of all ages.
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My personal notes: The book takes place in the slot canyons of Southern Utah, and even stretches to Lake Powell which must be one of the most unique lakes in the world. 

The book has a fun romance between the main character, Danni, and her best friend, a cute boy that half my nieces are in love with. :) Technically the book is YA, but it’s something mothers and daughters will enjoy reading together. Fathers and sons, too, I suppose since it has a lot of action, but how often do fathers and sons read together? In my house, not that often–unless I’m talking about the sports section of the newspaper. 

This book is personal.

As you can imagine, my dad is an amazing story-teller. As kids, we grew up hearing all sorts of tales about anything and everything. I swear we’d drive pass a sign for falling rocks and next thing we knew, he was telling us the “Legend of Falling Rock.” It was so fun.

This book stems from one of the stories he told about a magic pouch. The story evolved from a simple bedtime story into a full blown plot with twists and turns that now makes up an entire novel. He talks more in depth about this in the back of the book, but needless to say, this book has a personal spot in my heart.

I love my dad.

So if you want to read The Guardian, you can buy it on:

Right now it’s available in hardcover and ebook, but I think there will be an audio book as well.

Get it. Read it. Love it.

It’ll make a great Christmas present for your favorite fiction reader.

Side note: Speaking of Christmas gifts for fiction lovers, there are three more days to enter the SADIE Birthday Giveaway. Details here.

That’s it for now.

Have a great one! 

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