Once I was a Mormon. I converted around the age of thirty. I remember much of that time as being good. I went to motherhood training classes, practiced family evenings, learned how to make fruit leather, played a part in a grand bi-centennial presentation at Chicago’s Arie Crown Theater, and was involved in a myriad of healthy pursuits on behalf of the church. The problem was, I had been fully indoctrinated as a fourth generation Lutheran. I loved the Mormon lifestyle but the trinity was ingrained in my brain.

Going into Mormonism was a warm embrace. Coming out was like trying to move through five brick walls. In the process, I made connections (Sandra Tanner of Utah Lighthouse Ministries, John L. Smith of Utah Missions, etc.) and I acquired several banker boxes of books, court records, journals of members long-time passed, and information on the development of the church. I read and studied. One day, I sat down and started to write a book. Ten years later, I published ‘Holy Joe! Prophet, Seer, and Revelator’. At that point, I was able to put my inner Mormon-related turmoil to rest.

The story is about the life of Joseph Smith, the first Mormon prophet, and the birth and development of a new religion. My intent has always been to take the story from history and bring the scenes to life. The characters and events are known to be real. The story is written to appeal to readers of fact-based biographical, historical, and frontier fiction. Joseph Smith had the ability to hold men under his spell as he told his tales and brought forth revelations that he claimed to be the word of God. He started out as a storyteller in search of earthly treasure and matured into the lead character and dispenser of heavenly treasures. With his love for ceremony, pageantry, parade, and solemn ritual, he offered his people an eternal plan of progression, an afterlife without a heaven or hell, and, for some, the right to become a god. Additionally, there was the need to take many wives.

I quit writing for twelve years after the first publication. The reasons for that choice are relative to my life at that time. I have taken up my pen again. The book reports and placeholders posted on my website, Mormon Protagonist, are written in preparation for my next book. It’s a way of sharing with my readers the on-going process. The working title is "Nefarious Elders and Long-suffering Saints". My plan is to read and highlight a book a week, and also to sift through the pages, create timelines and character sheets, write and post my book report.. A book a week for two years is what I project, and then another year (or whatever it takes) to write a gripping, historically accurate frontier fiction. On this road, I see many stories to tell.