2009 Releases – LDS Publisher

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared–the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood–but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude’s high school. Despite promising Jude she’ll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel’s shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy’s dark secret…and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it–her soul.

Hidden Empire by Orson Scott Card

Title: Hidden Empire

Author: Orson Scott Card

Publisher: TOR

Release Date: December 22, 2009

ISBN: 978-0765320049

Size: 336 pages, hardcover

Genre: Speculative

Series: Empire (v1)

The war of words between right and left collapsed into a shooting war, and raged between the high-technology weapons on each side, devastating cities and overrunning the countryside.

At the close of Empire, political scientist and government adviser Averell Torrent had maneuvered himself into the presidency of the United States. And now that he has complete power at home, he plans to expand American imperial power around the world.

Opportunity comes quickly. There’s a deadly new plague in Africa, and it is devastating the countryside and cities. President Torrent declares American solidarity with the victims, but places all of Africa in quarantine until a vaccine is found or the disease burns itself out. And he sends Captain Bartholomew Coleman, Cole to his friends, to run the relief operations and protect the American scientists working on identifying the virus. If Cole and his team can avoid dying of the plague, or being cut down by the weapons of fearful African nations, they might do some good. Or they might be out of the way for good.

Nexus Point by Jaleta Clegg

Title: Nexus Point

Author: Jaleta Clegg

Publisher: Altered Dimensions

Release Date: November 30, 2009

ISBN: 978-1936021031

Size: 328 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Science Fiction

Dace’s wants are simple—a trading ship and the freedom to fly where she chooses. But on her first trip, her crew betrays her, her ship explodes, and she finds herself stranded on Dadilan, a planet locked in a feudal age.

Survival is hard enough when you have no technology or resources. It’s even harder when you have drug smugglers hunting you. Dadilan is the source of shara, a drug that enhances psychic abilities, a commodity so rare and precious people will kill for it.

Trapped between rival smugglers and the Patrol undercover investigation, Dace has one hope of rescue: convincing Tayvis, the undercover agent, she’s an innocent bystander. But those don’t exist on Dadilan. No one lands without authorization, unless they are smuggling.

Her ignorance may cost her life.

The Fairy Thorn by Dorothy Keddington

Title: The Fairy Thorn

Author: Dorothy Keddington

Publisher: Granite

Release Date: December 4, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599360492

Size: 294 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Small town librarian Lucy Norris longs for romance and adventure, yet her life is a calendar of sameness–until the morning she spies a tall ship sailing through Deception Pass. The sighting becomes a catalyst for change and Lucy soon finds herself a key player in a dangerous masquerade and the quest for a legendary lost painting.

Where the Sun Rises by Frank Richardson

Title: Where the Sun Rises

Author: Frank Richardson

Publisher: Bonneville Books (CFI)

Release Date: December 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599553153

Size: 224 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: General

Hatcher Stephens III has everything a man could want money, looks, style, a prestigious career, a beautiful wife, and two wonderful children. But accustomed to privilege and ease from birth, Hatcher has failed to learn some important lessons.

He doesn t know how to hold on when his perfect life starts slipping through his fingers. He falls hard into alcoholism, which lands him in a Seattle gutter addicted, disinherited, and unemployed. There is no way back, at least not on his own.

Hatcher s journey promises no shortcuts and no guarantees. Stripped of money, position, prestige, and even his name, Hatch Stephens learns how to hold on to the good and live with the scars. Fate sends men into his path who know how to live, women who know how to love, and adversaries who know how to test his mettle. Hatch can only move forward, searching for the place where the sun rises.

Filled with love, honesty, and hope, Where the Sun Rises will show you how to hold on even when it seems everything is falling apart.

Divinely Designed by Rachael Renee Anderson

Title: Divinely Designed

Author: Rachael Renee Anderson

Publisher: Cedar Fort

Release Date: December 8, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599553245

Size: 190 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Romance

It all begins with calamity, faith, and a flat tire. Seeking liberation from recent heartache, Kennedy Jackson leaves her hometown and moves to Arizona to work as an interior designer. She thinks she is ready for a new start, but her heart still needs some convincing. When she bumps into a handsome stranger on the highway, she starts the ride of her life on a road of divine design that will lead to her dreams if she only has the faith to follow it. This delightful tale by Rachael Anderson combines wit and romance with the reality that change is difficult, but it can bring about some of life s greatest adventures.

Divinely Designed is a sure antidote for gloom and a light-hearted reminder that even the darkest forks in the road can lead somewhere brilliant.

A Cold Creek Holiday by RaeAnne Thayne

Title: A Cold Creek Holiday

Author: RaeAnne Thayne

Publisher: Silhouette

Release Date: December 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0373654956

Size: 224 pages, 4×6.5, softcover

Genre: Romance, Christmas

All Emery Kendall wanted was to flee painful memories of Christmases past. She craved distraction and healing, and the mountains of Idaho offered both…plus the key to a long-buried family secret. But when she met her host, rancher Nate Cavazos, she hardly got a warm welcome….

The former army ranger’s smoldering good looks masked deep emotional scars. And now he had his hands full as guardian of two orphaned nieces. That seemed to be all the involvement he could handle right now.

Still, Nate couldn’t ignore his fierce attraction to Emery or his nieces’ instant attachment to her—until Emery’s secret shattered their happiness. Would it be a lonely Christmas for four lost souls? Or the best family holiday ever?

Mormon Mishaps and Mischief – Giles & Beck

Title: Mormon Mishaps and Mischief: Hilarious Stories for Saints

Author: Nichole Giles and Cindy Beck

Publisher: Cedar Fort

Release Date: December 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599552972

Size: 112 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: General; short stories

This book is not eligible for a Whitney Award.

Whoever thought sacrament meeting could be so silly? In Mormon Mishaps and Mischief you’ll find a unique collection of hilarious short stories from celebrated LDS authors that turn the spotlight on ordinary members to illuminate the lighter side of Mormondom. Whether it’s the annual Primary program or a simple Sunday school prayer, you’ll soon find that “where two or three are gathered together” . . . there’s bound to be potential for some humor. Cure your family’s Sunday afternoon doldrums with a little dose of mishaps and mischief.

Upon the Isles of the Sea: Setting Sail by Grace Elliot

Title: Upon the Isles of the Sea: Setting Sail

Author: Grace Elliot

Publisher: Covenant

Release Date: December 8, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-59811-815-5

Size: 320 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Historical

1849: Industrialization has gripped the British Isles, and the working class faces hardships of backbreaking labor, meager wages, and tight-fisted landlords. In England, Edward Morgan loses his young family to ravaging sickness. In Ireland, Lauryn Kelly endures injury amidst a devastating famine. In the coal mines of Scotland, Ewen McAllister and his wife, Bess, mourn the deaths of two infant daughters and the wretched future that faces their two living children.

Life in the motherland runs dark with discouragement and despair and many question the hand of God in allowing such misery. But hope soon shines its welcome beacon. Lauryn gains fresh opportunity as lady-in-waiting to an English noblewoman. The McAllisters find their thirst for eternal truth fulfilled in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. And Edward, lonely and heartbroken, finds the courage to leave his past behind.

Driven by the dream of creating a new life in the South Sea colonies, this small group becomes part of the surging tide of immigrants leaving Britain. Facing the perils of life at sea, their lives become inextricably intertwined as they make their journey to a new home. In this sweeping epic, author Grace Elliot skillfully enters the lives of her characters to tell a breathtaking story of renewed life.

Stay by Moriah Jovan

Title: Stay (Tales of Dunham, bk 2)

Author: Moriah Jovan

Publisher: B10 Mediaworx

Release Date: November 27, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-9817696-3-9

Size: 332 pages, Trade paperback

Genre: Romance

Series: The Proviso (bk 1)

Caution: This book contains mature content.

At 12, Vanessa Whittaker defied her family to save 17-year-old bad boy Eric Cipriani from wrongful imprisonment and, possibly, death. She’d hoped for a “thank you” from him, a kiss on the cheek, but before she could grow up and grow curves, he left town.

Fourteen years later, Vanessa is a celebrity chef at the five-star Ozarks resort she built. Eric is the new Chouteau County prosecutor on his way to the White House.

Four hours apart and each tied to their own careers, their worlds have no reason to intersect until a funeral brings Vanessa back to Chouteau County, back to face the man for whom she’d risked so much, the only man she ever wanted—

—the only man she can’t have.

Christmas Jars Reunion by Jason F. Wright

Title: Christmas Jars Reunion

Author: Jason F. Wright

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Release Date: October 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-1606411650

Size: 176 pages, 5×7, hardcover

Genre: Christmas

Series: Christmas Jars

Hope Jensen’s story continues in Christmas Jars Reunion.

It s been two years since Hope was reunited with her biological mother on Christmas Eve at Chuck’s Chicken ‘n Biscuits. Hope has never felt more complete. She s writing full-time for a family magazine and, with the help of her mother, Marianne, leading the Christmas Jars Ministry out of Chuck s quirky restaurant. To top it off, she’s dating a marketing executive in a comfortable long-distance relationship. Her life is right where she wants it to be—a state of organized chaos as another Christmas rolls around.

Then her world changes forever over Thanksgiving weekend. The Maxwells hire a nephew to take over the family furniture restoration business. Someone that Hope can’t stop thinking about. Then an out-of-town stranger shows up at the diner asking to help in the ministry—a stranger whose motives are yet unclear.

Before the sun sets on Christmas Day, two men will try to change Hope’s life forever. In the process, Hope will be reminded of the immense power of a single jar, and the healing that sometimes comes only with forgiveness.

The Dragon War Relic by Berin L. Stephens

Title: The Dragon War Relic

Author: Berin L. Stephens

Publisher: Bonneville Books

Release Date: November 8, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599552811

Size: 256 pages, 6×9″, softcover

Genre: Fantasy

A mysterious explosion, a gold ring, and the fate of the Earth and the universe . . .

For Jared Mills, summer has never been more exciting!

When Jared receives an odd-looking ring from a complete stranger, he never imagines it will lead to aliens, spaceships, lasers, and dragons! With the ring comes great responsibility, and Jared discovers that he is Earth s representative to the entire galaxy. Suddenly, he finds himself in a fast-paced adventure where he must discover the cause of a mysterious explosion and the truth about his predecessor s death.

Along the way, Jared joins up with a strange collection of allies: his childhood friend, an Ogre, an Angel, and three short Star Trek loving Elves. What they uncover changes everything even the course of Earth s destiny!

Science fiction slams into fantasy, creating a humorous and action-filled story. The Dragon War Relic will keep you laughing to the very last page.

The Best of Times (Dickens Inn v1) by Anita Stansfield

Title: The Best of Times, A Dickens Inn Novel (v1)

Author: Anita Stansfield

Publisher: Covenant

Release Date: November 2, 2009

ISBN: 978-1598118483

Size: 336 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: General

A sprawling Montana setting; a charming bed-and-breakfast inn brimming with Dickensian decor; a beautiful and deeply spiritual innkeeper with secret sorrows from her past; a Granny who is as delightful as she is wise; and a handsome guest whose lifestyle and past are both troubled and troubling—these are the elements of a captivating novel of romance and intrigue.

With characters that are vital and vulnerable, and a plot that is wholly unpredictable, this story is a journey of choices and amazing opportunities. Once again, Anita Stansfield proves her versatility as a storyteller extraordinaire in this novel that is an ingenious blend of romance, mystery, and Dickensian charm.

Am I Not a Man: The Dred Scott Story by Mark L. Shurtleff

Title: Am I Not a Man: The Dred Scott Story

Author: Mark L. Shurtle

Publisher: Valor Publishing

Release Date: November 3, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-935546-00-9

Size: 534 pages, hardcover

Genre: Historical

An illiterate slave, Dred Scott trusted in an all-white, slave-owning jury to declare him free. But after briefly experiencing the glory of freedom and manhood, a new state Supreme Court ordered the cold steel of the shackles to be closed again around his wrists and ankles. Falling to his knees, Dred cried, “Ain’t I a man?” Dred answered his own question by rising and taking his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dred ultimately lost his epic battle when the Chief Justice declared that a black man was so inferior that he had “no rights a white man was bound to respect.”

Dred died not knowing that his undying courage led directly to the election of President Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation.

Dred Scott’s inspiring and compelling true story of adventure, courage, love, hatred, and friendship parallels the history of this nation from the long night of slavery to the narrow crack in the door that would ultimately lead to freedom and equality for all men.

The Silver Coat by M’Lin Rowley

Title: The Silver Coat (Knights of the Right, v2)

Author: M’Lin Rowley

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Release Date: September 30, 2009

ISBN: 978-1606411049

Size: 71 pages, 5×7, softcover

Genre: Chapter Book (K-3)

Series: The Falcon Shield

This book is not eligible for a Whitney Award.

Ten-year-old Ben and twelve-year-old Joseph discover strange things happening in the woods behind their house. A large man in full black armor and holding a crossbow appears out of nowhere. When an arrow strikes a tree right above their heads, Ben and Joseph are forced to run deep into the woods, only to discover an old castle and none other than King Arthur, who offers them refuge.

In fact, King Arthur has come forward in time in order to find new Knights for his Round Table Knights who will fight against evil and choose the right. However, defeating medieval black knights, ogres, and dragons won t be what gets the boys knighted. Instead, the real test comes by the choices the boys must make when faced with peer pressure.

Finding the courage to do the right thing earns the boys a piece of magical armor (one piece of armor per book) and ultimately makes them Knights of Right!

Babylon (Millennial Glory IX) by Wendie L. Edwards

Title: Babylon (Millennial Glory, vol IX)

Author: Wendie L. Edwards

Publisher: Seventh Seal Publishing

Release Date: October 29, 2009

ISBN: 978-0971222861

Size: 314 pages, softcover

Genre: Speculative

Genre: Hidden Light, Wars of Light, Apocalypse, the Unveiling, The Ascension, Hanging by a Thread, Justice of Affliction, United We Stand, He Is Coming

The unstable earth shakes. The waters continue to rise. Waves heave beyond their bounds as the earth wobbles like a drunken man. Babylon rises as wickedness covers the world like a blanket. Evil spirits seduce its kings and inhabitants with desires of riches and hedonistic living.

Every knee must bow in honor and obedience to the International Community of United Nations and the celebrated Messiah who moves among them, but not all nations do. There are a few radical, religious, rebel nations who resist the matriculation process and refuse the biochip, but not for long! They will be crushed!

In America, the Saints hearts yearn for Zion. A company of three hundred thousand wind triumphantly out of the mountains, their terrible banners of freedom flying high. They are lead by one like Moses, accompanied about by fierce armies of tribal people. Their age-old desire is to finally build the prophesied city of New Jerusalem. Are their hearts worthy? Inevitably, there are trials and hardships which purify them, giving God a sanctified people. Now no power on earth or in hell can stop them!

The Clone Betrayal by Steven L. Kent

Title: The Clone Betrayal

Author: Steven L. Kent

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: October 27, 2009

ISBN: 978-0441017874

Size: 384 pages, 4×6″, softcover

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: The Clone Republic, Rogue Clone, The Clone Alliance, The Clone Elite

Lt. Wayson Harris was born and bred as the ultimate soldier. But he is unique, possessing independence of thought. And when the military brass decide to blame the clones for the decimation of the U.A. republic, Lt. Harris decides to stop being the scapegoat, with all the firepower he can muster.

The Shadow Dragons by James Owen

Title: The Shadow Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica)

Author: James A. Owen

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Release Date: October 27, 2009

ISBN: 978-1416958976

Size: 432 pages, Hardcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: Here There Be Dragons (v. 1), The Search for the Red Dragon (v. 2), The Indigo King (v. 3)

World War II has been raging for three years, but a more terrible evil is just over the horizon. The last stones are falling from the Keep of Time, and the Imperial Cartological Society, led by Richard Burton, has collected doors and is building a new tower at the request of an old enemy: the Winter King’s shadow. He has a terrible weapon — the Spear of Destiny — that can be used to command the shadows of anyone it touches.

The Shadow King uses the Spear of Destiny to enlist an unstoppable army of Dragon shadows. And after the Archipelago falls, the Shadow King intends to use the turmoil of World War II to take over both worlds.

All the legendary Caretakers, past and present, come together to save two worlds, and their only hope lies with a small group of companions who are on the quest for the broken sword Caliburn: the Grail Child, Rose Dyson; her clockwork companion, the owl Archie; a dead professor of ancient literature; and the mythical knight Don Quixote.

A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry

Title: A Christmas Promise

Author: Anne Perry

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Release Date: October 27, 2009

ISBN: 978-0345510662

Size: 208 pages, Hardcover

Genre: Mystery, Christmas

Three days before Christmas, in the freezing slums of London’s East End, thirteen-year-old Gracie Phipps encounters Minnie Maude Mudway, who is only eight, alone, and determined to find her friend Charlie.

However Charlie is no ordinary companion: He is a donkey who belonged to Minnie Maude’s Uncle Alf. Gracie is shocked to learn that only the day before, someone brutally murdered Uncle Alf and made off with his rag-and-bones cart and the beloved beast who pulled it. Now, come hell or high water, Minnie Maude means to rescue Charlie–and Gracie decides to help. But the path that Uncle Alf had taken to his death was not his regular route, and in his cart were not just the usual bits of worn silver and china but also, the children are told, a dazzling golden box. What its contents may have been no one can say, for, like Charlie and the cart, it too has vanished.

Uncertain where their four-legged friend may be, the children are drawn into an adult world far beyond their innocent imaginings. And in a shop gleaming with beautiful objects, they recruit an unexpected ally: Mr. Balthasar, who warns them that the shining prize may be a Pandora’s box of evil.

Set in the Victorian world where Anne Perry reigns supreme, A Christmas Promise culminates in a radiant finale that will remain with you long after the final page is turned.

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson

Title: The Gathering Storm (#12 in the Wheel of Time series)

Author: Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: October 27, 2009

ISBN: 978-0765302304

Size: 784 pages, Hardcover

Genre: Fantasy

Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready.

The final volume of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor—his wife, Harriet McDougal—to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so Tor proudly presents The Gathering Storm as the first of three novels that will make up A Memory of Light. This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era.

In this epic novel, Robert Jordan’s international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward—wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders—his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.

Egwene al’Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower—and possibly the world itself.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Farworld: Land Keep by J Scott Savage

Title: Farworld: Land Keep

Author: J Scott Savage

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Release Date: September 30, 2009

ISBN: 978-1606411643

Size: 374 pages, 6×9″, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Series: Farworld: Water Keep (v1)

Four mythical Elementals—Water, Land, Air, and Fire—have the power to save two worlds, Earth and Farworld, from a common enemy: the Dark Circle.

In book one, Water Keep, a portal has been opened between the two worlds, allowing Marcus, from Earth, and Kyja, from Farworld, to combine their unique gifts and begin their epic quest to find the Elementals.

In book two, Land Keep, Marcus and Kyja travel with Cascade, a Water Elemental, toward Land Keep, the home of the powerful and wise Land Elementals. However, their journey may end before it even begins.

Land Keep is empty, deserted for at least a thousand years, and the rumor is that the creatures who once controlled all land magic are extinct. Marcus and Kyja’s only hope seems to lie in finding the Augur Well, a legendary Oracle protected by subtle traps and mind-bending trials. To succeed in their quest, Marcus and Kyja must also avoid the Keepers of the Balance, an order dedicated to redistributing magic to the rich and powerful. And they must travel far underground, where Cascade is unable to follow and where they will be unable to leap to the safety of Earth.

As the Dark Circle closes around them, Marcus and Kyja are faced with the temptation of what they desire most. Sacrifices must be made, and not everyone will survive unscathed.

Alcatraz vs The Knights of Crystallia by Brandon Sanderson

Title: Alcatraz versus The Knights of Crystallia

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: October 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0439925556

Size: 336 pages, 6×8″, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Series: Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians (v1), Alcatraz vs The Scrivener’s Bones (v2)

When Alcatraz and Grandpa Smedry make a pilgrimage to the Free Kingdom city of Crystallia, the Smedry home base, Alcatraz is shocked to see that he is, in fact, a legend. When he was a baby he was stolen by the Evil Librarians, and his mother, a Librarian herself, was behind the whole scheme. Now, with his estranged father, who is acting indeed strange, Bastille, who has been stripped of her armor, and Grandpa Smedry, who is, as always, late to everything (that’s his Talent), Alcatraz tries to save a city under siege. From who? Why, the Librarians of course!