Welcome to the blog tour for Zion's Call by Jeremy Maughan!
1830's LDS Historical Fiction
Howard Egan has left his life at sea to try his hand at the new america. A dream of owning land and a better life for himself. More than anything he wants to find a woman to spend this new life together. To his surprise he finds her on his first day on shore. He just didn't expect her to be so beautiful or to be so harsh.
Thrown into the middle of a political firestorm between a Mormon missionary and local business men. Tasked with being the Mormon's Bodyguard Howard has to find a way to secure his love, fulfill his duty and keep himself and the Mormon alive.
Author Jeremy Maughan
Jeremy Maughan a seventh generation member of the LDS Church, was born February 1978 in Provo Utah. As a young man he had a passion for reading. One of his fondest memories is laying on the back on his parents boat reading for days at Lake Powell. He would spend days reading Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, David Eddings,Terry Pratchett and many of great fantasy writers. He says that the only way he passed English in high school was because his teachers allowed him to turn in book reports as extra credit.
After High School Jeremy attended Devry Institute of Technology and studied to become a programmer. After two semesters he dropped out, having already landed a great programming job. He didn't find the need to continue his education to get a job he already had.
A few short months after dropping out of school he was convinced by a close friend, who was a recent convert to the LDS church, to serve a mission. In May of 1997 he was called to serve in the Oregon Portland mission. He reported to the MTC just 6 weeks after submitting his mission papers. There he gained a deep testimony of the gospel that has stayed with him throughout his life.
Once he returned home from his mission his love of the North West pulled at him and he moved to Seattle to pursue his profession programming career. While attending institute his meet the love of his life and married her for time and all eternity in the Timpanogos Temple. In their 14 years of marriage they have had 5 children. Two boys and three girls. Jeremy’s writing career started with a simple 30 day challenge and the desire to fulfill a item on his bucket list. Wanting to do a challenge to write every day for 30 days he needed something to write about. After days of struggle he was studying the writings C.S. Lewis and was inspired by the story behind The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Jeremy decided to follow in Lewis’s footsteps and write about his own children. A story was hatched and he set out to write a novel for his kids and about his kids.
He caught the writing bug and has written many stories for his family and friends. His most recent work, “Zion’s Call” is a full length historical fiction novel based on one of his ancestors and his conversion to the gospel.
After High School Jeremy attended Devry Institute of Technology and studied to become a programmer. After two semesters he dropped out, having already landed a great programming job. He didn't find the need to continue his education to get a job he already had.
A few short months after dropping out of school he was convinced by a close friend, who was a recent convert to the LDS church, to serve a mission. In May of 1997 he was called to serve in the Oregon Portland mission. He reported to the MTC just 6 weeks after submitting his mission papers. There he gained a deep testimony of the gospel that has stayed with him throughout his life.
Once he returned home from his mission his love of the North West pulled at him and he moved to Seattle to pursue his profession programming career. While attending institute his meet the love of his life and married her for time and all eternity in the Timpanogos Temple. In their 14 years of marriage they have had 5 children. Two boys and three girls. Jeremy’s writing career started with a simple 30 day challenge and the desire to fulfill a item on his bucket list. Wanting to do a challenge to write every day for 30 days he needed something to write about. After days of struggle he was studying the writings C.S. Lewis and was inspired by the story behind The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Jeremy decided to follow in Lewis’s footsteps and write about his own children. A story was hatched and he set out to write a novel for his kids and about his kids.
He caught the writing bug and has written many stories for his family and friends. His most recent work, “Zion’s Call” is a full length historical fiction novel based on one of his ancestors and his conversion to the gospel.
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Review:
After a stint at sea, Howard Egan finds himself in Salem, Massachusetts. While there he runs into an intriguing young lady and decides his time might be better spent in Salem. Taking a position making ropes, he soon sets forth a great future for himself. Things change though when some Mormon missionaries come to town. Howard becomes the bodyguard for the Mormons, but this puts him in a difficult position. Everything he has carefully planned may be destroyed for some men he hardly knows. Will it all be worth it?
I love historical fiction, so I was excited to read this book. There was a great story mixed with some real historical things. That made for a really fun story. I did feel a little thrown into things at the beginning though. I feel like the introductions could have been a bit smoother. Once you get to know everyone though and their backgrounds, things fall into place. I thought Howard had a very compelling story. He wanted to make a better life for himself, and he worked very hard to get there. He also was a man of great conscience. He did was he was supposed to, and he did it to the best of his ability.
Of course in all this there was a love story as well. Howard is immediately taken with a girl, but he has to work to get her for sure. Her name is Tamson, and she's a girl with a sharp tongue and a very clear idea of what she wants. Howard will work just as hard to earn the girl of his dreams as he will for the life of his dreams. Things get a bit complicated with Tamson becomes a believer in the Mormons that Howard has been a bodyguard for. Overall this was a fun story with a lot of good historical context. It was a very good read.
Book provided for review.
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Ends 7/20/15
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