My Book- Finished

I have finally finished my book, Shaken Forever- Banner of the Lord's Army. I have been working on this since January 2, 2010 and finished today June 24, 2010. It is 207 pages long, 11 times new roman font, double-spaced. It is unedited at 63,130 words. It is shorter than I anticipated, but I am going to start on its sequel.

I sent the preface and the first three chapter in to Deseret Books on May 11. So I will give more updates on whether it was accepted, if I get a release date, etc. Cross your fingers for me. I am preparing myself for rejection, just so I'm not disappointed, but it will still be exciting if it gets accepted.

Here is the letter I sent to the publisher:

In the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, we learn about Captain Moroni, the chief captain over the entire Nephite army. We read about his new ways of thinking and planning concerning the ways of war. I chose to write about Captain Moroni because the prophet Mormon wrote a very praiseworthy scripture on him: “Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." (Alma 48:17). I believe that this praise depicts Captain Moroni as a very worthy role model for today’s readers.
In the following manuscript, I have fictionalized the stories contained in Alma 43-52. Captain Moroni is an opinionated, yet brave and wise young man who has served in the army since he was only 15 years old. Orphaned just a couple years previous to the start of the novel, he has nothing to do, but put all his focus on his duties as a soldier. However, he is made a captain over the army residing in the Land Jershon, where the Anti-Nephi-Lehis are staying. He meets and eventually marries his wife (who later becomes another major character in the story) while there. When he is only 25 years old, he is chosen to become the chief captain over the entire Nephite army. While he raises a small family, he fights in countless battles. These including the battle on the River Sidon (Alma 43- 44) and the raising of the Title of Liberty (Alma 46). The main antagonist is Amalickiah.
As a sub-plot we also follow Helaman, the son of Alma the Younger as he establishes the church throughout the land. We follow him as he is prepared to become the new high priest over the land and to be given possession of the brass plates.
Moroni’s wife goes through struggles of her own as her husband is constantly away from home, leaving her alone to raise her children. We follow her journey towards total humility as she puts all her trust in the Lord to protect and guide her husband.
I’m pleased to present part one of Shaken Forever- The Banner of the Lord’s Army, a story of faith, trust in the Lord, and fighting for what is right. I will begin working on a sequel for it, about Moroni’s battles with Ammoron after Amalickiah’s death. The manuscript is complete at an estimate of 80,000 words, with the chapter notes still in progress. There may be a change in the number after I finish editing the ending.
I look forward to hearing from you.