Come to the Tower

By Keith Fisher

I’m impressed. No, I’m amazed. When Annette Lyon asked me to review her new book on the blog, I readily agreed. I looked forward to another of her Temple books. I asked to be scheduled last so I would have time to read. With all the stressful moments, competing for my sanity this month, I barely touched it.

Then one day, I took my laptop to the hospital to be with my dad. I wanted to read my new book to him before he died. With visitors coming and going, I managed to get it read and he liked it. He pointed out a concept I hadn’t noticed was there, and we had our last literary discussion.

I noticed the icon representing the PDF version of Tower of Strength, opened it up, and started to read it to Dad.

I became transfixed because of the depth of the writing. Annette’s talent and word crafting skills jumped out from the pages. I thoroughly enjoyed her descriptions, and the depth of characters. She makes the reader love her character in a short few paragraphs. Even those who would not be in the story for long came fully developed on the pages.

I found myself stopping my reading to go back and reread whole paragraphs. I’m sure Dad felt like a TV viewer without the remote, trying to watch while his spouse keeps changing programs.

I didn’t get to finish reading the book to dad, but he loved what he heard. Dad' was familiar with the author’s work, and I took pride in the fact that I had an advance copy of a new book by the author of At The Water’s Edge.

I am back reading the book, and I’m pleased by the historical depictions of places where my ancestors lived, in the times when they lived there. The romantic aspects are portrayed with the magic of the human heart. I especially love the way Annette showed us the unabashed, pure love, Fred had for his wife, Tabitha.

So far, Tower of Strength is a must read. Especially, for those who are a little critical of LDS fiction. The writing is very good, and reflects the quality of many of the books being published in that market these days. You can buy a copy Here

Good luck with your writing---see you next week.