Robert H. Moss is one of the pioneers of LDS fiction, coming on to the scene at a time when the genre was in its infancy. With a career that spans two decades, Bob is living proof that writing can be a life-long pursuit and passion, and as his first series prepares for a rebirth with a new publisher, it’s obvious that the classics never die. Bob graciously agreed to take time from his busy schedule to answer the following questions for the readers of Families.com.
Bob, can you tell us a little bit about the Nephite Chronicles, your first published books?
I’m a hero worshipper. The prophets of the Book of Mormon were my heroes and I had always had a desire to write about them. I spent years with the desire before I ever put a word on paper.
What novels have you written?
“Celestial Child, A Biography of a Downs-Syndrome Child”
“The Moss Family; 1837-1993”
THE NEPHITE CHRONICLES
“Covenant Coat; A Novel of Joseph”
“I Nephi; A Novel of Nephi and His Family”
“Waters of Mormon; A Novel of Alma, The Elder”
“That I Were An Angel; A Novel of Alma, The Younger”
“Title of Liberty; A Novel of Moroni and Helaman”
“The Abridger; A Novel of Mormon”
“Valiant Witness; A Novel of Moroni”
“Capstone of Faith; A Testimony of the Book of Mormon”
“Guts But No Glory” (A Novel of the Utah War)
“A Readers’ Old Testament Digest”
“A Readers’ Book of Mormon Digest”
“Slavery to Riches”
“On Wings of Eagles: The Positive Christian”
“PMA for LDS”
“The Mad King and the Musician” (An Historical Novel of King Ludwig and
Wagner)
Wow, that certainly is a long list of books! (Click here for descriptions, prices, and pictures of the covers) You started publishing back when LDS fiction was fairly new. What made you decide to enter the LDS market?
I really had no desire to write anything but LDS historical fiction–primarily the Chronicles.
After taking a break from publishing for a while, you’ve just come out with a new novel. Can you tell us about it, and how did you come up with the idea?
We served 3 missions at Martin’s Cove and I fell in love with those wonderful handcart pioneers. I especially was intrigued with the story of the “Sweethearts of the Martin Company” and decided to develop a novel about Sarah Franks and George Padley. Little is known about George Padley, but the family did a short bio on Sarah. This is a story of setting a goal and sticking to it, regardless of the consequences, dedication, loyalty, unrequited love, and faithfulness to Gospel principles. It is also a love story. The novel (“Through Deepening Trials,” Granite Publishing 2006) embraces the complete journey of the Martin Company and is accurate to the day-by-day travel of that company from Liverpool to Salt Lake City. It is told primarily through the journals of those who were there. I took it as a personal challenge to learn all I could about the Handcart pioneers of these 2 companies and spent much time studying the journals,
everything written about them, etc.
How has LDS publishing changed from the time you published the Nephite Chronicles to now?
The most significant way is there are now more publishers. When I was writing there were basically only 3 LDS publishers–DB, Bookcraft, and Horizon. The other factor is the current plethora of LDS authors today. I can only think of 4 authors of historical fiction in the early days. The third thing that has changed is the policies of the publishers concerning historical fiction. Both DB and Bookcraft had a policy that they would not
publish any fiction based on the scriptures. That is the reason I had to go to Horizon to publish the Nephite Chronicles.
Thank you so much for your time, Bob.
Be sure to check out Bob’s website to learn more about him and his work.
Previously interviewed authors:
Josi Kilpack, part one and two
Tamra Norton, part one and two