The Partial Works of Dean Hughes

The Partial Works of Dean Hughes

"I read a great deal when I was growing up in Ogden, Utah, and I took creative writing classes in high school. I even started my first novel during my senior year (a novel that was never published). And by then I had developed a secret image of myself as sensitive and rather deep. But I was also on the football team.
"After high school, I attended Weber State University, left to serve as a Mormon missionary in Germany for two-and-a-half years, then returned to finish a degree in English. I went on for a Masters in Creative Writing and a PhD in literature at the University of Washington, in Seattle, and then became a professor of English at Central Missouri State University. But I only lasted eight years. I wanted to be a writer. I took a leave of absence for a year and that year stretched out to a career. I published my first book in 1979, and now have published more than eighty. (I’d say exactly how many, but I can’t remember. I have the same problem with my age sometimes, but I do know I was born in 1943. You can do the math.) .
"I suppose I am a collection of contradictions. I may write fiction all day, but I’m a practical man. I’m steady and systematic about my writing--and disciplined. I don’t leap off into some dream world and “see what happens.” I brainstorm to develop my idea and characters; I do a thorough outline; I draft and re-draft many times. And I don’t miss deadlines.
"I have a PhD in literature, and I spent eight years of my life as an English professor, but I write books called Go to the Hoop! and Nutty’s Ghost.
"I write mostly children’s and young adult books, but my most successful project to date-Children of the Promise-has been a series of novels, written for an adult audience, that deals with the harsh realities and painful emotions of war. About two-thirds of my books have been for a national audience, but the others have been published by Deseret Book and involve Mormon characters, and often, Mormon history. (Excuse me. I mean, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints history.) .
"I often write about sports, but I’m concerned that our culture over-emphasizes athletics. Those concerns come out in my Angel Park books, my Scrappers series, and even in my beginning reader book, Brad and Butter Play Ball! .
"I’m gregarious. I love to talk. In school, I always got my worst report-card marks in “works independently without disturbing others.” So how do I spend my life? Alone. Looking into a computer. Thinking. (Of course, in the last few years I’ve been teaching Creative Writing at Brigham Young University, and that does put me back in touch with the real world-or at least a sort of real world.) .
"I have written everything from nonsense verse for preschoolers to an adult true crime book. I do sports, but I also do humor, mysteries, historical fiction, and serious young adult novels. I get so many ideas that I can’t settle down to one thing.
"Where we (my wife Kathleen and I) have landed, most recently, is Midway, Utah. We live in a house with many windows, and a whole lot to see when we look out. It's a beautiful valley, 6000 feet in altitude, with lots of deer and elk around all the time, golf in our back yard, and skiing just fifteen minutes away. I know that sounds perfect, but I spend most of my life in front of my computer, and probably find as much pleasure in that as I do in the golf or the skiing. One of my great pleasures is serving as Sunday School teacher in a large class of adults. I find myself studying most evenings, just to be ready for the class.
"There is one more huge contradiction in my life. My dad could read a little, but only a little. I don't think he ever read a book in his whole life. So how did I become a writer?
"I'm not sure.
"But back in my childhood days I somehow developed a sense that I was going to do something interesting with my life. My teachers told me I was smart—and I was a good student (in spite of talking too much). But it was really my mother who made me feel I could do whatever I set my mind to. She read to me and created my first love for books, and even more importantly, she welcomed me in from catching grasshoppers and taught me to embroider. Somehow, along with the desire to do something well, she also gave me the feeling that the range of joys in this life is very wide.
"I certainly do have a full life." Dean Hughes. Find out more about Dean at www.deanhughes.net.

Children of the Promise: Rumors of War - Vol I ∙ “Every era has its own refiner’s fire, and World War II put general Church membership and Utah to a test,” Dean Hughes explains. In Children of the Promise, his first historical fiction series for adults, Dean shows through the eyes of the Thomas family how LDS families were tested to the limit.
“Most people agree it was a fascinating time in world and American history. In fact, there is a charm and nostalgia about that dramatic period,” says the author. Dean weaves in those aspects among the conflict in the series. The first volume, Rumors of War opens in 1938 with Elder Alex Thomas and his companion serving in Germany. It soon becomes obvious that he will never complete his mission. War is coming, and that will affect not only Elder Thomas but also his family back home in Salt Lake City."

Children of the Promise: Since You Went Away - Vol. II ∙ "All around Salt Lake City—and across the nation--the banners were showing up now. Each star represented a member of the household who was serving in the military. And already, gold stars—for those who had died in action—were beginning to replace some of the blue ones.

"Picking up where the bestseller Rumors of War left off, Since You Went Away continues with Wally Thomas’s struggle to survive as a prisoner of war on the Bataan Peninsula while his family begin to disperse due to the war. Bobbi and Alex Thomas are leaving for military duty at the infant stages of World War II--Bobbi as a naval nurse at Pearl Harbor and Alex in army basic training. A gripping novel filled with memorable characters, Since You Went Away will draw you into a past charged with danger, action, romance, and the importance of family and faith."

Children of the Promise: Far From Home - Vol. III ∙ "In Far from Home, the third volume in Dean Hughes's best-selling series, Children of the Promise, Alex Thomas is still battling the Nazi forces. He's also worried about whether or not he can preserve the lives of the men in his company, especially Howie, a particularly young and inexperienced soldier. But his biggest concern is staying alive for his new bride, Anna, in England.

"In Japan, Wally is still a prisoner of war. abused by his captors, he's forced to work long hours in the coal mines. Will he learn from his experience, or will it just make him bitter? Or will he even survive?

"In Hawaii, Bobbi is hoping for word from her boyfriend, Richard. When she learns that his ship has gone down, she wonders if he's gone down with it-and as the days pass, the odds of his survival don't look good.
"In Germany, Heinrich Stolz is working as a spy for British intelligence. But as much as he can, he's also looking for his missing son, Peter. When he loses his identification papers, he wonders if he can escape from Germany alive.

"On the home front, stake president Alexander Thomas is becoming wealthy from his weapons factory-which is actually being run by his wife, Bea. but their teenage daughter LaRue is asserting her independence more and more, and they're not sure what to do about it. They're also wondering if they'll ever be together as a family again.

"Far from Home is a moving, powerful novel about the effects of adversity and about the love of family members for each other. If you're interested in World War II, or if you simply enjoy a great story, you won't want to miss this third volume of Children of the Promise. This eagerly-awaited book is set in 1944 and takes the reader through the Battle of the Bulge.

Children of the Promise: When We Meet Again - Vol. IV ∙ Following the Battle of the Bulge, Alex Thomas is reassigned — not without reluctance — to an intelligence unit in Germany. The new assignment challenges Alex's deepest moral values and is more life threatening than combat. As a POW in Japan, Wally suffers torture that may only find relief in death, while Bobbi sorts out her true feelings when she runs into Professor David Stinson thousands of miles away from home.

As the Thomas siblings face new trials in this fourth installment of Dean Hughes's best-selling series, the tides of war appear to ebb as Germany falls to allied forces in Europe and Japan's grip on the Pacific is loosened by a new, extremely powerful weapon — the atomic bomb. Don't miss this exciting episode in the five-volume series.

Children of the Promise: As Long As I Have You - Vol. V ∙ The war is over, and the Thomas family is slowly coming back together at home in Salt Lake City. But that doesn't mean all is well in Zion.

Alex seems to be doing fine, but more and more often he wakes up with nightmares from the war. In addition, what he thought would be an idyllic life with Anna and their son, Gene, brings a variety of new challenges.

Bobbi is in love with Richard, but she still struggles to know if she should marry him — especially since he can't seem to deal with a harrowing experience he had at sea.

Wally, getting stronger every day after his experience in a Japanese POW camp, finds that adjusting to civilian life isn't as easy as he had thought. And Lorraine, the girl of his dreams, is engaged to someone else.

LaRue, more mature and not so boy-crazy, wants to go to school back east, but her parents aren't happy about the decision.

Beverly is thrilled that her family is coming home, but she doesn't always understand how they think or the decisions they make. She's also having to confront another challenge — boys.

And finally, Alexander and Bea have their own problems to overcome. President Thomas is ready to fulfill his dream of a vast business enterprise run by his children. But, as Sister Thomas tries to make him see, the children may have different plans.

In As Long As I Have You, the final volume of the Children of the Promise series, author Dean Hughes presents a moving picture of what life was like for an ordinary LDS family at the end of World War II.

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	Children of the Promise: Rumors of War - Vol I ∙ “Every era has its own refiner’s fire, and World War II put general Church membership and Utah to a test,” Dean Hughes explains. In Children of the Promise, his first historical fiction series for adults, Dean shows through the eyes of the Thomas family how LDS families were tested to the limit. “Most people agree it was a fascinating time in world and American history. In fact, there is a charm and nostalgia about that dramatic period,” says the author. Dean weaves in those aspects among the conflict in the series. The first volume, Rumors of War opens in 1938 with Elder Alex Thomas and his companion serving in Germany. It soon becomes obvious that he will never complete his mission. War is coming, and that will affect not only Elder Thomas but also his family back home in Salt Lake City."
	Children of the Promise: Since You Went Away - Vol. II ∙ "All around Salt Lake City—and across the nation--the banners were showing up now. Each star represented a member of the household who was serving in the military. And already, gold stars—for those who had died in action—were beginning to replace some of the blue ones. "Picking up where the bestseller Rumors of War left off, Since You Went Away continues with Wally Thomas’s struggle to survive as a prisoner of war on the Bataan Peninsula while his family begin to disperse due to the war. Bobbi and Alex Thomas are leaving for military duty at the infant stages of World War II--Bobbi as a naval nurse at Pearl Harbor and Alex in army basic training. A gripping novel filled with memorable characters, Since You Went Away will draw you into a past charged with danger, action, romance, and the importance of family and faith."
	Children of the Promise: Far From Home - Vol. III ∙ "In Far from Home, the third volume in Dean Hughes's best-selling series, Children of the Promise, Alex Thomas is still battling the Nazi forces. He's also worried about whether or not he can preserve the lives of the men in his company, especially Howie, a particularly young and inexperienced soldier. But his biggest concern is staying alive for his new bride, Anna, in England. "In Japan, Wally is still a prisoner of war. abused by his captors, he's forced to work long hours in the coal mines. Will he learn from his experience, or will it just make him bitter? Or will he even survive? "In Hawaii, Bobbi is hoping for word from her boyfriend, Richard. When she learns that his ship has gone down, she wonders if he's gone down with it-and as the days pass, the odds of his survival don't look good. "In Germany, Heinrich Stolz is working as a spy for British intelligence. But as much as he can, he's also looking for his missing son, Peter. When he loses his identification papers, he wonders if he can escape from Germany alive. "On the home front, stake president Alexander Thomas is becoming wealthy from his weapons factory-which is actually being run by his wife, Bea. but their teenage daughter LaRue is asserting her independence more and more, and they're not sure what to do about it. They're also wondering if they'll ever be together as a family again. "Far from Home is a moving, powerful novel about the effects of adversity and about the love of family members for each other. If you're interested in World War II, or if you simply enjoy a great story, you won't want to miss this third volume of Children of the Promise. This eagerly-awaited book is set in 1944 and takes the reader through the Battle of the Bulge.
	Children of the Promise: When We Meet Again - Vol. IV ∙ Following the Battle of the Bulge, Alex Thomas is reassigned — not without reluctance — to an intelligence unit in Germany. The new assignment challenges Alex's deepest moral values and is more life threatening than combat. As a POW in Japan, Wally suffers torture that may only find relief in death, while Bobbi sorts out her true feelings when she runs into Professor David Stinson thousands of miles away from home. As the Thomas siblings face new trials in this fourth installment of Dean Hughes's best-selling series, the tides of war appear to ebb as Germany falls to allied forces in Europe and Japan's grip on the Pacific is loosened by a new, extremely powerful weapon — the atomic bomb. Don't miss this exciting episode in the five-volume series.
	Children of the Promise: As Long As I Have You - Vol. V ∙ The war is over, and the Thomas family is slowly coming back together at home in Salt Lake City. But that doesn't mean all is well in Zion. Alex seems to be doing fine, but more and more often he wakes up with nightmares from the war. In addition, what he thought would be an idyllic life with Anna and their son, Gene, brings a variety of new challenges. Bobbi is in love with Richard, but she still struggles to know if she should marry him — especially since he can't seem to deal with a harrowing experience he had at sea. Wally, getting stronger every day after his experience in a Japanese POW camp, finds that adjusting to civilian life isn't as easy as he had thought. And Lorraine, the girl of his dreams, is engaged to someone else. LaRue, more mature and not so boy-crazy, wants to go to school back east, but her parents aren't happy about the decision. Beverly is thrilled that her family is coming home, but she doesn't always understand how they think or the decisions they make. She's also having to confront another challenge — boys. And finally, Alexander and Bea have their own problems to overcome. President Thomas is ready to fulfill his dream of a vast business enterprise run by his children. But, as Sister Thomas tries to make him see, the children may have different plans. In As Long As I Have You, the final volume of the Children of the Promise series, author Dean Hughes presents a moving picture of what life was like for an ordinary LDS family at the end of World War II.