I suppose I was a dreamer as a child, always imagining places more fascinating and mysterious than the small town in Carroll County, Maryland where I grew up, still too young to realize that what makes any place or time exquisite has little to do with geography and far more to do with the people and the moments you share with them. I also either had an old soul or I was weird because on a sixth grade writing assignment, while other girls were writing poems about the Jackson Five and Donnie Osmond, I penciled a deep, introspective ode entitled “Time”, my first published work, (which still hangs on my mother’s hallway, appropriately matted in black). A few years later I won a high school creative writing contest and I began to see myself as a writer. (Parents, never discount the importance of these little benchmark moments.)

I also loved acting and singing and playing colorful characters with accents. (That came in handy when I met my husband over a CB radio while faking an English accent. . . But I digress. . .) Tom and I married in 1976 and began our family—three boys and “Amanda” as my husband puts it, though Tom, Adam and Josh might prefer equal billing. Like many stay-at-home-mothers, finding uncommitted blocks of time was challenging, but for a few weeks each year, for ten memorable years, I diverted some energy to return to my “rock star” fantasy, singing with friends in an annual musical revue to benefit scouting. Eventually I realized that whether through music or writing, what I loved about entertaining was the joy of connecting with people . . . of telling a story. I returned to writing, beginning a series of short stories when necessity plucked me from my comfy nest, inserting me back into the working world as a Science Lab-Assistant. New challenges brought new growth, and I quickly discovered how much I loved researching a topic and following the trail of a question.

As our children left home for college and missions, we experienced some of Elder Maxwell’s “divine tutorials”. These experiences became the basis of my first manuscript, a story of family love and forgiveness, which I submitted to Covenant in 2003 and which they returned plastered in editorial red ink. Depressed, dejected and feeling unworthy to even own a computer, I buried it away for weeks before considering that Covenant’s willingness to have me make corrections was a great opportunity. I was visiting my daughter, Amanda, at Utah State when the acceptance call came on the revised manuscript. I remember screaming. The next great day came in the spring of 2004 on my grandson Tommy’s six-month birthday, (that's him above with grandma, grinning with our rubber teeth). Krista, his mommy, had brought him down from New York for a visit when the box filled with advance copies of UNSPOKEN arrived. This grandma felt like a new mother again.

I had already begun pursuing another dream that had tugged at me since my first visit to Williamsburg, Virginia--to write a historical-fiction novel. The original manuscript was set in the late 1840’s, avoiding early church history, a topic I felt inadequate to cover. But after much soul searching, a nudge from my editor, Angela, to expand the book, many hours buried in American history, and a year teaching D&C as an Early Morning Seminary teacher, I reconsidered. I backed the book up a generation and picked up the extraordinary history in my own backyard—the War of 1812 and the Star Spangled Banner story—to illustrate the tumultuous America that would become the cradle of the Restoration and the world in which Joseph Smith was raised. After five years of research and rewrites, the result is the historical fiction series called Free Men and Dreamers. Volume one, released in February of 2007 under my initials, LC Lewis, is entitled DARK SKY AT DAWN. Volume two, TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING, was released in May 2008. Volume three, DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT, is scheduled for a November 2009 release.

This project has been a spiritual and patriotic journey for me, helping me to appreciate the frailties and fortitude of this singular generation. These were the children of the Founding Fathers, the first American-born generation, charged to build a nation upon the framework they inherited.

Dark Sky at Dawn, book one of Free Men and Dreamers, introduces the troubled characters--American, British and slave--whose lives are caught up in this complex period. Europe was in tumult over Napoleon, and America was a hotbed of social and political divisiveness. Nearly bankrupt, the American military was under-manned and under-funded, requiring citizen-soldiers to leave their plows and hearths to fight. They marched off, filled with bravado and ballyhoo, but the British threat soon humbled them, nearly breaking their spirit. Twilight's Last Gleaming, book two of the series, carries our characters into the early days of the war, highlighting the sacrifice and courage of the women as well as the men. In Dawn's Early Light, the British war machine heads for Washington, terrorizing families along the Patuxent and Potomac rivers, leaving the citizenry and their leaders fearful that their government, their Constitution, and their very way of life is endangered.

A few bands of courageous Americans offered their all to defend their Capital. Dawn’s Early Light is based on their stories—stories of atonement and courage, love and family, stories of faith and miracles.

These days forged America’s future. This untested generation rediscovered what freedom would require of its people. They were farmers and soldiers, mothers and merchants, religionists, visionaries and entrepreneurs, unprepared for the fight they faced.

They were Free Men and Dreamers. . .

Our nest is empty now. Each of our four children are chasing their own dreams in diverse places, like four research assistants quadrupling my view of the world. Tom and I have an arm-long list of places to visit and history we still want to explore to flesh out the rest of this series. Volume three is about to go to print, and volume four is already begun.

We live in a rapidly changing world that creates more questions than answers it seems. To borrow a line from Dark Sky at Dawn, “. . . knowing what to keep and what to abandon will be the challenge of the next generation.” I’m exploring that. I hope you’ll join me on the journey.

Get Personal with L. C. Lewis

What made you decide to write a historical novel set in a war period?

Two of my sons were at EFY in Willamsburg, Virginia about ten years ago and I became so intrigued and awed by the richness of our colonial heritage that I began reading about the life and lifestyles of early America. Originally, I set the manuscript forward from where it now is because the scope of events in the early nineteenth century was overwhelming to me, but when I was asked to expand the manuscript, I couldn't resist the temptation to illustrate the history in my own backyard and to further research these amazing Americans who had captivated my interest for over a decade and who set the stage for the Restoration.

Which historical figure stands out to you?

Oh, without question it would be George Washington. He always looked so stern to me in those classroom prints growing up, but after reading about his personal life and his struggle to serve his country despite his intense desire for a private life, I have come to really respect and love him, and more importantly, I am so grateful to him. He was so revered that he could easily have set himself up as a king figure, but he was such a spiritual man that he understood that there was a divine plan for this nation.

How has your research changed you?

In so many ways. First, I relate everything to history now and my family gets pretty tired of that, I can tell you! But I hope I've learned one important lesson that crosses all times periods and situations, and it is that we must judge or evaluate a person's life based on the times in which they lived. If we try to measure them using hindsight and the values of another period, we may fail to see that they were a giant in their own time.

Which character in Dark Sky at Dawn most reflects you?

I don't know how it is for all authors, but when I write, each character reflects a little piece of me, or a sliver of my life experience at one time or another, albeit even as an observer. In this way I feel personally engaged in the conversations and thoughts, and hopefully, I can create a more vivid character and story for the reader.

Are you saying that Hannah's spiritual struggles are a reflection of your personal experiences?

Yes, in some ways. Our family went through a very trying period when we were living on prayer and faith. There were lots of days when life seemed so hard and heavy. We carried on with our lives, but often, as soon as the house emptied, I fell beside my bed and pled out loud with the Lord. Many tender, spiritual experiences came from those moments, but had I listened more carefully, I would have felt His arms of love around me even before I began my pleading. I wanted Hannah to reflect that struggle to learn to listen, to trust and to surrender ourselves to His will.