Gale Sears is an American author specializing in historical fiction. She has various

Whitney Awards The Whitney Awards are awards given annually for novels by LDS authors. Established in 2007, they are named after Orson F. Whitney, a prominent early member of the LDS Church. There are several categories for which novels may be nominated. The Whit ...

for her works. She is also a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

Early life

Gale Sears was born in

Lake Tahoe, California Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake ...

. She later moved to

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, where she attended

President William McKinley High School President William McKinley High School, more commonly referred to as McKinley High School, is a comprehensive public high school in the Honolulu District of the Hawaii State Department of Education. It serves grades nine through twelve. McKinley i ...

. Sears graduated from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

with a bachelor's degree in playwriting. She later received a master's degree in theater arts from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. She is a member of

. She married George Sears. The couple has two children and lives in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Career

Sears started writing plays when she was in college. Her first novel was not published until 1997. She specializes in historical fiction. She chooses to write her books out by hand. Many of her books center around female protagonists. Her novels often feature elements of

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of t ...

and Beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She often juxtaposes church principles and government ideologies. In order to write her books, she spends hundreds of hours researching historical events and various cultures. In order to stay organized, she divides her research into folders. Sears was inspired to write her book ''The Silence of God'' after reading a magazine article about the Lindlofs, a family of

Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Awards

Sears has won several

in Mormon Literature. Her novel ''Letters in the Jade Dragon Box'' won a 2011 Whitney Award in Historical Fiction. In 2007, ''Upon the Mountains'' was a finalist for a Whitney Award in Best Novel of the Year as well as in Best Historical Fiction. Her book ''The Route'' was nominated for a Whitney Award in Best General Fiction in 2009. ''The Silence of God'' was a finalist in Historical Fiction in 2010, and her book ''Belonging to Heaven'' was a finalist for a Whitney Award in Historical Fiction in 2013.

Selected publications

* ''Belonging to Heaven: A Historical Novel'' (2013) * ''The Missing Christmas Treasure'' (2012) * ''Letters in the Jade Dragon Box: A Historical Novel'' (2011) * ''The Silence of God'' (2010) * ''The Route'' (2009) * ''Upon the Mountains'' (2007) * ''Until the Dawn'' (2006) * ''Autumn Sky'' (2004)

References

External links

Interview with Gale Sears about ''Letters in the Jade Dragon Box''

Gale Sears papers, MSS 8003
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sears, Gale Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Women historical novelists Latter Day Saint writers Brigham Young University alumni University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Harold B. Lee Library-related 21st century articles