Chris Heimerdinger

Chris Heimerdinger (born August 26, 1963) is an American author who has written twenty novels for adults and young adults, most famously the Tennis Shoes Adventure Series. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church),[1] and most of his stories center on religious themes familiar to Latter-day Saints.

Early life

Heimerdinger was born in Bloomington, Indiana. His father was a professor in theatre at Indiana University. His parents divorced when he was four years old and his mother remarried. Heimerdinger has one older brother and two younger sisters.

Heimerdinger excelled in Wyoming High School competitions for three years in the categories of Humor, Oratory, and Drama.[2] He began to write books at the age of 7, and continued through high school.[3] He also began making super-8 films beginning in junior high, and showed these films to the scholarship committee of Brigham Young University in 1981, earning a full scholarship in 'Theatre and Cinematic Arts'[4] after receiving a Sundance Institute 'Most Promising Filmmaker' award for his film Night Meeting.[5]

Heimerdinger read the Book of Mormon at age 18, during his first semester at college, and was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct 10, 1981.[4]

Books and films

Heimerdinger is the author of the Tennis Shoes Adventure Series. His first published work was Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites (1989), based on events in the Book of Mormon. Thus far thirteen books have followed in the series, the first of which features three children who discover a secret cave capable of transporting its visitors back in time. The following books continue with the original characters as they go to college, get married, and have kids. The characters also have to deal with death, parenting troubles and time travel. The first books in the series were intended to be a fictional account of the Book of Mormon, while later ones explore other historical eras, including Ancient Rome, Israel during the Roman destruction in A.D. 73, and the time period of the Tower of Babel. The last five novels in this series include research notes at the end of each chapter.[6]

In 2005, Heimerdinger began production of Passage to Zarahemla.[6] Originally written in 1999 as a screenplay entitled "Summer of the Nephite" it was published as a novel, Passage to Zarahemla in 2003. The film was released to cinemas in October 2007 and as of 2011 ranks in the top 150 for both Christian and Fantasy Live-Action films.[7] It was released on DVD in June 2008. In August 2011, a book sequel to Passage to Zarahemla, entitled Escape From Zarahemla was released by Covenant Communications, Inc. A self-published novel, Muckwhip's Guide to Capturing the Latter-day Soul, was released as an ebook in November 2012 and as a paperback in December 2012.

In 2008 Heimerdinger was among the top 10 list of LDS authors as chosen by Mormon Times readers.[8]

Public service

Heimerdinger utilizes the title of his Tennis Shoes Adventure Series in helping around the world. In August 2005 Heimerdinger joined with Hearts and Hands for Humanity in American Fork, Utah to help collect tennis shoes for children 5 to 12 years old.[9]

In 2007 Heimerdinger again joined with Hearts and Hands for Humanity to collect tennis shoes. This time it was in honor of a dead soldier, Nathan Barnes, of American Fork, Utah. The goal this time was to collect and send thousands of tennis shoes to Iraq.[10]

Works

Novels

Music CDs

Films
  • The Wolves (1987): Drama about a grade-school boy's club. Produced, written, and directed by Heimerdinger while a student at Brigham Young University. Distributed by Phoenix Films, BFA.[12]
  • Lehi's Land of First Inheritance (2003): Documentary on Book of Mormon geography produced by Newlight Productions, Written by Chris Heimerdinger and Joseph Allen. Directed by Chris Heimerdinger (Dist. by Newlight Prod. and Sounds of Zion, Inc.) ASIN: B000N3WAFM [13]
  • Passage to Zarahemla (2007), a feature-length action/adventure/fantasy movie based on the Heimerdinger book of the same name. The movie version was written and directed by Heimerdinger and was released to theaters October 15, 2007.[14][15]

See also

Notes
  1. Hinton, Tyler (March 30, 2007). "LDS Author Writes, Directs Sci-Fi Film". BYU NewsNet. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  2. "State Contest Winners", Cody Enterprise, November 26, 1980
  3. "Heimerdinger Aims for Film Career" Mark Marymee, Cody Enterprise, March 12, 1981
  4. BYU Daily Universe – Barney J, "Student loves direction: Hopes to help world with movies, mission". August 22, 1983
  5. "Heimerdinger's First Passion was Filmmaking". Meridian Magazine. October 9, 2007. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008.
  6. Molyneux, Logan (September 23, 2005). "'Tennis Shoes' author Chris Heimerdinger : embarks on a path to filmmaking". Daily Herald. p. B1.
  7. "Passage to Zarahemla". Boxofficemojo. Retrieved October 22, 2011. Note that this link is constantly updated; the site is not archived
  8. Larson, Jenny (March 26, 2008). "Readers weigh in on favorite fiction writers". Mormon Times.
  9. Fellow (Fellows?), Jill (Jim?) (August 5, 2005). "Local author to save soles". Daily Herald. p. B1. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  10. "Passage to Zarahemla Shoe Drive to honor fallen soldier". Daily Herald. September 27, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  11. "Passage to Zarahemla [sound recording] : original songs from the motion picture : whispered visions / Chris Heimerdinger". Salt Lake County Library Services. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  12. "The Wolves Movie Review 1986". Net Industries.
  13. "Lehi's Land of First Inheritance, a documentary directed by Chris Heimerdinger". LDS Filmography (LDSfilms.com).
  14. "Passage to Zarahemla (2007)". The New York Times.
  15. Passage to Zarahemla (2007) at IMDb
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