Elaine Marie Cooper Author

Historical Fiction That Grabs Your Heart and Feeds Your Soul

American History

Review: “A Reluctant Melody” by Sandra Ardoin

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For such a complex novel filled with twists and turns, the story line of “A Reluctant Melody” remains clear, easy to follow, and captures your attention throughout.

It’s 1892 and Joanna Stewart is a young widow of twenty-six, but the circumstances and bad decisions she has made in her past have brought enough tragedy and rejection to last a lifetime. All she wants to do now is sell her home bequeathed by her late husband and start a new life, far from the accusing eyes and castigating tongues of the town. These haughty neighbors only reinforce what she already knows: Her sins are unforgivable.

Just as she finds a glimmer of hope when a buyer makes an offer on her house, she is instead forced to face the very man who ruined her life.  Instead of running away, she must wrestle with her guilt all over again, as well as the feelings of attraction she has long repressed—feelings that sent her on a downward spiral so long ago.

ARM Cover

The settings in “A Reluctant Melody” by Sandra Ardoin sweep you back in time to 1890’s North Carolina. Ms. Ardoin has done her research well, helping the reader feel the sights, sounds and pacing of the era. Every detail from clothing to hair styles to the stricter mores of the time transport a reader to another time and place.

Although the atmosphere fills your senses, it is the characters who truly shine in this complicated yet well developed story. Ms. Ardoin creates believable protagonists and antagonists who draw you into understanding the complexities of life, the ramifications of sin, and the redemption that is possible for all if they will accept it.

This is a historical I will be recommending for a long time. A five-star tale of intrigue, hope and romance. Well done!

 

Author Bio:

Sandra Ardoin_Headshot

Sandra Ardoin writes inspirational historical romance. She’s the author of The Yuletide Angel and A Reluctant Melody. A wife and mom, she’s also a reader, football fan, NASCAR watcher, garden planter, country music listener, antique store prowler. Visit her at www.sandraardoin.com and on the Seriously Write blog. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, and Pinterest. Join her email community to receive occasional updates and a free short story.

 

You can enter her launch team giveaway by clicking here

Release Day Tomorrow!

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I am so excited that it is the eve of release day for Road to Deer Run!

I have anticipated this re-release of my first novel ever since the Deer Run Saga was contracted with CrossRiver Media. When it first released in 2010 it was in need of edits and a new cover. CrossRiver Media has provided both, plus a whole new audience of readers. I am blessed.

I’m giving two blog links that are running this week in celebration. They provide much background information about Road to Deer Run that you might find interesting.

Click here for the first blog post.

Click here for the second one.

If you want to participate in my online facebook party, here is the link for it. Click here.  There is a bounty of prizes in a drawing Friday morning!

Thank you to all my readers for your support. I am so grateful.

Road to Deer Run - Cover

You can pre-order paperback copies through CrossRiver’s site. If you use the promo code DEERRUN25, you will receive a 25% discount at checkout. Click here

You can order kindle at Amazon. Click here

First Five Requests get Free Audio of “Fields!”

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My publisher for Fields of the Fatherless has just let me know that he is offering FIVE coupons for a free audio version of the same! There is a stipulation however: If you download it for free from audible.com, he requests that you listen and post a review.

If you’ve never had a chance to read or listen to Fields of the Fatherless, you could be in for a surprise. Most Americans are well familiar with the first day of the American Revolution and the battles at Lexington and Concord. But are you aware there was a far worse battle that occurred that same day in a small village called Menotomy? You might ask how I learned of this, since it is so often left out of our history books.

The answer is simple: I grew up in Menotomy, now known as Arlington, Massachusetts. In fact, my house was down the street from the site of this terrible battle. I’d walk by that old wood frame house year after year and wonder what the sign out front meant. It was not until I was an adult that I researched the story of the Jason Russell House and the terrible events that occurred there on April 19, 1775.

As I studied the events of that day, I learned about the family that lived there. And I chose to focus on one family member, Betsy Russell, daughter of Jason Russell. She was just 18-years-old that day in 1775. And I’m certain the tragedy of those hours of battle lived in her heart until the day she died. So the story is told through the eyes of Betsy, a teen on the verge of womanhood whose hopes for a peaceful life of raising her own family seem suddenly shattered like the shards of glass littering her lawn after the attack.

 

So if you’ve never heard the audio version of Fields of the Fatherless, you are in for a dramatic presentation read by actress Becca Ballenger. If you would like this audible version for free, be among the first five to request the coupon code. Leave your email in the comment section in this format: suchandsuch (at) gmail (dot) com.

Best wishes!

 

 

 

Cover Reveal – “Road to Deer Run”

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Cover Reveal Day for Road to Deer Run is here at last! And soon, the newly edited text and the beautiful interior design will be available for readers to be swept up in this historical romance set in 1777. I cannot wait!

Book Launch Day will be December 10 but there will be plenty of opportunities before then to pre-order a copy for either Kindle or in paperback.  But keep December 10 on your calendar, as there will be lots of fun giveaways to celebrate this new version of Road to Deer Run. I’ll announce more details as the time draws near and I will set up an event page on Facebook.

Some say you can’t tell a book by its cover. While that may sometimes be correct, a book cover can reveal much about what is inside the story. What do you see in the facial expression of Mary Thomsen as she clutches a red coat in her arms? This new cover should give a hint at the intense story line of this historical romance. And since it is an inspirational romance, it is generally geared towards an adult audience rather than YA. There is nothing graphic in this book, but it is not intended for young children. It is, after all, a story set in the midst of the American Revolutionary War.

Road to Deer Run - Cover

I want to thank CrossRiver Media for breathing new life into the Deer Run Saga. The edits by Debra Butterfield and the new cover design allow readers of the earlier release to be in for a treat. It is basically the same story, but so much more.

 

The sequels will release in 2016: Promise of Deer Run in June and Legacy of Deer Run in December. I cannot wait to share these novels with you as well. It is a series close to my heart and I am grateful for its rebirth!

 

 

 

Cover Reveal in One Week: Road to Deer Run

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Sometimes dreams unfold slowly. Often the journey to fulfillment takes many winding and bumpy roads before the path emerges onto a smooth road. That’s when you look back and realize it was worth all the effort to get to the highway. That’s how I feel with the re-birth of the Deer Run Saga.

And in just one week, the brand new cover for Road to Deer Run will be revealed.  The book itself will release on December 10.

The idea for Road to Deer Run was planted in my heart in 2007, exactly four years after the death of my daughter. It was an anniversary of her loss spent like most—hiding under my bed covers. I had no intention of climbing out of my quilted cave to face a world without Bethany. Then an inaudible voice spoke to my heart. It was as clear as if I’d heard it with my ears: A directive to write a book based on my ancestors.

Well, that wasn’t in my plan. I was already working full time as a nurse. Besides, I had given up writing altogether. I had tried creating an article one time after Bethany’s death, only to realize that bleeding words onto a keyboard was far too painful. No more writing for me, I determined.

 

American Revolution Monument
Site of the Homestead of Daniel Prince

And then the still small voice beckoned me out from beneath the covers.

 

I was confused, not to mention embarrassed. What would I tell my husband? Apparently God had that taken care of as Steve did not question my sanity, but took me to the used bookstore to start my research. It was just another adventure at the Cooper house.

 

So after a stint of self-publishing in 2010, the Deer Run Saga has a contract with a new publisher, new edits and brand new cover, which I can’t wait to share with you. Road to Deer Run’s cover will be revealed first.

In the meantime, I’ll share photos of a visit to the land of my ancestors in Massachusetts. The path they trod, the stone walls they likely created, the granite monument that now memorializes where Daniel Prince built his first home in America. It was an inspiring journey of connecting with my family’s past while seeing God’s hand in the present.

Rural Massachusetts
My ancestor’s path

Review of “Cassia” by Susan F. Craft

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It’s difficult to pinpoint what I appreciate the most about Susan Craft’s latest release entitled “Cassia.” Is it the well-crafted and impeccably researched story? The amazing tale filled with love and adventure? Or the fact that the author describes the true face of evil, not falling into the unrealistic device of romanticizing pirates who seek to kill and destroy? It is each of these aspects of this third book in her series (that includes “Chamomile” and “Laurel”) that had me riveted to my kindle late into the night. I am just saddened to bid farewell to these precious characters, so skillfully created by the author.

But I applaud Ms. Craft’s satisfying finish to an amazing family saga. And I never fear that the author has short-changed us on getting the historical facts correct. Her amazing ability to blend details from the past with an enticing story for present day readers never ceases to amaze me.

Another five star novel to satisfy this historical romance reader. Well done!

front cover fina.

Author Bio:

Susan F. Craft best

Susan F. Craft writes inspirational historical romantic suspense. Her Xanthakos Family Trilogy includes her Revolutionary War novel, The Chamomile, which won the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Okra Pick (re-released April 2015); its sequel, Laurel (released in January 2015); and the third in the trilogy, Cassia, (released in September 2015). Her publisher is Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas (LPC), and her literary agent is Linda Glaz of Hartline Literary Agency. To assist authors to “get it right about horses in their works,” Susan worked with the International Long Riders’ Guild Academic Foundation to compile A Writer’s Guide to Horses that can be found at www.lrgaf.org .

She recently retired after a 45-year career as a communications director, editor, and proofreader.  She currently serves on the LPC Heritage Beacon Imprint publication board and works for LPC as a manuscript editor of historical fiction.

Forty-five years ago, she married her high school sweetheart, and they have two adult children, one granddaughter, and a granddog. An admitted history nerd, she enjoys researching for her novels, painting, singing, listening to music, and sitting on her porch watching the rabbits and geese eat her daylilies.

You can purchase “Cassia” on Amazon by clicking here. Available in both Kindle and paperback.