Elaine Marie Cooper Author

Historical Fiction That Grabs Your Heart and Feeds Your Soul

Awards

Saratoga Letters: Finalist in Selah Awards!

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Yesterday was extra special when it was announced that Saratoga Letters was a finalist in the historical fiction category for the Selah Awards! What made the day even sweeter was my good friend, Janet Grunst, was also announced as a finalist … in the same category! I am truly excited for us both.

 

Lg-A Heart Set Free Final Cover

Janet’s book A Heart Set Free was a labor of love for many years for Janet and finally saw fruition this past year when it was published. Saratoga Letters was published at the culmination of one of the most difficult years I’ve ever experienced personally. I was diagnosed with a serious knee infection last April and was laid up in treatment for months.

I suppose it seems like writers just write their story, submit it to a publisher, do edits, and then watch it get a new cover and magically appear on Amazon.com. But there is so much more behind the story. There are family crises, numerous frustrations on the path to publication, and personal trials that become woven into the big picture. So when both Janet and I were chosen as finalists, it was a sweet reward indeed. Regardless of who wins (and there is a third contender in the category) just being a finalist is a category I treasure. And I thank the Lord for His goodness in the trials.

Selahs_Seal_Finalist_2017

Psalm 27:13-14

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage.

 

 

 

 

Free Copy: Fields of the Fatherless

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My publisher is offering a free copy of Award-winning “Fields of the Fatherless” in a Goodreads Giveaway!

This book has 110 reviews on Amazon, 4.7 out of 5.0 stars. Some reviewers say:

 

History is bursting with stories to be told, but oftentimes some are overlooked that cry out to be shared. This is one of them.

 

“Fields of the Fatherless” is a great read, not only for its intended Young Adult audience, but for mature readers, as well. Anyone interested in historical fiction will be drawn in and held captive by Elaine Marie Cooper’s imaginative and compelling storytelling.

 

The book is gently periodic with just the right touch of dialogue and rich details that made me feel I stepped back to 1775, walking, talking, crying, even smelling with Betsy Russell. It’s more than history, more than a story; reading Fields of the Fatherless was an experience.

 

If you love American History and have never read this novel based on actual events that occurred on the first day of the American Revolution, here is your chance to win it and read it, at no cost to you! Not only will you discover a major battle that occurred on the same day as Lexington and Concord, you will get an up-close view of the events leading to the outbreak of war, from the eyes of an eighteen-year-old young woman who lived through that terrible day. It was a day we should never forget.

Here is a photo of the Jason Russell House, the actual home at which the events occurred.

Jason Russell House

 

To enter to win the free copy, all you have to do is click on the link here and follow the prompts. It’s that simple.

 

Best wishes and many blessings!

 

Webinar Interview – “Bethany’s Calendar”

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I can think of nothing in my life that was as devastating as losing my daughter to brain cancer. And when I felt that inner “call” to write about that experience, I wished I could ignore it. But I knew it was pointless to argue with God.

The result was the book known as “Bethany’s Calendar.” It won the Selah award for best nonfiction memoir in 2015, but the award itself pales with the impact the book has made in encouraging others and giving hope in the midst of despair.

 

This past week I had the privilege of being interviewed about my daughter, the impact on my family, and the ways the Lord has used my daughter’s testimony to inspire many.

You can watch the webinar at this link anytime. Just click here and go to Episode 32. I pray you are blessed.

The story of my daughter's journey with cancer.
The story of my daughter’s journey with cancer.

 

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!

 

 

 

Celebrating — One Hundred Reviews!

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Perhaps other more well-known authors are used to it. But this not-on-the-New-York-Times-Bestseller-List author is grateful beyond words. My one hundredth review of Fields of the Fatherless posted this week on Amazon. Even better, the reviews tally up to 4.8 out of 5 stars.

God is so gracious and has blessed Fields of the Fatherless beyond anything I might have hoped for. He is the one I give credit to for this milestone and for the awards this book has won.

I want to thank each of you who have read this young adult fiction and responded to the story. Your positive reflections about Fields of the Fatherless have touched me deeply. Some readers offered criticism and I am grateful for that as well. Authors who shut their ears to the voices of critics are not allowing themselves to grow in their craft. May I never be so caught up in “my own way” that I will not listen to input from others.

Thank you, thank you, readers and reviewers! I cherish you and am honored to write books that both entertain and teach something about the history of this great nation. And if you are inspired to grow stronger in your faith through the words that I write, I am truly blessed beyond measure.

Why the American Revolution is NOT the Civil War

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A recent review that I read for my latest novel, Fields of the Fatherless, made me groan.

Now please don’t get me wrong: I VERY MUCH appreciate folks who take the time to read and/or listen and then review my books.  Reviewers could spend their precious moments on any given day doing anything else in their busy lives. Instead, they have chosen to post their thoughts about a book that I wrote. I am so grateful to my reviewers.

What made me groan was yet another reminder of how often Americans confuse two crucial wars that occurred in our country: The American Revolution and the Civil War (also called the War Between the States). Each war significantly changed our country. Each conflict set our states on a new course. And each war should be duly remembered for its importance in our nation’s history.

Although my book is clearly labeled a Revolutionary War novel, the above-mentioned reviewer called it a book about the Civil War. The person even changed the clearly designated British soldier as a “Confederate” soldier. *SIGH*

Ok. Time for a brief history lesson:

DSCN5092

The American Revolution was the war that changed Colonial America into the United States of America. It was fought between the American colonists against Great Britain, the mother nation.

It began in 1775 and lasted eight years. The signing of the Declaration of Independence, for which we celebrate the 4th of July and the birth of our nation, occurred in 1776. So this year celebrates our 238th Birthday. Happy Birthday, America!

George Washington became the 1st president of the United States, starting after the first election in 1789.

 

The Civil War started on April 12, 1861 and was fought between the Northern states and the Southern states of this country. It ended when General Robert E. Lee surrendered the last Confederate (Southern) Army to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865 (although the last battle was actually fought in Texas on May 13, 1865).

The core conflict was the issue of slavery and states rights.

The war took place during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, the nation’s 16th president.

 

*     *     *     *     *

As you can see from this extremely brief history lesson, the wars occurred in completely different centuries and had conflicts born of varying concerns.

As a writer of historical fiction set in the American Revolution, I hope that my work brings to light the issues that led to the birth of the United States.

 

Winner, YA Fiction, 2014 Selah Award; Best Religious Fiction, 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Winner, YA Fiction, 2014 Selah Award; Best Religious Fiction, 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

And on this 4th of July weekend, please take a moment to thank God for the sacrifices that our forefathers and foremothers made in establishing this nation in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed. It was an astonishing announcement—the concept of a free and independent country ruled by the people, of the people and for the people.

 

May that freedom continue to ring.

 

Huzzah!

 

You can purchase Fields of the Fatherless here.