Colonial America

New Releases!

January 16, 2019 by emcoop 6 Comments

In just two days, Friday, Jan. 18, I have the first two books in the Dawn of America Series releasing: War’s Respite and Love’s Kindling. I cannot tell you how excited I am to see these stories in print!

War’s Respite is my very first prequel, set 16 years prior to Love’s Kindling. War’s Respite is also a novella, while Love’s Kindling and the next two books in the series are all novels.

I’m also quite excited to have a completely new website, thanks to the patient efforts of my webmaster, Cody. He has had the patience of Job in dealing with the numerous glitches that have reared their ugly head in the process. But his persistence—and the prayers of many friends—have saved the day. Thanks to ALL of you who prayed.

My two releases will be featured on several other websites in the near future and I will post them as they release. In the meantime feel free to check out my new site, and read about my new releases under the “Elaine’s Books” tab on my menu bar.

Most importantly, I pray that these two new books will bless you in unexpected ways.

Thank you!! Elaine

Links to pre-order:

https://www.amazon.com/Wars-Respite-Elaine-Marie-Cooper-ebook/dp/B07KYVJW4P/
https://www.amazon.com/Loves-Kindling-Elaine-Marie-Cooper-ebook/dp/B07KYWXMLH/

The Thanksgivings in Deer Run

November 20, 2018 by emcoop 2 Comments

The fictional village of Deer Run is the setting for the Deer Run Saga. And since Christmas was not generally celebrated in Colonial New England, Thanksgiving was the main holiday at the end of harvest season. A time to rejoice in God’s provision and a reason for hard-working families to pause in their busy lives to thank God and spend time with loved ones.

A few years ago, I posted this blog about the various Thanksgiving celebrations that I included in each of the Deer Run books. I think the message in this post is as relevant today as it was when I wrote it.

May your Thanksgiving be blessed!

Thanksgivings in Deer Run

If you are blessed enough to be gathering with family and friends this Thanksgiving, you might be thinking that it’s a mixed blessing. We love our families, but they can sometimes say the wrong thing…or share an embarrassing story…. or be grieving and need encouragement. So how can you handle these situations?

Perhaps Thanksgiving stories from the Deer Run Saga can give all of us a few pointers. When it came to family gatherings, the Lowe family could spark plenty of conversation!

Handle embarrassing moments with humor:

Children can say the most unexpected things, which can cause deep embarrassment, as well as hilarity. There was just such a moment in Road to Deer Run when six-year-old Sarah blurts out a phrase she has heard her mother say—without understanding it might be inappropriate in front of a male guest.

It was a statement by her midwife/mother that started the verbal exchange:

“Well, I am so relieved that Missus Stearns did not begin her travail before I could partake of this Thanksgiving bounty.” The midwife sat back from the table, obviously satiated. “She should be sending for me any day now.”

“The husbands come home from war,” Sarah interjected, “and nine months later they are calling for the midwife. That is what mother always says.” Sarah resumed eating her cake, wiping crumbs off her blue woolen bodice.

Mary’s eyes opened wide and her cheeks turned bright red.

Widow Thomsen glared at her young daughter and said tersely, “That is what we say in the company of females only, Miss Sarah.”

“I am sorry, Mr. Lowe.” The girl paused in her eating and stared at her lap. “I did not realize that men did not know this was the way of it.”

Everyone stifled a laugh and Daniel nearly choked on his piece of cake, so amused was he by this exchange.

“That is quite all right, little miss. I am grateful to be informed of the ‘way of it.’” He stole a glance over toward Mary, who looked even more lovely with the scarlet in her cheeks. “Your cake is delightful.”

It was a brilliant strategy on Daniel’s part by not allowing Sarah to be humiliated and by changing the topic to diminish Mary’s embarrassment.

Allow those who are grieving to share their sadness:

In Promise of Deer Run, veteran James Thomsen, home from the Revolutionary War for several years now, is still plagued by the years away from Deer Run. He missed so many moments with his family while defending his country—moments in time lost forever. It was the sharing of a hilarious family memory that occurred while he was away at war that abruptly brought a stab of regret to James’ heart.

Her older brother abruptly stopped laughing and gazed with fondness at his little sister. “I did miss a great deal of your childhood, did I not? So many years at war… “ He stared into the distance with a sober expression.

Hannah took his hand. “We all missed you so, James. We knew why you needed to be gone. And we are so proud of you.” She leaned over and kissed her husband.

He smiled but the joy did not reach his sad eyes. “Thank you, Hannah, but those years with all of you are gone forever. That is what I regret the most.” He took a sip of wine from his tankard and sighed.

Everyone was quiet for several moments. It was Widow Eaton who broke the silence.

“Let us not dwell on the sad past but on our joyous and bountiful future.” She held up her tankard of wine. The others raised theirs as well.

“Hear, Hear!” The chorus rang out from all.

A hearty, “hear, hear” to Hannah for acknowledging her husband’s pain, to the group for not trying to diminish his loss, and to the widow who encouraged the group to have hope for a peaceful future and not dwell in the past.

Don’t spoil family conversation by speaking about politics:

In Legacy of Deer Run, Thanksgiving dinner is filled with fine food and delightful conversation—until Susannah’s brother, Stephen, brings up politics.

“So what do you think of the election next month, Father?”

Mr. Dobbins scowled. “I think our country is in for another precarious attack upon our freedoms. With that extremist Jefferson in the running, no telling where our country is headed.”

Stephen nodded. “The newspapers are filled with attacks on President Adams—accusing him of being a monarchist, senile, vain and having an ‘ungovernable temper.’ ‘Tis getting fractious and ugly. And that beastly Burr running with Jefferson.” Stephen shook his head and took another sip of wine.

“Well, when the Electoral College meets December3, let us pray they remember Jefferson’s zealous support of the French, despite their attacking our naval vessels. I think Jefferson was in France far too long. His arrogance smacks of sedition.”

The room became very quiet.

Susannah grew very pale and she rested both hands on the table, gripping the tablecloth. Eyes narrowing, her voice trembled when she spoke.

“Do you think we will have another war, Father?”

What started out as the perfect Thanksgiving meal quickly morphed into a setting ripe for indigestion—and fear. The political conversation was halted by the men at the table, but it was too late to assuage Susannah’s anxiety. Words once spoken cannot be retrieved.

So when you gather with your family and friends this holiday, try to be sensitive to others who may be grieving, be careful to avoid distressing political talk, and by all means, keep a sense of humor if and when embarrassing moments occur. And if your family is anything like the Lowe’s, something unexpected can always happen!

Happy Thanksgiving!

“A Heart For Freedom” Releases!

October 18, 2018 by emcoop 2 Comments

Author Janet Grunst won the Selah Award in 2016 for A Heart Set Free, and now the much-anticipated sequel, A Heart for Freedom, has released! Here is the back cover information:

He longs for freedom, but he won’t risk those he loves.

Matthew Stewart wants only to farm, manage his inn, and protect his family. But tension between the Loyalists and Patriots is mounting. When he’s asked to help the Patriots and assured his family will be safe, he agrees.

She’s seen the cost of fighting England, and she wants no part of it.

In Scotland, Heather Stewart witnessed the devastation and political consequences of opposing England. She wants only to avoid war and protect the family and peace she finally found in Virginia. But the war drums can be heard even from home in the countryside, and she has no power to stop the approaching danger.

The consequences are deadly.

When Matthew leaves for a short journey and doesn’t return, Heather faces the biggest trial of her life. Will she give up hope of seeing him again? Will he survive the trials and make his way home? What will be the consequences of his heart for freedom?

My Review:

A Heart for Freedom by Janet Grunst is a historically-accurate novel that depicts the quandary of the colonists in 1776. While many Americans desired freedom from England, an equal number desired to remain loyal to the King. What is often missing from historicals during this time period is the other third of the colonists—those who desired freedom yet desired peace as well. Their simple lives as farmers and merchants were about to be turned upside down by war and they knew the consequences would be life-changing. They could no longer ride the fence of indecision.

This novel is a riveting look at the rippling effects of events that force the main characters to choose one side or the other. They long for peace that can no longer be, as the discontent of the Patriots and the military response of the King’s Army force the issue.

In A Heart for Freedom, a sequel to A Heart Set Free, Ms. Grunst shares the lives of Heather and Matthew Stewart, who struggle to remain neutral as farmers and owners of an ordinary (a Colonial era hotel). They, along with their children and their circle of friends, become impacted by the Revolution in ways that disrupt their peace of mind and challenge their faith. A compelling read that makes me look forward to Book 3 in this series!

Author Bio:

Janet is a wife, mother of two sons, and grandmother of eight who lives in the historic triangle of Virginia (Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown) with her husband. Her debut novel, A Heart Set Free was the 2016 Selah Award winner for Historical Romance. A lifelong student of history, her love of writing fiction grew out of a desire to share stories that communicate the truths of the Christian faith, as well as entertain, bring inspiration, healing, and hope to the reader.

You can read Janet’s blog here

Available on Amazon here

Researching Rhode Island – Part 3

October 16, 2018 by emcoop 2 Comments

As my friend and I continued our research trip around Rhode Island, our next stop on the tour was Bristol, the main locale for my novel “Scarred Vessels” (as yet unpublished). Here in Bristol lay the heart of my story.

* * * * *

My female protagonist, Lydia, is the daughter of the owner of a slave ship. Her life became a nightmare of fear and guilt once she understood the depth of the horror of slavery. My male protagonist (Micah) is a sergeant from the Continental Army who has arrived in Bristol to recruit freed slaves to form a regiment of black soldiers to join the American forces during the Revolution. Ezekiel is a slave owned by Lydia and freed to join the regiment, but then he must leave the woman he loves (Hannah) to join the cause for freedom. Hannah argues with him about his decision:

The woman’s voice grew angry. “And just whose cause is this? I don’t see no one offering to free us colored folk if we win this war. What’s to become of us, even if you be free?” She resumed her heartrending cries.

* * * * *

Musket ball from the attack of the British army in Bristol, RI, May 1778

Before ever stepping foot in Bristol, I had studied some of its history that left me feeling conflicted. I could appreciate the beautiful wharf and stately homes. But knowing that the source of the wealth in this city was rooted in the slave trade overwhelmed my appreciation for the architecture.

According to author/historian Douglas Harper, “By 1750, Newport and Bristol were the major slave markets in the American colonies.”

Perhaps as you read this post, you are as shocked as I was when I first began my research. It’s ironic because Rhode Island was the first colony to pass an anti-slavery statute in 1652. The law banned lifetime ownership of slaves, allowing a slave-owner relationship for no more than ten years. The ensuing decades however, revealed a far different scenario.

An article printed from the John Carter Brown Library tells these chilling statistics:

By the close of the eighteenth century, Rhode Islanders had mounted at least a thousand voyages from Africa to the Americas. Of the approximately twelve million Africans transported to America by the mid-nineteenth century, six hundred thousand (or 5 %) came to mainland North America, and about one hundred thousand (or 1%) were carried in Rhode Island ships.

Thus, my visit to Bristol teemed with mixed emotions as I viewed the physical beauty of the surroundings yet knew the source of Rhode Island wealth.

The wharf where the ships would land has been updated but the waters are the same landing point for the slave ships.

In May of 1778—before the battle in Portsmouth the following August—British troops along with Hessian mercenaries invaded Bristol. I incorporated this attack in my book. During that invasion, St. Michael’s Church was burned to the ground. The updated building is in the same location as the original. In total, the structure has now been replaced three times since the original. The nameplate on the building explains it’s history.

This is St. Michael’s today.

My friend Cherrilynn and I met the historian (Reinhard Battcher III) in Bristol and we viewed his library of Bristol history and picked his brain for interesting tidbits. He was as welcoming and helpful as the volunteers in Portsmouth were.

As my friend and I wrapped up our busy day of travel and research, I left the beautiful seaside town with satisfaction of a day well spent, yet sadness about this tragic history.

As beautiful as Bristol was, it’s man-made scenery paled in comparison to the city of Newport. A brief drive through that busy port town provided a display of mansions that are even more impressive in their architecture than the homes in Bristol. Yet the wealth so evident today was also originally birthed through the blood money of slave trade. As one writer notes about the history of Newport, its “economic success from African slave labor in making rum was best described by 19th century American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson when he stated, ‘The sugar they raised was excellent; nobody tasted blood in it.’”

Harsh words reflecting the excruciating reality of slavery.

Years ago, I read a biography of John Newton who was a slaver before he became a Christian. I’ve not been able to find that book (it was quite old) but there are books about the slave trade available on Amazon, if you’d like to research this history.

For more information on the 1^st black regiment of Rhode Island, I recommend Christian McBurney’s, “The Rhode Island Campaign,” and Robert Geake’s “From Slaves to Soldiers.”

Thanks for “driving” through Rhode Island with me as I shared my research trek that brought to life the scenes in my book and the places I had studied for months. I love reading history. But there’s nothing that quite compares with actually seeing the sites where events from our past occurred. They are tangible reminders that the battles and the people were real. And as Edmund Burke was once famously quoted, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”

Researching Rhode Island – Part 2

October 9, 2018 by emcoop 6 Comments

My journey to Rhode Island was off to a rough start. First, there was a maintenance issue with my flight, followed by a reschedule onto a different airline. But foggy conditions prevented a timely takeoff, necessitating another flight change. My layover was at first to be in Newark, NJ, then was rescheduled for Chicago, finally scheduled once again, this time for Charlotte, North Carolina.

So, after hanging out at the airport for most of the day and having to go through security twice due to the change in airlines, I was finally on my way to Providence, Rhode Island. I definitely thanked Providence for my arrival, safe and sound!

It’s a good thing I love research. 😉

My friend Cherrilynn picked me up and we hugged and visited for hours. We spent the next day drinking tea and coffee, and planning our agenda for the first trek to Portsmouth, Bristol, and Newport, the areas featured in my manuscript, “Scarred Vessels.” I’d spoken with a couple of historians on our planning day to set up meetings in Portsmouth and Bristol. Our first venture on Friday morning was the site of the Battle of Rhode Island.

To see the landscape now, one would never know the island known as Aquidneck was the site of this major battle in August of 1778. While many historic sites around the country are preserved to appear as they were during the American Revolution, much of the island is now businesses and farms. But fortunately, for the sake of preserving this heritage, the area where the actual battle took place on Butts Hill in Portsmouth is so covered in shale rock as to be worthless for agriculture. By benefit of its geological formation, Butts Hill still bears the marks of the battle site.

Although tree growth is abundant, the general outline of the fort that was originally built in 1777 by the British, can still be envisioned. One of the local historians assured Cherrilynn and I that the fort was undoubtedly created by the forced labor of the local colonists who were conscripted to bear the load of digging through the hard dirt and unforgiving shale to create the ramparts that would protect the British from the American Army.

But by 1778 when the American regiments arrived at Portsmouth on flat boats from Bristol Ferry, the British Army had by then abandoned the fort, propping up straw-filled “soldiers” dressed in red coats to appear from a distance to be actual troops.

This was their starting point to take back the city of Newport, held by the British, on the southern tip of Aquidneck island. It was approximately seven miles south to that city and thousands of American troops traversed the island and set up camp, thinking they would attack the fort and take it back from the British. But multiple circumstances forced an evacuation of the American troops back to Butts Hill in Portsmouth and that is where the stand-off took place.

Gloria Schmidt, a local historian, did the honors of showing us the fort area and answering our many questions. She was a delight and so very helpful.

As I stood on top of the earthen fortress built so long ago and envisioned the sweat, the fear, the ear-splitting sounds of gunfire and cannon fired on that sweltering day in 1778, I was truly moved by the sacrifice of these men. It was sad to realize that, with support from the community, this fort could be restored in some manner as a memorial to the bravery of the soldiers who fought here. But the technicalities of declaring a place a historical site affects local communities in far-reaching ways that often cause towns to shy away from such a commitment. While it is sad, it is also understandable.

A volunteer at the Portsmouth Historical Society, John Watts, showed us an area on the edge of the fort where the local militia in Portsmouth had rallied together to help the main body of troops returning from Newport. When the militia discovered the British had sent a unit to attack the Americans as soon as they’d arrived at the fort, this militia engaged that British regiment and prevented the slaughter of the Americans soldiers.

This is the monument to remember the first skirmish fought in the Battle of Rhode Island between the British and the American militia. The stone wall is part of the wall where the battle took place.

In 2005, a monument to the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, comprised of nearly 200 black soldiers, was erected to honor the men who fought so valiantly in this battle. Every name of every soldier in the regiment is etched on the long stone wall. It’s a fitting tribute to honor the black soldiers who signed on to earn their freedom, in a country that had yet to declare all black people free.

Next week will be the historical visit to Bristol, Rhode Island, home of my main characters in “Scarred Vessels.”

Researching Rhode Island — Part 1

October 2, 2018 by emcoop 6 Comments

While readers who love historical fiction enjoy the journey into the past, the journey to make the time travel believable begins with research. That can mean an author spends hours delving into old documents, diaries, even maps, to ensure the accuracy of the time period.

I recently returned from scouring the American Revolutionary history of Rhode Island where an often-forgotten battle—at least in our American History books are concerned—took place in 1778. Even more significant was the formation of the first black regiment in the American Army. These pieces of our Revolutionary War history fill in many of the blanks of our understanding of the war that freed our country from being a colony of England. It is history both amazing and, at times, heartbreaking.

Although I’d grown up in New England, for some unknown reason I’d never visited Rhode Island. I had been to every other New England state at one time or another, but the smallest state in our country had always eluded my notice. Until now.

It all began with a simple suggestion from my older son, who said to me one day, “Mom, you ought to write a book about the black soldiers during the American Revolution.” My interest was immediately piqued. What I did not realize was the journey that simple statement would take me on.

First, I discovered that there was an entire black regiment formed in 1778 called the 1^st Rhode Island Regiment. Next, I discovered something shocking. This regiment was predominantly made up of slaves, essentially sold by their masters, and purchased by the state of RI to serve in the Army. They would be free if they served the duration of the war.

The rationale behind this regiment was simply the need for troops. Numbers were dwindling in the ranks and by January of 1778, a quota was required of each state to send men to fight for the cause of liberty. Rhode Island had such a large black population—another surprising discovery—that the plan was to recruit black slaves. Owners of slaves, anxious to remain on their plantations in Rhode Island, often sent one of their slaves to meet the quota.

Plantations in Rhode Island? You could have knocked me over with a feather quill pen.

But then the real horror became unearthed through my research: Rhode Island had major landing ports for slave ships. Boston did as well. The tales of slavery that I attributed to the southern states suddenly crept into the northern states of my ancestry. Slavery was alive and well during the American Revolution.

They called it “The Triangle Trade.” Molasses from Barbados was shipped up to Rhode Island, where they processed it into rum. The rum was filled into wooden casks, then transported by ship to Africa. There, black tribes captured black people from other tribes, and exchanged people for rum. Instant slavery. The men and women were forced into horrible, cramped quarters on the ship below deck and carried across the ocean back to Barbados. There, the auctioning of human lives began. Many of those souls ended up in the southern colonies, then were transported to the northern states.

If you’ve ever seen the musical “1776,” there is a haunting song called, “Molasses to Rum.” It describes the triangle trade in its gut-wrenching reality.

Next time I’ll post about my recent trip to Rhode Island for research. (Photo to the right is part of a rum cask along with a metal ring, perhaps used for slavery purposes)

New Releases!

The Thanksgivings in Deer Run

“A Heart For Freedom” Releases!

Researching Rhode Island – Part 3

Researching Rhode Island – Part 2

Researching Rhode Island — Part 1

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