Elaine Marie Cooper Author

Historical Fiction That Grabs Your Heart and Feeds Your Soul

American History

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!

 

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:

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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.

 

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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.