I am so thrilled to introduce you all to a “new to me” author today! Please join Elaine Marie Cooper and I for some coffee as we get to know each other!
PM: We’ll start off with a “soft-ball” question, what’s your favorite song?
EMC: That’s a tough one!! I love lots of music.
If I had to choose one Praise & Worship song, I think it would be Revelation Song by Phillips, Craig & Dean.
Two of my favorite songs to listen to are, “I Shall Not Want” and “Spirit of the Living God” by Audrey Assad (I love her voice!)
PM: What are you reading for fun right now?
EMC: The book I’m reading right now is for research, but I recently read Laura Frantz’s “A Bound Heart.” AWESOME novel!!
PM: Have you always known you had the writing bug (and ability)?
EMC: I’ve enjoyed writing since I was very young but I didn’t realize I had the ability until I was much older. I’ve always struggled with feeling I could be good enough.
PM: Don’t we all struggle with that at some point in our lives? At least I know I certainly do! I see you are a writer of a difficult time period in history – the American Revolution. I imagine that involves a great deal of research, what has been the most interesting thing you discovered that wasn’t in all our history books?
EMC: I never cease to be amazed at how much is missing from our history books. Right now, the series I’m writing about involves attacks on three Connecticut towns in 1779. Before I found this online, I had no idea it had occurred.
Probably the most surprising historical discovery was learning about events that occurred right in my hometown of Arlington, MA. The battles that took place in Concord and Lexington paled in comparison to the drama that unfolded at the Jason Russell House on the same day. I wrote about it in my novel, “Fields of the Fatherless.”
PM: What was your most beloved book to read as a child?
EMC: I fell in love with “Jane Eyre” when I was a pre-teen. Although my life was nothing like hers, the struggles and emotions Jane experienced somehow resonated with me. To this day, window seats to read in and escape from the world, always bring this novel to my mind.
PM: Oh, I adore window seats! Yes, curled up with a novel, best place to be! I see you grew up in Massachusetts, one of my favorite places to visit having grown up in New Jersey. If you were to have an out of town visitor, where would be the one place you insisted they visit?
EMC: I think the wonder and spirit of the Revolutionary War is best felt at the Old North Bridge in Concord, MA. Besides the monument that depicts the Minute Men who were simple farmers, there is a gravesite for the two British soldiers who were killed there on the first day of the war, April 19, 1775. The best time to visit is early in the morning before the crowds arrive. In the stillness of dawn, one can feel the solemnity of the events that occurred there. It is a sobering time of reflection to realize the sacrifices that were made in that place and then continued for eight more years.
PM: I have actually been there, Elaine, and you described it perfectly. Do you have any family pets that currently own you?
EMC: My husband Steve and I are at the beck and call of our 9-pound Chihuahua/ terrier mix, Mocha. She definitely has “small dog syndrome” and believes she is in charge of the world. Or at least our neighborhood. 😉
PM: How sweet! I bet she is spoiled too, lol! If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be, and why?
EMC: I think it would be with my ancestor, Daniel Prince, who arrived in America as a British soldier to fight against the colonists. He escaped from a line of war prisoners after the Battle of Saratoga, then somehow met and married my 4th great grandmother in western Massachusetts. I would have SO many questions to ask him!
PM: That sounds posatively fascinating! I bet he would have some amazing stories to tell! How can readers keep up with you and your new releases?
EMC: My readers can contact me through my Facebook author page: https://www.Facebook.com/ElaineMarieCooperAuthor or at my website/blog: www.elainemariecooper.com
PM: Finally, coffee or tea? Cream, sugar?
EMC: If I had to CHOOSE, I would choose Twinings English Breakfast tea, black. But I also love coffee with a smidge of sugar, and 2% milk.
Thank you for having me on your blog, Paula! I am honored to be your guest!
About Elaine
Elaine Marie Cooper has two new historical fiction books that just released: War’s Respite (Prequel novella) and Love’s Kindling. Love’s Kindling is available in both e-book and paperback. They are the first two books in the Dawn of America Series set in Revolutionary War Connecticut. Cooper is the award-winning author of Fields of the Fatherless and Bethany’s Calendar. Her 2016 release (Saratoga Letters) was finalist in Historical Romance in both the Selah Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She penned the three-book Deer Run Saga and has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. You can visit her website/ blog at www.elainemariecooper.com
