America 250!

A beautiful patriot spy. A dangerous British officer. A passion spanning the tumultuous birth of a nation. Thrilling, heart-wrenching, romantic, the American Patriot Series will leave you breathless... 

With the America 250 celebration beginning in just a few months, brush up on your history and learn more about our Revolution while being vastly entertained! 

In this vivid retelling of our nation’s founding, the actual historical events, including the real British and colonial leaders who provided the catalyst for them and breathtaking moment-by-moment recreations of pivotal battles, converge with two compelling characters in a suspense-filled story of espionage, intrigue, and romance. On the ruins of war and loss, Elizabeth Howard and Jonathan Carleton will build an enduring legacy of love, hope, faith—and freedom!The American Patriot Series by J. M. Hochstetler sweeps readers into a tumultuous world of revolution.

The American Patriot Series is the only truly comprehensive fictional series on the American Revolution. Painstakingly researched using a wide range of primary resources as well as the latest popular and scholarly histories of the American colonial and Revolutionary periods, it contains a highly engaging and accurate account of the founding of the United States. While the series is written for adult readers, it is also appropriate for students from middle school through college age. The books of the American Patriot Series will engage students and bring history alive in a way that non-fiction texts cannot.

AUTHENTIC DIVERSITY

At the time of the Revolution the American colonies were already a melting pot of racial, ethnic, and religious groups. The American Patriot Series accurately depicts this diversity by portraying the involvement of women, African Americans, Native Americans, and other groups in the struggle for independence.

CHRISTIAN FOUNDATIONS

The American Revolution and the establishment of the United States are based solidly in the Christian faith of our founding generation, as innumerable primary resources document. It is therefore appropriate for the American Patriot Series to reflect those crucial aspects of our nation's founding by accurately depicting the beliefs and values of those who sacrificed their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to bring this nation to birth.

SERIES THEME

The overarching theme of the American Patriot Series, the life journey to find one’s true home in God’s kingdom, is one that will resonate with many readers. While enduring the anguish of war and separation, Elizabeth and Carleton discover that, even more than the grand ideal of liberty and the deep intimacy of earthly love, they seek that eternal city of God where they will no longer be aliens and strangers, but citizens. As events out of their control rush toward a fateful climax, they learn that true peace and lasting freedom are found in God alone.

Blog Header

As you can see, the blog has a new look! The header image is John Trumbull’s American General George Washington resigning his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army to the Congress of the Confederation at Annapolis, Maryland, on December 23, 1783.

Trumbull depicts Washington’s resignation as the commander in chief of the army on December 23, 1783, to the United States Congress, then meeting at the Maryland State House in Annapolis. At this time our government was a confederation, rather than a republic, as it became in 1788. That Washington resigned his commission was highly significant to our nation’s history in that it established civilian, rather than military rule and consequently a dictatorship. I’m sure we’re all extremely grateful for our Founders’ wisdom!

In Trumbull’s painting, Washington stands with two of his aides as he addresses the president of the Congress, Thomas Mifflin, and others, such as Elbridge Gerry, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and James Madison. Martha Washington and her three grandchildren are shown watching from the gallery, but they were not, in fact, present for this momentous event.

The following year, Washington was elected the first president of the new republic.

The painting was commissioned in 1817 and placed in the United States Capitol rotunda in Washington D.C. in 1824, where it is still located today. Its imposing dimensions are 144.00 in × 216.00 in. 

Have you had the privilege of seeing this painting in person? I haven't, but I’d certainly love to!

New Release for Janet Grunst!

Today is the release day for my friend Janet Grunst’s latest novel, A Heart for Freedom, book 2 in her series set during the American Revolution, and I’m celebrating with her! Below are the details. I encourage you to get your copy, and if you haven’t read book 1, A Heart Set Free, you’ll want to get it too! You’re going to love the characters and the setting of this series!

A Heart for Freedom
Book 2

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 their 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?

A Heart Set Free
Book 1

2017 Selah Award Winner for Historical Romance

In 1770, Heather Douglas is desperate to escape a brewing scandal in her native Scotland. Penniless and hoping for a fresh start far away, she signs a seven-year indenture and boards a British merchant vessel headed to Virginia.

Widowed planter Matthew Stewart needs someone to help raise his two young children. The tall blond standing on the Alexandria quay doesn’t look like much after her harrowing sea voyage, but there’s a refinement about her that her filthy clothing cannot hide. Could God be leading him to take this unknown indentured servant as his wife?

When Matthew purchases Heather’s indenture, marries her, and takes her to his farm, she is faced with new and constant challenges. And Matthew wonders if they can ever bridge their differences and make a life together.

But in the Virginia countryside, Heather begins her greatest journey, one of self-discovery and of maturing faith. Here, she discovers that her emotional and spiritual scars bind her far more than her indenture . . . and love will finally set her heart free.

~~~

Janet Grunst is a wife, mother of two sons, and grandmother of eight. She lives in the historic triangle of Virginia (Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown) with her husband and West Highland White Terrier. Before pursuing a long-held dream of writing fiction she was employed in the banking industry for ten years and as a freelance writer for two regional publications. After taking a break to raise her children, she worked for an international ministry, Community Bible Study, most recently as the Executive Assistant for the Executive Director. She continues to serve as a leader in her local Community Bible Study class and in her church.

Her love of writing fiction grew out of a desire to share stories that can communicate the truths of the Christian faith, and entertain, as well as bring inspiration, healing, and hope to the reader.

Elaine Marie Cooper: The Key to Inspiration

Today I'm featuring a guest post by my writing buddy, Elaine Marie Cooper. Her latest novel, Saratoga Letters, just released Monday. Be sure to check out this compelling story along with Elaine's other historical romances!

~~~

Writers are sometimes asked where they get their ideas for a their books. There is really no clear answer for every writer nor for every book. But after writing five novels and one nonfiction, I have come to the conclusion that, for me, the key to inspiration is waiting for that nudge that begins to toy with my writer’s muse. In the case of Saratoga Letters, one of those inspiring thoughts was literally from a key.

My husband and I were visiting Saratoga Springs, New York, in 2014. We stayed at a 1970s era motel along the main road. It had the simple décor of most motels from the ‘70s—two beds with nondescript bedspreads, a slight step-up to the shower area, old white and black tile, and the standard solid black phone that was the main source of communication for visitors before cell phones were birthed.

But one of the main differences between modern day hotels and older motels is the key. In 2016, keys look like a credit card. In the 1970’s, a key was a metal device attached to a plastic key holder that was inscribed with the room number. It didn’t inspire me at first, until I looked for my key when we were checking out.

“Where is it?” I searched through my purse, around the floor of the car, and everywhere I could imagine a key slipping away from my safekeeping. My husband tried to be patient. We were already so tired from traveling hundreds of miles, that a lost key became an annoyance. I told the motel owner that I had lost the key and I was so sorry. I was sure I’d find it tucked in a suitcase or something. And of course, I eventually did—after I returned home!

But this lost key suddenly became more than a minor annoyance. It became the impetus for a story idea. I had already heard from a historian at Saratoga National Park Service about a bicentennial celebration in 1977. It was the commemoration of the 1777 win by the American troops at Saratoga, New York. So what if the fact that there were two keys to each motel room during the ‘70s meant that a female visitor to the bicentennial was in danger? What if there were leftover, deep-seated feuds from the original battle in 1777? What if hatred had sifted down through the generations to complicate the lives of those in 1977? What if… but wait. I don’t want to give the plot away entirely.

So the key to my inspiration for SaratogaLetters turned out to be just a “key” after all. Ah, but in the hands of a writer, a key can take on new dimensions. It can become the key story idea. Hope you enjoy my latest novel!

~~~

It is 1777. The Battle of Saratoga, a turning point of the Revolutionary War, encourages the American Continental Army with their first great victory. But there seemed little to celebrate for one patriotic woman forced to nurse wounded British soldiers right in their war camp. Thrust into deception by a cruel Loyalist uncle, Abigail is forced to lie in order to survive, all the while dealing with fears that challenge her faith. Danger stalks her everywhere, yet her salvation springs from an unexpected source.

Then…

Two hundred years later, on the anniversary of the Battle of Saratoga, thousands arrive from Europe and the United States to celebrate the event—including descendants from the war. One young American, Abby, meets another offspring of a British soldier. When her life is threatened, Abby turns to the only person she knows at the event—her British ally. Can she trust him with her life? Or will he betray her in the same way Loyalist spies betrayed her ancestors? Perhaps letters from long ago will reveal the truth.

Award winning author Elaine Marie Cooper is the author of Saratoga Letters, Fields of the Fatherless, Bethany’s Calendar, and the historical trilogy called the Deer Run Saga. She has been captivated by the history of the American Revolution since she was young. She grew up in Massachusetts, the setting for many of her historical novels.

Her upcoming release is Legacy of Deer Run (CrossRiver Media, Dec, 2016), Book 3 in the Deer Run Saga.

Cooper has been writing since she penned her first short story at age eleven. She began researching for her first novel in 2007. Her writing has also appeared in Fighting Fear, Winning the War at Home by Edie Melson and the romance anthology, I Choose You. She has also written articles for Prayer Connect Magazine, Splickety Prime Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, and Life: Beautiful Magazine. She began her professional writing career as a newspaper freelancer.

You can read more at her website/blog, www.elainemariecooper.com

New Release by Rita Gerlach

Thorns in Eden

and

The Everlasting Mountains

By

Rita Gerlach

A 2-in-1 Collection / Historical Drama

John Nash journeys back to England before the first shots of the Revolution are fired. Rebecah Brent, a young woman who has known little more than the solitude of an isolated manor, has lost her father and is now under the control of a domineering patriarch.

As their romance unfolds, they become trapped in a slanderous scheme forged by Rebecah’s uncle, Sir Samuel Brent. The door is rapidly closing to return to the colonies, forcing Nash to leave England and return to a land immersed in one of the most infamous Indian wars in colonial history. When Nash’s father makes an unselfish request, Rebecah flees the entanglements brought about by her uncle in order to be reunited with the man she loves.

As the firebrands of the Revolution grow hot, they marry and work together to build their estate, Laurel Hill. Facing a strange new world, Rebecah endures prejudice because she is English, but finds friendship and acceptance in the wilds of the Maryland frontier, where Nash leads a band of rangers who protect the frontier families from Indian attack. Even his friendship with Chief Logan cannot prevent the Indian war from reaching their peaceful home along the lush hills of the Catoctin Mountains.

Can Nash protect his beloved from a renegade who has no allegiance to any nation, tribe, or creed, wanted for robbery and murder, who has vowed vengeance? In Thorns in Eden and The Everlasting Mountains, the vines of adversity cannot overcome the sustaining power of love and faith.

E-book available now from Kindle.

Paperback to follow.

Praise for Thorns in Eden and The Everlasting Mountains

“Rita Gerlach captures the feel of colonial America in her sweeping saga, Thorns in Eden. With lush descriptions and well-drawn, captivating characters, Gerlach creates a story I won’t soon forget.”

~ Author Jamie Carie 

Outstanding New Historical Novel

The debut novel of my dear friend and crit partner, Lori Benton, will release in August, and her cover has just gone live online. I’ve read and am endorsing Burning Sky, and I want to share the gorgeous, evocative cover with you in case you haven’t already seen it on her blog. 

Burning Sky is set in 1784, following the Revolution, and it’s a must read for anyone who loves historical fiction and historical romance. Lori’s writing is lovely and lyrical, and her grasp of the historical period she’s writing about and her ability to create characters who rise off the page is extraordinary. Burning Sky is available for preorder now. I highly recommend it, and here’s my endorsement.

In Burning Sky, Lori Benton brings to turbulent life the bitter aftermath of the Revolution, when those who fought on opposing sides returned to ravaged homes, soul scarred by horrifying acts they both suffered and committed. Wilhelmina Obenchain, named Burning Sky by the Mohawks who captured her as a child, has lived and lost two lives at war with each other, and twice had her loved ones ripped away. Fleeing sorrow too great to bear, drawn back to the now abandoned home of her childhood, she determines to begin again, heart barricaded against another breaking. With lyrical imagery and finely drawn characters who rise from the page, Burning Sky vividly portrays how God restores the bruised reed and the dimly burning wick and brings new life from the ashes of the past.

The Plight of American Prisoners During the Revolution

“Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness.” 

—Memorial for unknown soldiers of the Revolution buried in Philadelphia

HMS Jersey

In Crucible of War, Elizabeth Howard and Dr. Pieter Vander Groot learn about the infamous British prison ships in New York harbor. In Valley of the Shadow, Elizabeth is going to get up close and personal with the conditions aboard these floating prisons, so I thought we’d take a look at the misery American prisoners endured.

For officers, rank had its privileges then as now. Captured officers were generally held under relatively pleasant conditions until they were paroled in exchange for a pledge not to resume participation in the war. The lot of common soldiers who fell into the hands of the British was quite different, however.

Because the British considered the rebels to be traitors, soldiers were not accorded prisoner-of-war status and could be hanged, though the British quickly saw the wisdom of not enforcing that penalty. But without the protection of regulations governing their treatment, American soldiers were imprisoned under conditions hard for us to imagine today. And they usually remained prisoners until the war ended or they died, whichever came first.

The British began using prison ships in 1776, mostly to hold prisoners before transferring them to one of the prisons on shore, but that soon began to change. As many as 32,000 soldiers were confined in New York alone, first in public buildings that had been converted to prisons, and then increasingly aboard one of the derelict hulks anchored in Wallabout Bay along the north shore of Long Island.

The British imprisoned captured soldiers, sailors of American and other nationalities, and private citizens, many of the latter because they refused to swear allegiance to the Crown of England. It’s been estimated that as many as 56 different nationalities were represented, and that more than 11,500 Continental soldiers died during the course of the war. The most notorious, dubbed “Hell” by those who suffered aboard it, was the HMS Jersey. Firsthand accounts describe horrific conditions.

More than a thousand prisoners were held on each ship, confined below decks in dank, dark holds. Although small groups of inmates were usually allowed on deck for brief periods each day, an individual soldier might wait several days for his turn for a glimpse of sunlight, a lungful of fresh air, and a chance to stretch limbs cramped from severely overcrowded conditions. Positions near one of the iron gratings that covered the few available ports, offering slight relief from the unimaginable stench of sweat, refuse, sickness, and rotting corpses, were fiercely guarded.

Starvation was a common cause of death, in addition to sickness. Rations were scarce and usually spoiled. Commissaries of prisoners such as Joshua Loring, Jr., and William Cunningham were brutal men who mistreated their charges and commonly sold off provisions meant for the prisoners in order to line their own pockets. When food did make it to the unfortunate victims, it was barely edible. One common practice was to break up moldy biscuits into a kettle of water so the weevils or maggots that infested them would float to the top where they could be skimmed off before the mixture was boiled. If the prisoners had no fire, which was often the case, they ate their rations raw, including any meat. Some survived by eating garbage. Others bought old shoes, which they cooked and ate.

Inevitably malnutrition led to infections such as typhus, dysentery, and scurvy, which caused bleeding gums, open sores, the loss of teeth, and debilitation. Smallpox, yellow fever and dysentery ran rampant. Cold weather was another ordeal. Lacking fire, warm clothing, and blankets, prisoners froze.

When Washington and Congress learned about the conditions American soldiers were subjected to, they implored the British to exchange prisoners or at least allow them to provide proper food, clothing, and medical care. Family members and friends of the prisoners also petitioned to provide care for their loved ones. But for the most part, their pleas fell on deaf ears, and prisoners continued to suffer and die. This, along with the harsh policies the British enforced where they were in control, increasingly hardened the opposition of American citizens to England.

Over time the death toll aboard the ships became staggering. Each morning the dead would be hauled up on deck. Later in the day the bodies were cast overboard or brought to shore where they were buried in shallow mass graves along Wallabout Bay in Brooklyn. So many remains washed up to litter the shore that residents of Brooklyn were forced to collect the bones for burial. Many of the dead were later interred in the Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument at Fort Greene Park.

A New American Revolution

Patrick Henry Protesting Stamp Act

You know . . . I now fully understand how our Founders felt when they were dealing with the unfair taxation, restriction of trade, and violation of personal rights, privacy, and property George III imposed on them. As a small business owner who’s simply trying to stay afloat when the money coming in isn’t equal to the expenses going out and I find myself negatively impacted every single day by the failed policies of a government I’m increasingly coming to view as the enemy, I’m on the verge of agitating for a new American Revolution.

Seriously.

I’m not smiling.

I had planned to do this post on how I use calendars to plot out the action of my stories, and I’ll get to it eventually, but there’s something more important weighing on my mind right now. Excuse me if I sound just a bit radical.

It seems like every other month I get a notice from my friendly state revenue office or county assessor demanding yet another report, with corresponding tax assessment and bill. Another arrived today, one that somehow I’ve never received before and am apparently delinquent in. Don’t know how I passed under their radar scope—it wasn’t intentional; I didn’t know this one existed—but they’ve found me now. Every time I turn around there’s more tax paperwork and another bill. But as they point out, your tax preparer or accountant will have the info. Yeah, and I have to pay him to figure it up.

What makes it worse and lit the tinder to this tirade is that at this time of year I’m slogging through the process of putting together everything needed to file my taxes. I just finished figuring up and sending out the 1099s, which have to be mailed by January 31. I have to pay for the forms and envelopes and do all this work to help the government tax anyone and everyone I ever employed in any capacity whatsoever. And then I have to pay my accountant to filter through all the paperwork, crunch all the numbers, and determine what I owe the government or, if I’m lucky—or unlucky, since it means I had a loss—what the government owes me. The amount of time and money we Americans spend working for “our” federal, state, and local governments, only to then pay for the privilege, is enraging.

I could be investing all that time and money in growing my business. And putting a few people to work. Multiply that by all the other businesses in this country, most of which have whole departments dedicated to handling the taxes necessary to maintain this bloated superstructure we call the U.S. Government.

That’s just wrong.

The form I received today is the “Tangible Personal Property Schedule for Reporting Commercial and Industrial Personal Property (with “Due March 1” in big, bold red letters at the top). I’m advised that:

“In accordance with state guidelines [their emphasis] and in an effort to comply with a recent federal court ruling [my emphasis], we must request the following information regarding your business personal property. [Business personal property??? Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?] Please submit a depreciations schedule/current fixed asset listing or small business item listing. See brief definition below.”

There follows a whole page. Plus another legal-sized page printed front and back with instructions. What I’m thinking isn’t fit to print.

For my business license—which the previous county clerk told me I didn’t need, but the current county clerk decided I did and fined me for being in arrears—just figuring out what category a publishing house belongs to was mind boggling. You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.

Here are the instructions on this form.

“Report all personal property owned by you and used or held for use in your business or profession as of January 1, including items fully depreciated on your accounting records. Do not report inventories of merchandise held for sale or exchange or finished goods in the hands of the manufacturer. Personal property leased or rented and used in your business must be reported on Part III of this schedule and not in this section. A separate schedule should be filed for each business location. List the total original cost to you for each group below by year acquired in the REVISED COST column. If COST ON FILE is printed on the schedule, you need only report new cost totals resulting from acquisition or disposition of property in the REVISED COST column. Alternative Reporting for Small Accounts—If you believe the depreciated value of your property is $1,000 or less you may use the small accounts certification (reverse side) as an alternative to reporting detail costs below. With this certification, subject to audit [my emphasis], your assessment per this schedule will be set at $300.”

Did you understand that? You have to supply an itemized list of everything you own that you ever use for business, down to the paperclips and staples, so they can tax you on it. And I already paid almost 10% sales tax on all of it!!

This includes: “Group 1. furniture, fixtures, general equipment, and all other property not listed in another group. Group 2: computers, copiers, peripherals, fax machines, and tools. Group 3: molds, dies, and jigs. Group 4: aircraft, towers, and boats. Group 5: manufacturing machinery. Group 6: billboards, tanks, and pipelines. Group 7: scrap property. [Oh, they don’t actually tax you on that, but you have to report it anyway!] Group 8: raw materials and supplies. Group 9: vehicles. Group 10: construction in process.” Nicely: “If your personal vehicle is being used for business less than 50%, please note that on the schedule and do not report it.” Huh??? Ah . . . how do you report something without actually reporting it? Sorry. I’m an editor . . .

Now, you can get around doing an itemized list if you file the small accounts certification. But what do you bet the odds are that they’ll audit you? Plus you have to check the box that verifies: “By checking the box at left, I certify that the total depreciated value of my property (all groups) is $1,000 or less. I understand this certification is subject to penalties for perjury and I may be subject to statutory penalty and cost if this certification is proven false.” Proven false. Nothing said about making an honest mistake. Irrelevant anyway since you’d be ahead of the game to ignore this option and invest the time and effort up front to inventory everything you own in order to make sure you didn’t miss something they might penalize you for.

Can you believe this??? George III had NOTHING on the U.S. Government. Our Founders must be turning over in their graves. Believe me, I’ve studied the truly objectionable British policies that finally drove our Founders over the edge, and we would have been better off just goin’ with it. Whatever. They’re 3,000 miles away across the ocean. What can they really do? Give ’em their pound of flesh, make an appearance of compliance, do what you gotta do . . . and then go on about your business. What they don’t know won’t bite ya.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t object to paying for essential government services. In fact, I’m glad to. Our lives are a whole lot better for police and fire protection, good roads, schools, communications systems, and many other real benefits our tax dollars provide. But things have gotten waaaayyyy out of hand. I want value for my money. I don’t want it to go into somebody’s pocket under the table or to pay for a bloated government bureaucracy that stifles incentive and growth and drags people down instead of lifting them up.

What bothers me the most is that a whole lot of precious blood was shed during the Revolution, and we’re in a worse situation now than our ancestors even envisioned then. Our government makes British rule in the 18^th century look like an amateur act. And they’re right here in our laps! You can run, but ya can’t hide.

Well, honey, we can sure vote ’em out and keep on doing it until the representatives we put in Congress and the Oval Office sit up and take notice and begin doing what we elected them to do instead of taking advantage of their positions to line their own nests and/or advance agendas the majority of us don’t agree with.

It’s past time for a new day to dawn. I don’t know about you, but TEA Party, here I come!

What’s your opinion? Leave a comment and let’s talk!

Independence Day

Lately I’ve been spending more time doing research on the Battle of Trenton for Crucible of War. Next up is the Battle of Princeton. I want to get timelines finished for both battles so I can get busy turning the facts into scenes with action and dialog. But this weekend is the Fourth of July, and it’s time to celebrate!

According to the New World Encyclopedia, the Second Continental Congress declared independence on July 2, 1776, by passing the “Lee Resolution” presented by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia on June 7, 1776. It read in part:

“Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

Sound familiar? Congress amended Lee’s resolution somewhat before adopting it on July 4, 1776, at Independence Hall. Did you know that John Adams thought the event should be celebrated not on July 4, but on July 2? In a letter written July 3 to his wife, he wrote:

“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

“You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.” (The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142.)

Although he guessed wrong on the date, he was certainly right about the celebration!

Over the years I’ve been repeatedly impressed by the importance of resources like the American Patriot Series in keeping our national memory alive. An article in the March/April 2010 edition of History Channel Magazine confirmed the urgency I feel to ensure that the events, values, and leaders of our nation’s founding aren’t lost forever through ignorance and indifference. The findings cited in the article, titled “Who Cares About the American Revolution?” convinced me that we’re in dire danger of that happening very soon.

According to a national survey conducted by the American Revolution Center in 2009, “Americans highly value, but vastly overrate, their knowledge of the Revolutionary period.” Eighty-three percent of those tested on the underlying beliefs and freedoms established during the Revolution failed. In fact, the average score, according to the information on the Center’s Web site, was 44. That’s pretty shocking. Below are some other dismal findings from the survey.

• More Americans who took the test knew that Michael Jackson sang “Beat It” than knew that the Bill if Rights is part of the U.S. Constitution. And isn’t that just sad?
• Half of adult participants believed that the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, or the War of 1812 preceded the Revolution. From conversations with people I’ve encountered, I can attest to that!
• The same number of adults believed that the Constitution established a democracy. Hey, folks, what we have here is a republic! Our Founders specifically did NOT want a democracy, for very good reasons. You might want to research what they were.
• One third of participants had no idea the right to a jury trial is included in the Bill of Rights. Hmm . . . See point # 1 above. Obviously they don’t even know what the Bill of Rights is!
• Many Americans lack a basic understanding of the chronology, scale, duration, and human cost of the Revolution. This just makes my heart bleed.

In other words, the great sacrifices our founding generation made to secure our liberty and establish our nation have been forgotten. And if we keep on down this road, soon our liberties themselves will be forgotten. One fights to hold onto what one values. And apparently Americans today don’t value their freedoms enough to even learn what they are.

Dr. Bruce Cole, president and CEO of the American Revolution Center is quoted in the article as saying: “You can’t remember what you don’t know . . . What needs to be kept in mind is that knowledge of our nation’s founding principles is critical because it enables citizens to participate wisely in government, to understand the historical global context of our country’s origins, to embrace a diversity of ideas, and to commit to the quest for freedom and equal rights.”

Amen to that, brother!

I encourage you to check out the American Revolution Center. Plans are being made to build a Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, the first national museum dedicated to the Revolution and its enduring legacy. On the center’s Web site, you’ll find resources that include a searchable database of lesson plans, an interactive timeline, and links to more than 70 American Revolution Web sites and organizations. It also offers a survey to test your knowledge of the Revolution. I challenge you to take it.

I scored 91%, missing 2 questions, one of which related to the Constitutional era, which I admit I haven’t researched as heavily as the Revolution. The other I did the same thing many of us do on tests: I kept thinking one answer was correct (it was), but I second guessed myself and gave the answer I thought should be true (it wasn’t). Let that be a lesson to you! Go with your gut instincts. So take the test and leave a comment letting me know how you did!

Another challenge for you. Take my pop quiz below. Research any answers you’re not familiar with and tell me what you learned that you didn’t already know.

Pop Quiz

What is the Bill of Rights?

When and why was it created?

How many amendments are in the Bill of Rights?

Give a brief summary of each of the amendments.

Finding Elizabeth and Carleton

Finding images to represent my hero and heroine turned out to be a lot more difficult than I’d anticipated. Because the story is set during the American Revolution, I had to have models who were costumed consistently with the era. The Native American frames, which I’d thought would be my greatest challenge, were taken care of, as were all the rest. How hard could it be to find a couple of 18th century portraits that would do?

First I tried a quick search on my old standby, istockphoto, to see whether I might be able to score real-life models more along the lines of Philip Winchester. Umm . . . no. Searching for both male and female models netted me faces that looked way too modern, even when no costume was visible in the photo. Dear Philip pretty much ruined me for the men, and hardly any were blond anyway. Don’t even get me started on the subject of the women who turned up, especially their hair styles. And every one of the people in their small selection of American Revolution images either had their backs turned or their heads cut off. Sigh. A general search on male models turned up . . . well, let’s just say I don’t want to go there.

Obviously, the only way I was going to find models in authentic costume was to locate 18th century portraits that fit my characters. I searched until my head swam and eventually came up with Sir George Kneller’s portrait titled Lady in a Green Dress. I was immediately enchanted. She’s lovely, and she IS Elizabeth! In fact, I’m thinking I may hire an illustrator to recreate her in the proper context for the Daughter of Liberty cover when we publish a revised version next May. Happily, although the portrait dates to 1703, the model’s costume is neutral enough in style to be acceptable—and it’s green, Elizabeth’s best color.

One down, one to go.

Finding Carleton was an entirely different matter. I soon discovered that most male portraits from that period are of men who are considerably older than Jonathan’s 33 at this point in the story. Undoubtedly that’s because they had arrived at a station in life where they merited and could afford to commission a portrait. I found a few of younger men . . . but how can I phrase this delicately? Umm . . . judging from the sample I found, British men of the period were, shall we say, not what most of us would consider model material. And there were very few blonds. It was mainly a choice of dark hair, red hair, or white wigs. Alas, Jonathan is decidedly blond.

I spent so many hours online searching for just the right man that I began to seriously consider just going with the photo of Philip Winchester in his Crusoe persona. But there was no getting around the copyright issue, alas. Not to mention that he’s way to recognizable, and a movie/TV star is not what I wanted to portray my character.

Back to the search. I scoured numerous museum Web sites, searching on well-known artists such as Gilbert Stuart, Charles Willson Peale, Joshua Reynolds, Jonathan Singleton Copley, and others. And this time I finally came up with a couple of possibilities. The leading contender quickly became a portrait of Captain George K. H. Coussmaker painted by Joshua Reynolds in 1782. There were several issues with this image, however. First, George is just too young. And he’s too pretty-boy pouty to be quite right for Carleton. Worse, he’s dressed in British uniform. Admittedly, Carleton was a British officer at the beginning of the series, but he was in the 17th Light Dragoons, not the First Regiment of Foot Guards. Helmet, not cocked hat. The uniforms are also different, though most viewers won’t know that.

On the plus side, he’s posed with a bay horse—white blaze, not black like Devil, but nevertheless, it’s a nice touch. And even though his hair is frizzy where Carleton’s is perfectly straight, it is light enough to be considered blond, especially once I did a color correction in Microsoft Picture Manager. Okay, so you can’t have everything. He does look mighty good in those tight white breeches and knee-length black boots. And considering that I couldn’t find anything else remotely acceptable, and most museums—the Met again in this instance—grant usage of images for non-commercial and/or educational purposes, I decided I’d agonized over this video long enough.

It turned out that once he was in place, George was small enough within the portrait’s context that the details were less noticeable. The whole worked well enough that I quickly became reconciled to losing Philip.

That left one last detail: the audio line. More about that tomorrow.

Editing Book 3

The rough draft of Wind of the Spirit is finally finished! I’d celebrate if there weren’t so much left to do to turn this project into a physical book. When I hold that puppy in my hot little hands, I’ll really celebrate.

This has been a long time coming. It’s been a winding trail that led around many roadblocks and sidetracks. But as I always say, God has a plan, and that plan is going to be accomplished, no doubt about it!

To read the first couple of unedited chapters, go to my Web site and click on the link in the box about WOTS. I’ll put up the edited chapters as soon as we have a final version.

In the meantime I’m starting the next step—making my own editing pass before it goes to my editor. I know this sounds pretty much like cleaning your house before the housecleaning service arrives. But being an editor myself I like to turn in a clean manuscript. Even more important, I want to make sure I’m satisfied with my character and plot development, have smoothed out the language, and caught any factual or continuity errors. If I do a good job, it makes for less work when I receive the final edits.

I started a few days ago and so far have gotten through Chapter 5. Sigh. Obviously this is going to take a while. The trouble is, I’m constantly bombarded with Sheaf House and personal business as well as the need to do promotion for my latest release, One Holy Night. With this book I have a total of 101,500 + words to work through, which is long enough, but not really all that long as far as historicals are concerned. But then, my friend Lori Benton and I love those BFHs (big fat historicals). She’s writing a really BIG one!

I was hoping I could get WOTS to the editor by June 1. Well, I’ll be lucky to get it to her by July 1, which is cutting things close with her schedule as well as mine. It could be worse, though. Book 1, Daughter of Liberty, was over 139,000 words when I started, and it ended up at a bit over 127,500. Thankfully I don’t anticipate cutting much out of this one. Native Son was just a bit over 101,000 words too, which will make these two books the same length.

Of course, WOTS started out life as the last third of NS that got cut off because of the publisher’s word count restrictions. Too bad I didn’t find out about that until I’d turned in the manuscript! It was a bit of a shock to find out they’d decided all their novels had to be kept to 90,000 words. Yikes! I managed to wring a concession out of them that NS, being a historical, could be around 100,000. And after much agonizing, instead of gutting my story by cutting out all the secondary characters and plotlines and a considerable amount of the main storyline, I decided to lop off the last third of the book, write a new ending for NS and a new beginning for WOTS, and then flesh out what I had left.

All in all, I think that decision turned out quite well, especially since that publisher ended up canceling the series anyway. I would sure have been upset if I’d ripped NS to pieces for no good reason. Since I didn’t compromise the story, in this volume I’ve been able to give a fuller account of Carleton’s life among the Shawnee, Elizabeth’s relationship with Vander Groot and her involvement in the Battle of Brooklyn, and hers and Andrews’s journey into Ohio Territory to find White Eagle.

I originally intended to include the Battle of Trenton in this book, but with a major battle at the beginning and time running out on my deadline, I decided to end with the lead-up to Trenton. That should make for an exciting beginning to book 4, Crucible of War. The only caveat is if I keep this up, I may end up having to add another book to the series. And since everyone who’s following along knows they’re going to have to wait until the very end for the resolution of Elizabeth and Carleton’s relationship, that’s something nobody wants to happen—especially me since I’m the one who has to write the durned thing! LOL! I seem to be making a career of the American Revoluton. Happily it’s a crucial and fascinating era that is easily holding my interest.

Enough for now. I’m going to dive back into Chapter 6 this evening and see how far I can get. So far I’m quite pleased with how the story developed. I think this is going to be a truly exciting installment!

In upcoming posts I'll include some short excerpts from the text to whet your appetite. But in the next post I’m going to talk about something really exciting—the cover! How in the world do you illustrate Wind of the Spirit????

Stay tuned for some hints . . .