Elaine Marie Cooper Author

Historical Fiction That Grabs Your Heart and Feeds Your Soul

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Author Alice Wisler Interview and Review: Under the Silk Hibiscus

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Short Synopsis of Under the Silk Hibiscus:
During World War Two, Nathan and his family are sent to Heart Mountain, an internment camp in Wyoming for Japanese-Americans. Nathan’s one desire is to protect the family’s gold pocket watch, a family heirloom brought over from Japan. He fails; the watch is stolen. Struggling to make sense of his life in this land of “freedom” as the only responsible man of the household, Nathan discovers truths about his family, God, and the girl he loves.
Interview with Alice J. Wisler:
Tell us the story behind writing Under the Silk Hibiscus.
Friends in town have parents who were in internment camps during World War II and after hearing a few of their stories, I wanted to learn more about that time in our history.  I grew up in Japan, and yet had not read much about Japanese-Americans that  were forced to camps in 1942 because they looked like the “enemy” (i.e., they were of Japanese descent).  The research I did for the novel was mind-boggling and thought-provoking.  I got to interview one woman who was in a camp in Arizona. In addition to Under the Silk Hibiscus being a novel (fiction), I want others to grasp the history (truth) and have an understanding of what transpires when we let fear and prejudice overtake us.
Give us a glimpse of how your writing journey began.
From the time I was six, I loved to create stories.  My first and second grade teacher in our one-room school house in Kyoto, Japan, encouraged me.  She let me read my stapled-stick-figure-illustrated booklets to the class.
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We have in common that we write both nonfiction and fiction. Has combining these two genres been a challenge for you? If so, how?
 
I started off with fiction.  I used to write love stories on Saturday afternoons when I was in middle school.  But when my son died in 1997, I found non-fiction to be what I needed to write.  I wrote a lot of articles for grief and bereavement magazines.  My devotional, Getting Out of Bed in the Morning, is dear to me because it is about grief and loss—such a huge part of my life.   I don’t think writing both types of books has been a challenge.  So many writing techniques are similar for both of them.
Do you have current writing projects you are working on?
Always.  Fiction and non-fiction.
How can readers connect with you?
Please follow me on Twitter
Facebook Author Page
and my blog, The Patchwork Quilt
 
UnderTheSilkHibiscusCover
 My Review of Under the Silk Hibiscus:

Some historical novels are merely entertaining while others carry you on a journey of insight into human nature and the power of God to transform. Under the Silk Hibiscus fits into the latter category and transports a reader to a Japanese internment camp during World War II.

This novel is the story of a teenage boy of Japanese descent. Although an American by birth, he is forced into a world where he is under suspicion solely based on his family’s heritage.  His entire world is shaken with loss and grief as he is forced into the role of keeping the remnants of his family intact.

With endearing characters and a story that unfolds with both realism and hope, this novel by Alice J. Wisler earns an enthusiastic five stars.

Author Bio:

Alice Wisler has authored four novels published by Bethany House:  Rain Song (Christy Finalist), How Sweet It Is (Christy Finalist), Hatteras Girl and A Wedding Invitation, and Still Life in Shadows by River North/Moody. Her devotional, Getting out of Bed in the Morning:  Reflections of Comfort in Heartache (Leafwood), covers the many losses we face and how God sustains us through each one.  Under the Silk Hibiscus, released by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, is her latest novel and first historical.

In 1999, she founded Daniel’s House Publications (in memory of her four-year-old son Daniel), an organization to help fellow bereaved parents. She teaches Writing the Heartache workshops and Writing the Psalms workshops both online and at conferences across the country. The workshops stress the value and benefits of writing from pain and loss for healing, health, and hope.

In 2012, she and her husband started a business, Carved By Heart, where they carve log cabin mailboxes, memorial plaques/remembrances, house number signs, bird feeders, rustic clocks, and other home décor.

Although Alice grew up as missionary kid in Japan, and traveled the world, she’s now settled with her husband, three children and the handsomest boxer you’ve ever seen, in Durham, NC.

Alice is offering a Kindle copy of Under the Silk Hibiscus to one blessed winner! Leave a comment on this blog with your email address and you will be entered in the drawing.

245th Anniversary of Boston Massacre

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Today is the 245th Anniversary of the infamous Boston Massacre. The incident took place even before the American Revolution officially began, but was a key event that ignited the flames of anger leading to that war.

Snow was still on the ground that freezing day in Boston in 1770, much as it is now. The King’s Army had already occupied the city for two years in hopes of quelling riots that broke out in protest to the increased taxes levied by King George and the British Parliament. The American Colonists were frustrated and angry. Tensions between the soldiers and the 16,000 residents of Boston were already high. [Read more…] about 245th Anniversary of Boston Massacre

When God’s Plans Don’t Fit

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The four-year-old girl approached her mother in tears.  “Mommy, this new sheet won’t fit!”

The mom quickly explained to her distraught daughter that the small cloth bag she was holding was not the new sheets. The child’s new pink floral sheets were in the laundry being washed. What the little girl held was the bag they had come in from the store.

Her mom and I giggled at the child’s misunderstanding. Yet I began to see myself in the child’s view of what she was holding.

Often our lives seem a poor fit with our expectations. Who would have thought, when my own daughter was four, that at age twenty-four she would die of a brain tumor? That did not measure up with my expectations.

“Lord, this cancer doesn’t fit my plans!”

Like the four-year-old holding an empty bag that crushed her dreams for a beautiful new bed, I cried to my Father that this was the wrong choice. Yet God tenderly reassured me that he was preparing something greater—an eternity of benefit that in His perfect wisdom would reap untold blessings for many.

God in His infinite wisdom knew that life would reveal many trials that seem so wrong and out of place. That is why He said, “’My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, ‘ declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8 NIV

At such times, we lean on Him and bring our tears before Him. And like the four-year-old’s parent offered solace in her misunderstanding, Jesus sends His Holy Spirit for us to bring comfort and reassurance of His perfect provision.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1: 3-5 NIV

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

True Valentines Are Not Grey

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All the recent publicity involving the release of a supposed romantic movie involving sadism has caused many to pause and consider what true romance really is.

In my personal experience, my committed relationship has involved watching my husband be self-sacrificing and compassionate. It’s the complete opposite of the Hollywood glorification of self-satisfaction and cruelty. My own marriage of nearly forty years has shown me that a true Valentine is one who serves others rather than themselves.

When our middle child and only daughter was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor in 2002, my husband became my hero. His days were spent helping me to cope with this horrible disease. He filled in to care for her when I needed a break. He accompanied us to as many doctor’s appointments as his work schedule allowed. He voluntarily missed our son’s graduation from Officer’s Candidate School so I could attend. No dad wants to miss that. But Steve did—for me.

When we knew the brain tumor was coming back after a temporary remission, it was Steve who had the strength to sit and hold her while she cried, and while I paced the room, too frantic to sit. When she could no longer care for herself and was bed bound, Steve helped me feed her and keep her clean. And when she passed away, Steve wept over our loss with as many tears as I did.

Can you imagine the “hero” of “Fifty Shades of Grey” doing all this—someone so consumed with their past that all they can do is control, belittle and hurt the woman they supposedly love?

I’ve heard it said that this lead character has had a difficult past. My response is, “Who hasn’t?”  My husband came from a broken home and his mother died of cancer when he was a teenager. But he allowed Jesus to heal his hurts, save his soul and become a new creation in Christ. He became the sort of hero who could help care for a dying daughter.

So for those who think a dapper looking man in a suit who wants what HE wants is heroic, think again. The real heroes are helping others in the battlefield of life.

 

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

 

 

 

The Book I Balked At Writing

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I’ll never forget the day a friend stopped me at church. She knew I’d written a book but, instead of the one she expected, I’d written a historical fiction. “I thought you’d write a book about your daughter,” she said to me.

I looked at her in shock. “Are you kidding me? Relive the nightmare of her brain tumor? No way.”

I wouldn’t even entertain the idea of such a project. It would be too difficult to relive her journey through cancer and eventual passing.

How could someone even mention that, I thought? [Read more…] about The Book I Balked At Writing

Fifty Shades of Terrorism

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My husband and I went to see a movie last December with friends. We’d heard about the story of an Olympic runner who later served his country in WWII and then was interned in a prisoner of war camp. It was both inspiring and painful to watch.

During the incessant stream of movie trailers for upcoming releases before the movie even started, we saw an ad for another movie that gave a glimpse of an even more painful story. It showed a woman being seduced by a controlling man who put her in bondage for his sexual pleasure. The woman was tied by handcuffs to the bedposts, apparently in satisfied arousal.

Even I was fully aware of what this movie was about. Most Americans would have to have had their head in the sand the last few years to be unaware of the book that supposedly revitalized the sex lives of women everywhere.

The first time I heard about the bordering-on-black book was at one of my own book signings.

“Have you read it yet?” The middle-aged woman at my display table had a glint in her eye. “It’s on the bedside table of nearly every woman in America. It’s revolutionized their sex lives!”

“No. Can’t say as I’ve heard of it or read it,” I said innocently. With the enthusiasm of an Evangelistic Christian, she assured me I should indulge. The message was, “This book will save your sex life.”

Since I am quite satisfied with what goes on behind closed doors with my own husband, I didn’t feel compelled to be “saved.”

It wasn’t long before I heard there was not one but now a series of books. Concern about the content involving extreme bondage and the demeaning way in which the female character is treated, began to filter through stories I read from trusted sources.

Some began to complain. Others secretly bought the book and got sucked into the apparent titillation of the story.

The books are best sellers. Hollywood has now turned it into a movie and it’s being released for Valentine’s week.

Although I’ve not read this series of books, I’ve read reviews by those who I trust. Not being under the spell of the captivating arousal supposedly elicited by reading these stories, I have been alarmed by other forms of bondage that I see everyday on the news. There are horrific accounts, from sex trafficking to terrorist oppression. Women and girls throughout the world are being taught that they are nothing more than objects, to be used for a man’s pleasure. Why else would certain groups think it’s OK to surgically remove a woman’s organ of sexual pleasure?

So please consider this. Before you throw on sunglasses, gather your girlfriends and giggle your way into the late night theater, you might want to ask yourself a serious question: Are women who salivate at the idea of a man in gray having their minds twisted into terrorist submission?