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New for 2010
I've taken the plunge and started blogging. I'm not sure how this will go, since I like to spend my writing time writing books, but I've also got opinions about the world we live in and about the books we read, so please check out my blog and we'll see how things proceed!
I'm also on Facebook now, so if you're there, please look for me.
An Unspeakable Crime - This young adult nonfiction book tells the story of the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta in 1913. The teenager went to the pencil factory where she worked to pick up her week's pay, and was found dead the next morning. All Atlanta was horrified by the crime, and turned against the factory manager, Leo Frank, a Jewish Yankee who had come down from New York to manage the plant. Other teenage workers testified that Frank had made inappropriate advances to them, and the prosecution built a case of innuendo against Frank, culminating in a conviction that condemned him to be hanged for Mary's murder. This was overturned by the governor, and Atlanta errupted in riots, attacking Jewish businesses and homes, and the governor's mansion.
Nearly a century later, people are still trying to understand what really happened the day Mary went to get her pay - it has taken a lynching and a frightened witness who was 14 when Mary died, and 83 when he finally came forward, to tell the true story of this unspeakable crime.
An Unspeakable Crime has just been published by Carolrhoda. The book has already been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Spring 2010 Selection.
Click here
for a discussion guide, downloads, and a video of Elaine Marie
Alphin discussing how she came to write An
Unspeakable Crime.
Just Reissued
The Ghost Cadet - This award-winning book has just been re-released in paperback by Boxing Day Books in May of 2010.
Counterfeit Son - This Edgar-Award-winning mystery has been released in paperback by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Recently Published
Tales of the
Supernatural at iPulpFiction.com
Gatekeeper- This tale of the supernatural is for readers who surf the web. All Chris wants to do is paint pictures that will open people's eyes, but somehow he can't rediscover the joy and passion he used to feel drawing and painting as a kid. Then he begins to see children in his dorm hallway - children who seem to come from different places and different times - children that no one can see except him. Is he hallucinating? Or are the children there because they need him to show them something they can't find alone?
Digital Lifeline- This fantasy is my second tale of the supernatural for iPulp. After Mort's parents are killed in a tragic car wreck, he goes to live with his uncle and cousin. But the family turns out to have powers Mort never suspected. As he follows his digital lifeline and learns how he can change other people's lives, Mort begins to suspect that someone was to blame for his parents' deaths - and to wonder if there's any way he can change their fate.
Ghostwriters - In my first tale of the supernatural for iPulp, Zach (who plans to grow up to be a famous novelist) gets a C- on his creative writing assignment. At first he's stunned. Then Zach realizes the story his teacher graded isn't even the one he wrote. Someone substituted a lousy story for his great one! Who could be out to get him? At first he suspects his rival assistant editor, but when both the school computer and his computer at home start acting strange. Zach begins to suspect there's something more sinister going on.
The iPulp's Fiction.com NewsStand recently got an impressive makeover. Click here to visit the new site and read my Tales of Suspense, and other great stories for readers from 10 up through grownups.
Or click here to read them on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Time Travel Trap - This mystery is now available in paperback, as well as e-book format for your computer and your Kindle! See how Ryan and Kelley team up to find out what's going on at the dinosaur dig they're supposed to be studying for a class project.
JELP - This chapter book for third graders is the story of two kids who get the worst spelling grades in their class, and despair of writing a book for their school's Young Authors' Contest. But perhaps by working together they can come up with a way to spell success.
Making the Leaves Talk - This chapter book for third graders is the story of Sequoya's struggle to invent a written Cherokee language. When he faces the great chiefs at the national council house with his Cherokee Syllabary, the only one who believes in him is his daughter, Ahyoka. In the end, it's up to her to convince the chiefs.
JELP and Making the Leaves Talk were released in 2008 as part of Wendy Pye's Award Reading Series.
The Perfect Shot - This young adult mystery published by Carolrhoda is the story of a high school basketball player, Brian, whose girlfriend has been murdered. The police arrest her father, but Brian isn't sure they've got the right man. He thinks he might know something the police have overlooked When Brian's teammate is arrested for nothing more than being a black kid in a white neighborhood, Brian has to face up to the fact that the justice system isn't working the way it's supposed to. But if he speaks out about what he knows about the murder, will the real killer try for another perfect shot? This time against Brian?
May 2006: ForeWard Magazine named The Perfect Shotthe Gold Medal Winner in its Book of the Year Award for Young Adult Fiction.
December 2005: VOYA named The Perfect Shotto its Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers List.
Book Signings
TBA
Conference Appearances
South Dakota Festival of Books - 2-4 October 2009 in Deadwood, SD. I had a terrific time speaking with so many readers and fellow authors - I hope I met you there! I'm certainly looking forward to participating in future Festivals.
South Dakota Librarians Association Conference - 25-26 September 2008 in Chamberlain, South Dakota. I had the pleasure of introducing myself and my books to attendees, and I signed many books. I thoroughly enjoyed the conference, and I'm so looking forward to visiting schools and libraries across the state of South Dakota in the future!
Counterfeit Son Recognition
January 2002: The Society of School Librarians International named Counterfeit Son an Honor Book in the Language Arts, Grades 7-12 Novels category.
May 2001: At their 56th Annual Edgar Awards Banquet at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, the Mystery Writers of America presented their 2001 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Mystery to Counterfeit Son.
This YA novel published by Harcourt is the story of the son of a serial killer who poses as one of his father's victims, hoping to find a family and security at last. The novel poses the question: at what point do you stop caring only about your own survival, and accept responsibility for those around you?
ALA nomination for 2002 Best Books for Young Adults.
St. Louis Post Dispatch Best Children's Books of 2000
A 2001 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
Optioned for an upcoming film!
