Menu

Elaine Cougler

About Elaine Cougler

https://elainecougler.com

Elaine Cougler is the award-winning author of historical novels about the lives of settlers in the Thirteen Colonies who remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolution. She uses the backdrop of the conflict for page-turning fictional tales where the main characters face torn loyalties, danger, and personal conflicts. Her Loyalist trilogy comprises The Loyalist’s Wife, The Loyalist’s Luck and The Loyalist Legacy, all available on Amazon, Kobo, and Audible. Her latest book is The Loyalist’s Daughter, the prequel to her Loyalist trilogy. Elaine also wrote the Amazon #1 Bestseller The Man Behind the Marathons: How Ron Calhoun Helped Terry Fox and Other Heroes Make Millions for Charity. Byron native, Ronald G. Calhoun, was the chair of the Canadian Cancer Society team who managed the Marathon of Hope, Terry Fox’s run in 1980. Ron also managed the Jesse’s Journey walk across Ontario and later across Canada, as well as Steve Fonyo’s Journey for Lives and the blind Ken McColm’s Incredible Journey across Canada. Ron’s honours are many and well deserved. Elaine is delighted and humbled to be the author of this important book, a different kind of Canadian history. Elaine leads writing workshops and speaks about her books to many groups. Through her website she blogs about the writing and reading world and more. She lives in Ontario with her husband. They have two grown children. Links: Elaine can be found on YouTube and LinkedIn and through the following links: @ElaineCougler www.elainecougler.com http://www.facebook.com/ElaineCouglerAuthor

Posts by Elaine Cougler:

IMG_1441

An Amazing Wooden Bridge and Two Great Contests!

, , , , ,

West Montrose Covered Bridge

Last Sunday my husband and I decided to drive to a favorite spot just to see if and how the St. Jacob’s Farmers’ Market might be open. We really just wanted a drive up through Mennonite country where some of my ancestors lived. After we checked out the market–yes, it was open but in a diminished sort of way–we drove further northeast to a place that is a remarkable piece of Ontario history–the West Montrose Covered Bridge.

It is a one-lane bridge spanning the Grand River and has signs on either end warning cars to yield; it’s the last remaining covered bridge in Ontario. You have to be polite and take your turn to get across as it’s just one lane.

A car going across

We had to ask the two couples who had settled for a chat in front of this sign to move so that we could read it (in this time of Covid, you see), but they were most cooperative.

Built by John Bear in 1880. About the same time the Donnellys were causing havoc on the Roman Road near Lucan, Ontario.
Wild phlox bloomed beautifully across the Grand River, so aptly named.
Here you can see the length of the gorgeous structure.
A boat downriver and more wild flowers in the distance. What a beautiful place!

For those who love historical romance I’ve put The Loyalist’s Wife into this Giveaway! (even though my book is really historical fiction.) You’ll love it! Check out all the books included at the link access icon below.

Contest is from June 8-June 17.

Another contest I’ve entered with The Man Behind the Marathons: How Ron Calhoun Helped Terry Fox and Other Heroes Make Millions for Charity is the Inspirational and Non-Fiction contest run by BookSweeps from

June 21-July 1.

There will be beautiful graphics coming soon but I wanted to give you an early heads-up. Watch my Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages for more info on June 21. Meanwhile enjoy your reading!

 

Elaine Cougler recording her book

Let’s Be Positive!

Never has there been in my lifetime a point when Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking idea has resonated so much. Every TV channel pounds away at Covid-19 stories, most of them negative. All the news stations are giving the statistics of how many cases there are, how many have died, and how many nursing homes are in dire straits.

Yes, we are part of a larger community and we need to know what is happening. As John Donne said, “Never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee” as he talked about our being part of a whole and not just individuals with no thought to our neighbours. And I believe that.

What I don’t believe in is hammering away at negativity 24/7.

Human beings are meant to be happy (my takeaway from a book I read years ago) and I work hard to stay that way. I’ve had my share of bad things happen, the worst of which was suffering a number of strokes in my forties. How I recovered mentally and physically was by cutting out the negative stuff and actively filling my life with positives.

So I spend my day shutting out the negatives that I can’t change. I turn off the television, I choose uplifting reading, and I surround myself with positive people.

Here are some of the good things that I’ve noticed since this Covid-19 crisis swooped in on the world:

  1. Positive messages thanking our caregivers everywhere we look.
  2. The sky is blue, blue, blue.
  3. People are out walking, distancing to care for each other, and singing free online concerts.
  4. My days are not nearly so hectic as in pre-covid times.
  5. I’m writing a prequel to my Loyalist trilogy and loving it!
  6. My husband and I are making wonderful meals and loving them. We do miss eating out but some recipes I’m making we haven’t had for years. (See my own creation below Elaine’s Banana Oatmeal Muffins)

To give my readers the chance to read positive books, I chose to be part of 3 Booksweeps contests coming up. Keep watching for these as free books are part of the deal. I’ll announce each of the three in my twice monthly newsletter. (Sign up here on the left side of the page.)

They start May 25, June 8 and June 22. Join me!

Another positive is that you can help quash those trolls who are stealing authors’ books and giving them away free online. This has happened to me many times. I use software to see if my titles are mentioned anywhere on the web and I’ve found them stolen more times than I can count. Even my name and my book write-ups are taken. We need to go after these people. I’m asking for your help. Here is a link where you can sign a petition to shut down one of these sites. I hope you will.

Please join the Authors Guild in signing this open letter to the Internet Archive calling for the immediate shut down of the National Emergency Library. The National Emergency Library is piracy, pure and simple, no matter how the Internet Archive and its founder Brewster Kahle cloak it as a social benefit. Making hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books available for download is theft. It is illegal and it needs to be shut down.

Can you join me and take action? Click here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-our-open-letter-to-internet-archive-to-shut-down-the-so-called-national-emergency-library?source=email&

Thanks!

And now, as promised, my very own recipe for

Elaine’s Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Sift together:

1 c. all purpose flour,  1/4 c. sugar,  3 tsp. baking powder,  1/2 tsp. salt

Add:

1/2 c. coconut,  1 c. quick-cooking rolled oats

In a separate bowl, mix:

1 slightly beaten egg,  1 c. milk,  1 tsp. almond extract,  3 T. salad oil

Add to dry ingredients, stirring just to moisten. At the same time, add 2 crushed ripe bananas. Fill 12 greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes. Yummy!

Don’t forget about The Man Behind the Marathons

Audio Book Coming Soon

Jean Little

Two Writing Icons, Both Gone Now: Little and Laurence

, , , ,

This week, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis all across the world, another of my personal heroes passed away at the age of 88. I told my story about Jean Little in a post that included the incomparable Margaret Laurence almost four years ago now. Here is the link to that post, entitled Margaret Laurence, Jean Little and My Writing Journey. I hope you will enjoy seeing both these writers from my point of view.

Jean Little (on the left) and her sister, Pat DeVries

You will also enjoy reading more about Jean Little if you click this CBC link to her obituary piece.

For More Stories of People Making a Difference, Click on the Images Below

The Ultimate Author Reading—An Audiobook!

, ,

Elaine:  “Can you hear me?…Jack?…Are you there?”

………

Jack:  “Elaine?…We can start now….GO!”

Elaine:  “Chapter One………On October 15, 1979, Ron Calhoun received a surprising call…”

On December 10, 2019, I sat in my good friend Jack London’s recording studio and we started to work on my fourth book. We had already recorded and posted with ACX Audible the three books of my Loyalist trilogy and I was anxious to put this one in the can as well.

In the photo above I am sitting in the tiny sound booth, my iPad open to The Man Behind the Marathons resting on the music stand before me and all connected to headphones in front of a great mic. The room is cosy this night, the little heater silently warming me as I sit on the high-backed stool and immerse myself in the story.

My iPad sticks magnetically to the metal music stand so that we don’t have to worry about me dropping it to the floor. A fresh water bottle is waiting for me when I arrive each night, and I take sips often to keep my voice lubricated. We take breaks when needed.

I’m excited. Jack is, too. We both know the drill. He runs the recording equipment, a bank of screens and squiggly lines that he somehow understands exactly how to operate.

I sit in the studio and try to keep my thoughts focused on the words before me. I imagine I’m performing at an author reading. There are real people out there and–ever the entertainer–I put life into the voices of the different characters and the narrator who is telling this wonderful story.

I keep self doubts at bay by remembering how audiences seem to love my reading; in fact, one librarian told me that, when I had left them one night after a reading, everyone agreed they could listen to me read the whole book! That gave me the courage to record all of my books myself. My hope is that listeners will have an extra bit of enjoyment knowing that the author is doing the reading.

Here is Jack posing for the photographer before we start the actual recording one night. You can see some of his recording equipment but certainly not all of it.

Jack is a singer/songwriter himself as well as the owner and master of his recording studio. He’s a little like me that way. When he wants to do something he just figures it out and goes ahead. He is a tireless worker and quite the perfectionist, both as a singer and a technician. He hears every little snuffle, strangely pronounced word, motion of my foot on the stool, clearing of the throat and I don’t know what all. And he stops me. He wants the recording to be perfect. It is Jack’s voice you hear doing the intros etc. on all of my audio books. Have a listen. It’s the most mellow sound you’ll ever hear!

A great big thank you always goes out to Jack!

In this final photo we have set up the shot to show where we both are during recording. Of course when actually recording, the sliding door is closed tightly and the sound muffling curtains are closed. I am shut into my booth and no sound gets in from outside. That is what makes the recording so clean. Thanks to my husband, Ron, who took these shots before one of our recording sessions a few weeks ago.

There are other ways to get your books out on Audible which, by the way, is connected to Amazon so that your audio books are listed as options just as Kindle ebooks are. Here is one of my books (The Loyalist’s Wife) where you can see that.

Audible and ACX are connected so that when you want your books on Audible, you go through ACX. You can upload your own files or you can search for someone on their site who will read/record your book for you. Apparently you can hear demos but I’ve not done this. Choose whichever way makes sense for your situation.

My message to other authors and performers is obviously that you may very well be able to do this. Of course there is a cost and I’ll let you talk to your audio person about that. For the listener having the author read her own books is kind of exciting people tell me. That coupled with my desire to live up to that old 4-H motto I learned so many years ago–Learn to do by doing–has helped me through much of my writing journey.

The Man Behind the Marathons audio book will be coming in the next weeks. In the meantime here is a link to my trilogy audio books on Amazon. Notice that if you are a new Audible member, you can get your first book free! Pick mine, please! And don’t forget to write me a short review on Amazon and Goodreads.

The Man Behind the Marathons Final Ebook Cover 460 x 694

Every One of Us Needs a Hero

, ,

I hardly know where to start. Tuesday night I spoke at the awesome Beachville Historical Society about the book above. Featured prominently on the cover is Ron Calhoun because he volunteered his whole life to help others. He was The Man Behind the Marathons.

Most famous of the 5 walks/runs across Canada where he made his mark behind the scenes is, of course, Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. Ron was the man who came up with that winning title. Jesse’s Journey with John Davidson and his son, Jesse, was very popular in and around London where their two Journeys across Ontario and Canada helped raise money to fight Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Ron lent his considerable talents to both the first and the second of those Journeys. The book also tells about Ken McColm and Steve Fonyo. Imagine a blind man with diabetes and another one-legged youth walking across this vast country, again to raise money to help others.

In the banner above is also a picture of me presenting Ron with his very own copy of the finished book. We did that in his apartment in Byron (London) Ontario with Ron Cougler taking the photo. I’m not sure which of us, Ron Calhoun or me, was happiest that day. It was a few days before the first launch in London on June 24th, Ron’s 86th birthday. That was the best gift I ever gave anyone! And look closely to see Ron’s framed print of Cliff Kearns’ rendering of Terry Fox. Cliff gave me permissions to use that image on the cover of the book. Such a warm and thoughtful person.

The book was the culmination of 2 years of work on my part and innumerable interviews and meetings between Ron and me. He was a joy to work with, always a gentleman, never wanting to denigrate anyone (even when they definitely deserved it!), and sharing the many boxes of documents, mementos and photos he had collected over the many years of volunteering all across the world.

Last Friday we got the call in the wee small hours of February 7th that Ron Calhoun had passed away.

Since then I’ve mostly carried on with my life even though a very great friend is no longer in it. I told the people I needed to tell, I wrote a Facebook entry and I wondered how I should change my talk on the coming Tuesday. For I’ve become the person who wrote a book about someone who is gone. It’s a strange responsibility but I take comfort in the fact that I worked very closely with Ron about my ideas for the structure of the book. He gave me input all along the way and thanked me numerous times for the two years work I did. That was just Ron. He always made you feel that your contribution was fantastic. [Watch for audio and video recordings that I did with Ron.]

When I asked Ron what he most wanted out of life, he told me he wanted to leave the world a better place. Well, that he did. Tributes have been pouring in to the special FB page his daughter, Lori, set up, each one a testament to Ron’s caring and giving nature. A list of many of his accomplishments I had to include at the back of the book even though creative non-fiction doesn’t usually have that.

Ron’s funeral is next Monday. A good part of my family and Ron’s huge extended family–actual relatives or not–will definitely be there to send off this hero in fine style.

 

 

large poinsettia in window

I Wish You a Little Christmas (and Book Deals!)

, , , ,

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

When I was teaching high school French many years ago, I found a wonderful Christmas story in what we called our French Authors book for grade 11 students. That book contained many stories in French to give students the experience of reading great works by famous authors in the language they were studying.

The Gift of the Magi was that wonderful story and I had never heard it before. I was as mesmerized as my students as we worked our way through O. Henry’s tale, said to have been written when he was up against a newspaper deadline. Apparently the story took about 2 1/2 hours to create.

For those who would like to read it (in English), please click here to read it on East of the Web.

Here is my office poinsettia brightening up my writing space as I work these days. This is one Christmas tradition I love, especially  the red poinsettias.

My Gift to You!

This year, when you buy all three of the books in my Loyalist Trilogy between now and December 24, 2019, you get them for a special price. 

All 3 for not $60  but $44.00(Canadian)! I can even do them in a pretty red bow if you like!

To get this amazing price, you must pick them up from my house and pay cash.

If you live a distance away, I will honour this price if you pay the shipping. Send me a request via my email at elainecougler (at) rogers (dot) com.

I wish you all happy holidays and a new year filled with every good thing you desire.

For More Stories of People Making a Difference, Click on Images

My latest book!

 

Iron Annie

Iron Annie and a Long Journey: A Family Odyssey

One of the things about studying history and especially our rather close history is that survivors and children of survivors of WWII are writing their stories. In this world of computers and easy access to publication the job of preserving those stories is much easier.

Born just after that war I well remember that what I heard, as I was growing up, about the war and about the Germans and the Japanese was more in the nature of Klinck in Hogan’s Heroes or the ‘evil’ Japanese who bombed Pearl Harbor and their absolute readiness to commit hari kari in service to their Emperor. TV shows did their best to perpetrate these images on all of us.

Lisa M. Hutchison has done a superb job of showing the other side of the war. This excellent book had me from the very beginning as Hutchison told her story. She describes the bombings of Berlin, of her family’s home absolutely destroyed, of the Luftwaffe pilot father’s absolute abhorrence of Hitler and of what the war (1939-1945) meant for millions of Germans who were caught up in the same suffering as those in the West, and through no fault of their own.

I learned a lot about the food shortages, the absolute lack of housing as whole streets and cities were demolished, the kindness of many who shared what little they had and the evil doings of some who caused the family to ultimately be housed like starving pigs in a barn. They had no heat, no help and no hope.

An alternate cover.

In the story, the pilot father does all he can to save his family but he no sooner solves one problem than he is rushed back to the Luftwaffe because pilots are dying every day and he is so needed.

This is an important work for readers everywhere but especially for those in the West. Well done, Ms. Hutchison!

Iron Annie and A Long Journey — from Goodreads

When Charlotte met Albert, the handsome Lufthansa pilot, she was sure their lives together would be nothing but bliss and happiness. Little did she know what was in store for her and her family.

It was the 1930s and the clouds of war were gathering all around them. Albert, by now a Major in the Luftwaffe had been deployed to Hitler’s private fleet of planes.

When WWII broke out Charlotte and Albert’s world fell apart. They would endure long separations, the losses of children, their home and eventually their country.

This is a family story of epic proportions, a thrilling page turner with incredible twists and turns of fate and destinies; heartbreaking as well as hilariously funny at times.

Will Albert and Charlotte survive? Will their love for each other be strong enough?

And who is Iron Annie? Be surprised, it is not who you think.

Immerse yourself in a true story of an ordinary German family caught up in the horrors of war.

For More Stories of People Making a Difference, Click on Images

My latest book!
Uncle Frank, Mom, group

Poppies, People and Potato Peels

,

Fulfilling my dreams of becoming an author has made me notice Remembrance Day so much more keenly than ever before. I still remember marching in my cadet uniform, lining up in rows of black and white costumed girls followed by our khaki male classmates as we filled the halls facing our cenataph in the front hall of our large school. We listened to the Last Post, heard John McCrae’s In Flanders Fields, stood still for the minister’s message, and listened as our principal, Mr. Ferguson, talked of his paper boy who never came back from the war.

While I stood in the deathly silent halls at Woodstock Collegiate I thought of my Uncle Frank, my mother’s brother, who joined the Perth regiment but never came home from the war. I knew he was buried in Italy where a German bomb had hit his foxhole.

Uncle Frank is beside the dog and my mother, Alice, is next to Frank. August, 1939.

I remember thinking of Uncle Frank–who died before I was born–and I still feel the tears that slipped down my cheeks as I moved inside my young mind and imagined his life with his wife and baby daughter–cut off right as it was beginning–and the utter waste of it all.

Two of my Dad’s brothers also served but they came back and, at that time, I thought they were none the worse for it. I didn’t associate them with the horrors of World War II. Now I recognize the signs that both of them suffered PTSD although it was not named then.

My Dad never went to war. He served his country by milking Holsteins, raising crops and feeding Canada. He even worked in a munitions machine shop for one winter but decided he could do more by growing food at home. I wonder today if he was ostracized by people because he was not serving overseas but he never spoke of it. Another of the questions I’d like to ask him if he were here.

The past few days I’ve been reminded often of the sacrifices made by everyone who went through the war. I finished reading Extraordinary Women, Extraordinary Times: Canadian Women of WWII and, though it was a bit of a slog, I persevered because the stories of those  women and their contributions to the War came alive for me. (I  wrote a review on Goodreads.) My husband and I watched The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society on Monday and got another taste of the effects of the War on so many. (The link is to the trailer.)

A talented friend of mine, musician and recording artist Jack London, was invited to go to Vimy Ridge in 2017 for the famous battle’s 100th anniversary. He performed a number of songs including his own composition Highway of Heroes at the celebrations in France. This song is inspired by the strip of highway 401 from CFB Trenton where planes brought in fallen soldiers from the war in Afghanistan and along which those fallen soldiers traveled to Toronto before being released to families for burial.

On November 11th I was once again pleased to see the ceremony in Ottawa, our nation’s capital. I was delighted that not only the men who served in 1939-1945 but also the women and the First Nations peoples and the black people and those of all colours, races and backgrounds–all who served were recognized and represented. Canada is working on righting those old wrongs.

And so I return to my writing life and how it has made me notice more. I watch people’s faces. I listen to their unspoken words and I search behind their smiles and their frowns for the underpainting of their lives. We are all the products of what has gone before. For this Remembrance Day and for always, I hope that our memories can help shape our present and our future.

For Stories of More People Making a Difference, Click on Images

My latest book!
IMG_4081 2

The Loyalists in Ontario

, , , , , ,

In the latter part of August, my husband and I took a trip to Gananoque, Ontario to see a performance at the theatre there. My sister was one of the actors; hence, our trip to that lovely part of Ontario. On the way, we detoured through Prince Edward County and boarded the Glenora ferry, pictured below.

The ferry goes about every 15 minutes in the summer so our wait was not too long, even though lots of cars were lined up. We filled in the time enjoying the waterfront.

Many sailboats and other craft used the waterway which we had to cross to get to Adolphustown on the road to Kingston, Ontario.

This is Loyalist country and I got to see a U.E.L. cemetery along the way. Here is the Loyalist flag flying above the cemetery which is enclosed by a beautiful metal fence. In the distance you can see the stones of many of the Loyalists buried there. The stones have been cemented into a long monument as a way of preserving this history.

A few of the stones stand on their own.

Here’s a closer view of the fence and of the stones.

I was intrigued by the wording on this sign telling of the coming of the Loyalists to the Kingston area. For my Loyalist trilogy I started the first book in 1778 during the American Revolutionary War that precipitated the flight to Canada of those loyal to Britain, from what had been the Thirteen Colonies and became the United States.

Here is another view of the monument and stones.

Many of the women in those times died early from childbirth and several of the stones showed how young these women were.

The stone below tells the story of a mother dying, presumably in birthing the child who died two months later.

This stone memorializes a “much loved wife”. She lived to be 51 so presumably either didn’t have children or survived that ordeal.

This stone reminds us that though a multitude of stones remain across our land, many markers made of wood have disappeared over the years.

The Frontenac, the first steamship on Lake Ontario, was built near Kingston in the early 1800’s. The sign below and the Canadian Encyclopedia shed light on the ship’s history. I was intrigued to learn that the population of Upper Canada was too small for the ship to make much money and it was about to be scrapped when an arsonist burned it.

This, too, is part of our early Ontario history and the plaque below is near the Loyalist cemetery.

Preserving our Ontario history has become very important to me. Whenever I find efforts to do just that I am thrilled. Those who came before us would be pleased, too.

For my take on the Loyalists, try my Loyalist Trilogy, linked below.

 

 

 

main-beach-grand-bend

Rules For Teachers and the Changing Nature of Society

, ,

Grand Bend

In August my husband and I happened to be in Grand Bend, Ontario, so named because of the large bend in Lake Huron right where Grand Bend is located. We had a couple of hours before our theatre event so tried a new restaurant, The Schoolhouse Restaurant. It was really good.

The old school kitch was cute, too, especially this framed list of rules for teachers in 1915. Note that this is from a West Virginia Board of Education:

I’m sure our rules here in Ontario were just as restrictive. The most interesting thing to me is the fact that all of the teachers must have been men unless the males wore dresses!

Isn’t history fun?

I certainly have fun writing my historical novels!

For historical fiction about an earlier time period, try my Loyalist trilogy!

Click image to purchase on Amazon. Available in print, ebook and audio formats.

Load More

Back To Top