UPDATE! The drawing for the prize package is now closed, and the winner is Lisa Stifler! Thanks to all for entering!
One of the best things about writing my Civil War novels has been visiting as many of the historical sites as possible. Below, I'd love to share with you just a few highlights from several locations on my Yankee in Atlanta research journey. You won't see any pictures from Atlanta, though I did visit the Atlanta History Center, or from New York City, since I could not finagle a trip there either (which was fine because the historical documents were plenty detailed). What you will see are snapshots from:
- Marietta, Georgia: Marietta was in Sherman's path on the way to Atlanta. The Marietta Museum of History has amazing artifacts from 1864.
- Lookout Mountain, Tennessee: the site of the battle in which my character Noah Becker fought in November 1863. It was a stinging Confederate loss right before they made winter camp in Dalton, Georgia.
- Rock Island Confederate Prison Camp, Illinois: SPOILER ALERT! This is where a certain male character spent several months.
- Cedar Falls, Iowa: If you read the end of Yankee in Atlanta, you know what happens in this town, which was the western terminus of the Illinois Central Railroad in 1865. It also happens to be my hometown, but that's not why I used it. I found records of New York City orphan trains delivering thirteen orphans to Cedar Falls, Iowa. Living only blocks from the Cedar Falls Historical Society and other historic buildings certainly made things easier for me. :)
Enjoy! ...And stay tuned, because at the end of this post, I'm offering a Yankee in Atlanta themed give-away to one lucky winner!
The Give-Away!
I had a lot of fun putting this together. Below you can see the package with close-ups of two of the gifts. Included are:
- Voices of the Civil War: Atlanta. This is a gorgeous book, worthy of an coffee table. It's full of quotes from people who experienced the Atlanta campaign-Union and Confederate soldiers, plus those on the home front. Photos of the people and their artifacts, maps, and summaries of each battle are also included. (Inside of book shown at bottom of photo).
- Union & Confederate Military Leaders playing cards. Reminiscent of all the card games soldiers played in camp (close-up at bottom of photo).
- The Confederate Soldier's Pocket Manual of Devotions: Balm for the Weary and Wounded. Noah Becker used this book in the novel, and now you can have your own copy. If you look closely at the photo in the bottom right, you can see a picture of a real soldier's copy he had on him during the battle, too.
- Handmade soap from Marietta.
- A Caitlin doll. This is a Corolle doll which just reminds me so much of my main character Caitlin with her hair and eyes and freckles. You know those American Girl dolls? If there was ever a collection of Heroines Behind the Lines dolls, this one would be Caitlin. Soft body, lots of hair, the eyes close when she lies down, and she smells like vanilla.
To Enter the Give-away:
There are several easy ways to enter this give-away. You only need to choose one of them, but the more entries, of course, the better your chances. Please use the Rafflecopter form below to get started! Have fun! a Rafflecopter giveaway A winner will be selected and announced the day after Labor Day. I'll email the winner for a mailing address, and the winner will have three days to respond. If I don't hear back in three days, I'll have to choose a different winner.
BONUS!
From August 24-28, each novel in the Heroines Behind the Lines series is only $2.99 in ebook format! Shop at Amazon, ChristianBook, or BarnesandNoble for Wedded to War, Widow of Gettysburg, and Yankee in Atlanta. One final note: if you leave a comment and it doesn't appear, that means it's awaiting moderation from me. This could take me a few days, or a week, since I'm actually camping in the Black Hills this week. Never fear. The Rafflecopter will account for all your entries while I'm looking for buffalo or spelunking in Wind Cave National Park. :)
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