Elaine M. Alphin
Encyclopedia
Elaine Marie Alphin is the award-winning author
of more than thirty books for children and young adults. Although she specializes in fiction, she has published many non-fiction
titles, including biographies of Davy Crockett
, Louis Pasteur
, Dwight Eisenhower, and John Paul Jones
, which she co-wrote with her husband Arthur Alphin
(as part of Lerner Publishing's History Maker Biographies series).
She is noted for writing historical fiction
and psychological thrillers. Several of her novels have been deemed controversial, as they have dealt with topics such as serial killers, child abuse
, homosexuality
, murder
, and suicide
. At the same time those titles have proven extremely popular with both critics and young readers.
Elaine Marie Alphin is one of the subjects of the Contemporary Authors series, a collection of biographies published by Thomson Gale
in 2007.
A film version of her novel Counterfeit Son
is scheduled for release by Warner Brothers in 2010.
. Two, Ghost Cadet and Ghost Soldier, deal with ghosts of child-soldiers from the American Civil War
(or the War Between the States in Alphin's nod to southern tradition) who require help from present-day children to achieve their final rest. Ghost Cadet has been Mrs. Alphin's most successful book to date, going through several editions in both hardback and paperback. The book's popularity with young readers prompted her publishers to ask for a companion novel - Ghost Soldier. In Tournament of Time, one of her early novels, an American school girl living in England befriends the ghosts of two medieval princes, allegedly murdered by Richard III
in the Tower of London
, and battles the 500-year-old ghost of their murderer. The story has been much praised for its historical accuracy and attention to detail, as well as its thrilling denouement.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of more than thirty books for children and young adults. Although she specializes in fiction, she has published many non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
titles, including biographies of Davy Crockett
Davy Crockett
David "Davy" Crockett was a celebrated 19th century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S...
, Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
, Dwight Eisenhower, and John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones was a Scottish sailor and the United States' first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolutionary War. Although he made enemies among America's political elites, his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to...
, which she co-wrote with her husband Arthur Alphin
Arthur Alphin
Colonel Arthur "Art" Alphin is a retired American Army officer and military historian.He is the founder and owner of A-Square, manufacturer of American hunting rifles. He taught military history at West Point...
(as part of Lerner Publishing's History Maker Biographies series).
She is noted for writing historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
and psychological thrillers. Several of her novels have been deemed controversial, as they have dealt with topics such as serial killers, child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
, homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, and suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. At the same time those titles have proven extremely popular with both critics and young readers.
Elaine Marie Alphin is one of the subjects of the Contemporary Authors series, a collection of biographies published by Thomson Gale
Thomson Gale
Gale is an educational publishing company based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, the United States, in the western suburbs of Detroit. It was part of the Thomson Learning division of the Thomson Corporation, a Canadian company, but became part of Cengage Learning in 2007.The company, formerly known...
in 2007.
A film version of her novel Counterfeit Son
Counterfeit Son
Counterfeit Son is a 2000 novel by Elaine Marie Alphin and was written for young adults. It received a 2001 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Young Adult Mystery. It is a psychological thriller.-Plot:...
is scheduled for release by Warner Brothers in 2010.
Ghosts
Several of Alphin's novels are ghost storiesGhost story
A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, or an account of an experience, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has...
. Two, Ghost Cadet and Ghost Soldier, deal with ghosts of child-soldiers from the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
(or the War Between the States in Alphin's nod to southern tradition) who require help from present-day children to achieve their final rest. Ghost Cadet has been Mrs. Alphin's most successful book to date, going through several editions in both hardback and paperback. The book's popularity with young readers prompted her publishers to ask for a companion novel - Ghost Soldier. In Tournament of Time, one of her early novels, an American school girl living in England befriends the ghosts of two medieval princes, allegedly murdered by Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, and battles the 500-year-old ghost of their murderer. The story has been much praised for its historical accuracy and attention to detail, as well as its thrilling denouement.
Gay Characters
The Perfect Shot, Picture Perfect, and Simon Says feature main or secondary characters who happen to be homosexuals. Their sexuality is not central to the plots. Everyone turns out to be gay.Child Abuse
Child abuse and its aftermath is a major theme of Counterfeit Son. It also features Pornogrophy in Picture Perfect and, to a lesser extent, The Perfect Shot.Awards
Alphin's novels have been placed on many state-sponsored reading lists, as well as receiving nominations for various writing awards. In 2001 her novel Counterfeit Son won the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel. Other major awards include:- 2006 ForeWard Book of the Year Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction for The Perfect Shot
- 2006 Bank Street College Teen Selection for The Perfect Shot
- 2003 New Jersey Library Association Pick of the Decade Selection for A Bear for Miguel
- 2005 VOYA Top Shelf Fiction Award for The Perfect Shot
- 2004 Bank Street College Children's Selection for I Have Not Yet Begun To Fight
- 2004 Young Hoosier Book Award for Ghost Soldier
- 2003 Edgar Allan Poe Nomination for Best Juvenile Mystery for Ghost Soldier
- 2003 Bank Street College Children's Selection for Germ Hunter
- 2003 VOYA Top Shelf Fiction Award for Picture Perfect
- 2003 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award for "Dinosaur Hunter"
- 2002 Society of Midland Authors Children's Fiction Award for Ghost Soldier
- 2001 Edgar Award for Counterfeit Son
- 2000 Indianapolis Christian University International Washington Irving Literary Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Writing
- 1995 Virginia State Reading Association Award for Ghost Cadet