Welcome friends! I have another book excerpt for your all today. If you like historical mystery thrillers with romance, A New Dream by Gregory Kopp might be of interest to you. Let’s learn from the author and then dive into one of the chapters of the book.
Get to know the author: Gregory
Welcome to Armed with A Book, Gregory! Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!
I am an Amazon 5-Star Author, Graduate of Northwestern University and a Principal Consultant for Kopp Company, a privately held firm. I am also a Talent Ambassador for The Walt Disney Company.
What inspired you to write A New Dream Arises?
My artistic and creative aspects of my career blossomed with the writing and publication of the exciting Kopp Chronicles series of historical fiction novels. This sweeping saga is based on my own immigrant American family’s life experiences which spanned multiple continents, revolutionary upheavals, tragedy and ultimate triumph!
How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?
A New Dream Arises took over a year to write including research and final draft.
What makes your story unique?
This story is based on my family’s immigrant experiences with a little help of an intrepid fictional Scotland Yard detective.
Who would enjoy reading your book?
Readers desiring to understand the historical characters behind the most momentous events.
What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?
An understanding of how every day men and women are affected by historical events.
Do you have a favourite quote or scene in the book that you find yourself going back to?
Yes, I provided an excerpt below which shows the determination of my characters to overcome dangers and prejudice.
A New Dream Rises
In his most dangerous mission yet, Richard Cordwell, the handsome Scotland Yard detective, discovers another royal conspiracy! While the manhunt for the assassin of Abraham Lincoln absorbs a nation, a new president begins to wield the power of Reconstruction, as a dream of freedom arises above the devastation of a defeated Confederacy. Based on a true story, this exciting adventure is set among the capitals of Europe and Washington City, Scotland’s famous castles and the American South in the aftermath of the Civil War. Enjoy the next volume in the powerful Kopp Chronicles epic series.
Content Notes: None identified by the author.
Book Excerpt: Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Miss Eliza, come quick! The schoolhouse is on fire!” one of the new Freedmen’s school students yelled out while pounding on her door. The sound of shouting and loud pounding on her front door woke Eliza. She in turn woke up Miss Thompson, and they both grabbed their shawls and followed the young boy as he ran toward the new schoolhouse. As they approached, Eliza could see a bright glow in the sky. The new Freedmen’s school was engulfed in flames!
Several Union soldiers were passing buckets of water in a line to douse the fire. Eliza grabbed a pail of water and helped the soldiers try to douse the flames as Miss Thompson stood by in shock. After a few moments, she also began helping Eliza fill the pails with water and hand them to the men on the fire bucket brigade line.
While filling the pails with water, Eliza saw a solitary figure on horseback out of the corner of her eye. He was watching the men of the fire bucket brigade. She immediately recognized Ethan as he sat alone on his horse. Eliza turned toward him.
“Ethan, is that you? Please come and help!” she shouted. Ethan was startled and gave her a mournful look. Jerking the reins upon his horse, he galloped away into the darkness. Eliza continued helping pour water on the fires engulfing the schoolhouse.
Meanwhile, Chaplain T.M. Goodfellow rode up on his horse. He dismounted and stood staring into the dancing flames. The men of the fire bucket brigade threw down their pails when they realized the utter hopelessness of putting out the fire. The burning building began collapsing as the fires continued to burn. Eliza and Miss Thompson covered in soot and perspiration walked up to Chaplain Goodfellow.
“I told you we would need soldiers to guard the school,” Eliza addressed the dumbstruck Chaplain.
“I didn’t realize…” Goodfellow’s voice trailed off as the roof collapsed in the burning building.
“All the books are destroyed, “Eliza said sorrowfully.
“We’ll purchase more books,” Goodfellow declared. At that moment, they heard a shout for a doctor. Union soldiers helped Private Smith pull Abraham further away from the burning debris. Eliza recognized Abraham and placed her shawl under his head as a pillow. Abraham slowly opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Eliza and Chaplain Goodfellow.
“Reverend, please build us another school,” Abraham whispered. Goodfellow nodded. Abraham then grabbed Eliza’s hand. “Don’t give up Miss Eliza!” he whispered and died. Eliza began to cry and walked away.
Goodfellow hurried to her side. “Miss Crabshaw, we need your help,” he begged.
She took one look at him and wiped away her tears. “Alright, we’ll start again tomorrow,” she said and began to walk home with Miss Thompson. Several of Eliza’s neighbors offered their sympathies as she and Miss Thompson walked past them.
Chaplain T.M. Goodfellow mounted his horse. “I will request more troops from Assistant Commissioner Swayne in Montgomery tomorrow. Not another Freedmen’s school will burn in my jurisdiction!” he vowed to himself.
Interested?
Find A New Dream Rises on Amazon, Goodreads and IndieStoryGeek. Many thanks to Gregory for sharing about his book. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Learn about upcoming books on his Website and Goodreads and Amazon pages.
If you are an indie author and would like to do a book excerpt, check out my work with me page for details. Happy reading!
Be First to Comment