Elaine Marie Alphin ( Bonilla; October 30, 1955 – August 19, 2014) was an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

of more than thirty books for children and young adults. Although she specialized in fiction, she has published many

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

titles, including biographies of

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

, and

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

, which she co-wrote with her husband

Arthur Alphin Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Brent Alphin (born September 5, 1948) is a retired United States Army officer and military historian. He is the founder and owner of A-Square, manufacturer of American hunting rifles. He taught military history at Wes ...

(as part of Lerner Publishing's History Maker Biographies series). She was noted for writing

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

and psychological thrillers. Several of her novels dealt with controversial topics such as

serial killers A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

, pedophiles,

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

, and

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. Alphin was a subject of the Contemporary Authors series, a collection of biographies published by

Thomson Gale Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research a ...

in 2007.

Last years

In August 2011, Alphin suffered a stroke. Her last book was ''An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank'' (2010). She died at her home in

Glenrock, Wyoming Glenrock is a town in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,420 at the 2020 census. History Glenrock, known as Deer Creek Station, had its beginning as a mail and stage station along the Oregon Trail. The station served ...

on August 19, 2014, aged 58. She was interred at Sunset Hills Cemetery in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...

Themes

Ghosts

Several of Alphin's novels are

ghost stories A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...

. Two, ''Ghost Cadet'' and ''Ghost Soldier'', deal with ghosts of child-soldiers from the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

who require help from present-day children to achieve their final rest. ''Ghost Cadet'' has been 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 (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

, 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.

Child abuse

Child abuse and its aftermath is a major theme of ''Counterfeit Son''. It also features pornography in ''Picture Perfect'' and, to a lesser extent, ''The Perfect Shot''.

Books

*''The Ghost Cadet'', Henry Holt (New York, NY), 1991. *''The Proving Ground'', Henry Holt (New York, NY), 1992. *''101 Bible Puzzles'', Standard, 1993. *''Tournament of Time'', Bluegrass Books, 1994. *''Rainy Day/Sunny Day/Any Day Activities'', Concordia (St. Louis, MO), 1994. *''A Bear for Miguel'', pictures by Joan Sandin, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996. * '' Counterfeit Son'', Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2000. *''Creating Characters Kids Will Love, Writer's Digest Books'' (Cincinnati, OH), 2000. *''Ghost Soldier'', Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2001. *''Around the World in 1500'', Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2001. *''Simon Says'', Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2002. *''Germ Hunter: A Story about Louis Pasteur'', Carolrhoda Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2002. *''Picture Perfect'', Carolrhoda Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2003. *''Davy Crockett'', Lerner (Minneapolis, MN), 2003. *''Dwight D. Eisenhower'', Lerner (Minneapolis, MN), 2004. (With husband, Arthur B. Alphin) *''Dinosaur Hunter'', HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004. *''The Perfect Shot'', Carolrhoda Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2005 *''An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank'' (2010).

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: * 2011

Carter G. Woodson Book Award The Carter G. Woodson Book Award is an American literary award created in 1973 by the Racism and Social Justice Committee of the National Council for the Social Studies The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is a private, non-profit ...

for ''An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank'' * 2006 Foreword Book of the Year Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction for ''The Perfect Shot'' * 2006 Bank Street College Teen Selection for ''The Perfect Shot'' * 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 New Jersey Library Association Pick of the Decade Selection for ''A Bear for Miguel'' * 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 The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

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''

References

External links

Official BlogspotObituary
slj.com, August 22, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Alphin, Elaine M. 1955 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American children's writers American women children's writers American women novelists American young adult novelists Carter G. Woodson Book Award winners Edgar Award winners People from Glenrock, Wyoming Novelists from San Francisco American women writers of young adult literature