Shannon here: Ellen E. Withers shares her inspiration for her novella, Lifted into Grace, which is included in the novella collection, Stars and Stripes for Freedom. Comment or answer the question in any post dated Nov 2nd – 28th to enter the drawing for a print copy for one winner and a second copy for the bundle winner with 3 other titles. Deadline: Dec 4th, 11:59 pm central. Here’s Ellen:
Lifted into Grace is one of a five-novella salute to women in the military published in August by True North Publishing. The collection, titled Stars and Stripes for Freedom, has a novella highlighting each individual branch of the military. Lifted into Grace features a female Coast Guard helicopter pilot.
Long before any writing began, Delores Topliff approached me to be an author in a novella collection she was assembling. The goal was to salute female service members from each of the five branches of military service; Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, and Coast Guard.
It was an honor to be considered for such a collaboration. I’d been an Army wife for over twenty years and an Army mother for six years. My husband was a helicopter pilot, and my son was an air traffic controller. The years I spent supporting my husband and my son through their military training and service were some of the best moments in my life. I immediately agreed to be a part of the project.
When you work on a collaboration, you must be flexible and open to adjusting. Since someone had already claimed the Army novella, I chose to feature the Coast Guard.
The reason behind my choice of the Coast Guard is one of the greatest blessings in my life. Every branch of the military sends personnel to locations around the world to serve where needed. This is usually far away from family members, so soldiers and sailors forge friendships that become like family.
I am blessed to have a forty-five-year friendship with Helen and Larry Glick. Larry started his military
Ellen with Larry and Helen
career as a helicopter pilot in the Army. He and my husband became great friends when they were stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington, and a deep friendship formed between Helen and me as Army wives.
When we parted duty stations after three years together, we remained in contact. Larry transferred to the Coast Guard and ultimately retired after twenty years of service. Helen, a registered nurse, followed Larry to his duty assignments and worked in local hospitals. So, when I needed to write about a branch of service that was not the Army, the Coast Guard was what I was called to feature in my novella.
The inspiration for my novella, Lifted into Grace, happened to Helen and Larry, and involved a real-life Coast Guard sea rescue and a nurse who helped heal the patient. For the novella collection, the Coast Guard pilot needed to be female. I switched Helen and Larry’s actual occupations, making Helen, as fictional character Hannah Grant, the Coast Guard helicopter pilot and Larry, as fictional character Logan Grant, the nurse.
As in the real-life event, a boat’s propeller blades nearly claimed the life of a boy. My novella has Hannah Grant and her crew with the U.S. Coast Guard rescue him, by helicopter, and take him to receive medical help. Hannah’s husband, Logan, is waiting to provide that help in the Intensive Care Unit of the local Trauma Center. Together, they work to rescue an injured teenager’s body and spirit, thereby lifting him into the life of Grace.
All the authors who contributed to this collection hope readers will enjoy the action, patriotism, and emotion served within the pages of Stars and Stripes for Freedom. I was blessed to work with these talented and patient authors. Writing can be a lonely occupation. Being a part of a project with such kind and supportive writers, with a patriotic theme in honor of the service of women and men throughout the world, has been a magnificent gift. I encourage all writers to consider a collaboration project involving an honorable or important theme in their future.
Reader Question: If you or a family member served in the military, what was significant or meaningful about their service? Please include what branch of service (Army, Navy, etc.) and how long they served.
November 202 Book Bundle
A Gift for All Time by Jenny Carlisle and 2 other authors, Christmas Novella Collection, print
Stars and Stripes for Freedom by Ellen E. Withers and 4 other authors, Military Novella Collection, print (1 copy for bundle, 1 copy for second winner)
Pretzels and Pirouettes by Lynn U. Watson, Contemporary Romance Novella, print
Lessons in Love by Kelly Irvin, Amish Romance, print
(All bundle giveaways are U.S. only)
About Ellen: Ellen E. Withers is an award-winning fiction writer, freelance writer, and retired insurance fraud investigator. Show Me Betrayal, the first book in her Show Me Mystery series, won Book of the Year, Best Mystery/Suspense, and Best Debut Novel in the Scrivenings Press Reader’s Choice Awards in 2023 and was a dual finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writer’s (ACFW) 2024 Carol Awards for Debut Novel and Mystery/Suspense/Thriller categories. Show Me Deceit, the second book in the series, won Scrivenings Press Reader’s Choice Awards for Best Mystery/Suspense in 2024. Show Me Skullduggery, book three, was published in May of 2025. A fourth book in the series is under contract.
Ellen has also collaborated on two novella collections published by Scrivenings Press. A Gift for All Time is Christmas-themed and Romancing the Elements is a contemporary romance. Her latest novella collaboration from TrueNorth Publishing, Stars and Stripes for Freedom, celebrates our women soldiers in all five branches of the military.
Ellen also has a nonfiction book, Magic Words: Enchant Judges & Conjure Contest Wins, to help writers win writing contests. Learn more and connect:
Ellen’s Website Ellen’s Facebook Ellen’s Instagram
Ellen’s Amazon Author Page Ellen’s Goodreads Ellen’s Bookbub
About the Novella – Lifted into Grace: 
Lifted into Grace by Ellen E. Withers: When boat propeller blades nearly claimed the life of Chris Matthres, Hannah Grant and her crew with the U. S. Coast Guard carried him, by helicopter, to receive medical help. Hannah and her husband, Logan, work to bring light into Chris’s world. Together, do they have the skills to rescue an injured teenager’s body and spirit, lifting him into a life of Grace?
About the Novella Collection – Stars and Stripes for Freedom:
Five women. Five branches of the military.
One flag they are eager to protect and defend at all costs.
With admiration for the women in our military, these high action stories present five intelligent seasoned warriors who risk everything to protect the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Worried you won’t win the drawing? Interested in Ellen’s other titles? Need extra books for gifts?
Get your copy/copies now!
Stars and Stripes for Freedom – ebook Stars and Stripes for Freedom – print
Come back Nov 13th for Shanon’s Book Bargains Roundup!
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