Exciting News!

Copper Empire is now available for purchase via Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/Copper-Empire-Donna-Searight-Simons/dp/1482656698/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363367175&sr=1-2&keywords=copper+empire

If you are local and can pick up the book from me directly, send me an email at dksyooper@yahoo.com and I can give you a discounted rate on the book.

Copper Empire will also be available soon at bookstores and giftshops in the Upper Peninsula.  Having the books available at bookstores in the metro Detroit area has become a challenge that I'm still trying to figure out.  It seems that we either have Barnes & Noble or small bookstores that only carry used books.  I've sent an inquiry to B&N to have the book available in their stores in the Metro Detroit area and am hoping for a positive response soon.

Copper Empire is timely in its historical significance:  it was 100 years ago when copper miners became fed up with dangerous working conditions (particularly being forced to work with the one-man drill), low pay and long hours.  The miners became so disgruntled, that membership increased with the Western Federation of Miners.  Several months later, the men voted to go out on strike.

Self-publishing Copper Empire has been a major undertaking with all the details to look after, including editing, printing and publicity.  I've learned alot throughout the process and I'm sure I'll learn more throughout the year.  It has helped to be a member of the UPPAA (Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association).

I plan to do book signings in the U.P. this spring and summer and have been working with local libraries to coordinate a presentation on the trials of being a copper miner in 1913.  I look forward to meeting some of you this year. . .thank you for your interest.  :)

My first novel

One hundred years ago marked a tumultuous time in Michigan's Copper Country.  Copper miners were fed up with dangerous working conditions, long hours and low pay, so they joined the Western Federation and went out on strike in July of 1913.  To make matters worse, on Christmas Eve, five months into the strike, an unthinkable tragedy occurred that forever changed the Upper Peninsula.  How did the Houghton and Keweenaw counties go from mines filled with hard-working men to daily picketing, confrontation, accidents, and even death?

Although I've written many freelance articles over the years, I've never had a novel published.  That fault is soon to be corrected!  I am self-publishing a work of historical fiction, Copper Empire.  With a release date of May 1, 2013, this book has been a labor of love for more than twenty years.

Believe it or not, I first started writing the story when I was 20 years old and fresh out of college.  Even with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism, I had no idea what I really wanted to do with my life, but I knew I had a passion for writing.  I went on a vacation to the Upper Peninsula with my dad, stepmom and sister and fell in love with the copper country.  I was intrigued by its local history and the fact that my grandmother was born and raised in Houghton.  I wondered how in the world she ever survived the brutal winters.  I was also curious if she knew the copper miners. . .especially the ones that had gone on strike in 1913--100 years ago!  My grandmother would only have been ten years old, but I still feel connected to the saga that copper miners endured through her yooper heritage.

Copper Empire is a historical novel based on real events.  The story centers around Paul and Marie Weyburn in Calumet, Michigan and how they survive a copper mining strike that threatens financial ruin for their family. 

Please visit the book's website: https://sites.google.com/site/copperempire/   Also, stay tuned for blog updates.  In the meantime, leave a comment (including your email address) and you will be entered into a book drawing for a copy of the book.  Thank you for stopping by!