Post Falls freshman has book published

Fourteen-year-old Elisa Brinton has always had a vivid imagination. But it is what one does with that imagination that can mean the difference between success and getting into mischief.

“Elisa has always been imaginative from day one,” said Elisa’s mom, Barbara Brinton, who adds it has sometimes been a challenge to channel her daughter’s creativity.

While it may have been a challenge, it was a job well done.

A freshman at Post Falls High School, Elisa has just published her first book, “Courage to Stand, Stories of Young Strength and Triumph in Adversity,” an anthology of three historical fiction stories based in the mid-1800s and written for young adults.

Self-published, each of the stories stars a young heroine who is faced with an adversity she must struggle to overcome. Most of the writing was completed when Elisa was 12 and is the result of a love of writing which she first developed in the second grade while working on a school project.

“I wrote a story about a day in the life of a dinosaur. I found out how fun it was to be able to tell a story about something you are interested in,” Elisa said. “Now I love to do it (write) more than anything else.”

The first of the three stories, “The High Cost of Unity,” reflects Elisa’s passion for the Civil War era. A young girl, desperate to fight for the Union cause, fakes her own disappearance and disguises herself as a boy so she can enlist in the army.

While working on school projects in fifth and sixth grade, Elisa learned a great deal about the Civil War.

“The Civil War was really a turning point in American history,” she said.

Soon her imagination took over and she created a character in her mind. Before she knew it, Elisa found herself integrating actual Civil War events with scenes involving her fictitious character.

“As the very beginnings of this first story surfaced, I found that the vivid descriptions of the battle scenes and surroundings just flowed, and the story grew from there,” said Elisa.

Upon completion of her first story, she showed it to an editor who encouraged Elisa to add stories to it and try to publish it as an anthology.

The result is the second and third stories, which are equally as creative and vivid as the first.

For her second story, Elisa chose to write about Native Americans.

“I’ve been interested in Native Americans for a long time,” she said. “They were an extremely important part of the American West. I have real respect for the Native American cultures.”

The story, “Traitor to My Blood,” is about a young Native American girl who is kidnapped by warriors.

A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elisa’s third story, titled “Answer the Call,” is about a group of Mormon pioneers and their trek to Utah. Set in the mid-1840s, the story highlights a young English girl and her family who have converted to the Mormon faith.

Part of the story includes letters that the young girl writes home to her aunt in England.

To gather more information for this story, Elisa went on a three-day trek and pushed a handcart in the same terrain as those in her church may have done a century and a half ago. The experience allowed her to have firsthand knowledge for her writing.

“It was painful because you are pushing a handcart around all day. It was very sad to hear and see what people had to go through,” Elisa said.

Elisa says she prefers to not use a computer, at least when she is writing her first draft.

“There is something about looking at a blank sheet of paper, holding the pen and knowing the power you have,” she said.

Elisa hopes her writing will help encourage other young people to write and to have fun with it.

“Don’t write for someone else. Write for you and for the enjoyment of it,” she said.

While the cost of self-publication can be great, Barbara Brinton said she and her husband used their economic stimulus check and tax refunds to help finance the project. They have donated some of the books to local libraries as well as classrooms in the Post Falls School District.

“It is an investment in Elisa’s college education,” said her mother. “And I don’t think you can put a value on that.”