Debbie Harpham
from author’s website
Short bio: A native New Englander, Elise Hooper spent several years writing for television and online news outlets before getting a MA and teaching high-school literature and history. She now lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters.
Long bio: I grew up in New England as a bonafide bookworm. My love of reading, paired with an overly active imagination, led me to believe I was born in the wrong era. Instead of living in the ‘80s, I was supposed to be traveling across the prairie in a covered wagon (Laura Ingalls), chasing fauns through Narnia (Susan or Lucy Pevensie), or exploring Prince Edward Island in “puffed sleeves” (Anne Shirley); instead I crossed town in a station wagon to chase field hockey balls and wore Tretorns to explore the mall, all while dreaming of leading a more storied existence somewhere like Thornfield Hall, Manderley, or Tara.
After eventually moving to the West coast and attending graduate school, I started teaching high school English and history and writing whenever I had the chance. My main characters tend to be based on the lives of real women who have been frequently overlooked in history books. Many of these women, like May Alcott, Dorothea Lange, Betty Robinson, Helen Stephens, and Louise Stokes can help us better understand the past and draw important connections to our own times.
ABOUT FAST GIRLS:
Elise’s new novel Fast Girls (William Morrow Paperbacks) explores the gripping, real-life history of female athletes, members of the first integrated women’s Olympic team, and their journeys to the 1936 summer games in Berlin, Nazi Germany.
This inspiring story is based on the real lives of three little-known trailblazing women Olympians. Perfect for readers who love untold stories of amazing women, such as The Only Woman in the Room, Hidden Figures, and The Lost Girls of Paris.
PRAISE FOR FAST GIRLS:
A Most Anticipated Summer Read for 2020 from Travel + Leisure
A Hollywood Reporter Pick for Summer 2020
“Hooper celebrates three unheralded female athletes in a tale spanning three Olympiads…For fans of Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat (2015), historical fiction about real people, and stories about little-known female heroes breaking through barriers.” – Booklist, a starred review
“Fast Girls is a high-speed romp as ambitious and heart-pounding as its trio of track-star heroines…A gold medal read from Elise Hooper!” – Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network
“Fast Girls by Elise Hooper is my favorite type of historical novel, as it brings to light a lesser known story of incredible women…Fast Girls is rich in historical detail and so compelling, I rooted for ‘the girls’ all the way through and found the novel impossible to put down.” – Jane Healey, bestselling author of The Beantown Girls
AUTHOR VISITS:
Author visits with Elise Hooper are available via staging.novelsandbox.com/our-authors/.