Description

---

A discarded drum and a dream, at the dawn of the American Revolution. Twelve-year-old orphan, Gabriel Cooper, dodges Tories, overcomes sickness and the perils of a patriot, as he journeys from New York to Boston along the Post Road, to join the fight for freedom. Accessible and exciting, The Drum of Destiny is Johnny Tremain meets Horatio Hornblower for a new generation.

The year is 1775, and twelve-year-old Gabriel Cooper is an orphaned patriot stuck living in a house of British loyalists. But when the boy discovers a discarded drum in the East River, he sees it as a call to leave his home in New York and join the American colonists’ fight for freedom in Boston. With rich, historic details, Gabriel’s adventure will captivate readers as they join him on the difficult journey to his destiny.

About the Author

---

Chris Stevenson spent his childhood in a small town in rural Indiana.  Throughout high school, college, and then law school, he thought history was boring, nothing but a bunch of dates to memorize in order to pass a test.  Not until later in life did he find the joy of history. Chris began reading or listening to almost every nonfiction book he could find on the Revolution. Characters such as Washington, Knox, Greene, Lee, Arnold, and many more came to life. Stevenson learned why Washington crossed the Delaware, instead of just when he crossed. With five boys at home, likely doomed to repeat their father’s same disdain for memorizing historical dates, Stevenson set out to convey these amazing Revolutionary characters, and their ability to take on the world’s most powerful empire, in the form of a middle-grade historical fiction book. Armed with his knowledge of the period and the writing skills acquired from his legal profession, Stevenson wrote The Drum of Destiny.

Stevenson’s own destiny has taken him all over the map, literally. After graduating from Purdue University’s flight program, Chris went to work for a cargo company flying Boeing 727s all over North America. Next came law school at Indiana University, where writing became central to Stevenson’s life. Chris now practices law in Indianapolis when he’s not writing Gabriel Cooper books.