May 9, 2008

My article-length story of Orlando M. Poe will appear in the upcoming issue of North and South magazine (vol. 10 no. 6) and is titled "Orlando M. Poe: General William T. Sherman's Right Hand Man." Hope you enjoy it.

I've also just learned that McFarland Publishers has upped the list price of my 26th NY regimental from $45 to $55. Hmmm. As pleasant as they were to work with, and as pleased as I was with the production values of the final product, I have to conclude that their pricing is just off the charts. Clearly, they know something I don't as to who their market is, because it sure doesn't seem like it's the average retail book buyer.

April 5, 2008

I'm pleased to announce that my biography on the life of Union officer and engineer Orlando M. Poe has been accepted by Kent State University Press. The vetting process took much longer than I initially expected, however I must admit that the recommendations made by three outside reviewers have resulted in a much stronger manuscript than what I initially submitted. I'm looking forward to this one. Once the manuscript, maps, and photographs have been formally turned in, I'll then start drilling down on my next project, which is currently titled "Old Slow Town:" A Social, Political, and Military History of Detroit During the Civil War.

January 10, 2008

The wheels of publication grind along. My 7500-word article on O. M. Poe entitled "Orlando M. Poe: General William T. Sherman's Right Hand Man" has been verbally accepted by North and South magazine and has been penciled for a late spring 2008 publication. Meanwhile, I've enhanced the book-length manuscript on Poe's life, which continues to be under review by a university press.

August 14, 2007

Two key criteria for me in choosing projects have been 1) a desire to stretch myself as to the type of book I'll be working on, and 2) to choose a specific topic that has never appeared in book form, or, at the very least, was written about many years prior. Of course, the new topic has to generate a keen, personal interest but it also has to dovetail with an artistic need to not repeat myself.

Some authors spend their entire writing career focused on a specific topic, thus becoming experts in that one area. God bless 'em, but that's not me. With all of the Civil War's major topics already covered in depth and in some cases ad nauseum, that leaves researchers like me to poke around the fringes and to write about what others may consider marginalia.

To illustrate, my first book was a broad overview of one minor state's involvement in the war, the second was a  tactical battle narrative of an overlooked engagement, the third was a regimental of an obscure NY infantry unit, while the fourth entailed editing a small collection of previously unseen letters. That last one was more of an ode to the fine press book lover in me than to seriously enhancing the war's overall body of knowledge.

In each case, the topic fit my two criteria, at least during the time that I was working on the book. My upcoming biography of O.M. Poe will also fit the bill.

My next project will be an in-depth examination of Detroit during the Civil War. Seeing that its military role was not great, the work will focus on the city's sociological, racial, and political atmosphere during that timeframe. Detroit during the Civil War has been touched upon in any number of books and articles over the years, but, to the best of my knowledge, never to the level that I plan on. Ideally, it should be ready in time for the war's sesquicentennial.

July 14, 2007

I'm pleased to announce that my next project is now completed. Begun in early 2003, the 115,000-word manuscript has the working title of Great Lakes Engineer: The Life of Civil War General Orlando M. Poe. When published, it should represent the first-ever formal biography of this much-overlooked and underrated nineteenth-century military and civil engineer. 

The book will also feature approximately thirty photographs and illustrations, including five previously unpublished images of O. M. Poe and others. Fifteen maps commissioned especially for this work are currently being created by noted Civil War cartographer Blake Magner.

The manuscript is currently under review by a well-respected university press.

An article-length version of Poe's life has been completed and should hopefully see publication in the not too distant future.