An Old Familiar Place

Going to Sign! The month of September will be fast and fun with fifteen signings scheduled between the 6th and 28th of the month, and I am ready to get on the road. We've planned some great events beginning with my home base of New Albany. This is where I stay when I'm not county hopping. Come with me and enjoy the company of fine people. Here's my schedule . Please mark your calendar for the one closest to your house. I'll be looking for you. We'll even "leave the light on for you"! Sa turday, September 6, 2014 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. In Bloom Florist and Gifts With John Hickey In Historic Downtown New Albany 139 West Bankhead New Albany, MS 38652 Followed by Family Signing and Gathering Hillcrest Baptist Church Fellowship Hall 2:30 p.m. —Catered late lunch (reserve with Dewey Davidson 662-538-4223) Thursday, September 11, 2014 6:00 p.m. Dinner and Signing Sons of Confederate Veterans Harrisburg Camp With Harry Vinson ...

is only half easy— The easy part is what you know about your own personal characters. What was going on around them at the time is quite another story. Rachel, After the Darkness covers a relatively condensed timeframe, beginning in late fall of 1872 and ending in late September 1873. Research that covers a little less than a year may not seem significant, but the year 1873 was not one of those insignificant years. In fact, the drama was amazingly intense, and I wanted to cover as much as I possibly could. That year combined with Rachel's memories covering the greater part of the first decade after the War, Reconstruction, and the continuing aftermath that droned on and on makes for an incredible story. If we are smart, we will never exhaust the War years and beyond from a literary perspective. Those years were rich with important information. I'm sorry to say, I didn't know a lot about the North before I started writing historical fiction. Learni...