It’s a beautiful spring evening in Washington, D.C., way too nice to be sitting in a hotel room, but I had a marvelous two days and wanted to talk about them while they were fresh in my mind. (Apologies for the substandard photography.) When I heard that Ford’s Theatre was planning a round-the-clock tribute from […]
Lincoln Remembered in Washington, D.C. Read More »
One hundred and fifty years ago today, on April 3, 1865, Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy, fell to the Union. The day before, Jefferson Davis and his cabinet had fled the city, having authorized the burning of warehouses and supplies that might prove useful to the approaching Union army. Winds spread the fire,
April 3, 1865: Richmond Falls, and John Surratt Departs Read More »
Lately, I’ve developed a weakness for cartes de visite—the small photographs that were prized during the last half of the nineteenth century—and have amassed a tiny collection of them, including one of my favorites here of an unidentified lady. As noted by the American Museum of Photography, cartes de visite (CDVs, as they are commonly
The Carte de Visite and the Lincoln Assassination Read More »
I’ve been tinkering a bit with my website. For my forthcoming novel (for which I hope to be able to post cover art soon), I’ve added a list of further reading as well as a PDF article about my research on Nora Fitzpatrick, much of which concerned Nora’s later life and thus didn’t make it into
New Website Material for Hanging Mary Read More »
Today I’m happy to be hosting Jeffrey Stayton, who’s written a novel set in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War called This Side of the River. Over to Jeffrey! Nostalgia One of the most difficult aspects of writing historical fiction, especially about the Civil War, is the fact that too often the language
Guest Post by Jeffrey Stayton, Author of This Side of the River Read More »
On at least five occasions, John Surratt, the youngest son of Mary Surratt, put pen to paper to write to his second cousin, Isabel (“Bell”) Seaman, who lived with her family in Washington, Pennsylvania. The first three letters (the second has no year) were written by John from his family’s tavern in Surrattsville, Maryland, where
Dear Cousin: John Surratt’s Letters to Bell Seaman Read More »
Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! I’ve been busy revising my forthcoming novel, Hanging Mary, for the publisher. Here’s a seasonal excerpt for you, set at Mary Surratt’s boardinghouse 150 years ago on Christmas Eve, 1864: The men had gone out the previous night, Mr. Weichmann to buy some presents for his sisters and
Merry Christmas, and An Excerpt! Read More »
Last night, after a great deal of cutting and pasting of HTML, I managed to create a spot on my website’s menu bar for Hanging Mary–along with excerpts! Check them out here. I’ll be adding a “Further Reading” link for the book soon as well. You may notice that I’ve taken some pages off my
Excerpts from Hanging Mary! Read More »
I just hit “send” on the completed manuscript of my Mary Surratt novel, Hanging Mary. There will be a few tweaks to come, no doubt, but I’m pleased with how it turned out. (The characters would not echo my sentiments.) Since I finished this up on Election Day in the United States, I’d thought I’d
Finished! And a Timely Excerpt Read More »