Three Days

Three days until ParAmeriCon and I am very exited!  Stop by my booth where I will be selling "I Would Still Be Drowned in Tears": Spiritualism in Abraham Lincoln's White House.  I will be next to Miss Katie Lee Gammage who will be selling her new book, doing readings, and serving as the convention mascot Miss Meri!

Tickets are available only online and are selling quickly.

http://paramericon.com/

Upcoming Events

This Saturday, September 27, I will be appearing at ParAmeriCon from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm where I will be selling (and signing) ''I Will Still Be Drowned in Tears": Spiritualism in Abraham Lincoln's White House

http://paramericon.com/

Next week, Saturday October 4, I will be having a book signing at Lee's Headquarters Civil War Store in Fredericksburg, VA from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

1016 Lafeyette Blvd.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401

On Sunday, November 16, I will be having a book signing at the Gettysburg Heritage Center in Gettysburg, PA from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm

http://www.gettysburgmuseum.com/ 

Gettysburg Book Signing, November 16

Save the date, I will be signing books on Sunday, November 16, 2014 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Gettysburg Heritage Center during Remembrance Day Weekend.

For updates on the other fantastic authors that will be participating visit: http://www.gettysburgmuseum.com/

Gettysburg Heritage Center
297 Steinwehr Ave
Gettysburg, PA 17325
(717) 334-6245

Just Arrived

Just received shipment of my books ready to sign for ParAmeriCon!

Come join me on Saturday, September 27, 2014 in Manassas Park, VA for the first ParAmeriCon. Tickets are $20.00 and are available for purchase only at
http://paramericon.com/ 

History Witch

I am a huge fan of artist Lisa Graves work.  Under her blog title "History Witch," Lisa produces gorgeous drawings about famous, infamous, and fascinating women.   In August, Lisa devoted her blog to First Ladies and drew (after much bugging from me) this lovely image of Mary Lincoln.  For September and October she is dedicating her blog to ghostly women.  I hope she does Jennie Wade--I will keep you posted.  Visit her website and become a fan!  http://historywitch.com/

(Courtesy of History Witch, Mary Lincoln by Lisa Graves 2014)

ParAmeriCon September 27, 2014

I am pleased to announce that I will be selling (and signing) my book "I Would Still Be Drowned in Tears": Spiritualism in Abraham Lincoln's White House at ParAmeriCon on Saturday September 27, 2014 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Please come to support this wonderful convention celebrating the women of the paranormal community.  This is the first convention and I hope that this will become a yearly event.  Tickets for the event are $20.00 and can only be purchased online.

ParAmeriCon
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Manassas Park Community Center
99 Adams Street
Manassas Park, VA 20111

http://paramericon.com/index.html

Book Signing

Mark your calendars!  I will be signing copies of my book "I Would Still Be Drowned in Tears": Spiritualism in Abraham Lincoln's White House at Lee's Headquarters The Civil War Shop in Fredericksburg, VA on Saturday October 4 from 10:00 am to 2:00 PM.  The store is located across the street from the Fredericksburg National Military Park and National Cemetery.

Lee's Headquarters
1016 Lafayette Blvd
Fredericksburg, VA 22401

Arcane Radio

Today I had the pleasure of talking to Sean Forker and Lon Strickler for their new radio show Arcane Radio.  I had an absolute blast as we talked about my book "I Would Still Be Drowned in Tears": Spiritualism in Abraham Lincoln's White House.  The episode will be downloaded tonight.

http://www.arcaneradio.com/

Book Spotlight: Jane Austen Cover to Cover

Received a copy of the book from the Goodreads First read giveaway.   

Author's Note: Though this book is not devoted to the Civil War era, I have been a fan of Jane Austen's for several years and felt that I should share my review of this excellent book.

I remember my first encounter with the works of Jane Austen. I had received my yearly Christmas gift certificate from an historic house that I volunteered at. The house had an fantastic gift shop and on sale that particularly Christmas was a Dover Thrift edition of Jane Austen's Emma, it was 2005 and the Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice was being released in theaters. I took that book with me to read between my college classes and my life changed. I feel in love with both Jane and her characters, a feat that few authors achieve. I was pleased to see a picture of my book in Margaret C. Sullivan's delightful Jane Austen Cover to Cover: 200 Years of Classic Book Covers.

Margaret C. Sullivan's book is a celebration of Jane Austen's timeless appeal through an examination of Austen's book covers from the first editions published during her lifetime to the ebook covers of today. The covers are grouped by era and follow a chronological tour of the development of the publishing industry and the development of book cover art. I particularly enjoyed the sections devoted to movie-tie in editions and the growing number of books devoted to young readers. The book concludes with a chapter devoted to foreign editions, a fascinating peak into how non-English speaking cultures view the works of the very English Jane Austen. At the end of each chapter Sullivan provides a brief but insightful essay on a particular topic related to Jane Austen such at the fashion of her era, what she really looked like, and the growth of Jane Austen scholarship. My favorite essay was devoted to the growth of the cult of Jane Austen in antebellum America. 

The covers detailed in Sullivan's book range from the elegant collectors volumes to the hideously tacky. Personally some of my favorite covers were the delightfully horrid ones, the ones where you had to question if the book editors had even read the book. While fashions in book covers and art my change, as the book illustrates, Jane Austen has achieved the rare distention of being truly timeless, there are few authors who has remained as popular as her. 

Jane Austen Cover to Cover is a delightful romp through the publishing history of Jane Austen's books and belongs in the collection of every Janeite. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Book Spotlight: With Malice Toward None--Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural address has been revered as one of the greatest speeches given by an American for nearly 150 years. Given during the waning days of the Civil War, Lincoln laid out the causes and effects of the war in beautiful, soaring terms unlike anything that is produced by today's politicians. The beauty of the speech was immediately recognized, Frederick Douglass declared that the speech "was a sacred effort." While the speech failed as an inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln failed to provide any details on the plans his administration had for the Reconstruction that would bring the southern states back into the Union and the place the four million freed slaves now had in the Union. Lincoln, in my opinion can be forgiven this oversight, and likely if the speech had rambled on and on detailing dry policy it would have quickly been forgotten like the majority of presidential inaugural addresses. 

Jack E. Levin's beautiful book, With Malice Toward None: Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, perfectly illustrates why Lincoln's address has survived the test of time. The address is faithfully reproduced along with images and drawings from the Civil War era that where carefully chosen by Levin. The images selected by Levin, a professional artist, perfectly highlights Lincoln's words. In an era when newspapers where just starting to include images, Lincoln used his words to paint the images he wanted to convey, a fact that is illustrated in Levin's book. The book presents Lincoln's address with the illustrations and then again at the end in its original format with Lincoln's spelling and paragraph break.

With Malice Toward None is a wonderful volume that can be enjoyed by all ages. A wonderful introduction to Lincoln for young readers, though some may struggle with fully understanding what Lincoln was trying to understand making this the perfect book for parents and children to read together and discuss what they take from Lincoln's words as Lincoln wrote his address to be read out loud. Levin's beautiful book will be cherished in family library's for years to come. 

On Facebook

"I Would Still Be Drowned in Tears" has it's own Facebook page!  Follow the link to like the page and join the spirit circle!  I will be posting updates and photos: https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Would-Still-Be-Drowned-in-Tears/1456092021333545?ref=stream

Book Available in Gettysburg

I am very pleased to announce the my book "I Would Still Be Drowned in Tears": Spiritualism in Abraham Lincoln's White House" is now available at the American History Shop in Gettysburg. Whenever I am in Gettysburg I always visit the American History Shop and I am so proud that now my book will join the ranks along some of the best history authors in the US.



American History Shop
461 Baltimore St.
Gettysburg, PA 17325
http://www.tbhabitat.com/books.htm

My book can also now be found at the Gettysburg Heritage Center (formerly the Civil War Wax Museum).  The Gettysburg Heritage Center is currently undergoing a massive remodeling and I can't wait to see the completed museum which will tell the story of the Gettysburg civilians.  I am also very proud to have my book selected to be featured in the center's gift shop which features the best author's in the field of Civil War studies.

 

Gettysburg Heritage Center
297 Steinwehr Ave
Gettysburg, PA 17325
http://www.gettysburgmuseum.com/