Voting follows old patterns in Missouri (again!)

Four years ago, on the day after the election, I wrote the following post about the breakdown of voting in Missouri. While the name Obama has been replaced with Clinton and I had to change the percentage of the popular vote, otherwise everything remains true.

In the weeks running up to the election I became obsessed with CNN's Election Center. With all the results in, I took a look at voting in Missouri. CNN posted an interesting map showing how Missouri voted county by county.

As you can see, Clinton only carried three counties. They were St. Louis, Jackson, and Boone. She also carried St. Louis city. St. Louis County is part of the metro area, Jackson is home to Kansas City, and Boone is home to Columbia, which serves as the setting for my Civil War novel.

Knowing Missouri, I never expected Clinton to win there. She did pretty well, though. St. Louis and Jackson are, of course, the most populous counties, and Boone is number 7, so while Clinton only managed to carry three counties and St. Louis city, she did get 38% of the popular vote.

What's interesting is that St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia were the three main strongholds for Union sentiment during the Civil War. More rural areas (called "Outstate" by Missourans) tended to be for the South. They supported the Democrats, who back then were a conservative party that wanted to preserve the status quo. If you wanted to find supporters of the liberal alternative to the Democrats, the Republicans Party, you had to look in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia.

A sweeping generalization, I know, but one that still has a ring of truth 150 years later. The three cities are still liberal and the rest of the state is still conservative, all they've done is switch parties! 

Words Matter Journalism Anthology Out Now!

I'm very happy and proud to have one of my articles from Iraq, "Video Games with a Refugee" included in the University of Missouri press anthology, Words Matter: Writing to Make A Difference. My contribution is about playing with a young Syrian refugee I met in Najaf while writing a series on Iraq. This piece won the 2013 Society of American Travel Writers Award. Here's the blurb for the book:

Newspapers and magazines have been steadily shrinking, and more and more former subscribers have gone to digital and internet sources for the news. Yet it has become increasingly clear that “short takes” don’t satisfy many readers, who still long for nuanced, long form journalism. By providing examples of classic magazine articles by professional writers, all of whom are graduates of the Missouri School of Journalism, this book fulfills the need for more sophisticated, thought-provoking essays that will resonate with both the general reader and students.

The book is divided into three broad categories: profiles, first person journalism, and personal memoirs, and includes the original articles as well as a “postscript” by the writers in which they discuss what they’ve learned about writing, journalism, and the business of getting published. Useful for students and instructors in writing programs, the book also appeals to writers interested in both the art and the craft of successful writing.

By the way, you can still read my piece on the now.defunct but still online travel blog Gadling. The article is here.

My latest Civil War horror novel The River of Desperation out now!

I've just released my latest Civil War horror novel, The River of Desperation. It's the sequel to A Fine Likeness. While the first book in the House Divided series stands on its own, The River of Desperation continued the story of the primeval struggle between Order and Chaos. A blurb is below.

In the waning days of the Civil War, a secret conflict still rages. . .
Lieutenant Allen Addison of the USS Essex is looking forward to the South's defeat so he can build the life he's always wanted. Love and a promising business await him in St. Louis, but he is swept up in a primeval war between the forces of Order and Chaos, a struggle he doesn't understand and can barely believe in. Soon he is fighting to keep a grip on his sanity as he tries to save St. Louis from destruction.
The long-awaited sequel to A Fine Likeness continues the story of two opposing forces that threaten to tear the world apart.
Length: 103,000 words (356 pages)

It's available as an ebook on Amazon, all Amazon affiliates, Smashwords, and soon to come to Barnes & Noble, the Apple store, and more.

In order to celebrate the release, I'm discounting A Fine Likeness. It's only 99 cents until April 26, the 150th anniversary of General Joe Johnston surrendering the Army of Tennessee. It will then be $2.99 until May 21, the 150th anniversary of the surrender of Jesse James, who makes an appearance in both of these books. A Fine Likeness is available on Amazon, all Amazon affiliates, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and almost everywhere else ebooks are sold.

Travel Tuesday: Ruined Old Farm in Backwoods Missouri

When I still lived in the U.S., I loved taking road trips on little county roads to find tiny towns and old, abandoned buildings. Missouri was especially good for that. Many farms got abandoned in bad years, and the forest and prairie are slowly reclaiming the land. These shots are from a trip I took while writing my Jesse James book. This barn is from after Jesse's time, though.

Second Edition Selfie!

I just got my author's copies of the second edition of Outlaw Tales of Missouri in the post. It's actually been out since October but I've been moving around so much the publisher hasn't had a chance to send them to me! This edition includes two new chapters and brand new cover art. It's available in print and ebook.

I gave a copy to fellow Madrid writer Andrew Leon Hudson, who writes some pretty cool weird west stuff you should check out if you're a fan of the genre. Hopefully it will inspire him!

Spirits of St. Louis anthology out now!

Missouri publisher Rocking Horse Publishing has just come out with Spirits of St. Louis, an anthology of ghost stories set in Missouri.

It includes my story "After the Raid", an offshoot of my Civil War horror novel A Fine Likeness. For those who have read the novel, it follows the story of Helena, the daughter of the German photographer who gets killed by the bushwhacker band, and how she takes a terrible revenge. Of course a terrible revenge comes at a terrible price. . .

The story also stands on its own in case you haven't read the book (ahem).

Here's the back cover blurb.

Lonely Hitchhikers. Dirt Roads. Tired Soldiers. Strange Children. Mysterious Ladies. Dark Houses. What do they have in common? 

They all haunt the pages of this book.

From the Lemp Mansion to The Exorcist, from the 1904 World's Fair to Jefferson Barracks, the history of St. Louis, Missouri and its surrounding river towns is filled with stories of haunts and the supernatural.

Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories is a collection of over thirty stories from authors across the globe, celebrating these ghosts, banshees, and shadows.

Do you believe in ghosts? If you believe or not, this collection of dark tales of the dead and disturbed is sure to keep you awake at night. Lock the doors, turn down the lights, and prepare to be terrified.

My Civil War novel A Fine Likeness on sale for only $2.99. Happy Valentine's Day!

Um. . .isn't Valentine's Day February 14? Yes it is, but I love my readers so much I've decided to celebrate early. From now until the day after Valentine's Day (Feb. 15) I'm discounting my Civil War novel A Fine Likeness to $2.99.

My novel has been out two months now and I've received some wonderful reviews and a modest number of sales. I'd like to increase both by offering this discount. I love getting new readers!

I also love my existing readers, so if you've already purchased A Fine Likeness at full price, here's a deal for you: I'll send you a complimentary copy of my short story collection The Night the Nazis Came to Dinner and other dark tales. Just email me at seansontheweb (at) yahoo (dot) com and answer this question about the book: what Union officer was entrusted to guard Rocheport? (Hint: he did a really crappy job!).

I love my readers!

My Civil War Novel "A Fine Likeness" released today!

My Civil War horror novel A Fine Likeness is finally out! It's available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, and Amazon FR. In the next couple of days it will become available at Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. A print edition will appear in a couple of weeks.

Thank you all for your encouragement! For those of you unfamiliar with my novel, the blurb is below:

A Confederate guerrilla and a Union captain discover there’s something more dangerous in the woods than each other.

Jimmy Rawlins is a teenaged bushwhacker who leads his friends on ambushes of Union patrols. They join infamous guerrilla leader Bloody Bill Anderson on a raid through Missouri, but Jimmy questions his commitment to the Cause when he discovers this madman plans to sacrifice a Union prisoner in a hellish ritual to raise the Confederate dead.

Richard Addison is an aging captain of a lackluster Union militia. Depressed over his son’s death in battle, a glimpse of Jimmy changes his life. Jimmy and his son look so much alike that Addison becomes obsessed with saving him from Bloody Bill. Captain Addison must wreck his reputation to win this war within a war, while Jimmy must decide whether to betray the Confederacy to stop the evil arising in the woods of Missouri.

Ride Around Missouri: Shelby's Great Raid 1863 out now!

Today Osprey Publishing released Ride Around Missouri: Shelby's Great Raid 1863, my latest in a series of Civil War books. This one's nonfiction, but my Civil War novel will come out next month!

This book focuses on one of the Civil War's longest cavalry raids--Confederate cavalryman J.O. Shelby's ride up from Arkansas and through Union-held Missouri. His raiders destroyed infrastructure, skirmished with Union detachments, captured small forts, and led thousands of bluecoats on a merry chase that almost ended in disaster for Shelby at the Battle of Marshall.

This raid secured Shelby's reputation as one of the greatest raiders of the Civil War, yet it is often overlooked like so many other exciting events in the Trans-Mississippi Civil War. Two earlier raids he was on, led by General Marmaduke, are also covered.

Shelby was on Price's 1864 invasion of Missouri and is mentioned briefly in my Civil War novel A Fine Likeness. Shelby makes an appearance in the as-yet-unnamed sequel. One of the protagonists in that book is in Shelby's Iron Brigade, but deserts in order to fight the war within the war, the supernatural battle between Order and Chaos. The second book will be out sometime in 2012.

Starting a new blog

As regular readers of this blog know, I've been shopping around my Missouri Civil War horror novel, A Fine Likeness, for some time now. This was a finalist in ChiZine and Dorchester's Fresh Blood contest but because I was traveling in Ethiopia I wasn't able to garner enough votes to win.

Well, I've decided that with the Civil War sesquicentennial already upon us, now is the time to publish this, so I've going to self-publish with Kindle Direct Publishing, Createspace, and Smashwords. A Fine Likeness will be published in September.

I've started a blog dedicated to the book and its series called, unsurprisingly, Civil War Horror. I posted there today about why a professional author is self-publishing on Amazon. I hope you'll join me on this venture into the uncertain world of modern publishing.

Photo Friday: Quantrill's black flag

Here's yours truly with a reproduction of Quantrill's famous black flag the rebel guerrilla supposedly flew as a sign that he'd take no prisoners. It's in the Clay County Savings Association bank museum. This bank, of course, was the first target of the James gang. This photo was taken by Rex Dickson, who shows no patience whatsoever with my obsession with Missouri's Civil War, but has seen a lot of the sights anyway. I wrote about the Liberty bank as part of my Gadling series on our Jesse James road trip.

Quantrill was the baddest of a bad crew. His gang slaughtered civilians, scalped soldiers, and raised hell generally. Frank James rode with him during the Civil War, as did famous outlaw Cole Younger. Jesse James may have ridden with Quantrill too before joining Bloody Bill Anderson in his own group.

This is an interesting flag for several reasons. You'll notice that Quantrill's name is misspelled. During the war his name was generally spelled with an "e", and the bushwhacker leader didn't exactly have a strong motive for correcting people. It's debateable whether he actually had a flag like this, though. There are several references to Quantrill's black flag, but both Frank James and Cole Younger said there never was one. At the time, "raising the black flag" meant that you'd show no mercy, so perhaps Quantrill's flag was only metaphorical.

It Happened in Missouri will have a second edition

I just got the contract to do a second edition of It Happened in Missouri. This is a collection of 30 tales of the Show-Me State, everything from how a 14 year-old boy founded St. Louis to Jesse James' first train robbery.

This title has been selling pretty well. Lots of libraries and schools have picked it up. State history tends to be popular, at least in that state. Most purchases are either orders from institutions or bought from the local interest sections of bookshops. Thus the Amazon rankings for state histories tend to be low. Amazon rankings are usually a poor way to gauge the popularity of a book.

Anyway, my deadline isn't until the end of 2012 so this new edition won't be out until 2013. It will include two new tales and perhaps some other goodies me and my editor will cook up.

for more insights about writing history for fun and profit, check out my article: How to Break into the Burgeoning History Market.

Starting on book number 11

Last week I finished the page proofs for my tenth book, a title for Osprey Publishing's new Raid series. Ride Around Missouri: Shelby's Great Raid 1863 continues my research on the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. There'll be more to come! It's available for preorder if you want to be nice to me.

This week I'm starting research on book number 11, another title in Osprey's Raid series. Osprey is good to me so I keep writing for them. The Last Ride of the James-Younger Gang--Jesse James and the Northfield Raid 1876 is taking Osprey in a new direction with Wild West books. Mine is the first and I'm sure it won't be the last.

This is what it's like to be a midlist writer. You finish one project and start the next one. Year in, year out. Eleven books is small potatoes compared with some midlisters. In an article I wrote about midlisters, I interviewed half a dozen midlisters about their careers. Three stood out. Jane Toombs has published more than 80 novels, the majority of them romance, with big names such as Silhouette and Avon. Lawrence Schimel has published more than 90 books and almost 200 short stories. Sally Odgers beats them all with about 300 titles in virtually all genres.

I'm only 41, so I figure I have at least thirty years of active writing life ahead of me. When I think of the number of books, articles, and blog posts I'll do in that time, sometimes I get really excited, and sometimes I feel exhausted!

Ah well, back to writing!

Writing links: travel writing contest and getting published with academic presses

It's Monday and I'm in my usual post-book slump, having finished Ride Around Missouri: Shelby's Great Raid 1863. It's my latest American Civil War book for Osprey Publishing and as you can see from the link it's already available for preorder and at least one fine person has already preordered it! I've discussed here before why readers preorder books. It's a sign of loyalty and interest, and I'm glad they show that!

Enough blather about this Midlist Author. I promised some writing links. Transitions Abroad is running a travel writing contest that's well worth a look if you are a student writing about travel. You can win up to $500 plus publication!

The other link comes from fellow writer Dianna Graveman, who recently attended a panel on getting published by the academic press. She gave a link to a post by Beth Mead, Lindenwood University's MFA Program Director took notes on the publishers' panel that are well worth a read for anyone writing literary fiction and thinking of submitting to an academic press.

Photo Friday: Willie's grave

Call me weird, but I love graveyards. So much history, so many memories. This gravestone is in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kearney, Missouri. I took this shot while on a Jesse James road trip last month. This isn't one of the James family; they're buried on the other side of the cemetery. In fact it's hard to tell exactly who this person was. It's probably a child's grave considering he doesn't have a last name. Unfortunately the graves nearby that might have given a clue to his family have disappeared, so now he's only Willie. That's the most important thing graveyards can tell us--that our time is short.

So stop reading this blog and get busy chasing your dreams!

On the trail of Jesse James: a new travel series

Hi all! As you can see from the margin on this blog, I've written a lot of series for the travel blog Gadling. Now I've started a new one on Jesse James. Join me as I explore the real history of America's toughest outlaw, with lots of photos of where he lived, the places he robbed, and where he met his end.

Historical research in Missouri

As you might have guessed from my previous post, I'm back in Missouri researching my next book for Osprey Publishing. It's for the new Raid series and will be about Confederate General J.O. Shelby's 1863 raid into Missouri. This was one of the longest raids of the war and an important chapter in the history of the war west of the Mississippi.

Osprey is one publisher doing well in the recession thanks to its strong hold on the military history niche and its willingness to expand into new territory. Another new series, Weapons of War, includes my latest book.

I'm based in Columbia, a city in the center of the state that has the State Historical Society of Missouri and the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection, two great sources of information with very helpful staff. They're used to me and my endless questions by now! The two institutions are on the University of Missouri campus, where I took this shot of Thomas Jefferson thinking great thoughts. His leg warmers are courtesy of a local underground knitters group that likes decorating telephone poles, parking meters, and anything else they fancy. They haven't yet been named a terrorist group, but in this political climate that might be coming soon. I was surprised Jefferson's leg warmers actually lasted a whole two days before being removed!

Besides working on the book I'll also be going on a Jesse James roadtrip for Gadling. That should go online near the end of the month. My first stop will be this weekend when I visit the site of the Centralia Massacre, one of the bloodiest episodes of Frank and Jesse's war years.

My next book contract

Osprey Publishing has just sent me a signed contract for my next book.

It's another military history--that's what Osprey specializes in--and it's for a new series called Raid. This series focuses on important raids, examining how they were planned, what their goals were, and what could have been done better. The editor is a big fan of the Wild West and so I'm doing the Northfield Raid by the James-Younger gang. This ill-fated attempt to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota, left all the robbers dead or in jail, except for Frank and Jesse James of course.

OK, so this isn't really military history. Osprey has been doing good business in the recession by playing to their strengths while not being afraid to break into new territory. The Wild West is one of them. Plus there are some military aspects. Most of the robbers were former Confederate bushwhackers and used their hit-and-run tactics to rob trains and banks and elude the law. I mention the James brothers in my previous Osprey title American Civil War Guerrilla Tactics.

Frank and Jesse James have cropped up in my fiction too. In an earlier post I talked about my Missouri Civil War horror novel and how because it was set in that time and place I couldn't avoid have the James brothers as characters. They've crept into the plot of the sequels too!

Here in Midlist land we're pretty busy, so we try to save time as much as possible. Writing novels set in periods you're already researching for paid work is an efficient expenditure of time. Now if I could only get those novels published!

Interview with Missouri author Dianna Graveman

As my regular readers know, I've written a fair amount of Missouri history. In fact, one of my current projects for Osprey Publishing is about Jo Shelby's 1863 raid around Missouri.

So I've been very happy to make the online acquaintance of Dianna and Don Graveman, a husband and wife team who have done four books on Missouri history for Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America" series--wonderfully produced photo histories of local areas. If you're looking to publish local history, they're one of the best in the business.

The Gravemans' titles are: St. Charles: Les Petites Cotes; Missouri Wine Country: St. Charles to Hermann; Washington; and Hermann (scheduled for release September 2010). They also maintain an interesting blog called Write in the Midwest. Dianna agreed to talk to me about their projects.

What got you and your husband interested in writing books about Missouri?

Don and I have always been the type to stop at every historical marker or point of interest we encounter along the road. Don is in sales, and his territory includes part of the American West. When I taught elementary school, I looked at every opportunity to travel with him during the summer as a way to gather more information, stories, and even materials (like small-town newspapers or brochures from historical sites) for my class. I kept a travel journal and wrote down everything. Some of the people we met and places we visited ended up in articles or short stories I wrote that were later published. At some point, we became aware of Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America" series, and it just seemed a natural next step for us to propose a book on our hometown, St. Charles. One contract turned into four pretty quickly.

What's been your most interesting surprise find while rummaging through old archives? (I don't have to ask if you've had a surprising find, because archives always yield surprises!)

There have been a lot of little surprises, but the biggest was not really a "Missouri history" find. While combing through boxes of old, unlabeled and not-yet-archived photos at a historical society in a small Missouri town, we came upon a plain white envelope. Inside were several very clear black and white photos of what appeared to be the aftermath of World War II battles! Some of the photos looked like they may have been from Okinawa or Corregidor. One was taken at Pearl Harbor, possibly on V-J Day. They were startlingly clear and comprised a sort of unbound pictorial journal.

Talking with the organization's archivist, we learned that the photos were snapped by a soldier who returned to town after the war. Some years later, he donated the photos to the historical society. It is not known if the soldier also kept a written account of his experiences, or if he felt the pictures would simply speak for themselves--which, of course, they do.


What advice would you give someone wanting to get started in local history?

Make connections with the curators and archivists at local historical societies and museums. Spend as much time with them as you can. In many small towns, these historians have lived in the town all their lives, as have their parents and grandparents. If they haven't, they can put you in touch with people who have. Folks who have lived and worked in a town for several decades can give you information about a place that you can't find in books.

You and your husband are very active in promoting your work. Can you give some advice to writers about how best to market their books?

Developing and marketing four books in such a short period of time was definitely a challenge--especially since we both hold regular jobs--but Arcadia Publishing is great to work with. We were assigned a publicist and regional sales rep, but of course, these folks are working with many authors, so we also need to promote our books.

We do as many talks and book signings as possible, and we try to structure our presentations around a particular group's focus. For example, writing groups want to hear about how we secured the book contracts and obtained permission to use old photos. Library guests want to hear about the history of a town.

We maintain a web presence with posts about upcoming book releases or events on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, a blog, and a website. We set up Google alerts, so we instantly know if one of our books has been reviewed or mentioned. That way, we can thank the reviewer or blogger -- but also link to that review from our own website or blog and post the link on social networking sites.

We carry copies of our business cards and at least one copy of each of our books with us everywhere; you never know when someone will express interest. We always see a spike in activity on our website the day after an event, since that URL is on our business card. We gave a large stack of promotional postcards to the curator at a museum. He, in turn, sent them to everyone on his organization's mailing list.

Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming projects?

Our fourth book focuses on Hermann, Missouri, and will be in bookstores the week of September 27. With four books released in approximately 18 months, our focus in the short term is to continue marketing them. We have been invited to give a presentation in Jefferson City at the Missouri State Archives in October, and we also want to devote adequate time to developing that presentation. However, we're already kicking around a few ideas for future books. In the meantime, I'm doing some research for a solo project--nonfiction, but not historical.

Your website mentions that you also write fiction. Tell us a bit about that.
When I was pursuing my MFA, I began a collection of realistic fiction set in the contemporary American West. It had become clear to me that nature and the preservation of nature is a strong influence in my writing, especially in the ways it can be expressed through relationships of human beings to wilderness and to each other. With the stories in that collection, I intended to blend the presence of ruggedly beautiful landscapes with the real lives of people who struggle--and sometimes fail--to uphold the courageous spirit of the American West. Lucky for me, seven of those stories have been published, and six have won one or more awards. The collection continues to evolve, and I have not yet sought a publisher. I may be getting close to that now.

Thanks for stopping by Dianna, and best of luck with your collection and future Missouri books!

Learning from losing

Aw crap.

I just heard from one of the judges at the Fresh Blood Contest that my Civil War novel didn't make the cut this round. I lost by five votes!

The contest has been an interesting ride, and while I'm bummed about losing I did learn a lot and am proud not only to have made the top ten finalists, but to have made it to top five before the public votes favored the other books.

When the voting was up to the judges, what mattered was my writing and I did fine. But the later rounds are by public vote, and it is essentially about how well you market yourself. I started a fanpage on Facebook and hit up people for votes on various newsgroups on Facebook and Yahoo. I also promoted it on my Twitter account.

The problem was, I went on assignment to Ethiopia and Somaliland for two months just when I needed to raise my public profile. With all of Ethiopia still on dialup, I was at a major disadvantage, and learned firsthand about one of the troubles facing writers in developing countries. But of course that was only part of the problem. I'm sure there was more I could have done to promote my book in the early stages when I was in Europe. Should I have been a bit pushier? Joined more newsgroups? Started a MySpace page? There are probably several things I'm not even thinking of here. Feel free to share them in the comments section because they may come in handy one day.

I believe A Fine Likeness will get published, and that it deserves to be published. It's a good story based on detailed historical research, and is now being peddled by an author who is a little wiser about the need for self-marketing.

Thanks to everyone who voted, especially those friends who bugged their own friends to vote, and to those who only know me through the Internet but had faith in my writing. I'm extremely grateful and proud to know you. If you're still interested in the contest even though I'm out of it, I suggest you vote for Heart of the City by Lisa A. Koosis. From a writer's point of view I think it's the finest submission (besides mine, ahem) and the one I was most worried about. I'll be voting for it now that I'm not voting for myself.

The image is by Alexander Gardner of a dead Confederate sniper at Gettysburg, courtesy of the Library of Congress. Yeah, it's probably disrespectful to this poor bastard to be using this, but it's topical and reflects how I feel.