A Brief Update...

I have been down with bronchitis the last week or so, which as cut into my writing and research…not to mention my getting ready to run the Army Ten Miler next month.  There’s so much going on, I thought  a quick update was in order. 

First, on Virginia Creeper, the word “wow!” doesn’t seem to capture it.  The book has spent nine days on the bestseller list for paid-for-books.  This is my second book this year to hit the Amazon.com bestseller lists, the other being Secret Witness.  I have been pleased with the number of people that seem to gravitate to Creeper.  With Halloween coming up, things are bound to stay brisk in terms of sales.  I have had more searches to my web site and blog on Drew Fitzwater and the Route 211 Murders than anything else.  The number one question I get about the book is, “Is this a true story?”  Fascinating!  I’d say read the book and make your own judgment call on that.  Everything is in the book, unless you want to undertake some research on your own.  I’ve even heard there are web sites out there on the murders – so check them out (though personally I found them lacking details when I was working on the book.)  So far there have not been complaints from people up on Pignut Mountain about visitors looking for the Fitzwater farm, but, like I said, Halloween is just around the corner. 

My book on the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Fires of October, is on the downward end of writing.  I’ve already started to get requests for interviews about the book which tells me this book is going to be widely accepted.  There are a lot of great books out there on the missile crisis – mine goes at it with a relatively new angle – the planned invasion of Cuba.  I was at the National Archives a week and a half ago, pulling a wealth of new material that has just been declassified.  I’m sure even if you’re a buff on the subject, there’s new material here you’ve never seen. 

My next true crime project, A Special Kind of Evil, the murder of Daisy Zick – is progressing too.  What I’ve been surprised with is the power of social media in making contacts.  Facebook has generated a lot of tips, leads, and contacts for me.  This crime still seems to resonate in Battle Creek where I was raised.  People are passionate about who they think did it.  I only hope that I don’t let them down. 

My Bert Hall biography, The Bad Boy, will be out in October from Fonthill Media in the UK.  I’m speaking to the League of WWI Aviation Historians at the Smithsonian in early November on the book.  WWI is picking up interest as we approach the 100^th anniversary of the Great War. 

That’s all for now (cough…hack!)  Time to recuperate and charge my batteries.  October and November is going to be a busy period for me.