Here I am! Bet you thought I dropped off the face of the earth, didn’t you? I wouldn’t blame you if you did. The truth is it’s been a crazy summer, with a lot of different things going on. First and foremost is the big book release, which you can learn more about by clicking the link below. It’s been a real learning curve navigating putting a book out into the world. If you think the process is all done when the book hits the shelves, well, you would be wrong! 🙂 It turns out that’s when the real work begins with book signings, events, promotion, and advertising. Then while doing all that, I’ve also been hard at work on the next project, because we have to think ahead you know! I’ve been working on it for over a year, and just last month I finally got a rough draft turned into my agent. Now I sit in the doldrums of waiting for her notes, of which I’m sure she’ll have plenty, given that this is quite a rough first draft. But the waiting has given me a little time to slow down and start brushing off this old history blog! I’ve missed it to tell you the truth, and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with all of you in the weeks ahead. I thought I’d kick things off by continuing my historical poem covering various wars in US History. Remember that?! (For a refresher, click here). And since I’ve been dabbling with an old Civil War manuscript while I wait for notes on my other project (so many projects, so little time) I thought it would be fun to dive right into Part III – the Civil War. Which happens to be the final part. But fear not -there are seven segments that I will be posting in weeks to come. I hope you enjoy them all, as well as all the other posts I have planned for the rest of the year! Can’t wait, and hope to hear from all of you soon!
Bull Run – It’s Just Begun
This will be a quick war, that’s what they said
There will be so few wounded, and so little dead
In our fine attire, to the drumbeat we went
“We’ll show them rebels, we’ll leave them spent”
But that wasn’t the way it happened at all
At the place called Bull Run, we took a bad fall
The enemy in gray poured over the hill
Of their canon and shot, they gave us our fill
That’s when I saw what the real war would be
Killing and death, that’s what they would see
Blood, bodies, brothers and sons dead
How many mothers would be filled with dread
I took my own shot, right in my heart
Blood spilled from me, I gave a start
I fell to the ground while the troops fell back
They broke in a panic, the rebels gave no slack
The gray triumphant, what will we do?
It will be a long war, I’m here to tell you
But I won’t see it, I’ll die here instead
Carry on, fellow soldiers, fight in my stead
To Be Continued…
Photos by M.B. Henry. For more on the Civil War, click here, here, and here.
If you’d like to learn about my debut novel, “All the Lights Above Us,” click here. And if you’re in the Traverse City area, come see me for a book signing on Saturday, October 8th, 1pm at Horizon Books!
