Doubles! A Very Exciting Announcement – Pt 1

It wasn’t long after As the Storm Clouds Gather came out (click here for more on that) when some emails started flying back and forth between my agent and my publisher. Severn House (my publisher) wanted to know what other manuscripts I had laying around. A pretty routine question at a pretty routine time, so I’ve learned during my whirlwind tenure on this career path. Which is why I didn’t think much of it. I just pulled out my completed works and dusted them off like a good little writer should.

A few days later, things took a bit of a non-routine turn. My agent and I had compiled a list of the handful of manuscripts I’ve completed over ten years as a full-time writer. There were two on the list that Severn showed interest in. So, they requested both manuscripts for a read. Like I said, slightly more non-routine, and slightly more interesting. But still, I tried to hold myself together. Just because they wanted to read two didn’t mean they would pick up two. Nothing to get excited over… yet.

A few weeks went by. Then months. You know how it is in publishing! The wait was a bear for me. A period of emotional ups and downs that took a bit of a toll, if I’m honest. They would at least want to publish one of the manuscripts right? What if they didn’t want either of them in the end? Or – shocker of shockers – what if they wanted both?

The answer came in good time. Severn wanted to publish both. This little writer, who started with nothing but some serious grit and some very big dreams, was going to get green-lit for a two book deal. Double your pleasure, double your fun (and double your revisions, but we love that part anyway!).

I was shocked when I found out. I still am, in all honesty. Even when I signed the contract, I didn’t think it was really real. Getting one book published is a thrill. Having two books out there is exceptional to me. But by the end of 2026, I will have four books on store shelves with my name on them. Not. Bad.

I’ll spare you the details of the crazy celebrating that I have undertaken with this incredible news. Let’s just say there are some scotch bottles in my office that have taken some pretty big hits. I am so honored, thrilled, excited, happy, and ecstatic (plus every other adjective in that neighborhood that you can think of) to announce this news, and to share with you a little bit about each book. A post that I will split into two parts, because this was as very hard-fought victory, and each book deserves its due.

Let’s start with Farewell, Camelot – coming at you in April, 2026:

Farewell, Camelot – A Story of the Kennedy Years

I was seventeen when I first fell down the “Who Killed Kennedy” rabbit hole. A pretty typical teenage phase, I’m sure (wink). It all started with my history teacher. He showed us a VHS tape (aging myself…) about the questions that have arisen over JFK’s murder in Dallas in 1963. For some reason, that video really grabbed on and took hold.

And boy, did it take hold. I checked out a few books from the library. I bought a few more from the store. I got my own copy of the Warren Report and combed it over front to back. Other kids at school started keeping their distance from me – the weirdo who had become obsessed with Kennedy. But my teachers seemed to enjoy it, and they even threw gas on the flames. They recommended books, they talked shop with me, they gave me gentle nudges, pushing me further and further down that rabbit hole.

I became so obsessed that my step-father oh-so-kindly took me to Dallas so I could see Dealey Plaza for myself. We spent a few days there exploring the Texas School Book Depository (the Sixth Floor Museum is incredibly well done), the infamous Grassy Knoll, the JFK Memorial, and many other sites and places around downtown Dallas that we found relevant. On one of the days, I even had a run-in with JFK Assassination author Robert Groden. I’m sure he found dorky little teenage me very amusing, as he asked me a lot of questions about my own theories. Which was nice of him.

I know what you’re going to ask me next. Conspiracy? Or Lone Gunman? Eeesh. It’s a heck of a question, and my answer probably isn’t what you want to hear. I’ve read a mountain of books on the subject. I’ve watched all the documentaries. I’ve stumbled on some compelling arguments from both sides of the fence (grassy knoll pun!). And my opinion is…. I have no idea. Some authors have made very good arguments for a conspiracy. Others have made arguments that are certifiably insane. As for Oswald acting alone, that’s a theory that has its own merits too, although there’s a lot of unanswered questions there, in my opinion. In truth, I don’t think we’ll ever really learn the whole of what happened that day. No matter what documents they decide to release or not.

But you know what I did learn through all those books and years of study? I learned that JFK was a very complicated figure. The man behind the myth had many layers to him. Some of them were incredibly ahead of his time. Some of them were erm… not great. JFK was a human, despite the legend he’s been built into, and I think that’s what I found the most fascinating through it all.

As the years went by and I got more busy with my life, I boxed up all my JFK books and put them away. I even got rid of a good chunk of them. As for my favorites, they came with me to various homes over the years. Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Glendale, and now, Indiana. They mostly sat and collected dust, until I was checking out some new book releases online one day and saw something very interesting.

Out of all the books I read on JFK’s murder in Dallas, I think Josiah Thompson’s Six Seconds in Dallas was one of the most well done. So imagine my delight when I saw that, in 2021, Thompson very quietly released a sequel called Last Second in Dallas – a book detailing his most recent ideas, and also detailing his own private studies on the subject over the years. A little memoir of sorts, mixed in with some juicy new evidence and theories.

When I saw that sequel staring me in the face, an old fire came alive and I immediately purchased it. I read it cover to cover within a few short days. Interest had taken root again, and I suddenly found myself needing to do something with all this information inside of me. Not just about the horrific assassination itself, but the information about JFK the man. The effect he had on the country. The life he sparked into the youth of a nation.

What else could I do but write a book? Because that’s what I always do when I have something to say. Let me tell you, that book came out quick. Usually, a new book takes me anywhere from a year-and-a-half to two years from idea to first draft. Farewell, Camelot took a mere five months. Probably because most of the research was already in my head, still swirling around in my brain after so many years.

The story, as stories so often do, took a slightly different direction than I once thought it would. It doesn’t follow JFK himself – not exactly. Instead, it follows a young college student named Jolene. We see the blossoming Kennedy administration through her starry eyes as she gets swept up in politics and the struggles of the time. Then, on a sunny morning in November of 1963, she strolls into Dealey Plaza to see the motorcade pass by… but instead ends up dead in the center of one of our country’s most consequential moments. A dual timeline story that explores the intensity of that fateful weekend, and what it must have been like for the people standing there – stacked up against the hope and fire, successes and failures, and light and dark of the Kennedy years as seen through a young woman’s perspective.

It goes without saying that this story is an actual piece of me, put down on paper and about to be shared with the world at large. A part of me is terrified about that. It’s a truly vulnerable thing, putting yourself out there like this. But I’m also confident, because I think Farewell, Camelot represents the best of my writing thus far. Something that felt like it was waiting dormant inside of me until the right time presented itself.

I guess the right time is now, and you will be able to purchase a copy of this book in April of 2026!

And it won’t be all you hear from me in 2026. In December, another book with my name on it will creep its way into the universe, and I’ll be telling you all about it in the next post. Do stay tuned for that, and also keep writing. Keep working towards that dream. Keep trying. Don’t ever give up. In fact, go ahead and double down. You could end up winning big.

Most photos by M.B. Henry (except for when I’m in them – my step-dad took those) – for more of my photography, click here.

The official announcement on Publishers Marketplace! Stay tuned for more information as this exciting situation develops!