Civil War and Other Disasters

This Tuesday marks the 150th Anniversary of the "beginning" of the American Civil War in South Carolina. It's important for me to mark that anniversary, because my fictional characters, the Owen family, were informed and impacted by the events thereof.

But first, let me urge you to buy a collection of short stories written by my friend, Charles T. Whipple. You're seen me write about Charlie "Chuck Tyrell" Whipple before. He lives in Japan, and was impacted by the recent earthquake and tsunami there. Because he says he only does one thing well, and that is write, he and his ebook publisher have put together a collection that includes the first-ever publication of his international prize-winning story, "A Matter of Tea," and other Japan-based short fiction. I was privileged to read that story, and write the promotional blurb for the book.

The ebook is found at Smashwords.com in various ebook formats: A Matter of Tea. The cost is only 99 cents, and all proceeds are going to charities and relief organizations that are helping out right now in Japan. I implore you to support this cause. Charlie has a blog post on his Outlaw Trail Western blog with more details, plus links.

For the next four years, you're going to be seeing news articles, blog mentions, and other Internet and paper commemorations of various events and battles that took place during the American Civil War. My Owen Family Saga novels tell a fraction of the aftermath of that great and bloody confrontation.

It wasn't a good time. It wasn't a glorious time. In fact, it was a terrible, heart-breaking time of brother fighting against brother, father against son, thirteen Southern states seceding from the united states, and unimaginably horrific battles that left men dead or maimed in ways we can only see in Veteran's hospitals today. Many soldiers came home with wounds that drove them to narcotic addictions in their quest for relief of pain. Families on both sides were impoverished; and further torn apart through deaths, disagreements, and physical hardships. Many people relocated to the West, where is wasn't in fact, all better. It was simply hard in a different way.

Stay tuned for more during the next four years that parallel those Civil War times. You'll see new fiction from me, and a few collections, to boot.

And here's a special deal, in quiet remembrance of that time: I'm offering a coupon that will get you a 49% discount on ebook versions of The Man from Shenandoah from Smashwords.com. The price is $1.50 (150th Anniversary). Use the coupon code LM77P at checkout. This coupon is good only through Tuesday, so hurry on over to take advantage of the savings. Once you've read the book, please return to The Man from Shenandoah's Smashwords page and give it a rating and review. Thank you!