What's the story behind your latest book?
First off, let me say right now that I make no claims to being a writer. Never was, had no desire to be one. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever do such a crazy thing as this. This started when I ran across an image of A. G. Happer in an antique shop. I collect Civil War soldier images and I always research the soldier. I want to know who he was, and where he lived. Did he survive the war? If so, what did he do after the war?
I started on Happer expecting the usual stuff, like a brief outline of his war record, his regiment, what battles if any was he in, maybe where he was from etc. The more I looked, the more I found. This could be interesting I thought. So I dug deeper, I started really pulling on that thread. Just when I was hot on the trail, everything stopped. On my first visit to Washington, Pennsylvania, I expected to find a bronze statue of Major Happer, or at least a plaque on the court house or something. After all, he practically built and developed the entire county. There was nothing. No one I talked to there had ever heard of the Major. Not the genealogy section of the library, which, ironically is named after an employee of the Major's; not the historical society The Lemoyne House, not Washington and Jefferson College. There was nothing to suggest that the Major ever was there. I found that very sad. This good and decent man should not be forgotten. That's when I decided to write this book.
What do your fans mean to you?
I don't think of people as fans. I think of people as just folks I'm having a conversation with. I guess if I have a style, it's that I'm not talking at people, I'm talking with people. I'm nobody special, I'm just a guy with a story to tell.
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