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Escape To The Maroons
I’m honored to have my newest book published and available everywhere. The story of the courageous people who self-released from slavery to live free in one of the most inhospitable environments in North America is too little known.
Maroons is a term in slave societies that refers to areas where enslaved people can escape to and be difficult to recapture. The largest Maroon in early America was the Great Dismal Swamp, which borders southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. At the time I write about, it’s estimated that over 2,000 people occupied the swamp and created an economy that allowed them to live free.
Gracing the cover of the book is a sketch of “Osman,” a resident of that Maroon that was first published in Harper’s Weekly in 1856. To learn more about the story of Osman and other aspects of the communities that existed prior to the end of the US Civil War, check out more information on this site.
It’s become apparent to me, there are unfortunate parallels between the time when Maroons existed and evolving events today. Prior to the end of the Civil War, Southern authorities and newspapers consistently denied any slaves escaped and managed to support themselves in places like the Great Dismal Swamp. Today, the administration is attempting to deny and scrub our history. Recently, rangers in the Federal Great Dismal Swamp Refuge were ordered to remove all signage and literature that discussed the Maroons. This development is not characteristic of a healthy society and must be corrected.
Sales of my first two books continue to do well.
“War Angel: Korea 1950”
After seven years of research and writing (and a bit of procrastination), my book about the amazing women who served as nurses in the Korean War continues to get positive comments. The feedback about the courageous and selfless contributions of US Army Nurses is gratifying. (See my page with a couple of those reviews.)
When I mention this title to people, a typical reaction is, “Oh, like the television show MASH, right?” Not quite. While the hit movie and television series portrayed the difficult circumstances doctors and nurses faced in Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, in reality, there was little humor. When there was joking during the surgeries, it was typically gallows humor, given the extreme and horrifying reality. What attracted me to this story was that in 1950, US Army nurses were required to be women. The conception many have that it was not until recently that females could serve near combat front lines is untrue. (The Army changed regulations in 1956 to allow men to serve as nurses.)
Written as Historical Fiction, my book tells the story of a Reserve Army Nurse activated and thrust all too quickly into the horrors of combat surgery. Mary Belanger arrives in Korea with American lines struggling to hold on in the face of an overwhelming North Korean enemy. Overcoming her fear and lack of confidence to meet the standards needed, she slowly grows and becomes the Surgical Nurse for the Chief Surgeon. During the first six months of the war, Mary became a leader among the nurses staffing her MASH Unit. When the war looks almost won, China intervenes and sends hundreds of thousands of troops against the Allies. Through all this, she struggles with a deteriorating marriage and missing the abandoned baby her sister-in-law left back home.
I hope my book helps focus attention on the amazing commitment and stories of the nurses who served in Korea, and the military conflicts since then. If you’d like to read a sample, click that page. The book is available online or through your local bookstore. I work with Broadway Books here in Portland, and they’d be happy to help you by clicking https://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781977264282
In the meantime, I continue to get strong interest and sales on my first book “Iva: The True Story of Tokyo Rose.” There’s more background on the tragic life of Iva Toguri on this website. Please be in touch if I can provide answers to any questions you may have.
