The Fairfax Library Foundation supports twenty-three branches of the Fairfax County Public Library which in turn serve the 1.1 million citizens of its Northern Virginia jurisdiction. Both the Foundation and the Library are wonderful organizations. I was honored that Rails of War could play a small part in the Foundation’s Jubilee annual fundraiser. I, Read More

I’m proud to share this interview with my former employer the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers, a modern and sophisticated labor organization. The ‘Machinists Union’ was founded in 1888 by nineteen determined railroaders in a grimy locomotive drop pit in Atlanta, Georgia. Today, with 600,000 members in diverse industries and government agencies,, Read More

How much Googling of oneself or one’s book is permissible before it becomes a problem? Or, is there a gray area before a problem overtakes you? And, when is that? How much is too much? Once a week? Daily? Hourly? I hadn’t Googled for a month or two and what I found surprised me., Read More

Did you know that beer can pop-top openers weren’t invented until the 1960s? I didn’t nor did my copy editor whose otherwise excellent review of my manuscript was greatly appreciated. But, leave it to a polite and kindly soul to discreetly bring the church-key verse pop-top reference in a Rails of War vignette to, Read More

It’s fair to say Richard Rubin interviewed World War I veterans who were over 100 years old for his book. Mary Lawrence writes mystery novels set in the 1500s peppered with her knowledge of Cytotechnology gained at our shared alma mater, Indiana University. Kevin Hancock’s quest led to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where, Read More

I used a 1944 Parker 51 fountain pen to sign my mother-in-law’s copy of Rails of War. She gave the pen to me two Christmases ago because I told her how my mother and father coveted these pens during the war years. From the Parker flowed a dark and lustrous script onto the page, Read More

It’s hard to overstate how excited and thankful I am that University of Nebraska Press chose to include Rails of War in its presentation at BookExpo 2017 in New York City. For readers not familiar with BookExpo, it’s the largest annual book trade fair in the United States. I cannot say enough about the, Read More

I am pleased and proud to announce a Book Launch for Rails of War: Supplying the Americans and Their Allies in China-Burma-India. The event is open to the public and will be held June 25, from 2-4 p.m. at the Lloyd House, in Alexandria, Virginia. Click here for more information. Rails of War is the story of, Read More

So, you write and book and get it published. That’s the fun part. Then, you market the product in a fast-changing environment where your familiarity with technology is as important as your understanding of mass social dynamics. As for the technology and dynamics, I’m a babe in the woods. I’m not a Luddite, and sometimes I’m, Read More

When I began writing Rails of War more than twenty years ago, I had in mind that I would chronicle the story for the men who served, their families, and mine. Commercial publishing was not on my radar. But, as I dug deeper into the details of the 721st Railway Operating Battalion, I realized that the story is epic. Epic, in the sense that, Read More