Journey from Aspiring Writer to Published Author...Thanks, Sarah!

You know, the one thing constant about life, is that it changes. Sometimes that change is a gradual thing, only seen in retrospect. Other times it's swift in coming, and without forewarning of any kind. One such change happened very recently. I met that event with a mixture of sadness, trepidation and cautious anticipation.

What changed? Well, my dear, sweet editor, who took me from aspiring writer to published author, and who worked tirelessly with me on three of my books, retired from her position at The Wild Rose Press. The personal email she sent me announcing this event caused a great deal of reflection on my part.

Would it surprise you to learn that even though I published Spirit of the Rebellion first, I did not write it first? As far as my published books go, I wrote Spirit of the Revolution about six months earlier. However, I didn't write that book first, either...

Memorial Day...A Day We Remember Those Who Gave All...

We remember... and give thanks to all our service men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice... 

Arlington National Cemetery by Andrew Bossi

Formerly known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a holiday in which the American people have set aside to remember the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.  

When did it begin? 

In an effort to commemorate the soldiers who gave their lives during the Civil War, both Union and Confederate, this holiday was officially born on May 5, 1868 and first observed on May 30th of that same year. On that day, flowers were placed on each Union and Confederate grave at Arlington National Cemetery, by order of General John A. Logan. Today, we honor all the brave men and women who have fallen, while engaged in military service.

Like most Americans, I have a deep respect and appreciation for all those who serve and have served this country. For those who gave their all in order to make and keep this nation free, and provide us with the liberties we have, I give you my utmost gratitude.

Those who follow my blogs know that many of my ancestors have fought and died while in the service of the United States from her earliest beginnings and forward. As I've collected their histories and documentation of military service, I've wondered over their lives and the families they left behind. They are the reason I chose to use both a Civil War and Revolutionary War soldier as my heroes in "Spirit of the Rebellion" and "Spirit of theRevolution."  In my own way, it's my personal nod to my grandfathers, uncles and cousins who fought in some of America's bloodiest campaigns.

"The March to Valley Forge", by William Trego, 1883

As you can imagine, it thrilled me no end when Wild Rose Press chose to release "Spirit of the Revolution," during the week we celebrate our men in arms. So, to my ancestors who participated in the Revolutionary War...not limited to but including the following ancestral grandfathers:

·         Nicholas Forbes - 

·         William Ferguson -

·         Lewis Ponsler - 

·         John Cartwright

·         John Light

·         Jeremiah Dickenson Jenks

Civil War Ancestors:

.  William Confer - Killed at the battle of Chickamauga
.  David K Newhouase - Killed at the battle of Stones River
.  John A Robison - 
.  Daniel Confer
.  Peter Confer
.  Samuel Confer
.  Hiram Robison
.  David A Robison

World War II Ancestos:

.  William Buskrik
.  Robert Buskirk
.  A.F. Henriksen
.  R.L. Henrksen
.  Dwight Peterson
.  Vernon Peterson

Viet Nam War:

. Michael Ray Mastain

You've made me proud and I salute you!

Today, people celebrate Memorial Day as a day to honor our fallen veterans. The day is celebrated in a variety of ways. Our family has been known to have huge family gatherings, with picnics or barbeques in the mountains or canyons. And of course, for those who live in the vicinity,  family graves are lovingly decorated...

What are your Memorial Day Family traditions?

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Murfreesboro and the ghosts of Stones River...

The battle at Stones River, one of the bloodiest campaigns of America's Civil War, took over 23,000 estimated casualties in four days time. This horrific battle began the 31st of December 1862 and finally ended January 2nd, 1863.

Cannon at Stones River National Battlefield  by Hal Jespersen  

With the Union army controlling Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Nashville, they were ready to take command of the Mississippi River and the railroads. In order to achieve this goal,  General William Rosecrans would have to battle General Braxton Bragg  and his Confederate army. Striking first, the Confederates had the Union on the run, driving them back to Nashville Pike. However, the Union forces vastly outnumbered the Confederates and as time went on, the boys in gray grew weary. The tide began to change in favor of the Union.

An interesting thing happened during the Battle of Stones River.  As one might expect during this holiday time of year, the soldiers' thoughts meandered toward family and home.  One evening, most unexpectedly, a song cut through the stillness of the night.  The battle lines were so close that both sides couldn't help but hear the music.  The confederates sang "Dixie," while the Union soldiers volleyed with "Yankee Doodle."  Then, when one of the bands started playing "Home, Sweet, Home," the other side joined in.   While the soldiers sang, they ignored the horror of the battle, and perceived enemies. Amid tears, toasts, and cheers, the spirit of Christmas filled their souls.  The respite didn't last though, for the bloody battle began again at dawn. General Bragg commanded Major General John C. Breckinridge's brigade to attack the Union center. The troops arrived much too late to do any good. On January 1, 1863, no one celebrated the New Year.

The Ghosts of Chickamauga...

America’s battlefields are all quiet now and have been for well over a century or two, depending upon the war in which it took place. Most of the people visiting the parks and museums associated with these battlefields note feelings of reverence and serenity while exploring the grounds.

At least until the sun goes down...

Horseshoe Ridge at the Chickamauga battlefield by Hal Jespersen

During the Civil War, the bloodiest battles waged took place at Gettysburg, Antietam, Stones River, and Chickamauga. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that at the end of the siege, more than bullets and blood remained behind. We'll explore each of these battlefields in the days ahead.

First up...Chickamauga.

The battle at Chickamauga took the life of an ancestral Uncle of mine, and figures prominently in “Spiritof the Rebellion.” In 1863, from the early hours of September 19th through the 20th, the combined casualties totaled 37,129 men. At the end of this horrendous battle, countless bodies of Union soldiers, left lying in the field for weeks, were finally buried in makeshift graves. Various reports tell us they buried the dead in rows, head to foot and more often than not, several men shared a grave. Not a single marker would ever note their passing.

The Otherworldly Residents of West Point...

The United States Military Academy at West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military facility in our nation’s history. Of course, anything that old just has to host a few resident poltergeists, doesn’t it?

 West Academic Building at the U. S. Military Academy

The Continental Army first occupied West Point, New York on the 27^th of January, 1778. Home to seventy-four Medal of Honor recipients, the academy has a legendary place in the military history of the United States. The defenses where designed by the Polish engineer and combat hero, Tadeusz Kosciuszko. The Point is situated on the high ground above an “S” curve of the mighty Hudson River. This strategic location prevented the British fleet from sailing upriver and cutting the colonies in half during the colonial period. General Benedict Arnold’s act of treason was an attempt to turn this facility over to the British. West Point became the US Army’s academy of engineering and artillery in March of 1802

.

Civil War commanders Robert E Lee and Ulysses S. Grant are former alumni of this prestigious academy as are Douglas MacArthur, George S. Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower, just to name a few. Yes, indeed, West Point has seen its fair share of history and apparently, left some of it behind.

Abraham Lincoln and the Battle of Chickamauga

Since the release of “Spirit of the Rebellion,” I have received a lot of questions about a great many things in the story. So, today I thought I’d address one of the questions concerning the Battle of Chickamauga. Readers wanted to know if Rosecrans really received faulty information on that battlefield. Did he truly create a hole in his line that the Confederate army promptly exploited because of that information? And if so, what, if anything, happened to Rosecrans since the battle ended in a Union defeat? Although fictionalized to some extent in the book, (I am a novelist, see the disclaimer...) let me give you some of the facts.

In late 1863, President Lincoln desperately needed some good news. In fact, he was desperate for a substantial Union victory. Opposition in congress from moderates who wished to end the war, rioters in New York who opposed the draft, foreign policy breakdowns and facing the election in 1864, weighed heavy on his mind. Needless to say, Abraham Lincoln had his worries. He wanted a win at Chickamauga.

Battle of Chickamauga

The Battle of Chickamauga was indeed, a Union defeat, but this battle ultimately led to the demise of the South. How can defeat be a good thing? Set backs are usually followed by change. The Union general, William Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland had recently defeated General Braxton Bragg of the Confederate Army of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Rosecrans was a competent leader, a good strategist, and his career was on the rise. But even the best make mistakes. However, Lincoln was in no position or mood to tolerate mistakes.

The Next Big Thing Blog Challenge

Lovely Lisa Voisin tagged me in The Next Big Thing Blog Challenge, wherein you get to learn all about someone’s book/WIP/ms.  Read about Lisa’s novel, The Watcher here.

The requirements of the challenge:

                               

First: Answer the questions below.

Then:  Spread the fun and tag 5 more awesome people to participate.

It’s also nice to link back to the person because "Sharing is caring, y’all."



So... here we go:

 What is the title of your book / WIP?

Well, let’s see... I have two books that are already published and available. “Spirit of the Rebellion,” and “Shadow of the Witte Wieven.” I have one book, “Spirit of the Revolution,” that is heading into galley as soon as the copy editor is finished going through the manuscript. Once there, I will finally get a release date. I have one book under consideration at a publishing company as we speak, and another, waiting in line at Wild Rose Press. And..., I have just completed the second chapter in my still untitled, WIP.

However, for this blog, I think we’ll go ahead and talk about “Shadow of the Witte Wieven.”

Trailing Clouds of Glory...

Between the years 1802 and 1804, William Wordsworth, the famous English Romantic poet, penned one of his greatest poems, "Ode: Intimations of Immortality." I don’t remember the first time I heard it, but I do know it was familiar to me when my seventh grade English class studied it over the course of several weeks.

The first part of the second movement was then, and still is, my favorite part of the poem. Over the years, it fed my imagination in a thousand different ways as I scrutinized each line. And I loved the experience of allowing my imagination free reign. For those unfamiliar with this particular portion, it reads:

All the Pretty Horses

The love of horses is a family tradition--that through documentation-- we can at least trace back to my great-great-great grandfather, Charles Earl. Grandpa Charles was born July 4, 1819, in Howland Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, the son of John and Mary Earl. The "Biographical Memoirs of Wells County Indiana” states “Charles Earl was the fourteenth child of the family and was reared on his father's farm in Ohio. As a boy he showed a fondness for horses and has owned some fine animals in his day...” We can deduce from this statement that his father also had a love of horses. As did all those who followed down through the generations. Of this I know, first hand.

Edward H Buskirk,  Pleasant Township, Allen,Indiana

“Spirit of the Rebellion” takes a page from my personal family history...

          As many of you know, I am a family history buff and genealogy enthusiast. Digging into my family roots borders on obsession. I love it when I find bits and pieces about my ancestors that bring them to life—a notation, here or a story there, that make them more than a name with just places, and dates attached. And so it was with William Confer, my great, great, granduncle. The man first piqued my interest, then tugged at my heart, and, after a fashion, finally found his way into to my novel, “Spirit of the Rebellion.”

The All Important Book Cover…

I have learned so much on my journey to becoming a published author and over the coming weeks and months; I’ll share some of those things with you. But because I am looking at them right now, I think I’ll share with you what I have learned concerning the all important book cover…

Spirit of the Rebellion Book Review

Spirit of the Rebellion Book Review by Sizzling Hot Books

Words of Wisdom....from The Scarf Princess: Review for Spirit of the Rebellion by Debbie Peter...

Words of Wisdom....from The Scarf Princess: Review for Spirit of the Rebellion by Debbie Peter...: Souls touch and emotions flare when a historian and an embittered spirit form an unlikely alliance to investigate the centuries-old rid...

ROMANCING THE BOOK: REVIEW

Read Robin's wonderful review for "Spirit of the Rebellion!"

WonderlandReviews: Spirit of the Rebellion by Debbie Peterson

WonderlandReviews: Spirit of the Rebellion by Debbie Peterson: Synopsis: Souls touch and emotions flare when a historian and an embittered spirit form an unlikely alliance to investigate the...

Bewitching Book Tours: Now on Tour Spirit if the Rebellion by Debbie Pete...

Bewitching Book Tours: Now on Tour Spirit if the Rebellion by Debbie Pete...: June 1 Promo Mama Knows Books- http://mamaknowsbooks.blogspot.com  June 1 Guest blog Roxanne’s Realm www.roxannesrealm....

Siren Book Reviews: Title: Spirit of the RebellionAuthor: Debbie Pete...

Siren Book Reviews: Title: Spirit of the Rebellion
Author: Debbie Pete...: Title:  Spirit of the Rebellion Author:  Debbie Peterson Rating:  Four Siren Stones Genre: Fantasy Keywords:  Faery Rose, Sen...

SPIRIT OF THE REBELLION IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR YOUR EBOOK READER

From the Wild Rose Press!

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4792

Full Trailer for "Spirit of the Rebellion"

Don't miss the opportunity to see the full trailer for "Spirit of the Rebellion."



The amazing art work is courtesy of my daughter, Shandra Peterson! Thank you so much Shandra, for all of the long, hard, hours (not to mention computer crashes) spent on this project! The trailer is gorgeous!

Spirit of the Rebellion - Teaser 1