Having completed a collection of stories, two of which have been published in small literary journals, I believe myself to be a novelist by nature and consider the shorter works to have been essentially an apprenticeship.

I can’t really say why, but I have always had a fascination for the American Civil War. My original intention was to write a book using what might be considered Civil War “mythology” to tell a fundamental human story. In the course of my research, however, I became caught up in the savagery and sexual exploitation of the Southern plantation system and decided that my true story, the one that needed to be told, required a much larger canvass than I had anticipated—and thus the “gallant Pelham” series began to evolve. It now appears that the six books that comprise the series will ultimately contain upwards of 750,000 words. The first two books are finished; the other four are in various stages of completion.

The books deliberately use many facts and incidents familiar to history buffs and readers of Civil War fiction, but present them in a very different light. Although some of the events depicted may seem improbable, care has been taken to ensure they are never impossible. (I should mention that Pelham’s bizarre “affliction” is the author’s invention, as are his “abolitionist sympathies.”) Many occurrences depicted within the series are highly probable, but unfortunately cannot be documented. Readers will no doubt be surprised to learn how many details, no matter how contrived they might seem, are based on historical record. My objective was to expose the underlying story hiding within the historical facts and commonly accepted mythology.