Ever wonder where writers get their ideas? Well, the seed for the undead Confederate cavalier of Last Ghost at Gettysburg, Major Crosby Hilliard CSA, was planted way back in 1966 when this author was watching an episode of his favorite TV show, The Wild Wild West, which starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin as Jim West and Artemus Gordon, secret service agents for President U.S. Grant. One episode entitled "The Night of the Returning Dead" featured a confederate ghost rider, Col. Baumont Carson, who had come back to haunt his murderer (Peter Lawford). It scared the heck out of me, and I never forgot the plotline or the character. If you ever get a chance, check out reruns of The Wild Wild West. It was way ahead of its time, and infinitely better than the recent Will Smith remake!

My next SCD feature highlights reader feedback for some recent articles, most notably those that involved  Nancy Finley, niece of former A's 70's dynasty owner Charlie Finley, who is actually writing a behind-the -scenes memoir of her days working in the A's front office for her dad Carl, who essentially ran the operation for Charlie. You can find both parts of my interview with her on the SCD website. Meanwhile, my daughter Caroline, who put together this very website, has begun typing the official manuscript of the next T.J. Jackson mystery. (I'm from the Hunt & Peck School of keyboarding!) It should be done by the first of the new year.

Hope you like the website that was put together by my daughter Caroline. Right now my editor at Fire and Ice, Denise Meinstad, is preparing my book Last Ghost at Gettysburg: a T.J. Jackson Mystery for line editing. We've already made some general adjustments, so hopefully we won't have a ton of work left. The art department should be starting on the cover soon...can't wait to see it!