Sean answers your questions

Q: I enjoyed seeing parts of the Civil War we don’t usually get to see. Your battles between the characters were just as good as your battle scenes. Can’t wait to read more. How did historical events and people influence your fictional characters? Did you base any of your main characters on real people? – Faith S.

A: Thank you for the kind words. As to your question, before I begin the first draft, I develop a chronology of events from the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion for the Donelson and Shiloh campaigns and use that as the framework for the setting. There are ample primary and secondary sources for the movement of historical characters, such as US Grant, William Sherman, and Bedford Forrest as well as their physical appearances and personalities. Also, the major movements of the armies are well documented. The fictional characters are composites of the many people I’ve met and worked with in the past, working and surviving through the historical events. Very rarely do I deviate from documented history in order to make the plot lines work.

Q: I’ve finished Harper’s Donelson and I wonder why you’ve spent so much time with the Katie character, especially since she is not part of the main story? – Rene L.

A: Katie came about by a fortunate accident. See my blog post on the subject. I decided it would be fun to include the ladies at LaFitte’s Hideout in the story as a way to explore the lives of “soiled doves” working in an Army town. This is a topic I’ve rarely seen in histories of the era or in other historical novels. Please keep reading because after numerous adventures and trials, Katie eventually finds her place as a member of Harper’s team in Harper’s Rescue and Harper’s Shiloh.

Q: What surprised you the most about your main characters as you wrote the Trilogy? – Karenne S.

A: What surprises me the most is how easily I’m able to slide into the minds of Gustav Magnusson and Katie Malloy. Before I write their sections, I go into a meditative state to clear my mind and after a minute or two, I am inside their heads reacting and interacting with events in the section. Once I’m in that state, the words tend to flow almost faster than I can type. Jamie Harper is harder because, being an older character with greater responsibilities, I need to address more sophisticated responses based on Harper’s interactions with the other characters in the section.

Q: Although it’s been a hard year, it’s been a great pleasure to dive into a world I once knew almost nothing about. Your stories have such a textured quality to them with so many great details. I also appreciated that you included such strong female characters in your Harper Trilogy. Finished your Harper Trilogy. When’s the next book going to come out? – Faith S.

A: That is a very good question. In the next series, I cross the battle lines and explore how Francois Dupree enters the war with Terry’s Texas Rangers. The setting is Kentucky at the beginning of the War Between the States. The research has taken some time and now I’m full at it writing the tales of the various characters. Best guess for publication would be sometime around mid-2022.