Never a Dull Moment

 

Hello, friends! I hope all of you have been well. Here in the old writing room, there's smoke coming out of my keyboard and my fingers are blistered from all of the writing going on. OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not far off. A lot has been going on.

First, I'm proud to unveil the cover of my new book, Notable Women of Alabama, which is due out October 24th. I think the designers at Arcadia and History Press out did themselves on this one. I'd like to know what you think. Just drop a comment below. This is my 20th book since I began this crazy journey back in 2000. You can pre-order the book now. 

  

Speaking of Arcadia Publishing and History Press, the publisher is now offering 15% off any of my Mobile, Gulf Coast, and Alabama history books. Simply click the link, add the book to your cart, and the discount will be displayed in your cart.

• Baseball in Mobile  
• Hidden History of Mobile 
• A History Lover's Guide to Mobile/Ala. Gulf Coast 
• Notable Women of Alabama (coming soon)

On the writing front, I was thrilled to have been asked to read and review Debra Goldstein's book, "With Our Bellies Full and the Fires Dying." It's a little different than your usual mystery books. It's an anthology of short mysteries, some as little as 800 words in length, but all with a tantalizing twist. Read my review on the Alabama WritersForum website.

I spent last weekend in 1943 visiting some friends, Judy Campbell and Art Foley. I tell you, those two. They are nothing but trouble. Everywhere they go, there is a murder and then they have to solve the mystery for the police.

Yes, I spent the weekend working on book two of the Crystal Bay Mystery series. After taking my final beta reader's advice on "Dead Air" and and did a major tidy up on it to send to the agents who requested it, it was time to work on the second book of the series.

That second book is tentatively titled, "A Wedding to Die For." I was working on it non-stop the last couple of days. Some have called me "obsessive," but I call it "immersion." No, I haven't given up on the history and outdoor rec guides (when I can,) but writing in the cozy mystery genre is liberating and sets the mind free with all of the plotting, character development, banter. I feel literally immersed in the time period and characters making it difficult to pull myself away.

OK, maybe it is a little obsessive. But when you're on a roll....

 I also spent a little time this past week heading down memory lane. There are a couple of 50th anniversaries coming up in my life (more on that in the next edition), but I had fun reliving my radio past and rediscovering a video I created for my book, Waterfalls of Alabama. 

45 years ago last week, I began my dream career in radio broadcasting. I uncovered an old cassette tape with the only aircheck I have left of those days when I worked my dream job from 1980 to the mid-1990s. This was recorded at the last station I worked at, WBCA in Bay Minette, Alabama. It's a collection of bad comedy bits, a few commercials, a sports play-by-play clip, and some ofmy morning show, "The Country Club." It was a country music station, after all. At times you can still hear me talking ninety to nothing like I was still in NJ. You can take the boy out of New Jersey, but....

 

And finally, a memory from 5 years ago when I was researching one of my favorite guidebooks for Falcon Books, Hiking Waterfalls of Alabama. The Auburn area is about as far south in the state you can go to see a decent waterfall. A distinct fall line in the area created one of the best in the region, Great Falls (the last clip in the video.)

 

Wow, this was a long one. If you made it this far, congratulations! :) Thanks for reading and joining me on my writing adventures. There's more to come. Drop me a line if you have any questions of comments. I'd love to hear from you.

Until next time...Cheers!

Soldier Girls

I would like to introduce you to another fascinating tale from my latest book, The Pig War & the Pelican Girls. Both general readers looking for a good story and armchair historians will find this collection of forgotten American history a fascinating read - 21 main stories plus 21 shorter footnotes to history, like this story about Civil War "soldier girls." The book is available now at your favorite local and online bookstore.

The next time you see a photo of a tough looking Civil War soldier dressed in uniform posing for the camera with gun or sword in hand, take a closer look. That soldier boy might just be a soldier girl.

The general historical overview of the Civil War paints a picture of it being a man’s war. Men took up their guns and were either drafted, volunteered, or forced into service to fight the incredibly bloody battles while the women were relegated to maintaining the farms back home or acted as nurses for the wounded. The truth is that women, on both the Union and Confederate sides, took up arms themselves to fight.

A wonderful story of these “soldier girls” is that of Private Franklin Thompson who fought with the Union’s 2nd Infantry Unit. Thompson was, in reality, Canadian born Sarah Evelyn Edmonds.

Sarah enjoyed the physical work and was described as energetic and adventurous. She loved to ride horses, became an excellent marksman, and a strong swimmer. When her family arranged her to marry an older man at the age of fifteen, she ran away and soon disappeared, taking up the male identity of “Frank Thompson.”

After moving to Flint, Michigan, the Civil War broke out and Sarah made the decision to volunteer to fight with the Union army. So how did Sarah pass the physical required to join the military? The requirements were hardly stringent: the volunteer must not be blind, lame, have all of their limbs, and not be subject to having fits. For the physical exam, they were not required to strip down, only to have a firm handshake. Sarah, with her physical abilities, was a shoe in to pass the physical.

Sarah was able to remain incognito by bathing in streams and creeks near the troop’s encampments and slept in her clothes. While she was assigned to being the regiment’s male nurse, she did encounter the realities of war taking part in both battles of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Antietam. Afterwards, she volunteered to become a Union spy. Shaving her head, donning a curly wig, and painting her exposed skin with silver nitrate, she posed as a slave named “Cuff” and infiltrated a group of Black laborers working in a confederate camp in Yorktown. After overhearing Confederate plans for an attack, she slipped away in the cover of darkness and relayed the intelligence to the Union army who made a surprise attack on the rebels and scored an impressive victory.

Eventually, Sarah deserted because she had contracted malaria and did not want to have her cover blown. Sarah relinquished her identity of Frank Thompson and married. When she attended the regiment’s reunion, the men were shocked and surprised that Frank Thompson was actually Sarah Edmonds.

What's New

 

Good morning, everyone. I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend, but took the time to remember the reason for the holiday - the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

As always, it has been a busy time here in the old writing room. The big news comes from my cozy mystery, Dead Air. I was fortunate enough to pitch the manuscript to five notable agents this past weekend and I went five-for-five! I was blown away. I knew the pitch and the story were good, and thought that maybe one would want to discuss it further, but all five want a follow up.

It's a process - first you pitch the book. If they like it, they ask for more: a query letter, the first few pages or chapters, a synopsis, maybe the entire manuscript. They review it and decide if they want to pursue it any further. 

The hard part is writing the synopsis. Take a 60K word manuscript and tell the entire story in two pages. Yeah, it's going to be a long week. But I'm excited that it was so well received and gives new life to the manuscript.

As for my latest book, The Pig War and the Pelican Girls, Episode 5 dropped last week. This final episode, "The Bonus Army," tells the story of 25K World War I veterans who descended on Washington, D.C. in 1932. The protest turned into a riot with tanks and soldiers marching in. Years later, the event sparked the creation of the G.I. Bill.

You can stream or download the episode from my website, Public Radio Remix (PRX), or Podbean.

The book itself is doing very well. It's available at your favorite local and online bookstore. 

That's all for now. Until next time...

May 2025 Newsletter

 Hello again, everyone. I hope you all have been doing well. It’s been busy here in the old writing room. A lot has happened recently and a lot more is on the way.

 First off, I hope you have had a chance to catch the latest episode of The Pig War and the Pelican Girls companion podcast. Episode 4 tells the story of a fascinating lady, Stagecoach Mary, only the second woman and the only African American woman to deliver mail and supplies through the wild west of the 1800s for the U.S. Post Office. You can listen on my website (there are also video clips), on Public Radio Remix (PRX), or Podbean. The final episode will drop Tuesday, May 20th.

Speaking of The Pig War and the Pelican Girls book, we had a nice turnout for Independent Bookstore Day at the Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, and soon after, the book had a short write up in a local newspaper. The book is available at your favorite local bookstore and online retailer. If you order online, please consider Bookshop.org. A portion of the sale is donated to independent bookstores across the country.

As for my first cozy mystery, it’s a big week. I’ll be pitching to several agents this weekend. I’m a bit nervous since I’m jumping out of my comfort zone writing non-fiction history and outdoor recreation guides into a new genre. Fingers crossed!

 And speaking of mysteries, I had a great time meeting and interview author Tom Spencer at the Haunted Book Shop for his new novel, The Mystery of the Crooked Man. It is an amazing book and I highly recommend it to you cozy lovers out there. I wrote a review for the Alabama Writers Forum that you can read here.

 Oh, and for those waiting for the release of Notable Women of Alabama, it is scheduled for publication in October. More as we get closer.

 That’s all for now. Until next time…

The Pig War Press Kit is Available Now!

 

For media outlets, book retailers, or organizations, Joe Cuhaj is available for interviews, book signings, and presentation on his latest book, "The Pig War and the Pelican Girls." A complete press kit with more information is now available.

Quite the Week

 

Book release day is always exciting, but it makes for a busy week. My 20th book, "The Pig War & the Pelican Girls: 21 Extraordinary Forgotten Stories from American History," hit bookstores this past Tuesday.

The book is another deep dive into little known, obscure, and forgotten stories from history, this time focusing on American history. The title is a bit of a misnomer because while there are 21 main stories I have researched, there are an additional 21 that I call, "Footnotes to History," shorter tales just as fascinating that I felt needed to be told.

The book is available now at your favorite online or local bookstore. If you order online, may I suggest Bookshop.Org, an online bookseller that donates a portion of sales to help independent bookstores. 

Better yet, I invite you to come to my first book signing for "The Pig War" this Saturday, April 26th, at the Haunted Bookshop in Mobile, AL. I'll be signing from 1 to 3 pm, but come on down and spend the day. It's a celebration of Independent Bookstore Day with other great authors, snacks, and surprises.

And of course, you know that I just had to drop the next episode of The Pig War's companion podcast. Episode 3 is titled, "Viking Phones Home," the story of the opening of the National Air and Space Museum in July 1976, the special "guest" that did the ribbon cutting - the Viking Mars spacecraft from millions of miles away as it orbited the Red Planet. You can catch the latest episode on my website (complete with the videos used to produce the episode,) Public Radio Exchange (PRX), and Podbean.

So, as I said, a busy week! Hope you enjoy "The Pig War and the Pelican Girls" and I look forward to seeing you Saturday at the Haunted Bookshop. Till next time...

We're happy to announce that Episode 2 of the Pig War and the Pelican Girls Companion Podcast has dropped! This episode it titled, "Fighting Fascism with Style," and traces the early history of lipstick as a symbol of power and strength and later as a sign of defiance during World War II.

You can listen to the episode on our website, complete with videos used in the episode and transcript. 

You can also listen and download the episode from Podbean.

Enjoy! I look forward to hearing from you with your comments.