Upcoming Events

 

I’m getting back to my hiking roots with a couple of book signings in June and I hope you can join me.

June 4: Bark In The Park – Cheaha State Park, Delta, AL

Author Joe Cuhaj will be at Cheaha State Park June 4  to discuss hiking with and without your dog: gear, safety on the trail, and the many beautiful hiking destinations across Alabama. Joe will be selling and autographing copies of his many Falcon guidebooks.

June 27: Madison Public Library, Huntsville, AL – 6pm

Meet Joe Cuhaj, author of Best Dog Hikes in Alabama. Learn where the best dog-friendly trails are and get advice before you head out with your best friend. After the presentation, Joe will be selling and autographing copies of his many falcon guidebooks.

You Can Never Learn Enough History

 

I've finally caught up with my pressing deadlines and I'm diving in to start writing two new non-fiction history books that I have contracted to write for History Press and Prometheus Books.

First up is a new historical look at Alabama's Gulf Coast, Mobile and Baldwin Counties. The book will be  titled, A History Lover's Guide To Mobile And Baldwin County (sums it up, doesn't it?) and will be an historical travel guide to the region. Each chapter will introduce readers to a particular aspect of Alabama Gulf Coast history then take them to places where they can experience that history and have it come alive. 

Maybe it's a museum, a cemetery, a church. The goal of the book is to bring the rich history of the area (the city was founded in 1702) to life for visitors and residents.

The second book is one I've been toying with for a couple of years now and was put aside so that I could work on Space Oddities. With the glowing reviews from readers who received pre-release copies, my publisher, Prometheus Books, asked if I had something else up my sleeve that would be in the same vein. I immediately sent them a proposal for, Everyone's Gone To The Moon, Life On Earth And The Epic Voyage Of Apollo 11.

The premise of Everyone's Gone To The Moon is to take a trip back in time to the month of July 1969. It will be a journey through the entire month telling little known and forgotten tales of our first moon landing, Apollo 11, from preparations to splashdown and a hero's welcome.  

But more than that, it will bring to life stories of life here on Earth during that time. Yes, on July 20, 1969, it seemed like everyone had truly gone to the moon. Just about everyone alive stopped and watched in wonder as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took those first tentative steps on another celestial body. But except for that brief, fleeting moment, the world continued on - wars waged on, protestors filled the streets, and families were just trying to make ends meet.

These long forgotten stories of the pop culture, the politics, weather disasters, and life in general in Hometown, USA took back seat to the historic space feat. This book weave those stories with that of the Apollo 11 mission, and from my research so far,

I think you will love the book and the snapshot of life here on Earth during a turbulent time.

My deadline for the Mobile history book is September and we're hoping for a holiday release. The deadline for Everyone Has Gone To The Moon is December 1st with a spring 2023 release. Oh, and it will be my first hard cover book. 

I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Space Oddities Podcast Episode 2 Has Posted

Episode 2 of my new book, Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space, has dropped. 

This episode is titled, "What a Spectacle!" and tells the fascinating story of a commercial airliner, its passengers, and crew that had a truly remarkable view of Apollo 11 returning from the moon in July 1969. It was a view that no one else on Earth had and they were the first to confirm that Apollo 11 had made it home.

Listen to the episode and view additional video clips and images here.

Space Oddities Podcast Debut!

I'm proud to announce that episode one of Space Oddities: The Podcast has posted!

This ten part series is a companion to my new book, Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space, that will be on book shelfs August 15th. The podcast features more lesser known and forgotten space tales that couldn't fit in the book.

Episode 1 is titled, "Moon Dust In Your Lungs, Stars In Your Eyes", and discusses NASA's plans to keep the Earth from being contaminated by lunar germs during the Apollo missions that unfortunately had a few flaws that will make you chuckle. We will also meet the first man to (accidentally) touch the moon and a young woman who got an unexpected shot of moon dust.

The title for this episode came while doing online research for the book. It was posted on one of those online quote sites and was credited to "anonymous." The full quote was, "Moon dust in your lungs, stars in your eyes. You are a child of the cosmos, a ruler of the skies."

The quote summarized the episode quite nicely.

You can download the episode HERE complete with show notes featuring images, videos, and more or from many of your favorite sites where you get your podcasts.

Space Oddities Podcast Debut

Recently I mentioned that things have become rather busy for me here at the old writing desk. Hiking Alabama 5th Edition is on bookshelves and doing well, thank you very much and I'm researching and writing three new books. But what is really exciting is that pre-publication publicity for my new book, Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space, is beginning with a special series of podcasts.

The book tells some of the unknown, offbeat, and obscure stories of spaceflight, bringing the human side of man's greatest adventure to life. The stories are sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic, but always fascinating. The are the lesser known and often forgotten stories of spaceflight.

As it turns out, there were way too many stories to put in the book so I decided to create a companion 10-part podcast cleverly titled, Space Oddities. The podcast will tell even more of these tales complete with rare audio clips. Each episode will come alive show notes that include newspaper articles, audio and video clips, and photographs related to the story.

The book hits bookshelves August 15th, but in anticipation of its release, the podcast will debut April 25th with a new episode released every other Monday until the book hits your favorite online or local bookstore.

You will find the Space Oddities podcast wherever you download your favorite podcast or by visiting the links below. 

Mark your calendar for the premier April 25th. I hope you enjoy it!  

• Buzzsprout\SpaceOddities
• Space Oddities Podcast Page

Book Release and Podcast Update

Things continue to heat up here at the old writing desk with deadlines looming and release dates on the horizon.

I had quite the surprise the other day when my latest hiking guide, Hiking Alabama 5th Edition, showed up on my doorstep - three month early! 

The book looks great. The editors at Falcon out did themselves on this one. This edition has many new hikes, plenty of updates to old favorites, and as always, all of the details you need to hike 50+ of the best hikes in the state.

The book is available at your favorite online and hometown bookstore or you can pick up an autographed copy by clicking here.

Meanwhile, the release of the new book, Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space, is getting closer. As I wait for the release date, I'm continuing work on the Space Oddities podcast. The podcast will premier on April 25th with an episode being released bi-weekly up to the book release on August 15th. I'll be posting the link to the podcast page soon.

The latest episode I am working on deals with the intersection of pop-culture (particularly the music) and the early days of the space program. Oh, there are some real gems out there. I do love this one in particular. It's a blues tune from 1957 by Roosevelt "Honeydripper" Sykes called "Satellite Baby".

Enjoy!

A Long Time Coming?

 

The date is now set in concrete: the official release date for Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind’s Exploration of Space is August 15th (pre-order now).

In the meantime, I’m busy working with the Prometheus Books PR department to get the word out. (By the way, if you are in the media, let me know through Messenger or email and I can direct you to the publisher to get a review copy to you when they hit the warehouse and also schedule interviews, book signings, and online presentations).

Anyway, we have a lot of ideas for promoting the book including the release of my 10 part podcast with even more stories that couldn’t make the book. The publisher’s parent company, Rowman & Littlefield, publishes a literary magazine and asked me to be featured in an article. They told me that the book is highly anticipated in the UK (ROAD TRIP!!!...one can only hope).

They asked me a question that took me by surprise only because I never really thought about: "Is this a project you've been planning for a long time?"

I guess you could say it has been in the planning stages for many years. I just didn’t know it. I would read or hear many of the stories that appear in the book over the years and tuck them away in the back of my mind. It wasn’t until I had finished writing another book on the history of the town and area I currently live in – Mobile, Alabama – that I realized just how much I love history and writing about it, but not just everyday history. The offbeat and obscure history.

When writing "Hidden History of Mobile", I found myself gravitating to obscure stories found in the city’s early newspapers that have been long since forgotten. Tales about everyday life here in the Port City – the struggles the people who lived here faced, the humorous anecdotes that made the city what it is. It made the book go from being a stodgy old history book with “this happened on this date”, to a retelling those lost tales, the human side of the city’s history.

That got me thinking about those odd and obscure space stories I had heard about so many years ago and my love of the space program. I told a couple of the stories to some friends in casual conversation just to see what their reaction would be, and it was what I had hoped for: “There should be a book about that!”

And now there is.

Can’t wait until you all get a chance to read it!