USS Monitor Crewmembers Buried

The year 2012 marked the 150th anniversary of both the launch and the sinking of USS Monitor. The news continues in 2013. On Friday, March 8, 151 years after they went down with the Monitor, two unknown sailors were buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. In case you missed it, you can… [Read More]

An Encore for Captain Ericsson – Now in Paperback!

When both the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, Virgina and the John Ericsson Society let me know they were having trouble finding copies of my out-of-print picture book, Thank You Very Much, Captain Ericsson!, I decided to spring into action.  With permission from Holiday House, the original publisher, and Andrew Glass, the illustrator, I started… [Read More]

Thank You Very Much, Captain Ericsson – Coming in Paperback & Video!

About the Video Soon to be available on the website: A reading of Thank You Very Much, Captain Ericsson! (by yours truly!) in its entirety, complete with the original illustrations by Andrew Glass. This should be a great resource for you teachers doing a Civil War unit OR for parents/grandparents of 7-10-year-olds. About the Paperback As stated,… [Read More]

Leif Brisfjord Won a Signed Copy of “When Esther Morris Headed West”!

Congratulations to Leif Brisfjord, the winner of our February give-away, a signed copy of Connie’s book about the first female US judge, When Esther Morris Headed West (Holiday House) by “liking” Connie’s Facebook page. Leif is President of the John Ericsson Society in New York City. Ericsson was the inventor of the ironclad ship the… [Read More]

Tales of the London Book Festival and John Ericsson Events

If you want to find characters for a novel, there’s no better place to look than a writer’s event.  Since the January 26 awards dinner for the London Book Festival was an international gathering the “characters” were even more colorful:  A former Yugoslavian who spoke very little English, a tall-tale teller from Montana, a charming… [Read More]

The John Ericsson Society Celebrating The 150th Anniversary Of The Monitor Being Launched!

If you’re a Civil War buff, you’ll remember that, 150 years ago, under the direction of Thomas Fitch Rowland (owner of Continental Works located on the East River in Brooklyn) and John Ericsson (designer of the Union Civil War Ironclad USS Monitor), skilled craftsmen laid the ship’s keel on October 25, 1861 and worked feverishly… [Read More]