I began writing after History Press contacted me in fall of 2010 pretty much non-stop until its deadline in April. The new book should be released in mid-June which is just around the corner.
My first book with History Press, published in 2009, is Legends, Lore and Secrets of Western New York. They had contacted me to write something about the region because they wanted a storyteller's perspective. I chose to underscore the uniqueness of Western New York. We so often gets lumped in with upstate but we are as far removed culturally from upstate as we are geographically. Western New York is the farthest you can go west in the state. It was a wilderness but a crucial doorway to western expansion and has given the world innovations and so much throughout history. Once the second largest city in the state and one of the largest in the country, our demographics have changed as the industrial age came to an end, but the culture and the people here are amazingly resilient and friendly, like no other place you can imagine.
When History Press again contacted me in fall of 2010 to write a second book I was flattered. But this new book is quite the opposite of the first. They wanted a book for their Wicked series which meant having to "betray" my thinking on the first book and write something darker about the region. After giving it some thought and doing a little research, I came to terms with the idea, that while I believe so lovingly about what has become my home since 1970, I can also agree that dark and light walk hand-in-hand. What I am offering in this new book is a sensational look into that shadowy place which for all its negative has contributed to our culture just as surely as the good things we have to offer. I also chose to stick with early history on this book and not include contemporary darker stories. I did so intentionally to protect the innocent who are in many ways still living through their ordeals. That history is for someone else, someday.
All this said, I present the newest book under my belt "Wicked Niagara: the Sinister Side of the Niagara Frontier." Further announcements to be made soon when the book is on the shelves!
For now, I have a publisher considering my "life" work "Dancing at the Crossroads" a three part project. "Dancing at the Crossroads: Stories and Activities for Mentoring At-Risk Youth", "Dancing at the Crossroads: a Caregiver's Guide to Mentoring At-Risk Youth Through Story" and "Dancing at the Crossroads: a Practitioner's Guide to Mentoring At-Risk Youth Through Story."
There is nothing else I can do on this project for the time-being so I am thinking about my next project(s). I have several ideas on the table including another book for History Press which they are interested in learning more about, an inspirational "nightstand" book, a personal memoir, a humorous but serious monologue, some children's stories I began working on but put on the back burner, and a powerful ghost story based on a true murder which I have already told twice and am considering as a screen-play. I think that should keep me busy for a while.
