- BTW, you are free to just tell me about your book rather than waiting for me to find out about it on my own...I would prefer it LOL! That goes for everyone working on book projects. I am glad to hear about anything upcoming, esp. if it deals with the Trans-Mississippi. -

You don't understand, Drew. This is my first book. "Nervous" does not begin to describe how I feel about its reception. I look anxiously forward to my first good review, and look with dread toward my first bad one. But I really want to see what people think about the book, and I don't want people writing reviews a certain way just so they won't hurt my feelings. I really want to know what people think about it, so I'm trying not to skew things one way or the other. I'd just like to sit back and see what happens. So I was curious to see if the initial reaction would be along the lines of "All right, we've been waiting for a book on Fort DeRussy!", or "Oh, no, what could have possessed this guy to think anyone wants to hear about Fort DeRussy." I want the buzz to be good, but I don't want to be the one doing all the buzzing. Does that make any sense?

And you do have my permission to quote my previous post, or anything else I've said on this message board, on your blog. But better than quoting me, how about a few paragraphs from the upcoming UT Press Spring catalog:

"Steven M. Mayeux does more than just tell the story of the fort from the military perspective; it goes deeper to closely examine the lives of the people that served in—and lived around—Fort DeRussy. Through a thorough examination of local documents, Mayeux has uncovered the fascinating stories that reveal for the first time what wartime life was like for those living in central Louisiana.

"In this book, the reader will meet soldiers and slaves, plantation owners and Jayhawkers, elderly women and newborn babies, all of whom played important roles in making the history of Fort DeRussy. Mayeux presents an unvarnished portrait of the life at the fort, devoid of any romanticized notions, but more accurately capturing the utter humanity of those who built it, defended it, attacked it, and lived around it.

"Earthen Walls, Iron Men intertwines the stories of naval battles and military actions with those human elements such as greed, theft, murder, and courage to create a vibrant, relevant history that will appeal to all who seek to know what real life was like during the Civil War."