For my Halloween-adjacent article on SleuthSayers.org this week, I am sharing a true story drawn from my childhood. It’s a story I’ve never shared before, but it perfectly sums up my state of mind as a kid. And, in keeping with the Halloween theme, it also features a desperate criminal on the loose! What more could you ask for? You can check it out…

I have lived in Western North Carolina for more than 21 years. At first, I never saw any black bears. Then they were everywhere I looked, including my back yard. If you’re local, you have accepted that this land we call home is not really ours. It belongs instead to every bit of Nature that traipses through it. Wild turkeys, deer, opossums, foxes…but mostly bears. I’m talking about them this week in a sizable article at SleuthSayers, the group mystery blog that I write for. I’ve wanted to write something about them for a while now. The fact that the weather is starting to cool, and the bears are packing on weight for their presumed hibernation is…

We are two weeks into the launch of my wife’s new book, OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution (Penguin Random House, 2026). It has been a wild ride to watch the book come together over eight years, and now it is out in the world. That means every day there is a new review or some media tidbit that comes our way. This post is my attempt to create a collection point for everything I find. This post will grow over time, so check back if you’re curious…

We are less than a week out from the launch of my wife’s new book, OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution (Penguin Random House, June 23, 2026.) Her publisher put together a cute, 17-second video—with music!—to promote the book. Watch it right here! In other news:

• Who is in the book?

• How can I get my hands on a copy?

• Check out another cute t-shirt!

FREE GIVEAWAY ALERT – 30 COPIES! — The big news in this Semiquincentennial year is that my wife, Denise Kiernan, is releasing her newest narrative‑nonfiction title, OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution, (Penguin Random House) on June 23,  2026. From May 11 to June 8, 2026, you can enter to win one of 30 hardcover books in the official Goodreads giveaway…

FREE GIVEAWAY ALERT – 30 COPIES! — As I’ve mentioned here before, my wife, Denise Kiernan, is releasing her newest narrative‑nonfiction title, OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution, (Penguin Random House) on June 23, 2026. From Feb. 2 – Feb. 23, 2026, you can enter to win one of 30 brand‑new hardcover copies in the official Goodreads giveaway.

Here’s the link:

Earlier today my wife Denise Kiernan revealed the cover of her next book, which is called Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution. For those you asking, “Well, what’s it about?” I respond, “That’s what it’s about.”

In 2026 the United States will mark its 250th anniversary, which is linked to July 4, 1776, the date that most Americans associate with the nation’s founding. Denise’s book arrives in bookstores June 23, 2026, and she’s planning a number of bookstore and speaking events in what will probably shape up to be a crazily patriotic year.

I have a bit more to share with you, but first…ta-da, here’s the cover…

Denise is on a roll. She recently spoke about her breakout bestseller The Girls of Atomic City with Ralph Pezzullo, the engaging host of the podcast, Heroes Behind Headlines. That podcast episode is now live on two platforms, if you want to dig into their hour-long discussion. It’s a great way to see if you would like to read the book. Ralph marched Denise through some of the key points of the story, and how these women of the Manhattan Project came to create the fuel for the world’s first atomic bomb without their knowledge…

A few years ago, when the pandemic raged and there seemed little to be thankful for, my wife Denise Kiernan released a trio of books about the American holiday of Thanksgiving and the life-saving practice of gratitude. Recently, Our State magazine published an article on Denise for their November issue, and then followed that up with two podcasts and two YouTube videos. It’s a huge amount of content focused one North Carolina writer, a global concept, and a whole lot of turkey…

The popularity of the 2023 movie Oppenheimer has brought national attention once again to the Manhattan Project. My wife, who wrote a book about the subject, routinely gets emails from fans asking how they can find out definitively if a family member worked on the project during wartime. Here’s her response…