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…

Back in 2021, a lovely company here in town crafted a special tea linked to my wife’s book, We Gather Together. The tea is back as a limited edition this fall. If you never got a chance to try it, you ought to jump on the opportunity now. I have no idea how much tea is available, or how long this short run will last.

On the surface, the book is the surprising story of Sarah Josepha Hale, a woman magazine editor who lobbied several presidents before Lincoln finally acceded to her request to make Turkey Day a national holiday. But the deeper story is one of gratitude, and gives Americans a blueprint for a more inclusive Thanksgiving, sans the mythical, problematic Pilgrim-Wampanoag encounter of 1621.

The earliest celebrations of Thanksgiving in New England were distinctly regional affairs. This tea has a South Appalachian ingredient, yaupon, that has a fascinating history in its own right…

My wife, Denise Kiernan, did a somewhat last-minute interview this AM with Eastern Panhandle Talk, the morning talk radio and TV show for WRNR in Martinsburg, WV. It was a full 30-minute chat, mostly on the topic of We Gather Together, her 2020 book about the creation of the Thanksgiving holiday through the efforts of a crusading magazine editor named Sarah Josepha Hale.

This is the second time she’s appeared on this program. The last time was back in…

Three books events in the bag, more to go! My wife, Denise Kiernan, hits the road this week for another book event to promote her trio of titles about the creation of the Thanksgiving holiday. This time, her conversation partner in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, tomorrow, will be none other than yours truly. Yes, I know you’re excited. But do try to keep your cool. The interview portion will be brief. It’s billed as a family event, which means that after we talk, she’ll be showing some folks and their kids how to construct a gratitude wreath. Should be a fun event. The dates and times are all listed below…

My wife, Denise Kiernan, has an article in today’s Washington Post. It’s a review of a most excellent book about women who served in the CIA, from its WWII beginnings as the OSS to modern times. Denise really enjoyed the book, and it was a fun review to write. The text appeared online Friday, but you’ll find it in the print edition of the Sunday paper, in a story entitled:

The daring housewives and coffee fetchers behind America’s spy agency

My wife, Denise Kiernan, hits the road tomorrow for what will be the first of a couple of trips to promote her trio of books about the creation of the Thanksgiving holiday. As I’ve said before, these three books—one read for three different ages, kids, little kids, and adults—are NOT the story of Pilgrims and Native Americans. It’s a way better story than that. It touches on the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and the crusading woman editor who lobbied for a national day of gratitude…

I’ve written before about the book recommendation site, Shepherd.com, which enlists the help of authors, not algorithms, to share great books with fellow readers. My wife, Denise Kiernan, shared a new list with Shepherd, which is up as today. It’s tied to her trio of books on the subject of Thanksgiving and gratitude. The list is entitled:

The best books on gratitude that make every day feel like Thanksgiving

All but one of the books she’s recommending are for adults. That makes four lists she’s contributed to Shepherd. The others are, in no particular order…

As a follow-up to Denise’s book birthday announcement yesterday, I thought I’d share two articles I have written in the past on the subject of Edgar Allan Poe and his editor, Sarah Josepha Hale, the so-called Mother of Thanksgiving. It’s an interesting story because Hale in the 19th century Hale was the editor of the largest magazine in nation. And it was a women’s magazine, exclusively.

Poe is not known for writing for women, specifically, or even men, but scaring the shinola out of all genders equally…