New Year = New Book
A new year brings a new book and one that I have anxiously been waiting to continue for months. My third project is entitled ?The Southern Cross? and will be a 100-page historical Devotional. I have received interest from two, potential Christian publishers and will make a formal announcement when the manuscript is completed.

As with most works in this genre, each chapter will cover a specific topic, and each page will contain: a topical verse of Scripture, an associated quote, and a short history on a related topic. As I am hoping to appeal to a wider audience with this one, the history parts are being written to be both interesting and inspiring (but not overly detailed.) Over the last few months, I have been doing a lot of prep work on this (including the cover design). Now that the CD-version of ?Onward Christian Soldier? is done, I will be dedicating the majority of my free time to this endeavor. I also have some great CW features coming up in the Free Lance-Star in 2007, but ?TSC? will be my sole book project until it is completed.

Here is an example:

MERCY: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:6)

THE ANGEL OF MARYE'S HEIGHTS: After crossing the Rappahannock River and taking possession of the town of Fredericksburg in December of 1862, the Federal Army of the Potomac set its sights on taking the surrounding high ground where the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia had withdrawn. The most impenetrable of these positions was a long stonewall at the base of a sloping hill known as Marye's Heights. After several unsuccessful charges, the fighting ceased for the day, leaving the field littered with thousands of bloody Union bodies. Throughout the night, screams and cries of the wounded penetrated the peaceful silence of the cease-fire. One soldier, Richard Rowland Kirkland, an infantry sergeant with the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers, struggled to rest amidst the horrid sounds of suffering that echoed across the battlefield. By the next morning, he could take it no longer and requested permission to aid the enemy. With total disregard for his safety, Kirkland grabbed several canteens and leaped over the fortification. Instantly several shots rang out as the Union soldiers thought their wounded were under attack. Realizing the sincerity of Kirkland's effort, the Federal marksmen lowered the barrels of their rifles. Thus, the fatal shot never came and both sides looked on in amazement as the sergeant moved from one wounded man in blue to another. Going back and forth over the wall for an hour and a half, Kirkland only returned to the safety of his own lines after he had done all he could do. In 1965, a monument was sculpted by the famous artist Felix DeWeldon and unveiled in front of the stonewall on the Fredericksburg Battlefield where Kirkland performed his humanitarian act. The inscription on the statue reads: "At the risk of his life, this American soldier of sublime compassion brought water to his wounded foes at Fredericksburg. The fighting men on both sides of the line called him the Angel of Marye's Heights."

QUOTEABLE: ?Weird, unearthly, terrible to hear and bear, the cries of the dying soldiers filling the air ?lying crippled on a hillside so many miles from home?breaking the hearts of soldiers on both sides of the battlefield.? - Confederate soldier stationed at the stonewall, Fredericksburg, VA

Copyright 2006, Pinstripe Press