Kindle Books Available

We are pleased to announce that The Orphan and the Beaten Drum and The Orphan and His Golden Bars are now available in Kindle editions that you can easily download and read on your PC or Kindle. These editions allow us to offer them without the cost of paper and ink! If you are interested, please visit Amazon.com at the link listed below. The cost to download is only $4.99.

http://www.amazon.com/Orphan-Beaten-Drum-ebook/dp/B005EOTC9W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311914056&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/Orphan-His-Golden-Bars-ebook/dp/B005EVBXH4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1311914113&sr=1-1

Upcoming Events

The Orphan and His Golden Bars is at press! After much sweat and toil, I am pleased to announce that the continuing story of Roger Mills the drummer boy will soon be available for sale. Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this project, and I hope you enjoy it!

  I also hope to see you at the Searcy Homeschool Conference on May 14 and 15 at the Harding University Campus in Searcy, Arkansas. We will have a booth set up in the vendor area where I will be available to sign books. Also, I will speak at 9:30am on the drummer boy, and again at 2:15pm on "A Passion for Christ," where I talk about my writing experiences and how young people can discover their calling and follow the Lord.

We have two more events this month. I will speak at the BWC 4-H Club meeting in Memphis, and the Education Alliance Homeschool Conference in Springdale, Arkansas on May 14th and 15th. See you there!

Description

(Illustration from The Orphan and His Golden Bars. That is Stonewall on the left who is directing Roger to stop the troops at Chancellorsville.)

I've been working on the cover for the sequel to The Orphan and the Beaten Drum. Below is the description I have so far. Drop me a line and let me know what you think.

The drummer boy returns in this poignant tale of the Confederacy’s last days. The army has just broken winter camp and is ready to fight. Back in the saddle, Roger Mills is now an officer on Stonewall’s staff, and his sister Jane is recruited into a Richmond hospital governed by an unusual Captain named Sally. On top of it all, Moss Neck hosts a charming wedding for two of Roger’s dearest friends, complete with music, dance, and baseball.

The South seems to stop her enemies at every contest. Yet, several crippling losses cause the army to slacken pace. After watching a slaughter at Gettysburg, Roger learns that his sister is deathly ill from her work at the hospital, and he is confronted with a heart-wrenching test of faith. Then, after a grueling winter when leaders are dead, supplies are down, and food is scarce, everyone knows their final chance is a last-ditch thrust into the enemy’s position. The lot falls to Roger and his corps. This is a story of faith and freedom; love and loyalty. It is the story of an orphan and his golden bars!

“I want to personally thank Bryce for undertaking such a noble project so that future generations will hear the stories of Pendleton and Jackson and their men. Also so that they will understand the true history of the men who wore the gray and fought for the South so long ago!” - W. Danny Honnoll, President of Arkansas Heritage Trails and Former Sons of Confederate Veterans Division Commander (from the Foreword).

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Wednesday (April 22), I visited Northwest Arkansas. I spoke at the Washington County Women's Republicans and talked about the drummer boy's life and the similarities between the War Between the States and the American Revolution. On Thursday, I traveled to Fayetteville Christian School and spoke with the young people in the adjoining auditorium at Mission Boulevard Baptist Church. It was a very productive trip, and we also enjoyed meeting with friends in the area and watching them cut down a hollow cedar tree!

Below, I am playing the fife for the Washington County Republican Women.

Today, I just got back from court where I disputed an expired tag ticket that I got one evening. I always find it fascinating standing before a judge. We had to sit for a long time waiting on him, and then when he appeared, we rose to honor him and waited for him to meet out justice. It is very symbolic of what it is like waiting on Christ, the Righteous Judge, to appear. I have also been studying for final exams, which are nearly over for this semester. I'm looking forward to the summer where I have a lot of fun planned taking CLEP exams.

Watch for us next in Germantown at the meeting of the Sons of Confederate Veterans!

Harlingen, Texas

It is a sunny December down here in South Texas. I visited the Harlingen Public Library on Saturday, December 20 to give a demonstration to three classes of youngsters at a Christmas event hosted by the library. I was able to share about the drummer boy's life and what a soldier might experience during a Civil War Christmas. I was also able to play "Joy to the World" on my fife, a song we accept as a Christmas carol today, but was originally written about the Second Coming of Christ.

There was no age limit for Civil War drummers. Here I am trying to find recruits.

Also, I showed the kids how to load a musket.

It gets pretty hot in South Texas for Santa impersonators. This one was pretty anxious to shave.

My thanks goes out to Josie Balboa (far left) and the other librarians in Harlingen who made this event possible.

Poplar Bluff, Missouri

Last Friday, December 5, my family and I traveled to Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Our first stop was at Hasting's Books (above) where we met up with Jamie Billings and her mom. Here, we spoke about the Civil War, and I signed some books. We also had the pleasure of meeting another author who was having a book signing there. Then, we stopped by Eugene Fields Elementary and spoke to the kids about the war. Jamie did an excellent job sharing about the women's role during the war, and the kids all seemed to have a good time. The kids really enjoyed seeing Jamie's hoop-skirt, that she made herself, and hearing the fife and drum.

Here we are in the gymnasium at Eugene Fields.

Jamie talking to the students . . .

. . . and me.

I want to thank the school principal, Jan Arnold, for setting up this event. Also, my appreciation goes to all the teachers, especially the PE teacher who leant us her class time.

CHEF Conference

Tuesday and Wednesday I was in St. Louis for the 24th Annual Homeschool CHEF Conference. It was very enjoyable meeting with old and new friends. Above is a picture of Micah Stull playing the drum with me on the fife. Micah is an excellent drummer, and we had a blast entertaining the conference goers with historical tunes. I included a sound byte of our playing.

Our good friends, the Billings, spoke at the conference on ordinary parents raising extraordinary children and again on grieving, which they know about all too well after losing their son, Michael in November. We grew up with Mikey since we were about four years old. Jamie helped proof read The Orphan and the Beaten Drum for several months over the turn of the year and the Billings have been extremely supportive of this endeavor. At the conference, they let me use their table to sell my books, and introduced me after their talk.

The Orphan and the Beaten Drum just arrived in the mail on Wednesday morning for the conference after a stressful few days of tracking the package from Hodgkins, IL, past Pocahontas to Little Rock, and back up again. It's exciting to finally offer it to the public after many years of hard work. Find out more at http://www.southerncadencepress.com/ under Current Books.

I must not end this post without saying thank you to the Bickel family who was very generous in adopting me into their family for a couple days and allowing me to spend the night with them at the hotel there. Also, I want to thank the two boys, Micah Stull and Noah Coad (below in white shirt), who were a big help with promoting my book at the conference, and the many others who showed me many kindnessess also have my endearing gratitude.

Below is a sound byte of Micah and I playing the old Revolutionary tune, Chester.

Friday, February 29

The finsihing touches are being put upon my second book, The Orphan and the Beaten Drum. Those of you who have waited so long for me to complete it are probably rolling your eyes. Nontheless, I hope to have it finished sometime in March. The publication date is still uncertain.

We attended the Brownsville Charro Days parade the other day. The event has been going on for about 76 years and its spirit enlivens the whole city. In a parade yesterday, which was one of many to come, the ninos y ninas were decked out in their colorful fiesta garb in a display of history and culture that rivaled the War for Independence re-enactments back home. I will upload some pictures of the event when I get back to Pocahontas.