Cover Reveal for Metes & Bounds II: David Crews, Ancestors & Descendants

Alright, after much weeping and gnashing of teeth (just kidding!) I have decided on a cover for the 2nd edition of my Metes & Bounds book on David Crews. One of the neat things about publishing today as opposed to 20 years ago, when I did the first book, is the fact I can produce a book with a more interesting cover. Don't get me wrong, I thought at the time the leather-like cover was nice. But, let's face it, a picture is always worth a thousand words!

Anyway, after posting both covers on my author Facebook page and asking for opinions, and then mulling it over some more, I have chosen this one. My son may tweak it a bit with some highlighting, but it won't change in substance.

I warred with myself over this one or one showing the feet of some Continental troops and militiamen. (You can go to my Facebook page to see that cover.) Actually, I had another cover I preferred over this one showing militiamen behind a fence and fighting, but that was an editorial only picture and couldn't be used for the purposes of a book cover.

I think this picture shows us the susbstance of David Crews' life as a teen and a young man. He grew up in a Quaker household, even if his father never completely embraced the faith of his own childhood. The English settlers, like David Crews, were going about their business in the late 1740s and early 1750s until the Old French War exploded in their faces. It was, as we all know, followed within another fifteen years by the American Revolution. David may have grown up in peace, but his young adult years were filled with war. He chose to leave the faith of his childhood and willingly took part in those wars.

This book is a 2nd edition. I have made some changes to the text and included more information I have since uncovered. I will detail those changes and the differences in my post next week.

Negligent Nelly or Project Polly

Oh my! I could be a Negligent Nelly. After all, I haven't posted on here since June.

On the other hand, I could argue I've been a Project Polly. I have been busy retyping the manuscript on David Crews as well as working on my second novel, Breaking Promises. In the meanwhile I've worked my part-time job at Leapforce and held the fort down. Well, not the fort, but the house. But down is about all I can say. Something has to give when a person is this busy. I've cooked meals, washed laundry, and chauffeured children around town and beyond. What have I not done? Housework. Oh well, it will keep. (See the picture on the right. Even the supplies are keeping.) 

Oh, and I haven't posted on here. I knew there was something else. 

Another reason for my negligence is the fact that all my smaller files, none of which are large enough to be put into books, are on my zip discs and I am still in need of a zip drive to access those files since my other broke. (Actually, it burned up. But I caught it before it burned the fort, er, the house down. Or, at least in this instance, the kitchen table.) I am hoping to purchase one soon, but I have had other things at the moment more pressing financially. As soon as I get one I can pull together much of what I have on various families and begin posting small snippets. I can also get back to working on my third Metes & Bounds book about John McQueen and Nancy Crews. It is finished except for the chapters on the Civil War which I need the files to access.

In the meantime, I have been not only working on my second novel, Breaking Promises, but have also been heavily into retyping my second Metes & Bounds book on David Crews. After much debate with myself, thinking of various alternatives, and changing my mind a thousand times, I have decided to rework a great deal of the manuscript. I was originally going to print it as is and then do an additional addendum, but I couldn't stomach publishing the original with mistakes. I'm sorry. I tried, but I couldn't do it. Nor could I see any sense, with the amount of new information to include on both David Crews (son of John) and David Crews (son of David), in publishing an addendum which would be choppy and not cohesive, and which would require future buyers to purchase two books. For all those individuals who purchased the first book, if you choose to purchase this one as well you won't be disappointed. 

I won't address or change much in the early families - Leads, Crews, Stanleys, or Magees. Honestly, working with the early John Crewses gives me a headache. All I want to do is reach for a bottle of aspirin (which I can't have because of my prior history with ulcers) and lay down for a nap. Trying to make sense of the others isn't much better. I have read a lot on the internet, some of which contradicts what I wrote, but no one lists their sources. Without sources, I won't change what I have. I will add footnotes when I can, but I can't spend a lot of time on these families right now. In order to do those people and families justice I would have to dig in their and really work the lines. Add that to my list of things to do.

The most changes will occur with David Crew Sr., father of David Crews, born 1742. I have found out quite a bit more on both men, as well as some original records, and I have fleshed out the history around them. David Crews was in Forbes Expedition, and it appears he was also at the Siege of Fort Boonesborough. I was not aware of the expedition when I wrote the first book, and I wasn't sure he was at the siege either so I did not include history pertinent to those events. I will include that in this edition, as well as some other related information I have uncovered in my research. 

The pictures in the second edition will be in color, and I have included a few more that I did not put in the first edition due to cost. It will also have a new cover, some additional maps, and a new and easier to read typeset. (I was surprised how difficult the first edition is to read. The print quality is so much better now than it was twenty years ago.) 

I hope to have the book ready on Amazon for an October availability. 

Look for a cover reveal in the next few weeks, followed by a trailer reveal before the book is available. 

Now, forgive Writing Wanda, for she has to get back to work.