Cover Reveal & a Trailer for John Crew & Sarah Gatley

I've been so busy the past week, I find myself realizing I didn't do things at the oddest times.

Oh well, it gives me something to write about on my blog.

I am winding down the final editing changes for Metes & Bounds II: David Crews, Ancestors & Descendants. I decided this week to take the beginning chapters on John Crew & Sarah Gatley, the Stanleys, and David Crew and wives Mary Stanley and Mary Ladd-Magee (all of which are greatly expanded from the 1st edition published in the early 90s) and publish those in a smaller work which will be useful to descendants of John & Sarah, but who have no or only minimal interest in David Milton Crews.

For individuals descending from David Milton Crews, these chapters are included in the larger volume. It is not necessary to publish both books.

I also made the decision to published both volumes in a color version, and a black and white version.The black and white is so much cheaper, but the color version is a beautiful book.

I am still on target for a Thanksgiving 2014 release date, if not before. Below is the trailer for The Place of Our Abode: John Crew & Sarah Gatley. My trailers are also on my website, and ordering information is coming soon!

It's the Little Things!

It’s the little things that count!

I have this morning ritual. I eat egg burritos, hopefully have a clementine or something similar, and drink my coffee. (A perfect ritual involves coconut oil in the coffee, but right now it’s not perfect. Sigh . . . ) I eat, then crack open the laptop and check all my accounts.

Needless to say, this morning was super sweet because I have been in the hospital the past week with my son. We went to the ER exactly a week ago today with what turned out to be appendicitis. He had surgery Tuesday afternoon, but since it had turned gangrenous he had to have a drain and also IV antibiotics.

Needless to say, we were both glad to finally come home yesterday. After all, the hospital doesn’t serve egg burritos, and coffee in a styrofoam cup in a hard hospital chair just isn’t the same.

The little things. 

I did manage, with so much time sitting, to finish the 2nd edition of Metes & Bounds II: David Crews, Ancestors & Descendants.

I also pulled the first chapters on John Crews and Sarah Gatley, and on his son David Crew and wives Mary Stanley and Mary Ladd-Magee, as well as the chapter on the Stanleys, to create another book. This book will be just for individuals who descend from Crew/Gatley and Crew/Stanley. Anyone descending from them through David Milton Crews (1740-1821) need not purchase the smaller edition as the chapters are in the larger work about his life and descendants.

I also debuted the trailer for Metes & Bounds II last night. 

I should have both books available the week of Thanksgiving. I will post here, on my Facebook page, as well as several other places when they are available. will ask, though, that if you purchase please go through my website which takes you to the publisher Createspace. Amazon literally takes 1/2 my profits.

Purchasing through Createspace is a little thing, yes, but it is the little things that count!

Changes to Metes & Bounds II

In my last post I said I would detail some of the changes to the 2nd edition of Metes & Bounds II: David Crews, Ancestors & Descendants.

One of the major differences will be the listing of descendants. I will only detail five generations past David. First, I am concerned about the amount of information available and the risk of identity theft. This cutoff effectively eliminates anyone still alive. I also don't want to have to find everyone and get them to sign a disclaimer stating they are alright with having their information in the book. Twenty years ago those things weren't necessary. Today, unfortunately, they are.

Also, twenty more years is a lot to add to a book that is already almost 300 pages long. I am adding more information on the Stanleys (they now have their own chapter), rounding out David Crew's chapter (the father of David Milton), and adding quite a bit more on David Milton himself, including some more information on his Bedford County years, his Washington County years, his early years in Boonesborough, and his service in Forbes Expedition in 1758. That takes up space as well.

The information on the early Quaker families has been expanded, too. When I wrote the first book, I threw this stuff in at the last minute because I had just found it. I want to include it in a broader more readable context.

I will have more maps (Bedford County, Forbes Expedition movements, etc.), more pictures (which as of now are in color), a new numbering system (Microsoft Word makes it impossible to do an outline system like I did before), a new cover (see my previous post), and I will be producing a trailer which should be available in the next month for viewing.

In addition to all that, I am updating as much misinformation or adding to missing information as possible. I appreciate any and all help in that regard, and as always I will credit information to individuals even if it is in a footnote at the bottom of the page. I still believe in sourcing this information. (It's one reason I'm so frustrated with the Stanleys and early Crews families at the moment.)

More to come real soon! Keep checking back, or better yet, sign up to follow my page through email and you'll be notified of updates as they occur.