Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center

During the week and on the second weekend of the Gettysburg Fringe Festival I was busy signing more books and talking to folks about history and Gettysburg.  By far the highlight of this time was several hours spent signing books at the Museum Book Store in the new Gettysburg National Military Park (GNMP) Visitor Center.  It wasn’t easy to arrange. The Park has a very high quality control vetting process for books they place on their shelves, and they do not ordinarily take fiction, even Civil War historical fiction.

I had my work cut out for me to become accepted.  If so, I would be in very high company.  Their fiction shelf contains such stalwarts as Jeff Shaara, Newt Gingrich, Margaret Mitchell, and Stephen Crane – and not many others.  I had to gain the approval of the National Park Service staff, the Museum Book Store, and an outside organization, Event Network, who buy the books for the Museum Book Store – and they are in California. They all had to read and approve the work.  Of course, the book had to be about the town of Gettysburg, the battle, or at least the American Civil War.  Therefore, my two Crimean War books would not qualify.

After many months of paperwork, numerous phone calls and emails, and being bounced about between these entities a bit, I received word that The Gettysburg Conspiracy, my recent novel about a fictional attempt to assassinate Abraham Lincoln during his Gettysburg Address, had made the grade. I must say, it was well worth the time and trouble. Acceptance meant that the book would also be available at the David Wills House on the square in Gettysburg (which figures prominently in the plot of the story), as well as in the Park Museum Book Store.  Between the Park and the Wills House, the annual visitation is over one and a half million.

I spent my time at the Visitor Center Book Store this weekend amazed at the quality and quantity of historical books, staggered by the amount of traffic, and delighted at the intense interest in anything “Civil War.”   The book store staff were kind and helpful, and it is always fun talking to folks and answering questions about my favorite subject.

It was among the elegant pages of Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage where I discovered my profound interest in history and especially the Civil War.  I am looking forward to my next book signing session at the Museum Book Store, and to walking into the store to see my novel on that shelf with my childhood icon, Stephen Crane.

As for the Gettysburg Fringe Festival, which prompted all my activities over the past ten days, I am pleased to say it was a total success from my point of view.  Next year should be even better!