I start work soon on the second book of the Wrathful Empathies trilogy. It is called “The 14th Colony.” Maybe you heard about it from some weird corner of history. It is about the proposed colony of Vandalia that was to be carved out of the mountainous frontier west of the Blue Ridge. I picked this conceptual colony because it links directly to the Raid on Harpers Ferry. Remember how West Virginia was created? Imagine if this happened a hundred years earlier. Mountain people and slavery never mixed very well. I find the concept of Vandalia fascinating. Had it actually occurred, how would this 14th colony have impacted legislature of our country and the slavery laws. Intriguing to contemplate. The 14th colony encompassed what is now West Virginia, and small parts of south western Pennsylvania, far western Maryland and south eastern Ohio depending on what source you read. A place of misty hollows and rugged peaks. It never actually took legal shape except in the minds of adventurers and speculators. I populate it with the usual ghosts, audacious warriors, historical characters, the ever present spirit travelers and the terrible Maryland Monster. The fight against Urizen continues in multiple dimensions. Orc grows into a powerful man. Vandalia becomes the new, or old, battleground of good versus evil. The fact that it never materialized as a colony doesn’t mean it never existed to those who fought and died there. Check in for updates. Unlike my first book which was predominately written in Berryville, Virginia and scattered camp sites along the Blue Ridge, this book will be written mostly in Maryland. In fact, I plan to kick it off during a prolonged camping trip in the Green Ridge State Forest. It is located in Western Maryland where some of the historical action I plan to use actually took place. I hike and camp there extensively. It is a place I know very well. In the words of Dr. Martin Shaw it has claimed me. Sitting at my desk far away, I can still hear the wind whisper through the tall hemlocks that cling to the Fifteen Mile Creek bank and the high ridges of Green Ridge and Town Hill mountains. I know it is a good place to write because it is enchanted with spirits and ghosts. I have seen them. Wish me luck. Cheers.