October took me to book festivals in Williamsburg, Virginia and Fort Worth, Texas. The book festivals are great places not just to showcase A Presidents Story but to meet other authors and the locals who come and book shop. I learn something new about marketing my book and have several great conversations at each event. I’ve added a few pictures below of the events as well as from some of the historical Presidential sites Kay and I visited along the way. All of the President sites I visited were for Presidents that figure prominently in my book, so, if you’ve read the book, here are some shots for the movie!
At the Williamsburg Festival. I was given the table right by the entrance which I thought was great. I learned that you actually want to be somewhere in the middle…
This is John Tyler’s home at Sherwood Forest Plantation. I highly recommend visiting this site near Charles City, Virginia. It is the only President’s home that has remained continuously in the same family right up to the present day.
As described in my book, Sherwood Forest was filled with Tyler’s many children and their numerous pets. So there is a fairly extensive pet cemetery which includes President Tyler’s long time horse.
Berkeley Plantation is also near Charles City, Virginia. It is where William Henry Harrison (9th President) was born. His father Benjamin Harrison was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of Virginia’s most prominent citizens. The delightful tour guide said that no less then ten U.S. Presidents were in this house at one time of another.
John Tyler’s gravesite in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.
Somewhat to my surprise, James Monroe’s tomb was just a few steps away from Tyler’s in Hollywood Cemetery. Jefferson Davis is also buried in the same cemetery. Not shown here is Elizabeth Monroe’s modest plot at the side of President Monroe’s impressive structure. Not sure how that’s going over in the afterlife.
We moved on to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where Kay got chummy with this fellow.
I don’t know if I just don’t have high testosterone levels or what, but I’ve never been much of a war history buff. I’ve always preferred the personalities and issues of the day than tales of strategy and slaughter. Nonetheless, Gettysburg is impressive and sobering.
Our 15th President, James Buchanan, graces the cover of A Presidents Story. We visited his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The estate was called Wheatland and it is a very well maintained historical site. The older gentleman who led us on a tour of the home was funny, knowledgeable and, in Kay’s words, “adorable.”
Wheatland is filled with many original items from Buchanan’s life. This is the room where he died.
Buchanan’s grave in Lancaster at Woodward Hill Cemetery. He was not a popular figure by the time he left the Presidency but his gravesite is well manicured befitting a man who held our highest office.
My table at the Fort Worth Book Festival. One of the things I learned early in this process is that chocolate is a fairly sure-fire magnet for getting people to come take a peek at your book.