I would then stop in mid-sentence. Sometimes I think this was the right book project, just at the wrong time. Though the research phase took two years, and the book itself another year to write, I don't regret the experience, and cherish the fact that I am now a published author. I traveled as far as Boston to use the Boston Public Library, and resources of the Massachusetts Archives, where Edwin's prison records are kept. I didn't use much from the Internet, because in history a lot of the research simply isn't on the Web.
Many writers never get past the stage where they put together a book proposal.
I was lucky, and persistent in my belief that Edwin's story needs to be told. I don't know that any one writer influenced me. But I can say that I've had a series of incredible mentors through the years through the news business and academic circles that have had a profound effect on my composition skills, and business ethics. I have a thirst for true stories. While I'm attracted to fiction for its potential to harvest one's imagination, and am a great fan of fiction, it is the true stories of people, particularly in history, which is a driving passion of mine, both professionally and personally.