Thanks to the Custodians of History

My new book on “Pirate” Bill Johnston (due out this year) would not exist without the dedication and generosity of the custodians of our history—those people who work in libraries, archives and regional museums.

In 1973, the curator of the Thousand Islands Museum in Clayton, New York, responded to my written request for information on Johnston by mailing me 120 photocopies—the complete serialized biography of Johnston published in the Watertown Daily Times in 1938-39.

Genesis of the Bill Johnston Biography

The genesis of my soon-to-be published biography of "Pirate" Bill Johnston occurred in 1973 when a journalism prof at Humber College in Toronto told his students to write a 5000-word feature article on any historical topic.

While browsing through reference material at Toronto’s central library in those pre-Google days, I first read about Bill Johnston. One reference mentioned the Thousand Islands Museum in Clayton, New York. I sent a letter (email did not yet exist) requesting additional information. The curator responded with 120 photocopies—the complete serialized biography of Johnston written by John Northman and published in the Watertown Daily Times in 1938-39. (No longer available.)

Pending New History Book

Updated May 2019
In early May 2019, I signed a publishing agreement with a US publisher, Beacon Publish Group. They agreed to publish my biography of “Pirate” Bill Johnston. I don’t have a release date yet, but will let you Bill Johnston fans know.

The working title is:

Chieftain of the Thousand Islands
The Life and Legend of Bill Johnston

I began researching Johnston in 1973—not to say I worked on it every year since. I have been active in building up my info since 2010.

The contents of the book go far beyond the material on my history blogs. It provides detailed evidence of his spying and scouting work for the Americans in the War of 1812. It expands on the circumstances of his arrest in 1813. There are more stories about his "quiet" years between 1814 and 1838, and more about his long retirement years.

The contents show where other historians have gone wrong, why they are wrong and how they made their mistakes.

I have written material on Johnston before. That includes a history book for the History Press, now Arcadia, Patriot War along the Canada-New York Border. Johnston appears in the book due to his heavy involvement in the Patriot War. I also maintain a history blog on Johnston.

Novel: Dark Southern Sun

Dark Southern Sun, the second novel in the Ryan's Journey series, is now available as an ebook on Amazon and Smashwords, and as paperback at Amazon, CreateSpace, and elsewhere. For a pictorial guide, see the novel's Pinterest board.

Dark Southern Sun, picks up where Counter Currents left off and takes place entirely in Australia.

It is a tale of love, friendship, and honor in the goldfields of old Australia. Ryan washes up on the southern shore of Australia near death in 1845. Rescued by two Wathaurung native children and nursed to health by their parents, his life and theirs are entwined through good and sorrow for the next ten years. Set against the historical backdrop of Australia’s formative years, Ryan witnesses the displacement of the Aboriginal people, and he faces the chaos of the world’s largest alluvial gold rush and the bloodshed of Australia’s only armed uprising. Throughout, two very different women—one white, one black—tug at his heart as he struggles from penury to prosperity. As he rises in social esteem as an astute businessman and cunning street fighter, Ryan creates two bitter enemies—one white, one black. In time, they set aside their vast racial and emotional hatreds and combine forces. Can Ryan survive their vicious attempt to destroy him and save the good life he has built?

The cover art is by Wathaurung elder Marlene Gilson, who also reviewed the novel for cultural accuracy.

Tags: #HistoricalFiction #Adventure #HistoricalRomance #Australia #HistoryAustralia

Seven Best Writer’s Resources to Come By Email

Updated May 2019
I am stingy with my time. In trying to live a full life and write a book or two a year, I rarely indulge in prowling the Web for useful stuff. At the same time, I know I must stay current on the craft and business of writing and indie publishing. How do I reconcile temporal frugality with the need to know?

Scribophile: Best Peer-to-Peer Writers' Resource

This is the second installment about indie author communities I find valuable. These are places where you can hone your craft and/or contribute to bettering our profession. 

Updated Feb. 14, 2014

Scribophile, online since February 2008, is a friendly and effective peer-to-peer author critique resource. It bills itself as an “online writing community that provides serious feedback for serious writers.” Basic membership is free. A premium membership is available for an annual fee. It provides extra services and privileges.

Indies Unlimited: Top Site for Indie Authors

This is the first installment on indie author communities I find valuable. These are places where you can hone your craft and/or contribute to bettering our profession.

If I had just one indie author site to subscribe to, it would be Indies Unlimited. This site, which began in October 2011, offers everything an indie author needs to get noticed, develop one’s talents and engage in the indie author community.

Counter Currents Gets Silver Medal

Counter Currents is the 2013 silver medal winner for Historical Literature Fiction – Modern (set 1500-1940 AD) awarded by Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Awards. This is the first novel by Shaun J. McLaughlin.

Get the Correct Words for a Historical Era

When I wrote my previous novel, Counter Currents, and while I write its sequel, I often stop to check if words I use are true to the era in which I set the story. I feel I must do more than engage and entertain my readers: I must not misinform.

Most important to me are the verbs and nouns I choose for narration and conversation. I strive to make sure those words were part of the common vernacular in the story’s era.

Sound difficult? Not so much!

Researching My Novel: Dark Southern Sun

Writing authentic historical fiction, I believe, requires research. Such novels cannot be constructed entirely from fiction. My research for the sequel to Counter Currents took me to southeast Australia.

Many Literary Awards Exclude Indie Authors

In the past, I often bought books that won or were shortlisted for one of the major English language literary prizes. Not any more. When I became an indie author, I began to boycott such books because many prize-granting organizations specifically exclude self-published authors. How can you claim to award the best if you exclude vast numbers of authors?

Make Sure the World Can Buy Your Ebook

Recently I advised self-published authors to diversity their ebook formats: I said go beyond Kindle to include sellers who offer the epub format. Here’s a further tip for my American colleagues: diversify your epub vendors to make sure your foreign fans can buy your books.

Indies Should Publish on All Platforms

We indie authors work hard to coax readers to buy our books. When even a trickle of sales of an ebook is cause for euphoria, it astounds me that so many authors ignore nearly 40% of the American ebook market and the majority of the Canadian market.

The Adult Content Dilemma

My first novel, Counter Currents, contains one nude swimming scene (pretty tame stuff) and one explicit sex scene. The latter is not gratuitous--it is a natural evolution of a relationship between two characters in the story. I included it because I wrote the book for well balanced adults.

Make Paperbacks Part of Your Sales Plan

For my first self-published novel, Counter Currents, I decided to include a paperback version as well as an ebook. I used CreateSpace with excellent results. Some of the pros, such as John Locke (author of How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months), advise us not to bother—it's not worth it, they say. Respectfully, they're wrong for two reasons.

One Leaf in the Forest Screaming for Attention!

Updated October 2013
Imagine you are one leaf in a forest of 10,000 trees. How do you get noticed? That is the challenge each new indie writer faces.

Here are some sobering stats found on blogs and news websites:

• In 2011, Amazon had 950,000 ebooks for the Kindle, out of a total of about 1.8 million titles.
• Almost 2.8 million non-traditional books, including ebooks and print-on-demand paperbacks, were produced in the United States in 2010 (says Reuters).
• US publishers of all types produce over 300,000 traditionally published books per year with about 210,000 more in the UK.
• In October 2013, the American ISBN agency Bowker stated that 391,000 self-published titles were added in 2012, a 59% increase from 2011.

The world is awash in books with more every year.

Symbiotic Nature of Indie Books

Updated December 31, 2013
After just a couple of months as an indie author, I groked an unspoken truth that any author needs to know who still wants to sell paperbacks (along with their e-books). Your best friend is the independent bookstore owner, and you may be that owner's edge against the big book chains. Eighteen months later I am even a bigger believer.

New Publishing Paradigm Unfolds as Foretold

In January 2012, the flagship in Canada's fleet of traditional publishers became a small cog in a foreign business empire. Random House, a subsidiary of the international publishing conglomerate Bertelsmann AG, bought out the remaining shares of McClelland & Stewart. (The purchase passed federal government scrutiny, proving that Canadian culture gets less protection than Canadian potash.)

Books on the Raider and Rebel Theme

Updated December 2019
Shaun J. McLaughlin began this blog/website to promote his writing and to engage readers and fans.

The books described on this blog deal mainly with 19th-century history, either fiction or non-fiction. A major theme is Canada-US border wars and skirmishes, such as the War of 1812 and the 1838 Patriot War.

Shaun is not limited to history. He has or will offer stories that are science fiction or contemporary fiction.