History Week Part I: J.M. Snyder

Introduction

I am J.M. Snyder, author of gay erotic/romantic fiction and owner of JMS Books LLC. I began self-publishing in 2002 and have worked with several different e-publishers, including Amber Quill, Aspen Mountain, eXcessica, and Torquere. My short fiction has been in anthologies by Alyson Books, Aspen Mountain, Cleis Press, eXcessica, Lethe Press, and Ravenous Romance, as well as appeared online at Ruthie's Club, Tit-Elation, and Amazon Shorts. In 2010 I decided to start my own small press, and JMS Books LLC was born.

Writing about the Civil War

I live in Richmond, Virginia, the one-time capital of the Confederacy, and grew up immersed in the memory of the War Between the States. I wasn’t born here, though; my family is from Philadelphia, and I was born in New Jersey, so I have an outsider’s perspective on the area. Still, I can understand the romance of the lost era, and I continue to see the history shine through to the present in so many different ways that it inspires my writing.

When I’m looking to work on a historical story, the Civil War is a natural time period for me, simply because of where I was raised. Here in Virginia, our history is still very much alive. We don't have mere history classes in school; we study Virginia History. We have statues of Civil War heroes all over town; we have museums and battlefields and earthworks, historical markers lining our roads and highways, whole sections of our cemeteries dedicated to those who died in the 1800’s.

For example, a major portion of our daily news has been taken up recently by an ongoing battle between city leaders and preservationists; the city wants to erect a minor league baseball stadium downtown over what was once the site of one of the largest slave markets on the east coast, and is now home to an unmarked slave burial ground, while historians don’t want crass commercialism to eradicate that haunting memory from our record. The Civil War isn’t ancient history — to some of us living in Richmond, these wounds still cut deep, and writing stories set during that time helps bring it alive for others, as well.

I definitely consider myself a Civil War buff. Military history intrigues me, particularly that pertaining to American forces. I'm not pro-war by any means, don't get me wrong, but I am very much in awe of the courage it takes average citizens to take up arms to fight for my freedom. I know I can write the stories I write only because someone somewhere died for my right to say what I want. I am very grateful to those men and women who have given up their lives so I could live mine.

J.M. Snyder's Books:

Directly about the Civil War:

• A Heart Divided — http://jmsnyder.net/?p=702

Paranormal Civil War (shape shifters)

• Between States trillogy — http://jmsnyder.net/?p=487

General historical, set during the 1800’s

• All Shook Up (not set in the US) — http://jmsnyder.net/index.php/?p=903
• Bounty of the Heart — http://jmsnyder.net/?p=892
• Wanted — http://jmsnyder.net/?p=696

Western transgender:

• A Cowboy’s Heart — http://jmsnyder.net/?p=1013

Lesbian western romance set in the 1800’s, writing as J.T. Marie

• The Boss’s Daughter — http://jtmarie.com/thebosssdaughter.html

 

In celebration of History Week Part I, I will be giving away an Ecopy of my second novel, Disappear With Me, which will be available from Amber Quill Press on May 31. The prize will be delivered after that date. (Note, this is independent of the Giveaway for the Hop Against Homphobia and Transphobia and Biphobia)

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