Until I Have No More to Give follows a Union Civil War survivor who joins a group of workers trying to fix the issue of millions of displaced Southern whites and freed slaves who have no place to go and no means to support themselves. What inspired you to write this story?

When all this began, I had preconceived notions of what the Civil War was all about and discovered that my grandfather’s half-brother played his minor role and my father and his siblings knew little to nothing about him, even who he was. So, I had to look harder and deeper. Using the internet and established historical venues, I had tremendous advantages over my immediate ancestors. They had a picture of a group of Civil War officers and they had Hiram’s Appointment Certificate into the Veteran Reserves Corps, signed of course, by President Abraham Lincoln and the Secretary of War; but they had no idea what they had.

As I began looking on sites, I kept finding more and more. Military records, retirement pensions, etc. It took several years to realize that I needed to share this information and by this time, my dad and his siblings were all gone. I had to find someone who would be interested, so, at the urgings of my sisters, I decided to write a book. The approach I took was to take all of the historical facts I had discovered and put them in a time sequence. I took A and B and tried to figure how would Hiram have got from one point to the other. Using a lot of history and and an untested imagination, a story somehow began to take form.
My biggest and most pleasant discovery was how Hiram was historically right in the middle of major efforts that actually helped to shape who we are and perhaps even what we still stand for. I hope so.

So, ‘Chauncey’s Blood  A Hiram Robinett Story of the Civil War‘ was published. However, my discoveries continued. I found new data and facts. I found answers that I did not have when writing book 1. Being the novice that I still am, I asked my editor/publisher if it was feasible to edit and update the story as a new edition. She suggested properly a second book, a story that expanded on the first book. So, that is what I decided to do.

I offered no apologies for changes that I found that modified the original story line somewhat. Such is life and why not reflect it accurately as fiction can be. I did that. The second book is a continuation of the story line from book 1 but reflects the accuracy discovered since the first writing. I additionally believe that I developed my interpretation of who Hiram was to be more accurate. He is definitely more human, with emotions that hopefully serve to make him more real. I love the guy and hope that who I described is who he was, an American average male who appreciated what life had handed him and felt a patriotic duty to give back when he could. His actions seem to dictate that to be true.

What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think makes for great fiction?

I should strive to say something really profound, but I’m not capable. At my age and in my condition, I have virtually every emotion under the sun. I can still be serious, I am quite feeble, I still love heartily and can only talk and sometimes dream with my new reality. So, I can soar with the eagles one day and have a difficult time getting out of my bed the next. I am getting a new rescue dog on Friday and expect to be all better by Monday. Life is good, sometimes hard, but always good. I should write about it.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

The role that the President of the United States of America plays in history.
History is far more favorable to the Reconstruction Era than is warranted.
Historically, The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands was deemed a huge failure. I disputed that before the book and I continue to believe that an organization of 1,000 employees took on ‘fixing’ America’s 36 million ‘broke’ people. Their successes to support a million people is truly a highlight of a very dismal time in our country’s history.

Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?

I would love to make it a trilogy, however, the remainder of the story doesn’t have Hiram in the picture. There is a good story remaining, so I will just have to explore a bit more before making a decision. The other big question I still have is of 4.2 million freed slaves, approximately 1 million made use of the Freedmen’s Bureau. There has to be an amazing story as to how the additional 3 million survived. By 1870 Census, the black population had grown to more than 6 million, so something worked for them. Someone deserves credit.

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