December 17, 2019
Hi, All!
     First of all, I'd like to wish everyone a wonderful, happy, and healthy holiday season.  Next, I simply can't believe that 2019 is almost over.  Where did the time go?  So, I'd also like to say Happy New Year!  I hope 2020 is a great year for all of us.
     I would also like to pass along a little information about my next book, Lt. Elsie Ott's Top Secret Mission.  It is scheduled for release on April 1, 2020.  I will soon know my schedule of book readings/events for the initial book tour, so I will report those here when I can. In the meantime, I'll post a few "teaser" pictures here to get everyone ready for the release.  The book is a very fast-paced account of this amazing woman's adventures, and I think you will enjoy it!

     I also just returned from Cooperstown N.Y. and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.  I needed to be there to conduct some research for my next book.  That is all I can say about that project for the time being, but I imagine that trip will give you and idea of the subject matter I'm digging into. I finally get to write a book related to sports!

  More on this research in the coming year.
     Again, Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year!
     And, happy reading!
JSC

Much going on!

October 12, 2019
Hi, All!
     Much has happened since my last post.  First, I've been on the road quite a lot to do readings and events related to Plague in Paradise, which seems to be increasing in popularity all the time -- likely, I'm guessing, because of all the parallels in what is going on today in 2019 to the events in the time period of the story, 1924.  Plague in Paradise takes place in Los Angeles where, in 1924, some of the officials wanted to build a wall around the Mexican-American community.  Does the concept of putting up a wall sound familiar in news items today?  Plus, many of the problems in the city at that time were blamed on the poor and down-and-out.  I just visited L.A., and I heard the same refrain over and over, everywhere I went.  The bottom line?  The more things change, the more they stay the same -- unfortunately.  There are other major parallels as well; please read through the book to see quite a reflection of contemporary issues.
    At the same time, I also finished writing another book: Lt. Elsie Ott's Top Secret Mission: The WWII Flight Nurse Behind Aeromedical Evacuation (MEDEVAC). This book is another work of Literary Nonfiction that looks at one of the most amazing heroes of modern times.  Lt. Ott literally changed the world in so many positive ways.  In a nutshell, she was asked to take six wounded soldiers from Karachi, India, back to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.  This trip was an experiment of epic proportions, one designed to show that the wounded could be transported great distances by plane in order to get the help the needed.  The trip back to Washington, at that time, would normally have taken three and a half months by truck, train, and ship.  However, Lt. Ott managed to get the soldiers back in six and a half days by using planes for the whole journey!  Along the way, she braved snipers, German fighter planes, her own plane catching fire -- and much more.  I think those who enjoy stories about people who risked everything to help change the world will really like this one.  It is scheduled for an April 1, 2020 release, and I have most of the early book tour for it scheduled.  I'll be providing venues and dates soon in case you'd like to stop by and hear more about the book and how it came about. I'm also posting two related pictures. One is of the plane use for part of the journey, the "Able Mabel."  The other is a picture of the book cover.
     Also, my documentary film about the landmark "Shelley v. Kraemer" U.S. Supreme Court Ruling was placed on Amazon Video so that everyone will now have a chance to view it.  The title of the documentary is "The Story of Shelley v. Kraemer," by Jeffrey S. Copeland.  The Amazon Video version is a shorter version by design -- so that schools all across the country and the globe can fit it into their class periods.  I hope people all over will enjoy this story of a milestone ruling that literally changed the face and color of America. I'll also post the photo used at the Amazon Video site to showcase the film. The photo is of J.D. Shelley, the man who started this historic episode in our history.

     I'm also currently working on another book.  I'm not at liberty yet to discuss the specifics of the story, but I can say that it will be the first story I've written about the world of sports.  As a matter of fact, I will soon be at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to do some more research for this project.  I'll post more on this as additional work is completed.
     I hope all of you are well -- and are enjoying the fall weather.  I'll post again soon.
     Happy reading!
JSC

January 9, 2019
Hi, All!
    I hope all of you had a wonderful and relaxing holiday season -- and I wish you all the best in 2019.
    I thought I'd share a few quick updates with you.  First, Plague in Paradise is still doing very well, and I'm quite happy about that. Book sales in today's market can really be mystery at times.  The reasons why book sales jump one day -- and go flat the next day -- aren't always easy to determine.  A couple of years ago the sales of Shell Games went through the roof one week, and I had absolutely no clue why it happened.  Then, at the end of that week, I found out a dear friend of mine (another author) had talked about the book at an international convention -- and that was all it took to have sales skyrocket.  There are other times when "sales spikes" happen, and I never find out why.
    Another side of this same discussion has to do with why some book readings/events are well attended (and why many books are sold there) -- and why others have just a few people show up (causing low sales).  I, literally, wrote the book about ways to do book readings and events (I'm Published! Now What?), and I've done over three hundred book events worldwide.  However, this area is still one of great mystery of the publishing world.  Here is a classic example of this.  I recently attended a book reading done by an author the week her new book jumped on the Best Seller list.  The venue had done all manner of publicity for the event -- everything from Facebook (and other social media) to spots on all traditional media outlets in the area.  Special letters of invitation were also sent out to hundreds of people in the area.  That evening, six people showed up to an auditorium that could have seated five hundred.  Six people.  Six.  To her credit, the author did her regular reading for the six souls who came out to hear her.  I once did a book event for well over a thousand people -- and I've also done a reading when two people showed up -- and everything in between these numbers.  Getting a crowd to a book reading/event these days is tough.  Really tough. For all you aspiring writers out there, start asking veteran writers what they do to build audiences for events -- and start putting your ideas together/making a master plan for the time when you will be doing your own events.  Believe me -- it isn't too early to start thinking about this now.
      I also visited right before the holidays with an incredibly talented painter, Lowell Davis.  May of you may know the wonderful figurines that have been made based on his paintings.  If you don't know Mr. Davis's work, all you have to do is type his name into a search engine on the Internet -- and you will see quite a range of his accomplishments.  He currently lives in Carthage, Missouri, where he grew up.  Funds earned through sales of his art allowed him to build a village around his home - literally!  He moved in an old church, gas station, diner, and so forth.  If you are ever in the area, you should definitely consider stopping by Red Oak II to see his village.  It is quite a sight to behold.  I would go so far as to say his village is "living art" on many levels.
    Finally, I'm just about finished with the research for my next book -- and will start writing soon.  I expect to have the book completed by the middle of summer.  I'll talk more about the subject of the book in an upcoming post -- so stay tuned.  It is going to be another "medical" thriller -- and will be loaded with adventure and plot twists.
    Happy reading!

JSC
*The picture I'm posting here is of Lowell Davis, taken when I met up with him right before the holidays.

NPR Interview link

November 1, 2018
Hi, All!
     Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of being interviewed on National Public Radio by one of their very best hosts, Don Marsh.  Don is always perfectly prepared -- and asks great questions.  Don also has a very special gift: the ability to make his guests feel very comfortable and relaxed.  I didn't feel nervous at all while the program took place.  Rather than worrying about myself and how I'd sound, I wanted more than anything not to let Don down.  He is THAT special - and is a true national treasure.
     Here is a link to the program:
  http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/st-louis-connection-1924s-deadly-plague-outbreak-los-angeles#stream/0  
     Scroll about half way down the page to find the button to click on to hear the program about Plague in Paradise: The Black Death in Los Angeles, 1924.
Enjoy!
JSC
P.S. I'm also going to post a couple of picture of me with Don Marsh.

Book Tour Pictures

October 30, 2018
Hi, All!
    Here are just a few pictures from my recent book tour in California.  The first two are from my reading at the Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona Del Mar.  The picture of me

with the woman in the blue dress was taken at the Barnes & Noble store in Burbank. You'll also notice rats all over my rental car in yet another picture.  Look closely and you'll see they are also on the dashboard inside the car!  I have been taking rubber rats that squeak when squeezed to my book events -- and have been giving them to those who participate in the Q&A sessions after the readings. The plague was spread by way of fleas on rats, so I thought this would be an appropriate "visual" for the talks.  People are loving them!  I took a whole suitcase of these rats with me on the book tour, and the people who x-ray the baggage at airports were freaked out when they saw the rats, especially because there was an outbreak of Typhus (also transmitted by fleas on rats) while I was there.  Everyone had to make sure my rats weren't real!  I'll be posting more pictures soon, so stay tuned.
     Happy reading!
JSC

California book tour

October 29, 2018
Hi, All!
     I just got back from the California book tour.  I had a GREAT time -- met some pretty wonderful people, had nice crowds for the book events, sold lots of books, and saw some new sites out there as well.  I even went on a Hollywood tour one afternoon!
    I did book readings/events everywhere from Corona Del Mar up to the Burbank Barnes & Noble store.  The timing of the trip was very interesting as Los Angeles, where the events of the book took place, was currently in the middle of a horrible Typhus "epidemic" (the exact word used initially by NBC News!).  What I discovered was yet another case of "The more things change, the more they stay the same."  Why?  Well, at one of the book readings, I had a huge crowd.  In the middle of my reading I asked how many in the room had heard of the Typhus outbreak taking place, and only *four* individuals raised hands.  One of the four said, "I don't think much about it because it is taking place in the homeless around Los Angeles."  This person was shocked when I revealed I had just seen on NBC news that "ground zero" for the epidemic was in the million dollar homes just north of the city.  This is merely speculation on my part, but my best guess would be that the pets of those who live in those million dollar homes somehow got the fleas that help transmit Typhus -- and then it spread from there.  Still, listening to that individual reminded me so much of what took place in my book.  Back in 1924, many weren't concerned about the illness because it seemed, at first glance, to be focused on the Mexican community and not with mainstream Los Angeles.  It really does seem that as long as there is a group to "pin it on," outbreaks like these don't seem all that important to some people -- and that is so sad.  So sad.
     The Typhus outbreak going on right now also sparked added interest in Plague in Paradise because, I think, people were curious about how a similar situation played out in the past. Maybe a reading of my book will help individuals in that area better come to grips with what should be done now.  I sure hope so.
   I'm still coming out of jet-lag, so I'll sign off for now.  In the next post I'll try to post some pictures from the trip.  In the meantime, happy reading!
JSC

Book Event Pictures

October 1, 2018
Hi, Everyone!
    Just for fun, I thought I'd post a few photos from recent book events related to Plague in Paradise.  I've had a great time with this book -- the reception has been great all the places I've visited.  One of the pictures is something I like to do during the "book launch" period for each of my books; I have a bakery near where the event is to take place "screen-print" the cover of the book on a cake!  So, when I do the event, everyone can have a piece of cake while we are visiting about the book -- and they can all eat a piece of the cover of the book.  I know -- it's silly -- but fun!
    The one of me at a traditional "signing table" at a Barnes & Noble store shows the types of "artifacts" I'm taking with me to events for this book: rat traps, rubber rats, photos of yersinia pestis (which causes the plague!) and pictures of locations in Los Angeles where the outbreak took place.  The items do make the signing table look more than a tad creepy, but this fits the subject matter of the book -- and people really do seem to like the rats!  The only problem with this picture is my eyes are closed, so it looks like I've fallen asleep while "meeting and greeting" people at the store -- yikes! Every once in a while, if a person seems really excited to read the book, I'll give one of the rats to her/him when they purchase a book. When the rats are squeezed, they sound like real rats!
     I'll post more pictures as I do more events.  In the meantime, happy reading!
JSC