Fool's Paradise

Mary Schaller earned her bachelor's degree from the University of San Diego. She is the prize-winning author of four plays for Dramatic Publishing Company as well as eight Tudor-era historical romances for Harlequin. Mary is a fifth-generation descendant of William Johnson, who fought with the 6th Kentucky Regiment, a part of the famous Orphan Brigade. Between 1994-1996, Mary collected over one-hundred-and-thirty oral interviews of women whose veteran fathers actually fought in the Confederate Army. Inspired by their stories, Mary wrote PAPA WAS A BOY IN GRAY that was published by Thomas Publications in 2001. The United Daughters of the Confederacy awarded Mary their highest honour, the Jefferson Davis Gold Medal, for her research and historical writing. In 2002, the Library of Virginia nominated PAPA as one of the year's best non-fiction books. Mary lives with her husband, Marty, in northern Virginia–literally on top of the site of a Federal army encampment that was the scene of General J. E. B. Stuart's Burke Station Raid in December 1862. She occasionally digs up old bullets in her garden. Mary would love to hear from her readers. Please write her at: P. O. Box 10703, Burke, VA 22009-0703.