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Author of ‘Burnin' Daylight' to visit FM
Tracey Lamm/Associate Editor
Dann Wallis said he has a long-running fascination with Civil War history - specifically, history that concerns the Army of the Frontier.
Wallis will be in Fort Madison on June 1 at The Bookmark to sign copies of his self-published book Burnin' Daylight. Some of the historical references in the book pertain to Lee County - specifically, the area between Montrose and Fort Madison.
Wallis said his great-grandfather, John Wallis, was enlisted in Company E of the 19th Iowa Volunteers, which was part of the Army of the Frontier under General U.S. Grant.
Wallis said that like his great-grandfather, he left home early - at age 17, enlisted in the Army and served in the Korean War. “There were enough parallels between us,” Wallis said.
Wallis' daughter was a history major at Ohio State University and when she started digging up information about the 19th Regiment his interest in the period intensified. He has visited the Civil War battlefields and the POW Camp Ford at Tyler, Texas - a place where his great-grandfather spent 10 months.
“I have always focused on the War of the West. There hasn't been a great deal of focus on that area,” Wallis said.
His research started out as a way to satisfy his curiosity - both about the Civil War and his great-grandfather's involvement in it. “I intended to write a short story. What I ended up with was longer than a short story, but too short for a book. I thought I would have a commercial piece to sell to a Civil War publication,” Wallis said. What he got for his efforts was a pile of rejection letters from many publishers.
He put the work on the shelf and it wasn't until years later that his own father rekindled his interest in attempting to have the story published. “He gave me my first review. He said it was a damn fine story and it would make a good movie and Tom Selleck could play the lead,” Wallis said.
“I decided I could afford to self-publish. With print on demand technology, no one has to make a commitment to a large inventory,” Wallis said. “I am well beyond the point of breaking even. It has been very satisfying.
Burnin' Daylight is written in a style used by noted World War II author Herman Wouk: historical fact sprinkled into a fictional story. “I wanted to tell little known history about the Civil War to those who don't like to read,” Wallis said.
Burnin' Daylight is set up to support a sequel, but Wallis said he hasn't gotten to that yet. “I am having so much fun with this right now. I've had 15 signings and lectures. I just haven't had the discipline to sit down and start writing again,” he said.
The two central characters in the book are a Union Corporal with roots in the Montrose area and a Confederate Lieutenant who become dependent on one another for survival. Of Montrose, Wallis said, “There is a heavy flavor from that area. I even worked in an encounter with Brigham Young.”
Although he resides on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Wallis himself has memories of Fort Madison and the surrounding area. “I used to ride the Doodlebug to my grandparents' farm new Viele when I was a kid,” Wallis said.
The book signing on June 1 at The Bookmark, 802 Ave. G, will be from 2-4 p.m.
About the Author: Dann Wallis is a decorated veteran of the Korean War and a retired senior business executive. A native of Iowa, he now makes his home in Niceville, Fla. Burnin' Daylight is his first novel, however many of his poems and short stories have been published previously - one winning the Golden Poet Award. The author's great-grandfather, John Wallis, was a Private in Company E of the 19th Iowa Volunteer Regiment, Army of the Frontier, serving in the western campaigns of General Grant and was later a prisoner-of-war confined at the Camp Ford, Texas prison. Dann has a passion for historic accuracy in his novel; as part of his research he has walked all of the Civil War sites and battlefields where his novel leads the reader.
Dann Wallis said he has a long-running fascination with Civil War history - specifically, history that concerns the Army of the Frontier.
Wallis will be in Fort Madison on June 1 at The Bookmark to sign copies of his self-published book Burnin' Daylight. Some of the historical references in the book pertain to Lee County - specifically, the area between Montrose and Fort Madison.
Wallis said his great-grandfather, John Wallis, was enlisted in Company E of the 19th Iowa Volunteers, which was part of the Army of the Frontier under General U.S. Grant.
Wallis said that like his great-grandfather, he left home early - at age 17, enlisted in the Army and served in the Korean War. “There were enough parallels between us,” Wallis said.
Wallis' daughter was a history major at Ohio State University and when she started digging up information about the 19th Regiment his interest in the period intensified. He has visited the Civil War battlefields and the POW Camp Ford at Tyler, Texas - a place where his great-grandfather spent 10 months.
“I have always focused on the War of the West. There hasn't been a great deal of focus on that area,” Wallis said.
His research started out as a way to satisfy his curiosity - both about the Civil War and his great-grandfather's involvement in it. “I intended to write a short story. What I ended up with was longer than a short story, but too short for a book. I thought I would have a commercial piece to sell to a Civil War publication,” Wallis said. What he got for his efforts was a pile of rejection letters from many publishers.
He put the work on the shelf and it wasn't until years later that his own father rekindled his interest in attempting to have the story published. “He gave me my first review. He said it was a damn fine story and it would make a good movie and Tom Selleck could play the lead,” Wallis said.
“I decided I could afford to self-publish. With print on demand technology, no one has to make a commitment to a large inventory,” Wallis said. “I am well beyond the point of breaking even. It has been very satisfying.
Burnin' Daylight is written in a style used by noted World War II author Herman Wouk: historical fact sprinkled into a fictional story. “I wanted to tell little known history about the Civil War to those who don't like to read,” Wallis said.
Burnin' Daylight is set up to support a sequel, but Wallis said he hasn't gotten to that yet. “I am having so much fun with this right now. I've had 15 signings and lectures. I just haven't had the discipline to sit down and start writing again,” he said.
The two central characters in the book are a Union Corporal with roots in the Montrose area and a Confederate Lieutenant who become dependent on one another for survival. Of Montrose, Wallis said, “There is a heavy flavor from that area. I even worked in an encounter with Brigham Young.”
Although he resides on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Wallis himself has memories of Fort Madison and the surrounding area. “I used to ride the Doodlebug to my grandparents' farm new Viele when I was a kid,” Wallis said.
The book signing on June 1 at The Bookmark, 802 Ave. G, will be from 2-4 p.m.
About the Author: Dann Wallis is a decorated veteran of the Korean War and a retired senior business executive. A native of Iowa, he now makes his home in Niceville, Fla. Burnin' Daylight is his first novel, however many of his poems and short stories have been published previously - one winning the Golden Poet Award. The author's great-grandfather, John Wallis, was a Private in Company E of the 19th Iowa Volunteer Regiment, Army of the Frontier, serving in the western campaigns of General Grant and was later a prisoner-of-war confined at the Camp Ford, Texas prison. Dann has a passion for historic accuracy in his novel; as part of his research he has walked all of the Civil War sites and battlefields where his novel leads the reader.
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