Rickey E. Pittman, 1998 Grand Prize winner of the prestigious Ernest Hemingway Short Story Competition, is an active member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Camp Thomas McGuire, in West Monroe, Louisiana. He is also a Civil War re-enactor, a public speaker on issues and topics related to the War Between the States, and a musician who travels and performs original and Civil War period music. Pittman lives with his wife in Bastrop, Louisiana, where he teaches English at Bastrop High School and freshman composition at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He is a proud father and grandfather. Connie McLennan is a member of the San Francisco Society of Illustrators and the Picture Book Artists Association. She graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in art. She lives with her husband in Rocklin, where she works as a freelance artist.