Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Writers need to keep busy with writing projects, even though there’s a lot out there to distract us. I’ve been wanting to write a book about insane asylums in general for a long time, and after Vanished In Hiawatha was published, got busy with an outline and some thoughts on how to present the information.

Next came a round of reading and researching, and then the re-immersion into the writing process. It can be a real chore to write again once you take a break from it, but I find that I always enjoy it once I make myself sit down and get started. I finished a couple of chapters and wrote a proposal, hoping to send it out with a quick turnaround–approved, of course!

That hasn’t happened yet, so I am staying busy with an e-book on insane asylums. This will be quite different from the history that I have in mind for a hardback, but it will still give readers a lot of interesting information. I’ve been writing a blog about the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians for several years, and I’ve included many snippets of information about insane asylums in general, their history, and some of the practices and routines followed by many alienists (early psychiatrists). I hope that many readers will gamble on exploring a new topic or diving more deeply into one they’re already interested in with this e-book, since this format is so inexpensive.

Here’s hoping!