Delaware Before the Railroads: A Diamond Among the States by Dave Tabler Book Tour, Guest Post, & Giveaway! {Ends 12/17/22}

“Tabler debuts with a visual feast introducing readers to the First State before the golden age of the railroad. Drawing on photographs of locations, reconstructions, and historical objects, together with brief captions and rigorous notes, Tabler weaves a rich tapestry of industry, politics, and faith. He organizes the photographs roughly chronologically, tracking Delaware’s development from Swedish settlers to American independence, and dedicates space to images that reflect Delaware’s Native American history, as well as tracing the impact that enslaved people had on the state’s historical development.” – Booklife

“If you think you know Delaware, think again. Pirates? Quakers fighting with Pennsylvania? Towns so ugly no one would settle there? With stunning pictures and straightforward storytelling, Dave Tabler opens hidden passages and describes defining moments in this founding American colony. Telling this small state’s story gives you a sense of the big picture in American history. Enjoy this fresh look at Delaware through Dave Tabler’s eyes.” — Wendy Welch, author The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap

“Whether discussing the colored spear tips that showed the community if a person had been found guilty or not, to the stones that identified the Mason-Dixon Line, Dave Tabler’s book on colonial Delaware offers the reader a smorgasbord of interesting stories and photos of its early years. This is another book to add to collections about the beginnings of our country.” — Sheila Ingle, winner, South Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution Historical Preservation Award for four of her young reader novels about South Carolina heroines during the Revolutionary War

“Thoroughly researched and well-written, Delaware before the Railroads offers a glimpse into the past through a present lens. Respected historian Dave Tabler utilizes colorful and intriguing photographs to tell Delaware’s foundational stories.” — Jan Loveday Dickens, Tennessee author and educator

“Dave Tabler’s impeccable research and clearly written descriptives tell a truthful and provocative story for anyone interested in the subject or doing research for other works covering the same period. The colorful and informative photographs tell the story of not only Colonial Delaware residents from 1638-1832 but our American forefathers in general. We learn about every aspect of their way of life during the most critical time of our country’s history.” — Lisa Soland, author, and senior editor of Climbing Angel Publishing

“Dave Tabler has crafted a concise and fascinating photographic account of early Delaware. “Delaware Before The Railroads” is definitely a book that should be in the collection of anyone interested not only in the history of Delaware but also in the history of colonial America.” –– Steve Gilly, “Stories, A History of Appalachia” podcast

“Tabler’s purpose, indeed, his mission, is to create a tribute to the culture and history of Delaware before the coming of the railroad. Consequently, he not only rediscovers the past, he also preserves and celebrates it with a montage of vivid images and an insightful narrative.” — Gary Carden, author, storyteller, playwright

No writer works in a vacuum. There are always influences. Fathers, for example. My dad Ken, now 96, started keeping a daily journal in his early 50s. Twenty years into that he decided to pull it all together into a memoir. He grew up dirt poor in the Depression. Later, he was one of the first people to work with the Univac, a new-fangled thing called a ‘computer,’ in 1947, and that opportunity gave him the opening to hoist himself into the middle class. No more cardboard liners in shoes with holes in the soles.

Writing, done right, is hard work. Ken published his memoir, “The Day is Far Spent,” after ten years of polishing, sanding, cutting, re-writing, adding new additions, rearranging sections, tearing up whole chapters, and starting over. I thought he’d never finish.

But he did. He blocked out time every day to chip away at his project. Some days crowded that time; some days he was able to devote more than the usual effort. But every day, something.

I absorbed that influence when I started “Delaware Before the Railroads”. Lots of people have said to me when I mentioned my new book project “Oh, I should write a book someday.”

“Someday” will never happen unless you discipline yourself on a schedule. I’m relieved that my Delaware book did not take ten years to complete, but when I began it I was prepared to take the long view. Just like my dad with his memoir project, I ran into snags, delays, setbacks, roadblocks, and nasty surprises.

West Virginians say folks who are able to keep on course no matter what have “stick-to-it-ive-ness”. If there’s one thing I want more than anything to inherit from my old hillbilly father, it’s that.