Greetings. Thanksgiving weekend seems like such an appropriate time to express my gratitude to all of you for your support, encouragement, and loyalty — and to bring you up to date on a variety of items that I hope you’ll find interesting.

I will start with the news that is most exciting to me, and I hope to you as well (since many of you have been asking) — I recently reached agreement on my seventh book! I’m thrilled that, once again, the book will be published by St. Martin’s Press, which published my most recent work, American Treasures: The Secret Efforts to Save the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address. It’s still a little early to disclose the topic of the upcoming book (of course, it’s narrative history, the same genre as my previous six books), but I can tell you that it’s scheduled for publication in the spring of 2020, and the manuscript is due more than a full year before that — so 2018 will be a huge writing year! Obviously, your great support is what makes this all possible, so thanks and thanks again. I’ll keep you posted on progress — and eventually, the topic of Book 7 — as we get closer.

I’ve had a busy and enjoyable fall speaking season, with appearances to discuss American Treasures, Dark Tide, and The Caning highlighting the last few months. I’m always grateful for the varied and well-organized speaking appearances I’ve been privileged to experience as an author and this fall was no exception. I enjoyed speaking to residents of a luxury apartment building in downtown Boston; at a lawyers’ luncheon at a downtown law firm; to an energetic and engaging 55-and-over community; to a book club in Charlestown; to the UMass-Boston Lifelong Learning organization; at a keynote dinner address to the Boston Baptist Social Club; and to the communities of Sudbury, Tewksbury, and Duxbury at their libraries. In fact, my most recent engagement in Duxbury marked my 535th appearance as an author — thanks to all organizations who have asked me to speak and especially to those who have asked me more than once.

My speaking schedule for the winter/spring is filling up fast. I’m in the process of booking appearances now, so please contact me at spuleo@aol.com to make arrangements for an event. Among others, I’ve already booked return appearances in the Town of Abington and at the Massachusetts Real Estate Bar Association (REBA), and I’m looking forward to appearances in Natick, Mass., and at the Massachusetts Library Association conference next spring. To those who have already booked events, I thank you so much for honoring me by asking me to address your group. You can always check my event schedule.

And speaking of appearances, many of my readers are educators — teachers, principals, professors, administrators. I’ve visited dozens of schools and universities and spoken to thousands of students, and several of my books are woven into the curricular of high schools and colleges (thank you!). I’m always happy to visit schools to talk about books, history, or about the writing process (I’ve done numerous writing workshops for students). Contact me and let me know what you have in mind — and again, do so quickly if you’re thinking about a winter/spring 2018 visit.

If you’ve purchased a copy of one (or more) of my books, or plan to, and are interested in an autographed/inscribed copy in time for Christmas and the holidays, please let me know at spuleo@aol.com and we can make arrangements. I do this often with readers; a personally inscribed book is always a great gift. I hope you’ll pick up copies at your favorite bookstore or at Amazon.

I provide regular updates about appearances, books, historical issues, and other topics on my author Facebook page, which you can enjoy whether you are officially a member of Facebook or not. I hope you’ll drop by and “like” my page (if you belong to FB) or just enjoy the post. Those who have visited know that this past summer and fall, I’ve commemorated the 230th anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution with a series of posts about that incredible summer of 1787 (the Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787). I’m continuing with the 230th anniversary of the Constitution’s ratification, which concludes in June of 2018.

Finally – but certainly not least – I have much to be thankful for in my life and count my blessings each day for many reasons. As always, I want to offer my deep and profound thanks to you — whether you have asked me to speak, attended a presentation, corresponded with me, or purchased books. Perhaps I’ve visited your library, historical society, school, bookstore, or book club. You make any and all success possible and I am enormously grateful for and humbled by your support. You are on my list of reasons to give thanks.

I wish you the very best and hope you enjoy the love and peace of family and friends this Christmas and holiday season.

See you in 2018.