Jonathan Macauley Nielson

I have a passion for history and have been fortunate to have been able to follow my passion as a career, teaching and writing for nearly four decades at colleges and universities from Alaska to California. I began my adventure as a boy with a voracious love of reading. The Civil War was my magic window to the past and I was fortunate to have rather famous ancestors and family history that allowed me to make very personal, meaningful connections between past and present. Living the great American adventure on the 'Last Frontier' in Fairbanks, Alaska for nearly twenty years inspired scholarly and creative impulses that found expression in fascinating ways, broadening horizons and deepening immersion in America's amazingly rich historical inheritance. As a teacher I have tried to convey my passion to students, encouraging them to unlock mysteries of historical detection and explore the 'what if' possibilities of the past's vast panoply of outcomes, other than those we have as the legacy and artifacts of past decisions and lives. Balancing academic history with the genre of 'scholarly' historical fiction is immensely fun and stimulating, the best of both worlds really, that entertains while it informs and, one hopes, provokes curiosity and reflection on the past's unequaled rich tapestry and unfolding human drama. Readers can explore this blend of fact and fiction this in my Erin Kelly and Tim Strange mystery series and some stand alone historical novels. I invite you to sample my imaginative narrative of settings, characters, and adventures!