US Historical Fiction/Civil War
Date Published: 05-13-2025
Publisher: Bariso Press
The soldiers did the fighting; the generals, the Infighting
In the waning months of the American Civil War, a delusional Confederate commander makes a desperate attempt to change the course of the South’s dwindling hopes by invading middle Tennessee. The tragic result of Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood’s misplaced hubris devastates his Army of Tennessee and alters the lives of the citizens of Franklin, Tennessee.
In a historical novel reminiscent of The Killer Angels, Too Much the Lion follows a handful of Confederate generals, infantrymen and local residents through the five days leading up to the horrific Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. The lives of soldiers ranging from Major General Patrick Cleburne to Brigadier General Hiram Granbury and from Sergeant Major Sumner Cunningham to Corporal Sam Watkins will be forever changed by Hood’s decisions and mistakes.
Franklin civilians like apprehensive and loving mother Mary Alice McPhail and teen Hardin Figuers, desperate to serve the Confederacy but too young to enlist, are ensnared in the events that will bring death and devastation to their very doorsteps. Devout Confederate Chaplain Charles T. Quintard must reconcile his religious beliefs with his support of slavery. Slaves like the elder Wiley Howard and the inquisitive young Henry B. Free are trapped on the fault line between what has been and what could be.
Too Much the Lion offers an unvarnished account of the dying days of the Confederacy in a powerful and moving narrative of honor and betrayal, bravery and cowardice, death and survival. Told with poignancy and honesty by an accomplished novelist, Too Much the Lion achieves for the Battle of Franklin what The Killer Angels did for the Battle of Gettysburg, providing a classic fictional account of one of the Civil War’s pivotal encounters.
What is the hardest part of writing your books?
Deciding what to write. So many ideas float around in my mind, it’s difficult to decide which I want to pursue. Usually, I decide based on what I want to research and learn about.
What are your most played songs?
Beach Boys, Marty Robbins, Dean Martin, Roy Orbison, George Strait, Johnny Cash.
Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
My wife, Harriet Kocher Lewis, an award-winning author in her own right, is my critique partner and beta reader.
What book are you reading now?
I seldom read just one book, but juggle three or four. Generally, I focus on American history (1849-1949, including Civil War, Old West, and World War II); on movies and movie production; on writing; and on anything else that strikes my curiosity. Right now on my nightstand I am reading William Friedkin: Films of Aberration, Obsession and Reality by Thomas D. Clagett (excellent book); Sixguns & Society: A Structural Study of the Western by Will Wright; Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and a Forever Promise Forged in World War II by Robert M. Edsel; and Nothing but Courage: The 82nd Airborne’s Daring D-Day Mission—and Their Heroic Charge across the La Fiere Bridge by James Donovan.
How did you start your writing career?
Ever since I was a child with a love of reading, I wanted to be an author. The incentive came in 1976 when Bantam offered a $25,000 prize for the best first western. I entered, didn’t win, but got the manuscript published a couple years later. That brought me in contact with a lot of interesting western writers like Elmer Kelton and Jeanne Williams. Their support and encouragement kept me going.
Tell us about your next release.
I am working with Harriet on the sequel to our Spur Award winning YA nonfiction work Pintsized Pioneers: Taming the Frontier, One Chore at a Time. The new book scheduled for a fall release is titled Pintsized Pioneers at Play: Homemade Frontier Fun and Danger. Additionally, I have signed an option with a major Hollywood production company for a movie based on one of my works. I am writing the screenplay for that adaptation. Due to a non-disclosure agreement, I can’t say anything more until the Studio announces the project, but it is a different form of writing and a new but fun challenge.
About the Author
Preston Lewis is the award-winning author of more than 50 western, historical, juvenile, and nonfiction works. In 2021 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his literary achievements.
Western Writers of America (WWA) has honored Lewis with two Spur Awards, one for best article and the second for best western novel. He has received ten Will Rogers Medallion Awards (six gold, two silver and two bronze) for written western humor, short stories, short nonfiction, and traditional Western novel.
Lewis is a past president of WWA and the West Texas Historical Association, which named him a fellow in 2016. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and a master’s degree from Ohio State University, both in journalism. Additionally, he has a second master’s degree in history from Angelo State University. He lives in San Angelo, Texas, with wife Harriet Kocher Lewis.
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