Reincarnation? Yes, that's what author Trace Edward Zaber believes, wholeheartedly, especially when, at the age of four, he begged his parents to take him to a little town called Gettysburg, and after arriving, wanted to see nothing other than a hill just south of town named Little Round Top, which continues to fascinate him!
Trace is a Chicago-area writer, specializing in Civil War fiction. “Nothing,” he says, “and I mean nothing, stirs my soul more so than the Great American Conflict. It was a period when brother fought brother with brutal abandon—nearly unfathomable in our day and supposedly-civilized age—and Americans waged bloody war against one other. How many people today can actually imagine a grand city such as Atlanta burning to the ground?...the destruction of New York City being attempted?...the murder of a leader with insight such as Abraham Lincoln being executed? And not by an enemy’s hand, but stemming from acts of their own ancestors? Few, I’m certain. Many of us live day to day, taking for granted all that surrounds us, but ignorant to our tragic past—the gallons of blood shed to preserve this union of states as our forefathers had originally conceived. But, as the author Shelby Foote once said, ‘An understanding of this nation had to be based...on an understanding of the Civil War...It defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became; both good and bad...It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads.’ I suppose that’s why I write Civil War fiction. A part of me is forever trying to comprehend what political and personal chaos could have driven Americans to such brutal acts. Although I highly doubt I will ever glean the whole truth, perchance I might gain a modicum of insight.”
In 2000, Trace’s debut novel, Sins of the Father, won Word Weaving’s first-ever “Award For Literary Excellence,” and it was nominated for an EPPIE Award in the Best Historical Fiction category. Also available soon will be Trace’s seven-part Civil War series The Culpeper Chronicles, including the first book in the series, One Bitter And Deadly Harvest, and the second book, Two Nations Under God. Moreover, Trace’s stories “Blood Brothers” and “The Collections Of Bethlehem” have garnered several awards and appeared in a Historical Anthology Twilight Antiquity. Another of his stories, “Esprit De Corps,” appeared as part of the award-winning Tales of the Spirit of Hope, Love, and Redemption charitable anthology.
Additionally, Trace moderates several writers’ critique groups, was a featured author at Barnes & Noble’s Writers’ Harvest 1997, and was the owner/editor of the award-winning Of Ages Past Magazine (although defunct, all past issues are still online).
On the side—and much to the surprise of those who know him only by his prose—Trace is a rock ‘n’ roller, an accomplished vocalist and keyboard player. During his lengthy musical career as a recording artist and songwriter, and as a member of more than two dozen bands, he toured as a support act for world-renowned groups such as Judas Priest, Heart, and Jefferson Starship, and even played the challenging lead role in Jesus Christ Superstar. Aside from his own studio work, Trace's voice can also be heard on various albums, where he performed as a guest background vocalist, as well as on television ads, including Pizza Hut, when he worked as a jingle singer for several advertising agencies. Most recently, in 2002, Trace signed his fifth recording contract, this time as the lead vocalist with DSG (The Dave Shankle Group—“Dave Shankle” is the former award-winning guitarist and Guiness Book Of World Records guitarist with heavy-metal legends, Manowar). The first DSG album, Ashes To Ashes, is now available from Magic Circle Music/Nuclear Blast Records. The band’s website is online at http://davidshankle.com, where you can read the official biography, reviews of the album, even download not only snippets of the various tracks, but also the band's two full-length music videos, “Ashes To Ashes” and “Calling All Heroes.” The CD is available for purchase there, as well as other outlets such as I-Tunes and Amazon. (Update: Due to his work with Amber Quill Press and as a cover artist, Trace has recently made the difficult decision to leave the band and put his side contract as a solo recording artist on hold.)