Author Archives: Brian C. Kaufman

My father, Harold Kaufman, is in the NASA Hall of Fame for his work on ion rocket engines. Ion propulsion uses vaporized, ionized mercury fired through charged grids. The actual mass of ionized particles is small, so the engine can’t … Continue reading →

My Civil War novel, Dread Tribunal of Last Resort, will be released on January 20, 2021. The idea for the novel came two decades ago. The challenges of researching historical fiction kept the project on the back burner for years. … Continue reading →

Fantasy author Morgan Wright also creates book trailer animations. She recently took a crack at a short, sweet book trailer for Sins in Blue. Here’s the result: I have mixed feelings about book trailers. I’m not convinced they help sell … Continue reading →

Sins in Blue is my novel about an old, Depression-era bluesman. The story explores themes involving the problem of cultural appropriation—the inappropriate adoption of customs or ideas of one people by members of a more dominant people. The 1987 Grammy … Continue reading →

Selling a novel in a glutted market is a tough proposition. One important part of my marketing plan for Sins in Blue involved a series of blog posts. Rather than bludgeon people with a hard sell, I thought I’d write … Continue reading →

Singer Billie Holiday was a known drug user. Harry Anslinger, commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, was a known racist. Anslinger believed that drugs caused black artists to “step out of line.” One song of Billie’s particularly offended him … Continue reading →

The story goes that Willie’s stepmother was sleeping around. Willie’s father caught her with another man and beat her. Seven-year-old Willie Johnson became collateral damage—his stepmother splashed Willie in the eyes with lye water, blinding him for life. Another story … Continue reading →

I used to haunt a little record store across from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Back in the day, I’d sift through stacks of vinyl, looking for something good. One afternoon, I found a four-song EP by bluesman … Continue reading →

Dread Tribunal of Last Resort (Five Star/Cengage) is now available for pre-order at both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Decker Brown is a proud young Virginian, educated in Boston, with plans to manufacture illuminations (fireworks) and raise a family. He … Continue reading →

Sins in Blue is available for pre-order at Amazon.com. A young man on a mission. An aging musician with a dream. Society perched over a racial divide. It’s the 1960s, and nothing reflects the cultural revolution more than music. When Kennedy … Continue reading →