My until-very-recently next door neighbor (who now lives in Springfield, IL) has just had her first book accepted for publication. Erika Holst is a Lincoln history buff and her forthcoming book, Wicked Springfield: Crime, Corruption, and Scandal in the Lincoln Era, is due out from The History Press in February 2010.  According to Erika, here's the tentative cover copy:

In the twenty-four years that Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield, the city saw its share of crime, corruption, and scandal, much of it at the hands of Lincoln’s law clients and acquaintances.  This entertaining book tells the story of the dark side of Lincoln’s Springfield, from the man being sued for divorce who claimed he caught his venereal disease from the outhouse to Governor William Bissell, whose near-duel with Jefferson Davis almost made him ineligible to hold office.  Brawls, murders, slander, fraud – Lincoln saw it all in his hometown. The stories in this book filled the newspapers that Lincoln read and the docket where he practiced law.  Discover the wicked side to Lincoln’s Springfield.

Erika contacted me to make her her book jacket and publicity photos.  She wanted to have some photographs made at our local library, itself an historic building. It was established in 1902 as the result of a grant from Andrew Carnegie and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. With the permission of the kind folks at the Lincoln Public Library, then, we made a few pictures there on Tuesday evening as well as a few studio portraits for her.

As an aside, my kids love the programming available for children at the library and always enjoy saying "hi" to Ms. Lou when they stop in to get books.  My thanks to Erika and the Lincoln Public Library for their gracious cooperation on this assignment.