HISTORICAL FICTION AUTHOR
JEFFERY J. MCKENNA
Meet the face behind the pages
Jeff Mckenna resides in a peaceful Southern Utah town amidst the red rocks that make up National Parks like Zion and Arches. He loves mountain biking over the brightly colored sandstone that surrounds him, as well as new trails he finds when he goes on cross-country RV trips with his wife. Along with reading entertaining historical fiction novels, Jeff believes a great way to learn to love America is by exploring her beautiful landscape and visiting cities and states from sea to shining sea.
Jeff's love for his country is what has fostered his love for writing. Uncovering America's history can be messy, but Jeff dives in with both hands to uncover what lies hidden in our nation's past. He loves to reveal forgotten heroes and help them come alive for young Americans as they race through the pages of his historical fiction novel, Saving Dr. Warren... "A True Patriot".
Jeff would love to hear about the American heroes you've discovered as you've dived into history!
DAR Founders Medal Recipient
The Founders Medals were established in 1995, and is awarded to recognize citizens who have given unselfishly of their talents, time and themselves to their community, state or nation. In 2021 Jeff McKenna was nominated for the award by Utah's Color Country Chapter, and in December was awarded The Ellen Hardin Walworth Founders Medal for Patriotism from NSDAR. This medal honors an adult who has displayed outstanding patriotism in the promotion of our American ideals of “God, Home, and Country” through faithful and meritorious service. Jeff has largely done this through his selfless dedication to instilling patriotism in young Americans, most notably in a literary and educational setting.
Jeffery J. McKenna's Reading List
Novels
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, 1943
Bunker Hill, by Janet Tinney, 2000
The Secret of Sarah Revere, by Ann Rinaldi, 1995
My Brother Sam is Dead, by Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier, 1974
Dr. Joseph Warren Biographies
Dr. Joseph Warren – The Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, and the Birth of American Liberty, by Samuel A. Forman, 2012
Life and Times of Joseph Warren, by Richard Frothingham, 1865
Founding Martyr – The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, the American Revolution’s Lost Hero, by Christian Di Spigna, 2018
Joseph Warren – Physician, Politician, Patriot, by John Cary, 1964
History of Boston in 1770s
Rebel and Redcoats, by George F. Scheer and Hugh F. Rankin, 1957
In Their Own Words – Paul Revere, by George Sullivan, 1999
Bunker Hill – A City, A Siege, A Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick, 2013
Paul Revere and The World He Lived In, by Esther Forbes, 1942
Now We Are Enemies – The Story of Bunker Hill, by Thomas J. Fleming, 1960
1776, by David McCullough, 2005
Patriots – The Men Who Started the American Revolution, by A.J. Langguth, 1988
Igniting the American Revolution 1773-1775, by Derek W. Beck, 2015
The Battle of Bunker Hill, by Scott P. Waldman, 2003
Paul Revere and Freemasonry, by Edith J. Steblecki, 1985
September 11
No Day Shall Erase You – The Story of 9/11 as told at the National September 11 Memorial Museum, Michael R. Bloomberg and Alice M. Greenwald, 2016
The Survivor Tree: Inspired by a True Story, by Cheryl Somers Aubin, 2011
The Little Chapel That Stood, by A. B. Curtiss, 2003
World War II
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, by Eugene Sledge, 1981
Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 – Commemorating 75 Years, Time Magazine – Special Edition, 2016
The Battle of Okinawa – The Blood and the Bomb, by George Feifer, 1992
The Adams Family
John Adams, by David McCullough, 2001
Adams National Historical Park – Quincy, Massachusetts, by Caroline Keinath, 2008
John Quincy Adams, by Harlow Giles Unger, 2012
Books on Writing
The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, 1979
On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King, 2000
Learn More
Get to know more about Jeff and his experience writing Saving Dr. Warren... "A True Patriot by scheduling a speaking event or classroom visit today!
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