Francis Hamit, an internationally-recognized trade magazine journalist, author, and playwright, has been writing professionally for more than 40 years. Hamit, who earned an MFA in Fiction from the famed Iowa Writers Workshop, has written hundreds of articles, reviews, and essays for newspapers, magazines, and Internet publications throughout his long career. His other works include the non-fiction book Virtual Reality and the Exploration of Cyberspace, the stage plays MARLOWE: An Elizabethan Tragedy and Memorial Day, which was showcased at the Masquers Playhouse in Richmond, California in 2005.

A few years ago, Hamit decided to refocus his career on Fiction and Drama, completing his first published novel, The Shenandoah Spy, a historical fiction novel, which was published by Brass Cannon Books in 2008. In the book, Hamit shares the story of one Isabelle “Belle” Boyd, a fascinating young woman in Martinsburg, Virginia who would become one of the most famous personalities of the U.S. Civil War – in fact, the first woman in American history (only a teenager at the time) to be commissioned an Army officer.

Hamit, a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers and the National Military Intelligence Association, was a member of the U.S. Army Security Agency during the Vietnam War. In Shenandoah Spy the first of five novels Hamit plans to write about Civil War espionage, his insider knowledge along with his extensive and ongoing research makes for a satisfying blend of fact and fiction for Civil War buffs, historical novel fans, readers of Feminist literature, or anyone looking for a good summer read.