Bible Challenge: Small Facts From the Big Book, Harmon's 1,200-question compendium of Bible quiz sets, was published by Crossings Book Club in late 2002. "That was my most involved research project ever," he says. "It required months of compilation, organization and cross-referencing. It was quite a formidable undertaking, because I was writing about my personal life's guidebook and I had a great dread of misleading readers or taking some detail out of context."

Barbour Publishing, the company that gave Harmon his start in book writing and editing, has issued numerous reprints of his four "Great Clean Jokes" compilations and Men of the Bible: Fifty Biographical Sketches of Biblical Men. In 2003, Barbour released a valueBOOKS edition of his joke collection titled Book of Clean Jokes. Barbour also published Men & Women of the Bible, a combined edition of Harmon's Men of the Bible with its companion work, Colleen L. Reece's Women of the Bible.

Harmon's two volumes in Mason Crest's "Childhoods of the Presidents" series for mid-grade readers were published in Autumn 2002. "I was assigned two presidents whose South Carolina connections obviously made the research of special interest to me: Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson," the author notes. "I learned a lot and came away with a greater appreciation for what they achieved in later life."

The Early French Explorers of North America and Explorers of the South Pacific, Harmon's titles in the "Exploration and Discovery" series from Mason Crest, were released in 2002. The historical works are intended for students in intermediate grades to use for research projects, supplemental reading and personal enrichment.

Southeast Africa, the last of Harmon's six titles in the "Exploration of Africa: The Emerging Nations" series, was published in 2002 by Chelsea House Publishers. Chelsea House in 2001 published Harmon's Egypt, West Africa, and Central and East Africa; previously published were his Nigeria and Sudan.

Chelsea House in 2002 published his volumes on the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, installments in the "Your Government: How It Works" series. Released by Chelsea House in 2001 were two of Harmon's titles in the "Revolutionary War Leaders" series: biographies of Gen. John Burgoyne and Lord Charles Cornwallis. Coming off the presses almost simultaneously were his biographies of Davy Crockett and Billy the Kid for Chelsea House' "Famous Figures of the American Frontier" series.

Also released in 2001 were two more of Harmon's biographies in Chelsea House' "Explorers of New Worlds" series for middle-grade students. Louis Jolliet & Father Jacques Marquette: Explorers of the Mississippi and Robert Peary and the Quest for the North Pole were his fourth and fifth works in the 30-volume series written by different authors. Published in 2000 was his biography of Juan Ponce de Leon, followed by his volumes on Sieur de La Salle and Jacques Cartier.

Harmon has written 53 books for Chelsea House, Wright/McGraw-Hill, Mason Crest, Barbour and other publishers since 1996 on topics including American history, international studies, exploration, government and psychology (see the author's bio page). Most are juvenile educational titles, with target audience levels ranging from fourth grade through high school.

"Of all the educational titles I've researched and written, the ones in the various exploration series and the early American biographies have been among my very favorites," he says. "Every project is a great learning experience. History is my topic of choice, and exploration is, to me, one of the most fascinating realms of history. I almost feel as if I should be paying the publishers to receive those assignments. They're a pleasure to write."

What's in the works from Harmon's desk?

"In December 2004 I finished my sixth biographical sketch for Wright/McGraw-Hill's new 'Amazing Americans' series. They span the panorama of American history, from Chief Metacom ('King Philip') to Neil Armstrong. I hope to write more of those in 2005."

Harmon also has been busy as an editor. In addition to his longstanding work assembling Sandlapper: The Magazine of South Carolina and The Lawyer's PC, a technical newsletter published by West/Thomson, in 2003 he edited 50 Things to Do With the Rest of Your Life. The life enrichment book was penned by his longtime friend and boss Robert Pearce Wilkins. Harmon presently is editing a second book by Wilkins.

As for "The Harper Chronicles," his beloved historical mystery series, not to worry. "I'm gradually chipping away at a number of stories as the inspiration occurs. Some of them will comprise Volume Two. They include one which, if I can pull it off, promises to be the most evocative and momentous adventure to date, in my view."