THE GREENLEE PROJECT

by Amanda M. Thrasher 

Genre: Young Adult / Contemporary / Cyber-bullying

Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press

Date of Publication: October 31, 2015

Number of Pages: 206

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Social media, cruel jokes, and bitter betrayal – watch your teens!

Greenlee Lynn Granger is about to find out how easily social media can be used as a malicious tool: a normal teen one day and ruined the next. Who knew a boy’s affections would turn her life into such a nightmare? Becoming a designated ‘project,’ a joke in front of the whole school, turns Greenlee’s life upside down. Relationships with her family and friends strained, she is forced to make mature decisions. Greenlee knows her choices will determine the future of her abusers. 

An emotional glimpse into the reality of cyber-bullying, The Greenlee Project showcases the all-too-common anonymous and cruel betrayals of others through social media, of such magnitude that it devastates a young teen, her friends, family, and the community. Cyber-bullying affects not just the victims, but everyone around them. After being the target of cyber-bullying, what Greenlee does next is shocking.

Praise for The Greenlee Project

“The Greenlee Project is a touching and chilling cautionary tale that every teen should read. Amanda Thrasher gives us interesting and compelling characters, a well-crafted plot, and a breathless pace. Her teens are so real that you will feel you know them personally. Teens will find The Greenlee Project a compelling read and a helpful guide, while adults will see the challenges today’s teens face. This is a grand and important story.” — David A. Bedford, Ph.D. Instructor of Spanish at TCU

“The Greenlee Project is a captivating fictional story addressing critical real-life issues that tweens and teens face today. Bullying and cyber-bullying are part of our society today that has had tragic consequences for many.  Amanda Thrasher, is a talented author, who has delivered a story that is both compelling and also thought-provoking.  You can feel the emotions of each of the characters as the story unfolds along this journey. It will leave you with the desire to change the world around you and to talk to others about the increasing severity of bullying and cyber-bullying. With the discussion questions included, this is an excellent choice for  book-clubs and middle school language arts classes. Such a critical and important story.” – Lisa Robinson – NSC

“The Greenlee Project is a wonderful book about a terrible subject. It’s hard to read this book without feeling sad, then angry, then empathetic, then proud.” – Sherry Leigh Rummel

“I was blown away by The Greenlee Project. You hear so much about bullying and things that teenagers deal with online these days. It’s been a few week since I finished the book, and I’m still thinking about how real the characters are. You feel like you could meet any of them at any high school any where. This book is great for any age group, but teens and their parents should definitely read The Greenlee Project.” – E. Nieman

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This subject is a bit close to heart since I experienced my own form of cyber-bullying in high school. I’ll try to keep it short!

The Greenlee Project brings to light a very important issue that is often ignored. While it centers on cyber-bullying, the face-to-face bullying is very present in this as well. What’s interesting about this book is that you feel empathy for all of them. They are all making mistakes and taking their own personal frustration outward unto other people as a way to make themselves feel empowered. It’s a self-destructive and spiraling effect that involves everyone in this book.

I didn’t want to feel hate for any of the characters because I remember how tough high school was at times. Still, it was frustrating to read about Clay actions and non-actions in stopping the bullying of Greenlee. It made no sense to randomly choose to target her, especially after one glance. Laurel, a popular girl in the school, is also dealing with a very dangerous and important issue herself. Yet, she still puts down her friend Kelsey and expects her to ignore the issue. It really brings to light how trying to fit in can make you act in irrational and cruel ways. Even if you’re considered popular.

This book does show some positive aspects as well. While there are cliques that have friction between each other, there is also a very well-exampled mix of group dynamics and how friendship varies between them. Even someone that might feel jealously towards their friend will ultimately want what’s best for them and will do what’s necessary to make sure they’re alright. Or a friend that stands by another, even when jokes and backlash are coming down on them and they might be caught in the crosshairs. Thrasher did a great job of balancing between the positives and negatives of growing up.

Since the book doesn’t have a timeline or character line breaks, it can get a bit confusing as the writing changes between perspectives. I tended to consider this book set some years back since the slang used was more around 5 years ago. It was actually pretty easy to consider it exactly the time I was in high school since I remember texting or saying ‘true dat’ quite a bit and chatting on forums.

This might seem pessimistic but there is always going to be bullying. It’s just something that can happen randomly and intentionally. It’s the reaction to it that truly matters. Standing by someone being bullied and stopping the issue can change their day. It can change their life. So is standing up for yourself. I wish this book had been recommended reading in middle school or high school as opposed to the others. It can and will make a difference to someone that has been bullied before or may be bullied one day. The first step to making people better is being aware of what we need to change. The ending was great and I was really proud of Greenlee. This book is a great choice for teens and parents.

Multiple Award Winning Author Amanda M. Thrasher was born in England, moved to Texas and resides there still. Author of several children’s books including picture books, middle-grade chapter books, YA and even a reader’s theater titled “What If . . . A Story of Shattered Lives.” She conducts workshops, writes a blog and contributes to an online magazine. She’s a multiple Gold recipient of the Mom’s Choice Awards for The Greenlee Project, YA and General Fiction, and for Spider Web Scramble, a Mischief book. As Chief Executive Officer of Progressive Rising Phoenix Press, she assists authors with their work and shares her writing process and what she has learned as a publisher with people of all ages.

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THE REPUBLIC OF FOOTBALL
Legends of the Texas High School Game
by Chad S. Conine

Genre: Texas Sports History / Biographies

Date of Publication: September 6, 2016

Publisher: University of Texas Press

# of pages: 288

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Anywhere football is played, Texas is the force to reckon with. Its powerhouse programs produce the best football players in America. In The Republic of Football, Chad S. Conine vividly captures Texas’s impact on the game with action-filled stories about legendary high school players, coaches, and teams from around the state and across seven decades. 

Drawing on dozens of interviews, Conine offers rare glimpses of the early days of some of football’s biggest stars. He reveals that some players took time to achieve greatness—LaDainian Tomlinson wasn’t even the featured running back on his high school team until a breakthrough game in his senior season vaulted him to the highest level of the sport—while others, like Colt McCoy, showed their first flashes of brilliance in middle school. In telling these and many other stories of players and coaches, including Hayden Fry, Spike Dykes, Bob McQueen, Lovie Smith, Art Briles, Lawrence Elkins, Warren McVea, Ray Rhodes, Dat Nguyen, Zach Thomas, Drew Brees, and Adrian Peterson, Conine spotlights the decisive moments when players caught fire and teams such as Celina, Southlake Carroll, and Converse Judson turned into Texas dynasties.

“This is a wonderful, well-written book, full of compelling details and stories. A ‘must read’ for any Texas football fan.” —DAVE CAMPBELL Dave Campbell’s Texas Football

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Conine is a freelance sports journalist who has written for the Sports Xchange, Reuters, and Golf.com, among others. He has been covering Texas high school and college football since the late 1990s. He lives in Waco, Texas.

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TEXAS IN HER OWN WORDS
(Second Edition)
by
Tweed Scott

Genre: Texas / Texana / General Interest
Publisher: Tejas Publishing
Date of Publication: June 16, 2016
Number of Pages: 336

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Texas in Her Own Words is a peek into the Texas psyche. It explains why Texans are the way they are . . . where all that attitude comes from. This work is the result of a statewide search for what author Tweed Scott calls the “T-Chromosome.” Texans are different but why?  Scott went statewide to find the answers to three basic questions. 1) What makes Texas special? 2) Why is this place so different than anywhere else on the planet? 3) If and when it applied, what does it mean to you personally to BE a native Texan?

Scott shares some remarkable answers with you throughout the book. In the end, he learned that all Texans share four traits or attributes. When you finish this book, you will understand why Texans are the way they are. IF you are a native Texan, chances are you will find some of yourself between the covers of this book. It’s a fun read.
Praise for Texas in Her Own Words

“Searching for the soul of Texas, Tweed Scott has done a great service.  People and places and the cowboy poetry of the heart — Texas in Her Own Words is chockfull of all of these things.  It deserves a special place on your bookshelf. Say right between Larry McMurtry and J. Frank Dobie.” — Kinky Friedman, author and entertainer

“It’s a Texas thing, you either have it, or you don’t.  Few people can define such an emotion, a feeling, a pride that is embedded so deep.  This book made me cry and smile at the same time.  Texas in Her Own Words helps to explain what ‘Lone Star state of mind’ is. . .” — TJ Greaney, Publisher, Countryline Magazine.

“I [Patricia Spork] very highly recommend Texas in Her Own Words (Second Edition) by Tweed Scott to Texas researchers and historians, to any hopeful “wannabe” Texan or to any yee hawin’ boastful Texan, like me (a transplanted didn’t-know-it “wannabe”).”

— Patricia Spork, freelance writer and artist

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Steven Fromholz
Birthplace: Temple, Texas
Hometown: Kopperl, Texas
Career: Musician, Actor, Texas Poet Laureate

I became a fan of Steven Fromholz in the early 1970s when I was in college in Beaumont. I loved his music. It was whimsical and just plain fun to listen to. This man could paint pictures in your mind with his words and his voice. The other unmistakable trait was how Texan he was. He loved Texas deeply and it permeated throughout his music. When he sang about Texas, you not only saw it, but you would feel it, too. His Texas Trilogy is truly a window of Texas in the 1950s or 60s. It is a Texas classic.

By the time I graduated, I had already established a career in radio. One thing about that line of work, you certainly get exposed to all kinds of situations and interesting people. I had seen Steven in concert a few times, but I never met him until I went to work in Austin. By the time I did meet him, I was a huge fan. He had deeply touched my heart through his music.

For example, my father and I had always had a strange relationship. Let’s just say we were never close. We were estranged for many years. As I became an adult, we talked and reconciled. We never became really close, but for lack of a better description, I’d say we had an “understanding.” We would stay in touch infrequently through short letters—more like notes. My father passed away a month before my daughter, Whitney, was born. I was somewhat shocked and saddened at his passing.

As I recall, it wasn’t long after that I heard the words in a Steve Fromholz song called “No Regrets.” I was given permission to share the lyric with you. That lyric was seared into my memory forever.

Like the time I cried, when my daddy he died.

Such a common thing, the tears it brings can be hard to hide.

I hadn’t seen my dad and I was feelin’ bad ‘til I heard him whisper in the wind.

“Son, no need to fret. You owe me no debt. Only have no regrets in your life.

©Steven Fromholz

I remember how I broke down and cried upon hearing those words. It was the first time I grieved for him. It was, perhaps, the first time I ever bonded with him as father and son. Steven Fromholz made that happen through his words.

One day, as I passed through the lobby at KVET/KASE, I saw him sitting there, waiting to talk with one of my radio colleagues. I took the opportunity to approach him and tell him what his song meant to me. As I thanked him, he in turn, in a humble sincere voice, looking at me straight in the eye the entire time, told me that he was happy that one of his songs had touched me so deeply. Our friendship grew out of that moment. I got to interview him a few times for various magazines over the years and saw him at several concerts—the last one at Poodie’s Hilltop Café, in Spicewood. He was engaging and just plain fun to be around. I remember talking with him at the bar at El Rancho in Austin one day. Just a couple of guys enjoying a cold one. He loved Texas. That was obvious. He was a Texan to the bone. I was so happy and proud for him when he was honored as the Poet Laureate of Texas. I could not think of a worthier person for that honor.

I, like the rest of his friends and fans, were shocked to hear of his passing in a hunting accident. Although I had corresponded with Angela, his sister, several times before his death, I have had the opportunity to become closer since his passing. She is a great lady in her own right.

It was important to me to include him in this volume. I have kicked myself several times that I didn’t interview him for the first volume when I could have while he was alive. I know he would have gladly shared the time with me. After speaking with Angela, I asked if she would provide some insight to add to this volume. She graciously agreed.

Photo credit, George Brainard, Austin, TX

STEVEN FROMHOLZ. . .

. . . IS, not WAS, my brother. Yes, he passed on January 19, 2014, but his spirit lives as surely as the sun comes up and sets in his beloved Texas. He was born in Temple, Texas, June 8, 1945, and when his father picked him and our mother up from the hospital a few days after his birth; I was the eight-year-old kid, sitting in the back seat with a pillow on my lap. They placed Steven on that pillow and he rode all the way home with me sitting in absolute awe. I think he became my first child from that day forward and remained so forevermore. As he always said, “Sis always has my back no matter what,” and that was true. He also always had mine!

Little did I know then, nor would I have ever dreamed, that tiny baby was to become a legend and icon in the music industry of Texas. I vividly recall the day Steven told me he’d decided on a music career. He was 18-years-old and carrying a new guitar. I’d had my fling in the music business and knew exactly what he was up against. I inquired as to what name he would use and he replied, “Steven Fromholz.”

I still smile when I recall my reply, “You’d better pick a stage name ‘cause no one is ever going to be able to spell ‘Fromholz’ much less pronounce or remember it.”

We had the same mother but different fathers. Steven’s dad was German/Polish and mine was English/French/Indian. Steven was always fascinated by my Indian heritage and over the years, he often used it when we were on the road to forewarn folks of my quick temper. His favorite answer was often, “Man, the only advice I can give you is don’t piss off the Indian!”

There was never a doubt in anyone’s mind—Steven was a Texan born and bred. He wore the mantle proudly from a very early age, studied Texas history, our family’s history (we’ve been in Texas since the 1850s) and wrote about it prolifically. During his long career, he not only wrote songs about Texas but promoted Texas music, and shared his love for Texas at every show he ever did. He was named Poet Laureate of Texas in 2007. Few people know that once a Texas Poet Laureate, you retain that honor forever, and Steven wore it proudly.

He always said his parents were, “party people,” which actually meant we spent most of our childhood with our Granny in Kopperl, Bosque County, Texas and grew up “country kids.” The population of Kopperl back then was 250 kind souls and it’s the same today. A lover of the outdoors, Steven always said, “God did his best work in Texas…and probably his best lick was in Bosque County, Texas.” He always claimed Kopperl, Texas as his home town and took great pleasure in making fun of our humble beginnings: “Y’all know what the word ‘Bosque’ means?” he’d ask his audiences. Obviously no one did and then he’d say “It’s an old Indian word that means ‘ain’t nothin’ shakin’” and his listeners loved it.

As the years passed, the name “Fromholz” (yeah, that name I thought no one could ever pronounce) became more and more synonymous with the State of Texas. He toured promoting Texas music and made many appearances for folks, running for State office—Democrat or Republican. He refused to publicly endorse anyone running for office in the State of Texas, except Kinky Friedman’s run for Governor. It was agreed between them that if Kinky won, he’d appoint Steven head of Texas Parks and Wildlife, which was a job Steven coveted. To tell the truth, I never knew if they were serious about that or not!

Steven wore many hats during his nearly half-century career, including singer, songwriter, playwright, humorist, actor (stage and screen) poet, river guide, educator…the list is endless. Throughout it all, despite his many talents, outgoing ways, quick wit, and definite social prowess, he never considered himself a “star” or “celebrity,” but would always refer to himself as, “an old Texas folk singer” and a, “wheel man,” which he said meant he drove for a living and just happened to entertain when he reached his destination.

After suffering a massive stroke in 2003, he stepped out of the music mainstream but continued to make a few, well-chosen appearances. On those rare occasions, the folks who enjoyed his music—and loved him dearly—would welcome him with an immediate standing ovation the moment he stepped on the stage. That never ceased to amaze him and his private comment was always ,“Well, I’m blessed they still like an old Texas boy who talks with a limp!” If there was ever an audience who loved him more than he loved them, I never saw it.

He announced his retirement when he moved to the ranch with his true love and it was there he was able to once again get back to the Texas roots he’d known as a child. He celebrated ranching, the outdoors, his faith, and the sheer joy of living as a “normal” (his word) person. He’d always compose a Christmas greeting and have me email it to his fans (whom he called “his friends”) and invariably would sign off on it by saying, “Keep loving each other and keep on loving Texas.”

The press was always kind to Steven as he was kind to and loved the press. Among the notable quotes written in obituaries there’s one that pretty well sums up who Steven Fromholz was, is, and always will be:

…But in 1973 pre-Austin City Limits, all that mattered was that Fromholz was already viewed as some elder statesman of our music and Austin’s rapidly developing scene. It wasn’t that he was an old graybeard, it wasn’t that he had a string of hits. It was that he combined in one person that hard-Texas gravitas and left-handed humor that is part and parcel of every Texan’s birthright. When he sang “There’s bacon to fry and there’s biscuits to bake/On a stove the Salvation Army won’t take,” it was like watching The Last Picture Show or Giant. It was as real as a scorpion bite.
The final time we encountered Fromholz was when he came to Anderson Fair to hear Mark Germino in 2008. Fromholz, who had driven over from Austin for the occasion, had recently been appointed Poet Laureate of Texas and he caused quite a stir when he entered the room. Even after some years out of the performing limelight, he was an instantly recognizable figure to the hip crowd at the fair that night. When he walked in, it was like Sam Houston had entered the room. So, it’s so long to the man in the big hat. Brother, you were real. (William Michael Smith/Houston Press/January 2014)

The day of Steven’s memorial service at Ft. McKavett, Texas; I was at the funeral home—just as the sun came up on a bitterly cold West Texas, January day and helped carry him to the vehicle that would transport him to his long-before-chosen resting place at Ft. McKavett Cemetery, 50 miles away. He had taken me there to view the site a year earlier, remarking at the time, “This spot is as close to heaven on earth, and still be in Texas, as I’ve ever found.” The hearse pulled out onto the highway and I followed it. It seemed we were the only two cars in the State of Texas that morning as the sun came out, shining down on us like a giant spotlight between the clouds.

When we arrived at the cemetery, and I’d helped carry Steven to his final resting place, memories overwhelmed me. I’d carried my brother home when he entered this world and had now carried him home again because he’d left it. We’d made our final road trip. It had been my great honor. As I turned to walk back to my car and get out of the cold, West Texas wind, a statement by an entertainer friend, made to a reporter in New York, came to mind:

“Hell, man, Steven Fromholz IS Texas!” All things considered—that’s the legacy he’d cherish most of all.

Tweed Scott is a laugh-out-loud funny motivational speaker and corporate entertainer. He retired from broadcasting after 31 years. His broadcasting accomplishments include operating the highest rated FM station in America and later the 5^th highest rated AM station in America. Tweed is an award winning speaker and the author of the three-time national award-winning book, Texas in Her Own Words. His book is sold at the Alamo, the state capitol gifts shops in Austin, the San Jacinto Museum & Battleground, and the Sam Houston Statue & Visitor’s Center in Huntsville.

He is the past president of the board for the Writers’ League of Texas serving some 1,300 members. Tweed now writes for several magazines and has built his own writing and speaking company, Tejas Publishing, LLC.  He is a graduate of Lamar University and a US Navy veteran. He continues to write and spread what he calls, “The Gospel of Texas.”

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THE LARK
by
Dana Glossbrenner
Genre: Humorous Literary Fiction
Publisher: Boldface Books
Date of Publication: June 7, 2016
Number of Pages: 270

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You’re never too old to learn—or too young

Good-looking, good-hearted Charley Bristow’s the most sought-after hair stylist in five West Texas counties. He’s an expert on the dance floor and sharp at the pool tables, too—but when it comes to pick­ing cars, dogs, and women, luck hasn’t quite gone his way lately. And there’s the ever-present worry over his mother, whose own trailer-park plight he’d just as soon steer clear of.

Just when he’s sworn off temptation of the female sort, an evening at the local honky-tonk drives two prime targets right into his path. Weighing the sudden wealth of options in his love life, while also searching for the right choice of wheels to suit his needs, Charley stumbles upon a long-hidden secret and an unforeseen road to re­demption.

The colorful denizens of the Wild Hare Salon, Jarod’s Automotive, and Hopper’s nightclub, along with those of the Briargrove First Methodist Church and the Sulfur Gap Centennial Celebration, will two-step their way right into your heart, to music as familiar as Willie Nelson and Charley Pride. And you just might start to fall in love with an old Johnny Mercer tune, too, as Charley Bristow faces his past and embraces the challenge of his future.

Praise for The Lark

“Good-time Charley” Bristow is a popular twenty-something West Texas hairstylist who’s already dodged two bullets with two failed marriages (the second time, literally). . . . The Lark invites us to join Charley’s friends, the rural cosmopolitans of Sulfur Gap, and ride shotgun alongside this rogue with an honest heart . . . on a journey into his past.  Dana Glossbrenner has crafted a totally engaging quest for happiness, set it in a totally genuine contemporary Texas, and delivered up great characters for a great read.

— Cliff Hudder, author of Splinterville and Pretty Enough for You

Charley Bristow takes some things seriously–work, dancing, pool-playing, and women, but maybe not in that order. He finds the true importance of friends and family.

— Rick Smith, San Angelo Standard Times

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If you had a superpower, what would it be?

super strength

If you were a superhero, what would your name be? What costume would you wear?

I would be lean and mean in top to bottom spandex—turquoise, preferably.

Where is one place you want to visit that you haven’t been before?

Ireland

If you were an animal in a zoo, what would you be?

a monkey—the agile ones that swing like supercharged robots around the branches.

If you could speak with any accent from anywhere in the world, what would you choose?

French (I can already do drawl and Southern belle.)

What’s something fun or funny that most people don’t know about you?

I soloed an airplane when I was sixteen. I had to circle the field twice because I overshot the runway. My father, who was also my instructor, nearly had a heart attack watching me from the ground. I decided I lack the depth perception to be a pilot.

My absentmindedness is entertaining to my husband, and I try to keep it a secret when I’m out in public. I have a tendency to look for my glasses when they are on my head and to start a frantic search for eggs in the fridge when I’ve just left them on the counter and forgotten in two minutes while I answered the phone. It’s not senility. I’ve always been this way. I can tell stories of my goofiness on and on. Like the time I scraped my cat’s food from the can to the bowl with a spoon, set her dinner down, and turned around and absent-mindedly licked the spoon. Had to brush my tongue.

Dana Glossbrenner’s debut novel, The Lark, features Charley Bristow, a successful young hair stylist in a small West Texas town. His misadventures provide humor, intrigue, and catharsis, as he discovers a lost family history. Women Behind Stained Glass: West Texas Pioneers, a historical work, recounts the lives of women who helped settle the area around San Angelo, Texas.

Glossbrenner taught high school and university English classes and worked as a guidance counselor. She grew up in Snyder, Texas, earned degrees from Texas Tech, Angelo State University, and Texas State University. She now lives in San Angelo, Texas.

She cites Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy, and Elmer Kelton as major inspirations for writing about Texas.

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A Kineño’s Journey:
On Family, Learning, and Public Service
(Grover E. Murray Studies in the American Southwest) 
 by
Lauro F. Cavazos & Gene P. Preuss

Genre: Memoir / Education
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
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Date of Publication: June 30, 2016
# of pages: 352

On September 20, 1988, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Lauro F. Cavazos as the fourth Secretary of Education in President Ronald Reagan’s administration. A sixth-generation Texan and Kineño—a descendant of Mexican citizens who accepted work on Texas’s King Ranch in the 19th century—Cavazos was the first Hispanic appointed to a position in an American Presidential Cabinet.

The story of Cavazos’s journey leading up to his cabinet appointment is a portrait of a life devoted to the principles of education. In 1954, Cavazos married Peggy Ann Murdock; the couple had ten children, all of whom were educated in public schools. To enhance their children’s education, the Cavazoses traveled extensively, living out the principle that a holistic education includes exposure to others’ worldviews. During his service as Secretary of Education, Cavazos insisted that all children in America be educated to their fullest potential. A key tenet of Cavazos’s service was an emphasis on educating minority students—a passion Cavazos formed early on in his career, first as a faculty member at the Medical College of Virginia, then as a professor and Dean at the Tufts University School of Medicine, and later as President of Texas Tech University.

**************************************

 From the book:

My father told me when I was a young boy that he had three expectations of me. Dad said that I was expected to educate myself, serve my country, and never disgrace the Cavazos name. These three simple admonitions formed the bedrock of my future life, the foundation upon which my father told me to stand firm.

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Former Secretary of Education Lauro F. Cavazos was born on the vast King Ranch in South Texas, where his father was the foreman. He received an M.A. in zoology from Texas Tech University and holds a doctoral degree in physiology from Iowa State University. He taught at the Medical College of Virginia and at the Tufts University School of Medicine, where he was Dean for five years. Cavazos returned to Texas Tech University in 1980 to become its tenth president—the first Hispanic and first graduate of the university to hold that office. He is a professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. He and his wife divide their time between Concord, Massachusetts and Port Aransas, Texas.

Gene B. Preuss is an associate professor of history and Special Assistant to the President at the University of Houston-Downtown. He is the author of To Get a Better School System: One Hundred Years of School Reform in Texas.

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7/22    It’s a Jenn World

7/23    Hall Ways Blog – Review

7/24    StoreyBook Reviews

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THE DISTRICT MANAGER

by

Matt Minor

Genre: Political Suspense

Publisher: Dead Tree

Date of Publication: June 30, 2016

Number of Pages: 266

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“Doing the right thing means you don’t eat”

So begins the sweltering narrative of District Manager, Mason Dixon, a haunted man serving Texas House District 100. After a constituent reaches out to his office with disturbing information about twisted activities going on in district, Mason finds himself drawn into a game of cat and mouse with a malevolent entity.

While these events unfold, Mason begins dating a county judge’s assistant. Brenna is a single mother who is ready to start the next chapter of her life. Can she and the stoical Mason connect? Or will she become collateral damage to his unorthodox, occupational hazards?

Mason soon finds that the danger has reached the highest ranks of the district, and that the century-old structure where he offices is not haunted, but instead possessed by an all too real menace.

Can a man who is profoundly broken restore order when the very core of order itself has been corrupted?

“Matt Minor knows Texas politics from the inside, and he weaves a devious tale of deceit and death and even a little romance. Buckle your seat belt and hang on for the ride.”  — Bill Crider

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How has being a Texan influenced your writing?

It has influenced me as I imagine being French or Russian would influence one. Where we are from shapes us like it or not. You cannot escape it. And if you try to it screws you up.

Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?

People have no idea what’s happening right under their noses. I write the suspense angle so as to shed some light on things. I always throw in a romance because love is the only thing worth anything.

What do you think most characterizes your writing?

Love and grit.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

Moving in and out of the psychology of the narrator, Mason Dixon. He is a good guy but he’s disturbed and in a lot of pain.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Developing the soundtrack.

Are there under-represented groups or ideas featured in your book?

Prisoners; potheads; civil servants; animal lovers; musical acts that never got their due.

Who are some of your favorite authors you feel were influential in your work? What impact have they had on your writing?

Graham Greene; Walker Percy; Tolstoy; D.H. Lawrence; Larry McMurtry

They each have shaped every aspect of my writing in their own way.

What literary character is most like you?

Graham Greene.

What did you find most useful in learning to write? What was least useful or most destructive?

1. Expressing my inner conflicts. 2. Expressing my inner conflicts.

Are you a full-time or part-time writer?

There is no such thing as a part-time writer.

What are some day jobs that you have held? Did any impact your writing?

I worked as a house painter to help pay for school. That was wild. That experience shaped the first novel I ever wrote. I now work in government. It gives me an informed and insider perspective on the how things actually work. Scary.

What do you like to read in your free time?

Literary criticism and poetry, and a novel here and there.

What projects are you working on at the present?

A novel and a book of poems.

What book do you wish you could have written?

Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Just as your books inspire authors, what authors have inspired you to write?

So many really…some not mentioned above would be…Mary Shelley; Robert Penn Warren; Toni Morrison; James Dickey; Thomas Hardy…

How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?

Names are their own beast. Some are thought out and others I just toss in while typing. My only suggestion is make your main characters have memorable names.

Do you use the literary device of motif in your novels?

Yes. In The Representative the motif is Shelleyian via water. In The District Manager it is canines.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

Invisibility.

If you were a superhero, what would your name be? What costume would you wear?

No clue, but if I were invisible I wouldn’t need a costume.

Matt Minor presently serves as a Chief of Staff in the Texas House of Representatives. He has worked as a political campaign manager and is a well-regarded public speaker.

Matt has authored official state publications, oversees syndicated editorials, and is a speechwriter and district radio legislative commentator. Prior to his life in state politics Matt was a professional musician and entertainer. Matt’s hobbies are centered on the arts, including the craft of poetry, an interest that has brought academic recognition and numerous awards.

His first novel, The Representative was an Amazon Political Fiction Bestseller the summer of 2015. It was accepted and archived into the Texas State Legislative Library. In April of 2016 The Representative won an IPPY Gold medal for Southern-Region Fiction.

Matt Minor resides with his wife Stacy on their ranch property in Wharton County, Texas. He lives in Austin during legislative session.

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7/13 Country Girl Bookaholic – Review

7/15 StoreyBook Reviews– Author Interview

7/16 Missus Gonzo – Review

7/17 Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books – Promo

7/18 Reading By Moonlight – Excerpt

7/19 It’s a Jenn World – Review

7/20 Forgotten Winds – Guest Post #2

7/21 The Crazy Booksellers – Promo

7/22 My Book Fix Blog – Review

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WHAT MATTERS MOST
(TEXAS GOLD COLLECTION BOOK #4)
by
Kellie Coates Gilbert

Genre: Contemporary Inspirational Romance / Christian
Publisher: Revell
Date of Publication: July 5, 2016
Number of Pages: 320

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Love and Politics Collide in This Emotion-Packed 

Fourth Texas Gold Novel

Kellie Coates Gilbert strikes gold once again in the latest book in the Texas Gold Collection. Readers will be drawn into the story through Gilbert’s deeply emotional writing that highlights the complexities of human relationships.

Out of her desire to care for her mother who is suffering from dementia, Leta Breckenridge drops out of college. Her next step means leaving her comfort zone. After learning that a delinquent account may force her mother into a less desirable facility, Leta takes a leap and lands a high-paying job at an Austin public relations firm. But her dream job soon turns into a nightmare when she learns that the firm she is working for is a front for a political opposition organization—and that the research she has been collecting will be used against Nathan Emerson, the handsome senator she’s swiftly falling in love with.

Nathan is a rising political star being pressured to run a bid to unseat the current governor of Texas. He’s already in a relationship with a woman much better suited to be a politician’s wife, but he’s never met anyone like Leta. Could this feisty woman hold the key to his heart—and his future?

Praise for the Texas Gold Collection

“This tale of family and faith brings to light what truly matters in life.”—RT Book Reviews, 4 stars

 “Kellie Coates Gilbert delivers emotionally gripping plots and authentic characters.”—LifeIsStory.com

“Well-drawn, sympathetic characters and graceful language make this an engaging choice for readers.”—Library Journal

PURCHASE FROM:
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Chapter 1

I’m sorry. We really need someone a bit more qualified. All of the positions we currently have available require a college degree—at a minimum.”

Leta Breckenridge fixed her eyes on the woman standing behind the table lined with job application forms. “Oh—okay. Well, thank you for your time anyway.” She placed the glossy brochure back in its spot on the table, taking special care to line up the edges with dozens just like it. Her fingers lingered for just a moment before she gave the lady in the suit a weak smile and moved on.

With a sigh, Leta pulled a pen and a notebook from her bag and marked off another company name from the list.

Taking time off work to attend the job fair this afternoon was turning out to be a waste of time. She couldn’t even get her foot in the door at most of the companies she was interested in, even at an entry-level position. Not without having finished her degree.

Same story as always.

Determined not to let the situation get her down, Leta quickly glanced at her watch. She’d stay another half hour before getting ready to head back to the store. Maybe she could talk Mike into letting her make up the hours—and the lost earnings.

“Leta?”

She turned in the direction of a vaguely familiar voice just as Cassie Manning broke through the crowd, a wide smile planted on her face. “Leta, I thought that was you. Long time no see.”

She quickly tucked the notebook back in her bag before letting herself get drawn into an embrace. “Hey, how are you?” Cassie smelled . . . expensive. Like the little samples Leta had collected from the Macy’s counter last week while in the mall with Katie.

Her former classmate gave her a puzzled look. “What are you doing at the job fair?”

“I’m . . . uh . . . I’m here with a friend.” She couldn’t believe how easily the lie slipped from her tongue.

“Oh? What is your friend looking for? Maybe I can help.” Cassie pulled a small gold case engraved with her initials from the pocket of her suit jacket. “I’m the human resources director for Greater Austin Enterprises. Have your friend stop by our booth. We’re looking for candidates for our new division in Dallas, if she’s willing to relocate.”

Leta took the business card. “Uh, thanks. I’ll let her know.”

Her stylish former classmate, dressed in an impeccable plum-colored suit with matching heels, slipped the case back into her pocket. “What about you? Where did you land after graduating?”

Leta rubbed her sweaty palms against the fabric of her own skirt, one she’d been lucky to find in her generous roommate’s closet. How was she supposed to explain she’d relinquished her dream of becoming a landscape architect and instead settled for working in the floral department at Central Market? Or that she’d taken on a second job at a dive bar just to make ends meet? Yeah, let’s tell her that.

In a stroke of pure luck, her classmate’s phone rang. “Sorry, I have to get this.” Cassie turned and buried herself in a conversation, leaving Leta to ponder the best way to extricate herself before being put on the spot again.

In a quick move, Leta pulled her own phone up and pointed to the screen as if she’d just received a text. She whispered, “Gotta go. Catch you later.”

Cassie nodded. “Hold on,” she said into her phone. She smiled in Leta’s direction. “You’ve got my card. Call me for lunch sometime—okay?”

Leta nodded a little too enthusiastically. “Sure thing.” She blew a kiss and scurried off down the aisle, past all the well-dressed job seekers pitching their hard-won credentials to waiting personnel directors like Cassie.

———————————-Click here to read the rest of the chapter———————————-

 Kellie Coates Gilbert is a former legal investigator and trial paralegal, as well as the author of A Woman of Fortune, Where Rivers Part, and A Reason to Stay. Gilbert crafts her emotionally charged stories about women in life-changing circumstances in Dallas, Texas, where she lives with her husband.

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7/11    Margie’s Must Reads  – Review

7/12    Hall Ways Blog – Author Interview #1

7/13    The Page Unbound – Excerpt

7/14    Reading By Moonlight – Review

7/15    It’s a Jenn World – Promo

7/16    Country Girl Bookaholic – Guest Post #1

7/17    My Book Fix Blog – Review

7/18    The Crazy Booksellers  – Author Interview #2

7/19    Chapter Break Book Blog – Guest Post #2

7/20    StoreyBook Reviews – Review

7/21    The Librarian Talks – Author Interview #3

7/22    All for the Love of the Word – Promo

7/23    Byers Editing Reviews & Blog – Review

7/24    A Novel Reality – Promo

7/25    Missus Gonzo – Review

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WEST TEXAS MIDDLEWEIGHT
The Story of LaVern Roach
(Sport in the American West Series)
by
Frank Sikes

Genre: Biography
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Date of Publication: June 30, 2016
Number of Pages: 288

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LaVern Roach, a skinny kid from the small town of Plainview, Texas, rose from obscurity to become one of boxing’s most popular figures during the 1940s. Roach’s rise to prominence occurred during an era when boxing shared the spotlight with baseball as the nation’s top two professional sports. As a result of Roach’s death—which marked the first nationally televised fight during which a boxer died from injuries received in the ring—the sport of boxing came under closer scrutiny by the general public than ever before.

West Texas Middleweight is the story of Roach’s all too brief journey from a West Texas amateur, to enlistment in the US Marines, where he captained the nation’s most successful military boxing team, to becoming a Madison Square Garden main eventer. He received the distinction of being named The Ring Magazine’s “Rookie of the Year” for 1947 and was considered a top ten contender for the middleweight championship of the world. This book chronicles Roach’s road to his final fight—and it explains why, as noted by legendary boxing trainer Angelo Dundee, “boxing changed because of LaVern Roach.”

PURCHASE FROM TEXAS TECH PRESS:
http://www.ttupress.org/
email: ttup@ttu.edu
phone: 800.742.2982

Are you a full-time or part-time writer?  How does that affect your writing? 

I am a part-time writer wanting to be a full-time writer.  Being a part-time writer limits your total concentration and focus on writing.

Are there under-represented groups or ideas featured if your book? 

We all too often see sports figures as only celebrities without realizing that there may me much more to them other than their athletic achievements.  They too have personal lives that often mirror our own ups and downs in life.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book? 

Getting to know the main character through his letters and the interactions with his family members and friends. This happened to the point that I now feel I am part of his family.

From the time that you first got the idea to write this book, did you ever doubt that it would actually turn into a published book?

No, not really.  Not because of any writing skills that I may or may not have possessed (most of which were acquired while writing the book with the assistance of so many people), but because of the subject matter – it was a story that needed to be told.  I was fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time.

Who would you cast to play your characters in a movie version of your book?

LaVern – Scott Eastwood if I could get Clint to direct it.  Evelyn – Emma Stone.

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it? 

The female mind.

What do your plans for future projects include?

I have a couple more sports biographies in mind then perhaps will look at fiction writing — perhaps another Catch 22 type of story.

What is something you want to accomplish before you die? 

Live long enough to see this book in print.

What do you want your tombstone to say? 

He did it his way.

Frank Sikes, a third-generation West Texan, grew up in Plainview, where LaVern Roach, along with Jimmy Dean, were hometown heroes.  Sikes graduated from Texas Tech in 1967, then was a US Navy Officer proudly serving aboard the USS Little Rock stationed in Gaeta, Italy from 1968-1970.  He attended the University of Houston School of Business, from 1973 to 1975, and got his master’s degree in religion from Wayland Baptist University in 2011.

Frank and his wife Nancy have been married for 50 years and have two grown children out of the house, and two Boston Terriers, Molly and Maggie (or as some suggest Boston terrorists) who rule the house. Lubbock has been home for the past 30 years with stops in Newport, RI; San Francisco, CA; Gaeta, Italy; Houston, TX; and Albuquerque, NM.  West Texas Middleweight is his first book.

Connect with the author on FACEBOOK.

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7/1       Country Girl Bookaholic  – Review

7/2       My Book Fix Blog – Author Interview #1

7/3       Forgotten Winds – Guest Post #1

7/4       Margie’s Must Reads – Review

7/5       Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books – Promo

7/6       StoreyBook Reviews  – Author Interview #2

7/7       Book Chase – Review

7/8       The Page Unbound – Author Interview #3

7/9       Missus Gonzo  – Guest Post #2

7/10    It’s a Jenn World – Review

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WINNING TEXAS
by
Nancy Stancill 

Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Suspense
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Date of Publication: April 26, 2016
# of pages: 230

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When a female body is found floating in the Houston Ship Channel, Annie Price, an investigative journalist for a struggling Houston newspaper, is propelled into a dangerous web of intrigue. She must solve a complex mystery that includes a corrupt strip club empire, a ruthless human trafficking scheme, and deadly competition between two separatist groups seeking to impose their twisted visions on the Lone Star State. As two murders hit close to home, Annie and a fellow reporter risk death to expose the hidden secrets of a Texas ranch.

PRAISE FOR WINNING TEXAS:

“Sex traffickers and guns-for-hire meet in a nefarious plot to see Texas secede and America shaken to its core. Witty, gritty and filled with brilliantly realized characters, this book is a pure delight for lovers of suspense as the ever-dogged Annie Price risks life and limb to uncover the truth.”

– Tony D’Souza, author of Mule

Winning Texas is a moody thriller, an ode to people with outsized dreams and the ones they prey on; to those who populate the city by day, and those who rule the night. In the wake of L.A.-noir and Florida glare, Nancy Stancill gives us Bayou City grime. In her pages, Houston seduces and leaves us breathless, begging for more.”

– Stefan Kiesbye, author of The Staked Plains

Nancy Stancill “captures a newsroom’s camaraderie and angst . . . while her descriptions of Houston and the whole of Texas make you feel the heat and see its beauty.”

— Mary Cornatzer, The News & Observer

  PURCHASE LINKS:

AMAZON | BLACK ROSE WRITING

From Nancy Stancill

Hi bloggers and readers,

I hope you enjoy my suspense novel, Winning Texas. I wanted to share with you how I came to write it and my first book, Saving Texas.

I was a newspaper reporter and editor for more than thirty years. I had so many interesting and sometimes disturbing experiences during my reporting years. For part of that time, I was an investigative reporter at the Houston Chronicle. I was often harassed, threatened and a few times, felt my life was in danger. One time, a community college president who feared exposure of his dirty dealings even made up a “wanted’ poster with my picture on it!

Luckily, I worked for a newspaper with editors who supported me in our mission to tell the truth and try to serve the public good. That president later resigned in disgrace and the community ended up with a leader who finally served their interests — instead of his.

I vowed that someday, if I ever had time, I’d write books about an investigative reporter and her adventures. I truly believe that investigative reporters are modern-day detectives with a cause. They are in a position to ask the questions that members of the public have a right to know. I wanted to create a female protagonist who’s not a superwoman, just a flawed human being who tries to summon up her courage and do the right thing.

That’s how my heroine, reporter (and later) editor Annie Price came to be. I’ll admit that she’s based in part on me and my experiences. Like Annie, I’m nearly six feet tall, a bit shy and worry a lot about doing the right thing (and what the right thing is!) But Annie has a much more provocative — and sometimes tumultuous — personal life. She’s a problem drinker and has quite a few love interests, but can’t seem to find the right man. My personal life is much calmer — I’ve been married to the same man for forty years.

I love creating characters and setting them in recognizable, authentic settings. I’ve traveled all over Texas, in my life there in the 1980s and 1990s, and since then on many visits. The place I know best is Houston — and I consider Winning Texas my love letter to Houston. Everyone who lives in a big city has a love-hate relationship with it — and so it is with me and Houston. For instance, I hated the heat and humidity when I lived there, but found that I missed the sultry climate after I left.

The people in the fictional Houston Times’ newsroom are very much like the newspaper folks that I knew and loved over the years, but like most writers, my characters tend to be composites. Newspaper reporters tend to be very smart, dedicated, perhaps a bit cynical at times, but they mostly love what they do. They know it’s a noble quest to represent the interests of the public and they worry about the growing threats to journalism. I tried to accurately portray the financial challenges of today’s journalism, which I personally feel is a threat to our democracy.

Secession is a big theme in both Saving Texas and Winning Texas. I originally got the idea to focus on secession when I heard some comments from Governor Rick Perry a few years ago. He said, in effect, if Texas didn’t like how the federal government treated the state, it could leave. At the time, his comments drew a lot of headlines, but weren’t really taken seriously. I researched secession and found that Texas has always had a secessionist movement of sorts, primarily because it was a republic for about ten years after winning its freedom from Mexico. Secessionist sentiment has waxed and waned over the years, but in the last few years, has become stronger and more visible. There’s a faction in the state that wants to go it alone — and thinks Texas would be better off.

I enjoyed researching the Texas Hill Country and its German roots and thought it plausible that a German-Texas movement might exist. As far as I know, there is no tangible interest in creating a German Texas, but people who live in that area seem to really value their German heritage. So it was easy to imagine people working toward such a goal. I think the most effective fiction is something that you can imagine being true, even though it isn’t!

I hope that readers can find a blend of things to enjoy in Winning Texas — the twists and turns of an interlocking political plot, the drama of relationships in Annie’s love life, an unvarnished look at today’s newspaper world and Houston and Texas in all of its glory and grime.

Enjoy the book and I thank you for reading with all my heart!

With love,
Nancy Stancill

Nancy Stancill spent more than 30 years as a newspaper reporter and editor before she began writing fiction full-time. She was an award-winning investigative reporter at the Houston Chronicle and the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer and worked as a reporter and editor at other newspapers in Texas, Virginia and California. Stancill is a journalism graduate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and received her master’s in creative writing from the University of Tampa in Florida in 2015.  She and her husband lived in London for three years before moving back to the United States in 2012.  She has a son in Virginia and she lives in Charlotte, N.C. with her husband, Len Norman, and black cat, Spud. Saving Texas was her first novel. Winning Texas is her second.

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6/30    Texas Book Lover  – Promo

7/1       The Librarian Talks – Review

7/2       Margie’s Must Reads – Excerpt

7/3       A Novel Reality — Promo

7/4       Country Girl Bookaholic  – Review

7/5       The Crazy Booksellers  – Promo

7/6       The Page Unbound  – Guest Post

7/7       Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books – Review

7/8       Forgotten Winds – Author Interview                    

7/9       StoreyBook Reviews  – Review

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