NARROW THE ROAD

By James Wade

Genre: Southern Fiction, Literary Fiction, Coming of Age

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Pages: 306

Publication Date: 26 August 2025

SYNOPSIS

In this gripping coming-of-age odyssey, a young man’s quest to reunite his family takes him on a life-altering journey through the wilds of 1930s East Texas, where both danger and opportunity grow as thick as the pines.

With his father missing and his mother gravely ill, William Carter is struggling to keep his family’s cotton farm afloat in the face of drought and foreclosure. As his options wane, William receives a mysterious letter that claims to know his father’s whereabouts.

Together with his best friend Ollie, a mortician in training, William sets out to find his father and bring him home to set things right. But before the boys can complete their quest, they must navigate the labyrinth of the Big Thicket, some of the country’s most uncharted, untamed land. Along the way they encounter eccentric backwoods characters of every order, running afoul of murderers, bootleggers, and even the legendary Bonnie and Clyde.

But the danger is doubled when the boys agree to take on a medicine show runaway named Lena, eliciting the ire of the show’s leader, the nefarious con man Doctor Downtain. As William, Ollie, and Lena race to uncover the clues and find William’s father, Downtain is closing in on them, readying to make good on his violent reputation. With the clock ticking, William must decide where his loyalties lie and how far he’s willing to go for the people he loves.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Wade is the award-winning author of Hollow Out the Dark, Beasts of the Earth, All Things Left Wild, and River, Sing Out. He is the youngest novelist to win two Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America, and a recipient of the MPIBA’s prestigious Reading the West Award. His work has appeared in Texas Highways, Writers’ Digest, and numerous additional publications. James lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country with his wife and children.

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QUEEN OF COTTON

By Laurie Moore-Moore

Historical Fiction

Publisher: Goat Mountain Press

Publication Date: September 9, 2025

SYNOPSIS

1861: The Civil War is raging. The men have gone to fight, leaving the women behind to cope.  Cotton is the lifeblood of the South.

Sara, a young wife, risks her life and reputation to lead an official Confederate Camel Caravan hundreds of miles across Texas to Matamoros, Mexico. There, cotton can be sold and shipped to the buyer, avoiding the Union blockade and providing critical funds for the South and desperate Dallas cotton growers. 

But . . .“It’s not a job for a woman.” The Texas frontier is fraught with danger. The caravan will face fierce Comanche, bandits, extreme weather, internal vandalism, and unforgiving desert. The Mexican cotton market is complex and full of fraudsters. The trail home, carrying gold and armaments, makes the caravan a rich target.  

Joining Sara on the adventure are a fascinating mix of real and fictional characters, including a slave— who quotes Machiavelli—and forty-six camels!  Can Sara face peril and uncertainty with grit and unyielding determination?  Can she survive, succeed, and as a result, shed the past that haunts her? Queen of Cotton: Confederate Camel Caravan is a woman’s adventure with roots in true history.  Climb aboard, your camel is waiting.

A stand-alone novel and book two in the Texas Brave & Strong series.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laurie Moore-Moore and her husband, Roger, have been blessed with many adventures–from trekking across India’s Thar desert on camels (and sleeping in the sand on camel blankets) to repeating marriage vows in a remote Maasi village in Kenya (Laurie’s dowry was one cow and one goat). Laurie’s favorite adventure? As a fifth-generation Texan, Laurie says, “It is discovering more and more Texas history and writing about it!”

After decades in Dallas, Texas the couple moved to a mountaintop overlooking a lake in the Cherokee Nation. “The cabin is unique,” Laurie says. “There is a nine foot chainsaw bear in our entry hall. The house was built around it. Never thought I’d own a piece of chainsaw art, much less a nine foot bear. Life is full of surprises–just like a good historical novel.”

Laurie is a retired entrepreneur who has built and sold multiple businesses and served on the board of directors of an international Corporation.

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QUEEN OF COTTON

By Laurie Moore-Moore

Historical Fiction

Publisher: Goat Mountain Press

Publication Date: September 9, 2025

SYNOPSIS

1861: The Civil War is raging. The men have gone to fight, leaving the women behind to cope.  Cotton is the lifeblood of the South.

Sara, a young wife, risks her life and reputation to lead an official Confederate Camel Caravan hundreds of miles across Texas to Matamoros, Mexico. There, cotton can be sold and shipped to the buyer, avoiding the Union blockade and providing critical funds for the South and desperate Dallas cotton growers. 

But . . .“It’s not a job for a woman.” The Texas frontier is fraught with danger. The caravan will face fierce Comanche, bandits, extreme weather, internal vandalism, and unforgiving desert. The Mexican cotton market is complex and full of fraudsters. The trail home, carrying gold and armaments, makes the caravan a rich target.  

Joining Sara on the adventure are a fascinating mix of real and fictional characters, including a slave— who quotes Machiavelli—and forty-six camels!  Can Sara face peril and uncertainty with grit and unyielding determination?  Can she survive, succeed, and as a result, shed the past that haunts her? Queen of Cotton: Confederate Camel Caravan is a woman’s adventure with roots in true history.  Climb aboard, your camel is waiting.

A stand-alone novel and book two in the Texas Brave & Strong series.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laurie Moore-Moore and her husband, Roger, have been blessed with many adventures–from trekking across India’s Thar desert on camels (and sleeping in the sand on camel blankets) to repeating marriage vows in a remote Maasi village in Kenya (Laurie’s dowry was one cow and one goat). Laurie’s favorite adventure? As a fifth-generation Texan, Laurie says, “It is discovering more and more Texas history and writing about it!”

After decades in Dallas, Texas the couple moved to a mountaintop overlooking a lake in the Cherokee Nation. “The cabin is unique,” Laurie says. “There is a nine foot chainsaw bear in our entry hall. The house was built around it. Never thought I’d own a piece of chainsaw art, much less a nine foot bear. Life is full of surprises–just like a good historical novel.”

Laurie is a retired entrepreneur who has built and sold multiple businesses and served on the board of directors of an international Corporation.

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THE END GAME

By Michael Scott Clifton

Contemporary Sports Romance

Publisher: Independently Published

Publication Date: August 8, 2025

SYNOPSIS

Eager to put his past behind him, Chris Cooper takes the head basketball job at Mayfield High School in Northeast Texas. Haunted by a history of rocky relationships, he’s surprised by the sparks his landlady, single mom, Jennie Sloan, ignites in him.  

Despite trust issues from her own tumultuous past, something about the tall coach with emerald-green eyes makes Jennie believe in second chances. When her young son bonds with Cooper, the barriers Jennie built around her heart begin to crumble.

Excited about the raw potential of his team, Cooper is blindsided by Rocco Rawlings, the arrogant Head Football Coach and Athletic Director. The AD demands Cooper’s entire team play football. When Cooper refuses, Rawlings works to undermine the basketball program, and Cooper is forced to find inventive ways to succeed.

As the stakes rise on and off the court, Cooper and Jennie must contend with the demons of their past to protect the fragile flame they’ve lit, while Cooper’s scrappy team—fueled by grit, heart and a shared dream—might just defy the odds and reach the ultimate end game.

A state championship.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Journey into realms of magic and mystery

Michael Scott Clifton is a rapacious reader, gardener, and movie junkie. A resident of East Texas, he lives in Mount Pleasant with his wife, Melanie. A multi-award winning author, his books include The Treasure Hunt Club, The Janus Witch, and the Conquest of the Veil Series—The Open Portal, Escape From Wheel, A Witch’s Brew, and Cavern of the Veil Queen, and the award-wining Teen/YA novel, Edison Jones and the Anti-Grav Elevator. Pringle Prawn, an urban fantasy novel, is a 2024 Reader’s Favorite Book Award winner. Google him @authormsclifton, or visit his website at www.michaealscottclifton.com

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THE BULLS OF BASHAN

By Jodi Lea Stewart

Historical Fiction, Mystery Action and Adventure, Quest Fiction 

Publisher: Progressive Phoenix Rising

Publication Date: June 17, 2025

In a diner on the edge of a dusty Texas border town, a young waitress’s life takes an unexpected turn when she is swept into a high-stakes adventure. Recruited by a charismatic former World War II Army major, a glamorous New York socialite, and a charming daredevil who effortlessly flies planes and rides bulls, she embarks on a shadowy mission that promises both wealth and danger.

This unlikely team will plunge into the heart of the perilous Amazon rainforest, navigate the depths of the world’s most treacherous canyon, brave the open seas, and traverse the ruins of postwar Europe. Their quest? To retrieve a set of mysterious keys while evading a relentless pursuer who seems to be one step ahead at every turn. Who is this enigmatic figure stalking them, and what sinister agenda does he have planned in Budapest?

As they race against time, each member of the team must confront his or her own demons and hidden truths. With the fate of their mission hanging in the balance, they inch closer to the elusive head of operations—the only one who can unlock the secrets of The Bulls of Bashan. 

Prepare for a suspenseful journey filled with danger, intrigue, and self-discovery, a globetrotting historical thriller with evocative international settings, strong female arcs, and cross-generational themes.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jodi Lea Stewart is a multi-award-winning fiction author who believes in and writes about the triumph of the human spirit despite adversity through grit, humor, and stubborn tenacity. Her lifetime friendships with all nationalities, different social stratas, cowpunchers, the Southern gentry, the California crazies (she was once one, too … well, sort of, LOL!), not to mention outliers, allow Jodi to write comfortably about, oh … practically anything.

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Canyon of Deceit

By DiAnn Mills

Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Tyndale Fiction

Pages: 338

Publication Date: September 9, 2025

SYNOPSIS

A child. A deadly conspiracy. A race against time.

When survival expert Therese Palmer is called to find a kidnapped girl, she quickly realizes the truth is more dangerous than she imagined. Enlisting the help of Texas Ranger Blane Gardner, they track the girl’s last known location deep in the Guadalupe Mountains—where every clue leads to more deception. As Russian organized crime and a deadly assassination plot come to light, Therese and Blane must fight against ruthless enemies and their growing attraction. Will they find the girl before time runs out, or will she become a pawn in a much bigger game?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author DiAnn Mills is known for her gripping romantic suspense novels where readers can Expect An Adventure. With multiple Christy Awards and numerous bestsellers, her stories captivate readers with their depth and intensity. A passionate storyteller and dedicated mentor, DiAnn is also a coffee connoisseur and proud grandmother living in Houston, Texas.

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HIGHER LOVE

By JOANNE KUKANZA EASLEY

Women’s Literary Fiction

Publisher: Red Boots Press

Pages: 380

Publication Date: May 12, 2025

SYNOPSIS

-five years ago, Stephanie upends Lauren’s life—already complicated by her remarriage to Brett after thirty-three years apart. Stung by her adoptive grandmother’s deception, Stephanie stays, her past of tragedy and self-harm forging a fragile bond with Lauren and Brett. When Stephanie’s trust fund evaporates, crushing her college dreams, Lauren sacrifices all to give her a future—only to face a bittersweet twist that echoes the past and changes everything. This heart-wrenching family drama delves into the enduring impact of secrets, the power of unconditional love, and the strength found in facing our pasts.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Texas Author Project and shortlisted for the Sarton Award and Eric Hoffer Award, among others. Just One Look, Joanne’s second novel, was a May 2022 Pulpwood Queen Book Club Pick. I’ll Be Seeing You, her third novel, features characters from Sweet Jane. Look for her fourth novel, Higher Love, a sequel to her third book, in Spring 2025. Her prize-winning short stories and poetry have appeared in several anthologies.

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TOO MUCH THE LION:

A Novel of the Battle of Franklin

By PRESTON LEWIS

Historical Fiction / Civil War Fiction

Publisher: Bariso Press

Pages: 395 

Publication Date: May 13, 2025

SYNOPSIS

In a historical novel reminiscent of The Killer Angels, Too Much the Lion follows a handful of Confederate generals, infantrymen and local residents through the five days leading up to the horrific Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864.  The lives of soldiers ranging from Major General Patrick Cleburne to Brigadier General Hiram Granbury and from Sergeant Major Sumner Cunningham and to Corporal Sam Watkins will be forever changed by Hood’s decisions and mistakes.

Franklin civilians like apprehensive and loving mother Mary Alice McPhail and teen Hardin Figuers, desperate to serve the Confederacy but too young to enlist, are ensnared in the events that will bring death and devastation to their very doorsteps.  Devout Confederate Chaplain Charles T. Quintard must reconcile his religious beliefs with his support of slavery.  Slaves like the elder Wiley Howard and the inquisitive young Henry B. Free are trapped on the fault line between what has been and what could be.

Too Much the Lion offers an unvarnished account of the dying days of the Confederacy in a powerful and moving narrative of honor and betrayal, bravery and cowardice, death and survival.  Told with poignancy and honesty by an accomplished novelist, Too Much the Lion achieves for the Battle of Franklin what The Killer Angels did for the Battle of Gettysburg, providing a classic fictional account of one of the Civil War’s pivotal encounters.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

membership for his literary achievements. Western Writers of America (WWA) has honored Lewis with three Spur Awards, one for best article, the second for best western novel and the third in 2025 for juvenile nonfiction. He has received ten Will Rogers Medallion Awards—six gold, two silver and two bronze—for written western humor, short stories, short nonfiction, and traditional Western novel.

Lewis is a past president of WWA and the West Texas Historical Association, which named him a fellow in 2016.  He holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and a master’s degree from Ohio State University, both in journalism.  Additionally, he has a second master’s degree in history from Angelo State University.

He lives in San Angelo, Texas, with wife Harriet Kocher Lewis.  

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