Lone Star ReviewsMichelle Newby, NBCC,

Contributing Editor

Texas ReadsGlenn Dromgoole

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Two books celebrate Texas sports every day

Two new books offer sports fans a Texas sports story a day chronologically throughout the year. Both books, similar in their approach but offering different stories for most days, came out within weeks of each other.

Lone Star Sports Legends: On This Day in History by Ryan Sprayberry (The History Press, $21.99 paperback) opens with the first Cotton Bowl game on Jan. 1, 1937, and concludes with the Dallas-Green Bay “Ice Bowl” game on Dec. 31, 1967. Sprayberry does not offer a Feb. 29 leap-year item.

Texas Sports: Unforgettable Stories for Every Day of the Year by Chad S. Conine (University of Texas Press, $19.95 paperback) starts off with Texas winning the Cotton Bowl and the national championship on Jan. 1, 1964, and ends with TCU defeating Southern Cal in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31, 1998. Conine does include an entry for Feb. 29.

Each book has its plusses and minuses. Lone Star Sports Legends includes more photographs as well as a headline for each entry. Texas Sports doesn’t include headlines, just the date of the event, which isn’t as reader-friendly, in my opinion. It has some photographs, but not as many as the other book.

However, Texas Sports does include an index and a list of sources of information, which are helpful.

On a few dates, the two authors selected the same event to write about — for example, Aug. 4, 1993, when Chicago White Sox batter Robin Ventura charged the pitching mound after being hit by a Nolan Ryan fastball. Conine tells the story in more depth and even includes the Associated Press photo of Ryan, age 46, grabbing Ventura in a headlock and punching him.

Both authors picked the same event to recognize on Jan. 16 — the Dallas Cowboys winning their first Super Bowl in 1972. Sprayberry’s entry includes a picture of the souvenir pennant from the game.

You can’t go wrong with either book, and either one (or both) would make a good gift for the die-hard sports fans on your holiday list.

Glenn Dromgoole’s latest book is West Texas StoriesContact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.

>> Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Literary Life

Erickson, Gwynne, McCay, and more dazzle fans at 2017 Lubbock Book Festival

Wenthe named Lubbock’s 2017–18 poet laureate

LUBBOCK — Some 500 bookfans of all ages converged on the various venues of the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA) and the Charles Adams Studio Project (CASP) Oct. 28 for the city’s first all-day book festival, involving more than 50 featured and local authors.

The city named its 2017–18 Lubbock Poet Laureate, award-winning poet William Wenthe of the Texas Tech University faculty, on Saturday evening following readings by several other poets and Tech faculty and student writers during the afternoon.

Festival events too place in venues at LHUCA and CASP in Lubbock’s downtown Cultural District, as part of LHUCA’s 20th anniversary celebration. Click here for a full photo album of the event.

Festival keynoters included S. C. Gwynne of Austin, author of the nonfiction bestsellers Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches and Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson. Gwynne explored how the passing game revolutionized Texas’ most popular sport in The Perfect Pass: American Genius and the Reinvention of Football‎, including a nod to the innovations of Mike Leach, former Texas Tech University head coach.

Numerous regional and national bestselling authors also gave solo readings and talks, or participate in multi-author panels. Jodi Thomas of Canyon, distinguished Texas Tech alumna and a member of the National Romance Writers Hall of Fame, discussed her Ransom Canyon series of novels, and ohn R. Erickson of Perryton, creator of the beloved Hank the Cowdog series for young readers, presented a program on Saturday afternoon.

Newcomer to the book scene Karin McCay, news co-anchor of Lubbock’s KCBD-TV, read from her Magic Mommy series of titles for children, assisted by KCBD reporter Shaley Sanders and introduced by KCBD meteorologist John Robison.

During the lunch hour, celebrity chef Adán Medrano of Houston, author of the cookbook Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage in Recipes, and Lubbock Avalanche-Journal food columnist Angelina LaRue from Idalou, author of The Whole Enchilada: Fresh and Nutritious Southwestern Cuisine, teamed up for a festive Southwest-themed luncheon and cooking demonstration. >>READ MORE

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LONE STAR LISTENS interviews >> archive

Author interviews by Kay Ellington

10.29.2017 Charlaine Harris muses on her supernatural journey to Midnight, Texas

The otherworldly lives of vampires in literature have rarely been hardscrabble. But author Charlaine Harris turned the world of bloodsucking bluebloods and counts upside down when she set telepathetic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse — and her adventures in fending off paranormal attentions — in a workaday environ of trailer parks and Walmarts. Harris’s books have resonated in a way that something truly unique always does. TV producers came calling, and she hit #1 in the New York Times bestseller list. At the outset of this Halloween week, the author of the books behind True BloodMidnight, Texas, spoke with Lone Star Lit via email about the amazing success she has experienced.

LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE: You were born and raised in Mississippi and spent time in Arkansas, Charlaine; now you call Texas home. How have the places you’ve lived influenced your writing?

CHARLAINE HARRIS: I’m a true daughter of the South. Every place I’ve lived (including South Carolina), no matter how different the regional accents, confirms that some traditions do hold true throughout. Good manners and hospitality are two of those norms, as is a toleration of the odd (within certain boundaries). Southern people talk slower, but they don’t think slower. I’m afraid the South is changing, becoming more homogenized, and I’m sad to see it. On the other hand, the social changes necessary to bring the South into this time are moving along, though slower than I would have imagined. >>READ MORE

Texas’s only statewide, weekly calendar of book events
Bookish Texas event highlights 10.29.2017 >> GO this week Michelle Newby, Contributing Editor

SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEK

45th Annual Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival, Houston, October 28-Novovember 12
26th Annual San Antonio Express-News Book & Author Luncheon, October 30
ReadFest Houston 2017, November 2-4
World Fantasy 2017, San Antonio, November 2-5
7th annual Dobie Dichos: Campfires, Chili con Carne, and the Words of J. Frank Dobie, Oakville, November 3
George West Storyfest, November 3-5
First Fort Bend County Book Festival, Richmond, November 4
Frisco Book Fest, November 4
Noche de Letras, Latinx Book Fest, Austin, November 4
Lit Crawl Austin, November 4
Texas Book Festival, Austin, November 4-5

DALLAS Mon., Oct. 30 Half Price Books Mothership, New York Times bestselling-author Maggie Stiefvater will discuss and sign her new fantasy book, All the Crooked Saints, 7:30PM [pass required]

HOUSTON Mon., Oct. 30 Lawndale Art Center, 8th Annual MUSICAL AND LITERARY OFRENDA, 6PM

SAN ANTONIO Mon., Oct. 30 B&N – Northwoods, Blessed in the Darkness: How All Things Are Working for Your Good book signing with Joel Osteen, 7PM

SAN ANTONIO Tues., Oct. 31 Trinity University Holt Center, Words Matter Series: Kenny Fries and Sheila Black will be speaking on “Writing the Body,” 7PM

DENTON Wed., Nov. 1 UNT on the Square, Judge Tonya Parker of the 116th Civil District Court will conduct a discussion with Mark Phariss, Vic Holmes, and David Collins, author of Accidental Activists: Mark Phariss, Vic Holmes, and Their Fight for Marriage Equality in Texas, 5PM

WICHITA FALLS Wed., Nov. 1 Wichita Falls Museum of Art, Jan Jarboe Russell, author of The Train to Crystal City, is the next guest for Midwestern State University’s Speakers and Issues Series, 7PM

AUSTIN Thurs., Nov. 2 Austin Conference Center, Texas Conference for Women featuring Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In and Option B; Mary Jennings Hegar, author of Shoot Like a Girl; Tiffany Dufu, author of Drop the Ball; Sarah Robb O’Hagan, author of Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat; and Laura Vanderkam, author of I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time, 7:30AM

CANYON Thurs., Nov. 2 West Texas A&M, Poetry reading by Denise Duhamel, 7PM

HOUSTON Thurs., Nov. 2 Blue Willow Bookshop, Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman) will sign her newest cookbook THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS: COME AND GET IT!: Simple, Scrumptious Recipes for Crazy Busy Lives, 5PM [ticketed event]

AUSTIN Fri., Nov. 3 Resistencia Bookstore, Texican Lit Celebration: Austin, San Antonio, Houston, & Dallas Unite featuring Tony Diaz, Sylvana Avila Alonzo, Josue Gabriel de Montemayor, and Bárbara Renaud González, 7PM

DALLAS Sun., Nov. 5 B&N – Lincoln Park, Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life book signing with Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, 2PM

News Briefs 10.29.17

7th annual Dobie Dichos to celebrate works of J. Frank Dobie Nov. 3

Bring a lawn chair, eat a bowl of chili, and listen to top Texas authors and storytellers read from/tell stories from the works of noted folklorist J. Frank Dobie under the stars at the Historic Oakville Jail town square

Presented by George West Storyfest Association, Inc., the annual Dobie Dichos event honors Live Oak County’s most famous son, author J. Frank Dobie, to celebrate his works and contributions to literature, folklore, and storytelling. This year, the Dobie Dichos evening is slated for Sun., Nov. 3, 2017, from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $5.00–$15.00 per person.

Featured presenters are Cary Clack, Sarah Cortez, Dudley R. Dobie Jr., Stephen Harrigan, Stan Mahler, Carolina Quiroga-Stultz, Taylor Tomlin, and Bill Witliff. Screenwriter William Jack Sibley will serve as master of ceremonies.

Texas writers/authors and storytellers read from or tell stories from Dobie’ works under the stars on the grounds of the Historic Oakville Jail, located on IH-37 in Live Oak County. The meal consists of a bowl of chili, pan de campo, a bottle of water, and dessert. Beer is available for purchase. >>READ MORE

Texas book fest announces full schedule with special Antone’s music stage, author panels, lit crawl, kids’ activities, and more

AUSTIN — The Texas Book Festival announced today the 2017 schedule, which features 300 renowned authors, panels, book signings, live music, cooking demonstrations, children’s activities, and more. The 2017 Texas Book Festival Weekend will take place on November 4 and 5 on the grounds of the Texas Capitol. >>READ MORE

Eighth Annual Lit Crawl Austin takes place Sat., Nov.4

AUSTIN — Lit Crawl Austin will celebrate its eighth year of irreverent literary programming on Saturday evening, November 4. Join participants on the East Side for a night of performances, games, trivia matches, music, and all-ages storytelling sessions.

At the North Door, 7 p.m., four authors and three judges will take part in the return of Literary Death Match. Judges will be Dan Chaon (literary merit), Elena Passarello (performance), and Maya Perez (intangibles). >>READ MORE

McAllen Book Festival to feature eighteen authors in fourth year, Nov. 11

McALLEN — Benjamin Alire Sáenz, the winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the American Book Award, will be among 18 authors at the Fourth Annual McAllen Book Festival to be held Saturday, Nov. 11 at the McAllen Public Library, 4001 N. 23rd.

A free event sponsored by the McAllen Public Library the festival will also feature Rachel Caine, a multiple New York Times bestselling author of books in a wide variety of genres, including thriller, mystery, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, science fiction, and young adult. She has published more than fifty novels to date. Her notable series are Stillhouse Lake (thriller), The Great Library (young adult), Morganville Vampires (young adult), and Weather Warden (urban fantasy).

Other authors include Xavier Garza, author, artist, teacher, and storyteller whose work is a lively documentation of life, dreams, superstitions, and heroes in the larger-than-life world of South Texas. Garza has exhibited his art and performed his stories in venues throughout Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. He is the author and illustrator of several children’s and young adult books, including Maximilian and the Lucha Libre Club and The Donkey Lady Fights La Llorona and Other Stories. Garza lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his family. >>READ MORE

Odessa Council for Arts & Humanities features “An Evening with David Sedaris” Tues., Nov 7 at Wagner-Noël

ODESSA — David Sedaris, award-winning author and critic, will appear at the Wagner-Noël Performing Arts Center in Midland Tues., Nov. 7, 2017, at 7 p.m.

With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, Sedaris has become one of America’s preeminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today. >>READ MORE

————— A D V E R T I S E M E N T —————

Lone Star Listens compilation available fall 2017, for readers, fans, and writers everywhere

The present generation of Texas authors is the most diverse ever in gender, age, and ethnicity, and in subject matter as well.

Week in, week out, Lone Star Literary has interviewed a range of Texas-related authors with a cross-section of genre and geography. To capture this era in Texas letters, we’re pleased to bring you

Lone Star Listens:

Texas Authors on Writing and Publishing

edited by Kay Ellington and Barbara Brannon; introduction by

Clay Reynolds

Available in trade paper, library hardcover, and ebook Fall 2017

360 pages, with b/w illustrations and index

Featuring novelists, poets, memoirists, editors, and publishers, including:

Rachel Caine • Chris Cander • Katherine Center • Chad S. Conine • Sarah Cortez • Elizabeth Crook • Nan Cuba • Carol Dawson • Patrick Dearen • Jim Donovan • Mac Engel • Sanderia Faye • Carlos Nicolás Flores • Ben Fountain • Jeff Guinn • Stephen Harrigan • Cliff Hudder • Stephen Graham Jones • Kathleen Kent • Joe R. Lansdale • Melissa Lenhardt • Attica Locke • Nikki Loftin • Thomas McNeely • Leila Meacham • John Pipkin • Joyce Gibson Roach • Antonio Ruiz-Camacho • Lisa Sandlin • Donna Snyder • Mary Helen Specht • Jodi Thomas • Amanda Eyre Ward • Ann Weisgarber • Donald Mace Williams

As a collection of insights into the writing and publishing life, the book will be useful in creative writing classes (not just in Texas alone) and other teaching settings, as well as for solo reading and study—and a great Texas reference volume.

Examination and review copies will be available fall 2017 in watermarked pdf format.

LONE STAR CLASSIFIED LISTINGS

FEATURED: WORKSHOPS OPEN FOR REGISTRATION

.29.17 Finally — the writing community you’ve been searching for! Are you looking for experienced, published authors who will read your work, give you credible feedback, and help you on your path to publishing—affordably and efficiently?

Come be a part of the first-ever Paragraph Ranch Writers’ Workshop, brought to you from the creators of Lone Star Literary Life. This weekend workshop, Dec. 1–3, 2017, led by popular fantasy author Tex Thompson, will support writers in the development of their voices and the practice of their craft. Located in a picturesque Western setting in the caprock country of Spur, Texas, this retreat welcomes writers of all ages, levels of experience, and genres.

All lodging and meals are included (with optional discount for shared or off-site lodging).

Email info@lonestarliterary.com or for more information visit www.lonestarpublicity.com/product-page/paragraph-ranch-writers-weekend-2017-with-tex-thompson

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