Lone Star ReviewsMichelle Newby, NBCC,
Contributing Editor
FICTION
Pat Dunlap Evans
Out and In: A Novel
A. M. Chai Literary
Paperback, 978-0-9968822-2-4; 316 pages, $11.99; April 2016
Austin author Pat Dunlap Evans had specific goals in mind when she penned this book, her second: “I wanted to try my hand at a page-turner mystery with a female protagonist. I also wanted to use my long-ago experiences as an NFL wife as a backdrop for a novel.”
Her mystery-thriller Out and In succeeds on those fronts, and on other fronts as well.
The well-written tale starts quickly and with a bang: a Dallas arts society maven, Marie Donovan, is charged with capital murder and jailed after a famed opera orchestra conductor, Luca Scarlatti, is found dead. Scarlatti, the maestro of the Metroplex Opera, has been shot with Marie’s gun and stabbed with one of her long hairpins, which has a nerve agent on it. Meanwhile, some of Marie’s clothes have gunshot residue. And it is well known that she and the lecherous Scarlatti did get along. >>READ MORE
Texas ReadsGlenn Dromgoole
>> archive
Biography tells story of Dr. Red Duke
“From the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, I’m Dr. Red Duke” is the way Dr. Duke would sign off his popular, common-sense, straight-shooting syndicated health reports on TV for fifteen years. With his bushy mustache, cowboy hat and boots, James Henry “Red” Duke Jr. became one of the best-known personalities in the medical field.
Dr. Bryant Boutwell, who sat down with Duke several times in his final months for extensive interviews, has written an engaging and inspiring biography titled, naturally, I’m Dr. Red Duke(Texas A&M University Press, $30 hardcover).
In addition to his public persona, Dr. Duke was a dedicated trauma surgeon, an inspiring teacher, and the founder of the Life Flight air ambulance service at Memorial Hermann Hospital and the Texas Medical Center.
“Red Duke was a one-of-a-kind, made-in-Texas original,” Boutwell writes. “To meet him was to meet the Marlboro Man, Albert Schweitzer, and Teddy Roosevelt all in one — with a good dash of Wile E. Coyote stirred into the mix just for cussedness.”
Duke, a Texas A&M yell leader who twice almost got kicked out of school, was a tank commander, seminary graduate, ordained Baptist preacher, medical missionary to Afghanistan, Alaska hunting guide, and fervent conservationist.
In 1989, a groundswell of support backed Duke for the position of U.S. Surgeon General when Dr. Everett Koop retired, but he didn’t get the appointment.
Duke devoted his life to his trauma patients, sometimes even to the point of living at the hospital instead of home. “His wife and children knew he had loved them,” Boutwell notes, “and loved them well. But they also knew that they had not come first.”
The trauma unit he oversaw is now the Memorial Hermann Red Duke Trauma Institute. “Red’s boot prints have been painted on the floor just inside the doorway of each trauma room for all to see — in red, of course,” Boutwell says. “People like to think that he is standing there in spirit, watching over every patient, every student, every caregiver.”
He used to ask his medical students: Who is the most important person in the operating room? The surgeon, they might reply. Wrong, he would say. It’s always the patient.
“Working with Red,” a veteran nurse noted, “was always, without compromise, giving your best and putting your patient first.”
* * * * *
Glenn Dromgoole writes about Texas books and authors. Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.
>> Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Literary Life
Twig’s Top Ten Bestsellers
September 2018
What are Texans reading these days, you ask? Lone Star Lit’s newest regular feature is a monthly list of trending titles at the Twig Book Shop, a leading independent bookseller in San Antonio. Click on any title for the Buy link. And we’ll also include a hotlink to related content in Lone Star Literary Life.
Bob Woodward,Fear: Trump in the White House, 978-1-501175513
Mimi Swartz,Ticker: The Quest to Create an Artificial Heart, 978-0-804138001
Sarah Bird,Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen, 978-1-250193168
Phil Knight,Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, 978-1-501135929
Chip Dameron,Mornings with Dobie’s Ghost, 978-1-609405773
HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Mental Toughness 978-1-633694364
Andrew Sean Greer,Less,978-0-31631613X
Margaret Atwood,The Handmaid’s Tale, 978-0-38549081X
Yuval Noah Harari,Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, 978-0-062316117
Kevin Kwan,China Rich Girlfriend, 978-0-804172064
LONE STAR CLASSIFIED LISTINGS
FEATURED: CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS
8.19.18 Fort Worth Poetry Society seeks submissions from poets and visual artists for an anthology on classical music, proceeds from which will benefit the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. No cost to enter; accepted submitters receive a free copy of the anthology. This link to the FWPS website provides complete details: https://fortworthpoetrysociety.wordpress.com/2018/07/23/call-for-submissions/.
>>READ MORE CLASSIFIED LISTINGS
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The Clueless Gent, Michael O’Connor
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Kelly Well Read, Kelly Moore
The Librarian Talks, Tabatha Pope
The Love of a Bibliophile, Kristen Mouton
Margie’s Must Reads, Margie Longoria
Max Knight Blog, Max Knight
Missus Gonzo, Lorilei Gonzales
Momma on the Rocks, Jenn Belden
Nerd Narration Blog, Taylor Sebring
The Page Unbound, Becca Cahill & Haley Ringer
Rainy Days with Amanda, Amanda Borroel
Reading by Moonlight, Ruthie Jones
StoreyBook Reviews, Leslie Storey
Story Schmoozing Book Reviews, Marissa Marroquin
Sybrina’s Book Blog, Sybrina Durant
Syd Savvy, Sydney Young
Tangled in Text, Kelli Quintos
Texas Book Lover, Michelle Newby
That’s What She’s Reading, Jenn Zavaglia
COMING UP ON TOUR: FICTION
A Sparkle of Silver by Liz Johnson Visit with Liz October 16–25, 2018
10/16/18 Author Interview Book Fidelity
10/16/18 Bonus Post Hall Ways Blog
10/17/18 Excerpt Story Schmoozing Book Reviews
10/18/18 Review That’s What She’s Reading
10/19/18 Character Interview Chapter Break Book Blog
10/20/18 Review StoreyBook Reviews
10/21/18 Playlist All the Ups and Downs
10/22/18 Review Reading by Moonlight
10/23/18 Excerpt Books and Broomsticks
10/24/18 Review Missus Gonzo
10/25/18 Review Carpe Diem Chronicles
CONTINUING ON TOUR: FICTION
The Whole Damn Cheese by Bill Wright Visit with Bill through October 26, 2018
10/21/18 Review Hall Ways Blog
10/22/18 Scrapbook Page StoreyBook Reviews
10/23/18 Review The Book Review
10/24/18 Excerpt Reading by Moonlight
10/25/18 Review Forgotten Winds
10/26/18 Review The Clueless Gent
RECENTLY ON TOUR: FICTION
Burden of Proof by DiAnn Mills
RECENTLY ON TOUR: FICTION
The Encouragement Letters by Shawna Spence
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WHAT TEXANS ARE READING
>> TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL WEEK 2108
Texas Book Festival commands a sizable portion of downtown Austin next weekend, October 27–28
AUSTIN — The 2018 Texas Book Festival weekend is Saturday and Sunday, October 27–28. The festivities get underway at 10 a.m. Saturday; Lit Crawl Austin rules Saturday night; and Sunday’s activities begin at 11 a.m. The festival is held in and around the grounds of the State Capitol Building; Lit Crawl Austin takes place in venues in and around East Cesar Chavez.
The Texas Book Festival is free and open to the public. One of the largest and most prestigious literary festivals in the country, the annual festival features nationally and critically recognized adult and children’s authors, more than one hundred exhibitors, local food trucks, family activities, and countless opportunities to meet authors and fellow book lovers. The festival is a nonprofit organization; all book sales at the festival support the two-day event and statewide school and library programs.
This year’s festival schedule features more than 280 renowned authors participating in panels, book signings, cooking demonstrations, children’s activities, and more. There’s something for everyone — adults, small children, middle graders, and teens — in nineteen genres, from sci-fi and fantasy to politics and poetry. >>READ MORE
Texas’s only statewide, weekly calendar of book events
Bookish Texas event highlights 10.21.2018>> GO this weekMichelle Newby, Contributing Editor
SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEK
- 13th annual Buns & Roses Romance Tea for Literacy, Richardson, October 21
- Friends of the Dallas Public Library Annual Gala, Oct 25
- 2018 Kirkus Awards Ceremony, Austin, Oct 25
- National Black Book Festival, Houston, Oct 25-27
- East Texas Rose Con, Tyler, Oct 26-28
- Lit Crawl Austin, Oct 27
- Texas Book Festival, Austin, Oct 27-28
- Bloody Bacchanal (The Witchery’s annual masquerade for charity), Galveston, Oct. 28
- Halloween ComicFest, various locations, Oct 28
- ROCO Connections: Musical & Literary Ofrenda 2018, Houston, Oct 28
ONGOING EVENTS
- Literary Frontiers: Historical Fiction & the Creative Imagination, San Marcos, August 1-December 14
- “Dawoud Bey: Forty Years in Harlem” photography exhibition (from the book Dawoud Bey: Seeing Deeply), Austin, August 29-December 8
- The Texas Liberator: Witness to the Holocaust exhibition (from the book The Texas Liberators: Veteran Narratives from World War II), Houston, September 7-October 28
- Texas Writers exhibition, Fort Stockton, October 1-22
- Traversing Dimensions: An Exploration of Diversity in Science Fiction, Austin, October 1-31
- Finding Sophie Blackall Exhibition, Abilene, October 11-February 1
AUSTIN Mon., Oct. 22 BookWoman, Donna Lipman discussing and signing Beyond Resistance: Coping with the Stress of the Trump Era, 7PM
HOUSTON Mon., Oct. 22 Cullen Performance Hall, Inprint’s Margarett Root Brown reading series presents Barbara Kingsolver discussing and reading Unsheltered, 7:30PM [ticketed event]
SAN ANTONIO Mon., Oct. 22 The Twig Book Shop, Mark Falkin reading and signing The Late Bloomer, 5PM
ALSO SIGNING IN HOUSTON Sat., Oct. 27 Murder By the Book, 4:30PM
AUSTIN Tues., Oct. 23 Central Library, The Library Foundation & Texas Book Festival present Edward Carey: Little book launch and opening reception, 7PM
HOUSTON Wed., Oct. 24 Wilchester Elementary School, Blue Willow Bookshop hosts Nathan Hale discussing and signing LAFAYETTE!, his newest graphic novel for young readers, 5PM
DALLAS Thurs., Oct. 25 Heritage Auctions, 2018 October 25 Historical Manuscripts Grand Format Auction, all day
RICHARDSON Thurs., Oct. 25The Drawing Board, Writing Workshops Dallas seminar: “NaNoWriMo Prep” with Tex Thompson, 6:30PM
SAN ANTONIO Fri., Oct. 26B&N – San Pedro, Guadalupe Garcia McCall and David Bowles signing All the Stars Denied and They Call Me Guero, respectively, 5PM
KILGORE Sat., Oct. 27The Bookstore in Kilgore, May Cobb signing Big Woods and Mike Clifton signing The Janus Witch, 3PM
EL PASO Sun., Oct. 28Literarity Book Shop, Philip Connors reads and signs A Song for the River, 3PM
News Briefs 10.14.18
Michelle Stimpson and Eric Jerome Dickey among the authors at the eleventh annual National Black Book Festival in Houston, October 25-27
HOUSTON — The eleventh annual National Black Book Festival (NBBF) is scheduled for October 25–27, 2018, in Houston and is sponsored by Cushcity.com, one of the leading Web sites promoting African-American literature. The event attracts a wide array of authors, publishers, book clubs, libraries, and individual readers from the Southwest United States and nationwide.
The 2018 event will feature corporate and publisher booths; author exhibits; a children’s festival; featured author discussions and signings; live entertainment; an evening reception, two breakfasts and one luncheon, as well as a food court; workshops and seminars; and a book club meet and greet.
Participating authors represent a wide range of genres, from beauty and health to business and leadership, from children’s literature to poetry, including Michelle Stimpson, Eric Jerome Dickey, Dr. LaShonda Jackson-Dean, William Gordon, Mary E. Evans, Marcus Haynes, Susane Lavallais Boykins, Tyrone Gibbs Jr., Sharon Session-Thomas, Cedric Davis, Nicole Williams, Terrica Smith, and Jamal Shakur. >>READ MORE
Charlene Howell to be honored, Lawrence Wright to be featured speaker at annual Friends of the Dallas Public Library gala
DALLAS — The annual Friends of the Dallas Public Library (FODPL) gala takes place in O’Hara Hall at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library on Thursday, October 25 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Lawrence Wright, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose latest book explains Texas to the world, will be the featured speaker at this year’s gala.
Wright, who grew up in Dallas and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School, won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for The Looming Tower, the definitive story of the rise of al-Qaeda. His ten books and four plays have explored religion, Scientology, Middle East peacemaking, twins, and Nicaraguan dictator Manuel Noriega. Wright’s latest bestseller is God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State, which weaves memoir, history, humor, and politics into a fascinating look at our state. “It’s a testament to Wright’s formidable storytelling skills that a reader will encounter plenty of information without ever feeling lost,” said the New York Times. >>READ MORE
————— A D V E R T I S E M E N T —————
Lone Star Listens compilation available fall 2018, 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 Summer 2018
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.
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