Contributing Editor
TEXAS HISTORY
Bills, E.R.
Black Holocaust: The Paris Horror and a Legacy of Texas Terror
Eakin Press, an imprint of Wild Horse Media Group; paperback, 198 pages, 978-1-68179-017-6
Reviewed by Si Dunn
Fort Worth writer E.R. Bills offers an unusual caution in his book’s preface: “If you’re fragile—white or black—this is not a book for you.” Indeed, his new work displays a stern cover warning: “Contains graphic images.” It also contains vivid, disturbing descriptions of gruesome lynchings that occurred in Texas between the 1860s and the 1930s. >>READ MORE
CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS / ART
Cathey Graham Nickell
with illustrations by Bill Megenhardt
Twenty-Eight Creative, Feb. 2016
978-0996115001, hardcover, 40 pages, with color illus., $19.99
Houston, Texas, as Cathey Graham Nickell’s informative afterword to Arthur Zarr’s Amazing Art Car tells us, nearly three decades ago started the nation’s first official parade for art cars. >>READ MORE
Texas ReadsGlenn Dromgoole
>> archiveFolklore book focuses on Texas food stories, recipes
Every year the Texas Folklore Society produces an interesting collection of stories, usually around a central theme. This year’s book features Tales of Texas Cooking, full of good yarns and, of course, plenty of recipes — more than 120 of them (University of North Texas Press, $34.95 hardcover).
Frances Brannen Vick, retired director of UNT Press, selected and edited the contributions, grouped by geographical regions — the Piney Woods, the Cross Timbers, the Rolling Plains, the Edwards Plateau, the Trans-Pecos, and others. Most of the pieces feature a story about food, followed by a few favorite recipes from the writer.
Contributors include a number of recognizable names from Texas literature, such as Elmer Kelton, John Erickson, Kenneth W. Davis, Robert and Jean Flynn, Leon Hale, Kay Bailey Hutchison, James Ward Lee, Archie McDonald, Joyce Gibson Roach, and Jane Roberts Wood.
Hale brags about the beef enchiladas he used to devour at the long-gone New York Café in downtown Bryan — and provides the recipe.
Kelton’s piece, first published in 1998, focuses on wife Ann’s Austrian cake called the Linzertorte.
Davis reflects on the Sweet Potato Pie recipe that has been in his family for several generations.
Scott Hill Bumgardner, current president of the folklore society, stirs up tasty memories with his story about the wonderful meals at his grandmother Mayme ’s home in Abilene, especially chicken and dumplings and chocolate pecan pie that was “as we say down South, sinful.”
“And if a pie or two during my visit was not enough,” he continues, “she would whip two or three more together to send off with my parents and me as we headed back to Houston.” Unfortunately, Mayme never shared her recipe for chicken and dumplings, “possibly believing that if you could not figure it out, then your attempt would not be good anyway,” Bumgardner writes.
I imagine most families have similar stories to tell about their own experiences growing up with food served with lots of sugar and butter — and love — by their grandmothers. My grandmother Mammaw always had a pot of pinto beans on the stove when we would go to visit. Those were the best beans, and I still use her recipe and remember the good times at the farm where there was always plenty of food, kinfolks and laughter.
Tales of Texas Cooking makes for good reading, good memories, and good eating.
* * * * *
Glenn Dromgoole is co-author, with Carlton Stowers, of 101 Essential Texas Books Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.
>> Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Lit
Lone Star Lit welcomes Kristine Hall to Lone Star Book Blog Tours; thanks to outgoing blog coordinator Pope
Lone Star Literary Life makes a change to its team lineup this month with the arrival ofKristine Hall as book tour coordinator for Lone Star Book Blog Tours. Hall, a professional reviewer for numerous publicity services, authors, and publishers, is a graduate of Texas A&M University and earned her master’s degree in library science from Sam Houston State University. She is an active member of the Texas Library Association and a proud member of the Grammar Police. Her book reviews can be found on her blog, Hall Ways.
We bid farewell, with great thanks for her service during our first year, to our inaugural blog tour coordinator, librarian Tabatha Pope of Spring. Pope remains on the team as a tour blogger.
If you blog about Texas books and authors and would like to apply to participate in Lone Star Book Blog Tours—for the joy of reading, and free advance copies of new books in your interest areas—contact Kristine Hall at kristinethall@yahoo.com.
We’ll also be officially rolling out our new blog tour and publicity site next week. Take a sneak peek at www.LoneStarPublicity.com.
Lone Star Literary Life to introduce new features, crowdfunding in celebration of first anniversary Feb. 2
On February 2, 2015, Lone Star Literary Life published its first issue of Texas’s only comprehensive statewide books-news coverage. We launched on Groundhog Day with a robust subscriber list of Texas booksellers, publishers, libraries, authors, and, most important of all, readers.
We pledged to deliver thoughtful reviews of new Texas books, first-person profiles and interviews of Texas authors, news and coverage of awards, festivals, and author tours, and the state’s only full calendar of book events — every week. And we’ve done so for almost 52 weeks now, bringing readers, writers, publishers, publicists, and librarians the latest in bookish Texas news and information.
We’re supported by advertising, providing a guaranteed vehicle to promote Texas-related books. And in our first year, we introduced such popular features as Lone Star Book Blog Tours, author podcasts, and Top Texas Bookish Destinations, which present editorial content around which publishers, booksellers, and authors can build paid campaigns.
We’ve got even bigger plans in store for 2016. Stay tuned over the next few weeks. And watch for details on our Indiegogo campaign — to learn how you can help Lone Star Lit grow and also earn unique perks.
Make a note of our hashtag: #LoneStarLit2016
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