Lone Star ReviewsMichelle Newby, NBCC,

Contributing Editor

Texas ReadsGlenn Dromgoole

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Texas alphabet book gets creative

H is for Howdy and Other Lone Star Letters is a delightful new Texas alphabet book by Houston area authors Eva Freeburn and Lawson Gow, illustrated by James Little (Bright Sky Press, $19.95 hardcover). Written in rhyme, the book touches on familiar Texas topics from Armadillos to sleeping cowboys catching their ZZZZZs. Some of the more creative letter pairings are J for June bug, K for Kindness, and T for Tumbleweeds.

San Antonio Spurs: 100 Things Spurs Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is a 278-page compilation of stories and facts written by veteran pro basketball writer Mike Monroe (Triumph Books, $14.95 paperback).

From No. 1 (Tim Duncan) to No. 100 (Ultimate Spurs Fan Trivia Quiz), Monroe covers the players, coaches and memorable games in San Antonio Spurs lore. Triumph Books also has produced a full-color 128-page keepsake tribute, Tim Duncan: Team-First Superstar, commemorating Duncan’s retirement ($15.95 paperback).

Young Adult novel: Abilene author Bradley Love (Class of 2006) has published his first novel, Tessa Blair of Kelmia, a young adult fantasy featuring a twelve-year-old girl who is learning to stand up for herself and discover her identity in an ancient kingdom transitioning to a society based on science and logic.

Love said he enjoyed reading fantasy novels growing up. So when he decided to try his hand at writing, it seemed the natural genre for him. Plus, it is a highly popular venue with young readers. The 256-page paperback is $9.99. Read more at whitestratusbooks.com.

Second in series: Austin author Marge Wood has published the second novel in her Secret Buzzard Society series for middle school readers. In The Weirdest Hottest Summer Ever ($10 paperback, available on-line), school is out and the Secret Buzzard friends find themselves dealing with drought, wildfire, cattle rustling, terrorists and more. Wood promises more adventures are in the works.

New collection: Memorable Moments: Selected Poems and Other Writings is the fourth book from Wichita Falls poet and devotional writer Sheri A. Sutton ($9.25 paperback).

The volume includes about 30 poems and short essays grouped in three sections: Faith and family, life and love, and nature and nurture. Read more about her books and her writing on her web site, sheriasutton.com.

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

LONE STAR LISTENS interviews >> archive

Kay Ellington, Editor and Publisher

12.23.2016 Melissa Lenhardt: Still waters run deep in this novelist’s career

Sawbones, historical fiction from metroplex author Melissa Lenhardt, was recently named one of Lone Star Lit’s Top Ten Favorite Texas fiction titles for 2016. What’s even more remarkable is that in 2017 Lenhardt will have published five books since her 2015 debut. Earlier this week she took time from a busy holiday schedule to be interviewed by email for Lone Star Literary Life.

LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE: Melissa, you grew up in a small town in East Texas. Which town was that; what was it like; and how do you think it eventually influenced your writing?

MELISSA LENHARDT: I grew up in the ’70s and ’80s in Winnsboro, Texas, a small town about fifty miles north of Tyler. That was when Main Street was a real main street, with small businesses run by local men and women — clothing stores, a five-and-dime, a hardware store, pharmacies, banks, insurance agencies, restaurants, law offices. There was a Dairy Queen and a Sonic, lots of gas stations and churches. So many churches. You could walk anywhere in town (though there were no sidewalks) within about fifteen minutes. Though the schools were integrated, the town was segregated, with African-Americans living in one area, whites in another. As far as I know, that’s still the case.

I don’t think growing up in Winnsboro has influenced my writing any more or less than living in a city. People are the same everywhere, and I draw on the people surrounding me now as often as I draw on people from my childhood.

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Texas’s only statewide, weekly calendar of book events

Bookish Texas event highlights 12.23.2016
>> GO this week Michelle Newby, Contributing Editor

SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEK: Sun., Dec. 18 Kwanzaa at The Dock, Fort Worth, Dec. 26, 2016–Jan 1, 2017Saturday, December 24 HAPPY HANNUKAH — Enjoy a good read during this season of lightSunday, December 25 MERRY CHRISTMAS! Give a Texas book as a gift to someone todayMonday, December 26 HAPPY KWANZAA!Kwanzaa at The Dock, Fort Worth, Dec 26-Jan 1FORT WORTH Tues., Dec. 27 The Dock Bookshop, Fort Worth Poetry Slam and Open Mic, 8PMHOUSTON Tues., Dec. 27, Black Labrador, Houston Writers House December Social featuring guest speaker Houston Poet Laureate Dr. Robin Davidson, 6:30PMDALLAS Thurs., Dec. 29, Deep Vellum Books, Dark Moon Poetry Reading & Performance, 6:30PMAUSTIN Fri., Dec. 30, Malvern Books, an evening with poets Micah Bateman, Katy Chrisler, and Paula Cisewski, 7PMIRVING Fri., Dec. 31, Irving Public Library – South, Tex Thompson’s Launch Party for Dreams of the Eaten, Book Bazaar, and Fruitcake Amnesty, 11AMSunday, January 1, 2017 HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017Look for Lone Star Literary Life to return to Sundays on the first day of the new year. Watch for new features on the GO events page!

SAN ANTONIO Sun., Jan. 8 The Twig Bookshop at the Pearl, Wendy Barker and Sarah Cortez, Poetry reading, 2:00pm

Visit our annual catalog of great Texas reads in these gift categories!

News Briefs 12.23.16

LSLL editors, readers weigh in on this year’s favorite Texas nonfiction titles

In this final issue of Lone Star Literary Life of 2016, the editors of Lone Star Lit would like to say thank you to all of the authors who have written books about our state or set in our state, but we’d like pay special recognition to our Favorite Texas Nonfiction of 2016. >>READ MORE

Celebrate Kwanzaa at the Dock Bookshop, Fort Worth, Dec. 26–Jan. 1

The Dock Bookshop will host its annual seven-day celebration of family, community, and culture Mon., Dec. 26, 2016 through Sun., Jan. 1, 2017

The Dock Bookshop – 6637 Meadowbrook Dr. Fort Worth, TX 76112. All Kwanzaa events are open to the public. Here is the schedule, published on the Dock website.>>READ MORE

Writers Resist events slated for Jan. 15, 2017, in three Texas cities

Writers Resist, a literary collective born of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election that publishes creative expressions of resistance by diverse writers and artists, has prompted the grass-roots organization of events around the nation, including those organized in Austin, Houston, And San Antonio for Sun., Jan. 15. >>READ MORE