{"id":634,"date":"2018-12-31T13:10:50","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T13:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/?p=634"},"modified":"2018-12-31T13:10:50","modified_gmt":"2018-12-31T13:10:50","slug":"texas-reads-archiveglenn-dromgoole-46","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/?p=634","title":{"rendered":"Texas Reads>> archiveGlenn Dromgoole"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/span><\/span>Texas Reads<\/span>>> archive<\/span><\/a><\/span>Glenn Dromgoole<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

8.28.16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Historical novel traces family\u2019s struggles during the Civil War<\/h1>\n

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<\/a><\/span><\/span>Longview author Lottie Guttry\u2019s fast-paced historical novel<\/span> Alligator Creek<\/span><\/a><\/span> (Brown Books, $24.99 hardcover) is based on the story of her great-great-grandmother during and after the Civil War.<\/p>\n

Set in Florida and Texas, the story focuses on Sarah and Alex Browning and their young family \u2014 a boy, a girl, and one on the way \u2014 as hostilities between the North and South heat up in early 1862. Able-bodied men like Alex Browning are expected to do their duty and go to war for the \u201ccause.\u201d Sarah is opposed to having her husband leave their Florida farm and their family for a \u201cfoolish war\u201d she doesn\u2019t believe is worth the probable cost. But Alex feels compelled and signs up, fully anticipating that the South will win quickly and he will be home in a few months.<\/p>\n

Of course, the war drags on for three more years and the toll in human suffering is catastrophic. While Alex fights overwhelming odds to survive, Sarah struggles to keep the farm solvent and the family hopeful in the face of increasing turmoil and hardship. When the war finally ends, the family\u2019s trials and tribulations do not, and eventually the Browning family joins a wagon train headed for Texas.<\/p>\n

Guttry attributes the idea for the book to a graduate class she took at Stephen F. Austin University in which the professor assigned students to learn and write about a family legend. The story, told from Sarah\u2019s and Alex\u2019s points of view, is a real page-turner. I literally picked it up one morning and read the whole 350-page saga in one day, certainly a rarity for me.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/span><\/span>Mystery writer:<\/span> Prolific author Bill Crider<\/span> of Alvin has a new mystery featuring small-town Texas sheriff Dan Rhodes, one of the more laid-back and likeable peace officers you\u2019ll come across.<\/p>\n

Survivors Will Be Shot Again<\/span><\/a><\/span> (Minotaur, $25.99 hardcover) is the 23rd title in his Sheriff Rhodes series. As always, Crider keeps the reader entertained with his collection of local characters, and the various major and minor crimes the sheriff must investigate. Learn more about Crider and his wide range of interests on his website, billcrider.com<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Practical advice for musicians: <\/span>Syndicated radio host D. Grant Smith<\/span> of Clyde has written a practical guide for independent musicians \u2014 The DIY Musician\u2019s Radio Handbook: How to Growth Hack Your Fan Base & Build Stronger Networks Using Indie Radio Airplay<\/span><\/a><\/span> (Clear Fork Publishing, $17.50 paperback, $2.99 e-book). Chapters cover such topics as \u201cMaximizing the Benefits of Radio,\u201d \u201cGetting Your Music Radio Ready,\u201d and \u201cThe Process of Getting Radio Airplay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glenn Dromgoole\u2019s<\/span> latest book is More Civility, Please. <\/span>Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.<\/p>\n

>> <\/span>Read his past Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Literary Life here.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas Reads>> archiveGlenn Dromgoole 8.28.16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Historical novel traces family\u2019s struggles during the Civil War Longview author Lottie Guttry\u2019s fast-paced historical novel Alligator Creek (Brown Books, $24.99 hardcover) is based on the story of her great-great-grandmother during and after the Civil War. Set in Florida and Texas, the story focuses on Sarah and Alex Browning and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}