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Monday Roundup: TEXAS LITERARY CALENDAR 1/29-2/4

January 28, 2018, 10:00 pm
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Bookish goings-on in Texas for the week of January 29-February 4, 2018: 

Special Events:
FronteraFest 2018, Austin, January 16-February 17

How to Self-Publish Your Book -- Economically, Quickly, and Professionally, Dallas, January 23-February 6

Bookworm Festival, Houston, February 3

BrazCon Teen Comic Convention & Geekfest, Pearland, February 3

Ongoing Exhibits:
Austin
Interabang Books, Derrick Levasseur discussing and signing THE UNDERCOVER EDGE, 7PM

Temple Emanu-El, Arts & Letters Live presents Pulitzer Prize-winner Jhumpa Lahiri in conversation with Ben Fountain, 7:30PM

Houston
Bohemeo's, Glass Mountain reading series, 7PM

Brazos Bookstore, Will Cannady discussing and signing FOUR HOUSES: DESIGNING FOR CHANGE, 7PM

Plano
B&N - Legacy West, Oliver Loving book signing with Stefan Merrill Block, 7PM

San Antonio
Austin

Blue Willow Bookstore, Stefan Merrill Block will discuss and sign his new novel, OLIVER LOVING, 7PM

Brazos Bookstore, Min Jin Lee reading and signing PACHINKO, 7PM


Austin
BookPeople, W. STONE COTTER speaking & signing Saint Philomene's Infirmary for Magical Creatures, 2PM

Malvern Books, fourth-birthday edition of The Lion & the Pirate Unplugged, an inclusive open mic, 7PM

Paramount Theatre, Pete Souza, Chief Official White House Photographer for President Obama, shares photographs and stories from his new book, Obama: An Intimate Portrait, 8PM

St. Edward's University, Writers' League of Texas workshop: "The Online Suite: Websites, Blogs, and Social Media for Authors" with Stephanie Barko, 9AM

Dallas
Dallas Museum of Art, Arts & Letters presents New York Times bestselling-author Jojo Moyes and Still Me, 7:30PM

El Paso
El Paso Public Library - Memorial Park, Tumblewords Project Workshop: "The God of Small Things" with Kit Wren, 12:45PM

Houston


Dead Tree Books, Meet the Author: Sherrie Brown, 2PM

The Twig Book Shop, Dusti Sheldon signing Izzy Mae Moves Away, 11AM

San Marcos
Half Price Books, Local author Marieta Hutchison will read, sell, and sign her children's book, Mermaids are Magical - You Can Be Too, 11AM

The Woodlands
B&N - Woodlands Mall, April Houston signing From Damaged to Destined, 1PM

Sunday, February 4:
Austin
The Foundry Club, Writing Workshops Dallas presents: "A Writer’s Blueprint for The Social Media Game" with Whitney Davis, 3PM

Half Price Books Mothership, local author Bob May will sell and sign his book, The Best Season: The Challenging Finish, Honoring Black Ball Through Baseball Game Simulation, and motivational speaker and local author Sugar Ray Destin Jr. will sell and sign his inspirational book, Claim Your Destiny!, 1PM

Houston

                                                    
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Promo & Giveaway: ARANSAS MORNING by Jeff Hampton

January 29, 2018, 10:00 pm
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ARANSAS MORNING
by
JEFF HAMPTON
  Genre: Literary Fiction / Family Life
Date of Publication: September 22, 2017
Number of Pages: 304

Scroll down for the giveaway!


When Sam Barnes’ high-flying life in Dallas falls apart, he flees to the coastal town of Port Aransas, Texas and fades into the life of a reclusive beach bum. But things start to change when he meets Dave, a young widower working through his own loss; Shelly, owner of the Dream Bean coffee shop; Bo, a crusty old shrimper; and Allie, Bo’s free-spirited daughter. Together they are tested and forced to confront their own issues. In doing so they discover family and community.


PRAISE FOR ARANSAS MORNING:
“Engrossing characters that keep doing unexpected things. Strong sense of place along the Texas coast and deep knowledge of the culture. This book is about relationships and how ‘family’ and ‘community’ might be redefined.”

“In this heartwarming book, Jeff Hampton took me to a place I’ve never been and captured me with his delightful characters, seaside landscape, and deft use of words to portray a small group of people who came together to create and run the Dream Bean cafe. Great summer reading.”

“I loved the characters, with their flaws and their graces. It is an honest and heart-warming story of redemption coming through community. I’m really glad I read it.”

“Really nice character development, articulating in a very comfortable and readable style the messy, complex, joyous and hopeful ways we build, break and nurture ‘community.’”

“Very quickly in the story, the characters became like friends. The book is engaging and held my interest.”

CLICK TO PURCHASE
◾   Barnes& Noble  ◾   Jeff Hampton Writer   ◾   
  ◾   Etsy  ◾    Amazon   ◾   



During a 35-year career in journalism and communications, Jeff Hampton has covered and written about topics ranging from business and finance to history and faith. His bylines have appeared in publications ranging from The Dallas Morning News to The New York Times.
He attended Baylor University where he majored in journalism and was editor of the Baylor Lariat campus newspaper. He began his professional career at the Waco Tribune-Herald and has written for newspapers, magazines, businesses, non-profit organizations and government agencies.
Hampton has based his life and career in Texas where his interest in observing the people around him has led him to write essays, short stories, and novels that explore relationships and communities in their many forms.
Aransas Morning is his fifth book, following Grandpa Jack, When the Light Returned to Main Street, Jonah Prophet and The Snowman Uprising on Hickory Lane.
Watch for Aransas Evening, a sequel to Aransas Morning, in 2018. 
 ║ Website ║ Facebook ║ Twitter ║  
║ Instagram║ Goodreads ║

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
FIVE SIGNED COPIES!
JANUARY 23-FEBRUARY 1, 2018
(U.S. Only)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
1/23/18
Promo
A Page Before Bedtime
1/23/18
Promo
Reading by Moonlight
1/24/18
Guest Post
Chapter Break Book Blog
1/24/18
Review
Bibliotica
1/25/18
Excerpt Part 1
StoreyBook Reviews
1/25/18
Excerpt Part 2
Forgotten Winds
1/26/18
Review
Texan Girl Reads
1/27/18
Review
Tangled in Text
1/28/18
Author Interview
The Page Unbound
1/28/18
Playlist
Syd Savvy
1/29/18
Review
The Clueless Gent
1/30/18
Promo
Texas Book Lover
1/30/18
Scrapbook Page
The Librarian Talks
1/31/18
Review
Momma on the Rocks
2/1/18
Review
Missus Gonzo


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Review: THE KINGS OF BIG SPRING by Bryan Mealer

January 31, 2018, 10:00 pm
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I reviewedThe Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil, and One Family’s Search for the American Dream (Flatiron Books) by Bryan Mealer for Lone Star Literary Life. Part reporting and part deep dive into the psychology of a people, a time, and a place, The Kings of Big Spring is the best kind of nonfiction.

BIOGRAPHY/TEXAS HISTORY
Bryan Mealer
The Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil, and One Family’s Search for the American Dream
Flatiron Books
Hardcover, 978-1-2500-5891-1, (also available as an e-book), 384 pgs., $27.99
February 6, 2018
“Only in Texas was there enough space for so many second acts.”
The Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil, and One Family’s Search for the American Dream is the best kind of history. The microcosm of a family story (anecdote) illustrates the macrocosm of a place and time (demographic). In Bryan Mealer’s account, his family’s history begins in 1892, when “trouble between the moonshiners and revenuers” motivated his great-grandfather to leave a Georgia hollow behind to join his brother in Texas, where he landed in Hillsboro. By 1909, motivated by the boll weevil, the Mealers lit out for West Texas, along with many others who “pulled their teams across the 98th meridian and entered the American West,” eventually finding their way to Big Spring, where oil has been discovered, refineries has been built, and a fifteen-story hotel is rising.

The Kings of Big Spring is Mealer’s biography of his family, part reporting and part deep dive into the psychology of a people, a time, and a place. Mealer is a former award-winning reporter for the Associated Press and Harper’s, which experience serves him well in the research and interviews involved in The Kings of Big Spring, his fourth book.

Mealer narrates in a hybrid of first person and omniscient, sprinkled with asides addressed directly to the reader. He has a flair for storytelling, a certain folksiness that is comfortable and humorous, rather than cartoonish. He writes movingly of the individual effects of drought, boll weevils, land swindles, OPEC, illnesses, death and dismemberment, and cyclical oil booms and busts (“a sour smell on the wind promised meat on the table”). He writes informatively on the settlement of Texas, the history of an industry, and the salutary effects of old-time religion in this setting. Mealer is equally adept at descriptions of horrific living conditions during the first oil booms, fascinating geology, and scary meteorology (dust storms mix with blizzards in a “freak circus of nature”).

Mealer pulls no punches, but his affection and admiration for his restless, driven family are clear. Mealer is sometimes exasperated by self-defeating behaviors and the fickleness of luck, and incredulous about family members allowed to simply disappear, incidents that wouldn’t be tolerated today. Mental illness, alcoholism, and jaw-dropping penury are handled sympathetically, sometimes sorrowfully.

The Kings of Big Spring is swiftly and evenly paced, mostly chronological, with a large cast of characters who are difficult to keep track of—for the family itself and the reader. The family tree and list of supporting characters included immediately before the prologue is necessary; you will find yourself referring to it.

Two steps forward and one step back, rich in detail and imagery, The Kings of Big Spring is an entertaining, educational, and engaging addition to the sparse library set at the juncture of the Chihuahuan desert and the Southern Plains. I grew up in the Permian Basin, born about a decade before the author. I recognize this country and these people. As Mealer writes, “This country can promise less and deliver more than anywhere on earth.”

Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.

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Monday Roundup: TEXAS LITERARY CALENDAR 2/5-11

February 4, 2018, 10:00 pm
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Bookish goings-on in Texas for the week of February 5-11, 2018: 

Special Events:
FronteraFest 2018, Austin, January 16-February 17

Lone Star Ink Writing Conference, Dallas, February 8-10

Humanities Texas presents Texas Storytime: A Family Reading Program, Midland, February 8-March 15

North Texas Comic Book Show, Irving, February 10-11

10th Annual Romance Readers Social, Pflugerville, February 10

Ongoing Exhibits:
Austin

Angelika Film Cente, Award-winning advertising executive, filmmaker and author David Baldwin discussing his new book, The Belief Economy: How to Give a Damn, Stop Selling, and Create Buy In, 7PM

B&N - Lincoln Park, Twelve Years of Turbulence: The Inside Story of American Airlines' Battle for Survival book signing with Gary Kennedy, 7PM
Austin
Murder By the Book, Terry Shames will sign and discuss A Reckoning in the Back Country, and James W. Ziskin will sign and discuss Cast The First Stone, 6:30PM


Spring

Sugar Land
Blue Willow Bookshop, Illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser reading and signing the final FANCY NANCY picture book, FANCY NANCY: OODLES OF KITTENS, 5PM

Cesar Chavez High School, Space City Preliminary Slam: Compete for your spot on the Meta-Four Houston youth slam team, ranked #5 in the world, 6PM

Murder By the Book, Alex Berenson will sign and discuss his newest John Wells novel, The Deceivers, 6:30PM

San Antonio
Trinity University, Trinity Review Love & Anti-Love Poem Contest, 4:30PM


UTSA, Public Reading and Q&A by Chigozie Obioma, author of The Fishermen, 7PM

Saturday, February 10:
Austin
Apanas Coffee & Beer, NeoSoul $200 Slam Hosted by Christopher Michael, 6PM

Austin Public Library - Manchaca Road, Karen Bartell launches her new novel, Sacred Heart, and conducts an e-publishing workshop, 1:30PM

BookPeople, Author Guest Story Time: Ben Clanton reading It Came in the Mail and Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, 10:30AM


BookWoman, Unadoptable Joy: A Reading with J.L. Wright, 5:30PM

St. Edward's University, Writers' League of Texas workshop: "Write Before You Write: Steps to Take Before You Draft" with Jennifer Ziegler, 10AM

Boerne
Patrick Heath Public Library, Paula King-Harper will sign her books, including Prosperous Living, 11AM

El Paso
El Paso Public Library - Memorial Park, Tumblewords Project Workshop: "Zora's Story" with Nancy Lorenza Green, 12:45PM

Houston
Art Studio on the Boulevard, The Ocotillo Review - Winter Edition Release Party, 6PM

Blue Willow Bookshop, Obert Skye will sign his new book, GEEKED OUT, 11AM


Half Price Books - Clear Lake, Local Author Saturdays: Meet local Indie authors and pick up their latest release!, while supplies last

Half Price Books - Westheimer, Vietnam War veteran, Houston doctor, and author Samuel Axelrad, M.D. signing Peaceful Bones, 1PM

Murder By the Book, Jaime Questell will sign and discuss her debut novel, By a Charm and a Curse, 4:30PM

River Oaks Bookstore, Dana Barney reading and signing Half Life, 3PM

Lampasas
Wildflowers on the Wall, Bestselling Lampasas author Michael Lee Lanning will sign his books Double T Double Cross Double Take and Texas Aggies in Vietnam: War Stories, 11AM

Lubbock
B&N, Apocalypse Breed book signing with Adrian Rockwell, 1PM

B&N, Hidden History of the Llano Estacado book signing with Paul Carlson, 4PM

McAllen
B&N - Palms Crossing, Christina DeMara book signing to benefit Global Family Visions Inc., 9AM & 3PM

Southlake
Austin
Dallas Museum of Art, Arts & Letters Live presents Paul Auster, author of 4 3 2 1, in conversation with Will Evans of Deep Vellum Publishing, 7PM

The Foundry Club, Writing Workshops Dallas presents: "Should I Self-Publish or Seek Traditional Publishing?" with Blake Atwood, 3PM

Interabang Books, Alex Berenson reading and signing THE DECEIVERS, 3PM

Half Price Books Mothership, local author Charity Marie will sell and sign copies from her children's book series, Jason & Lizzy, and local author Ryan Armstrong will sell and sign his romance book, Back to the Start, 1PM

Houston

Rudyard's Pub, The Passion Series featuring poets Kevin Prufer, Mark Irwin, John Gorman, and Andrew Clegg, 1PM

Watauga
Half Price Books, retired, decorated combat-cavalry soldier and local author Tank Gunner will sell and sign his military book, Cookie Johnson, 1PM


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Recent Texas Book News: Nominations and Inductions

February 6, 2018, 10:00 pm
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 There are plenty of reasons for the Texas literary community to celebrate recently. Bones: Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream (One World) by Joe Tone, formerly an editor at the Dallas Observer, is a finalist for PEN America's 2018 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. The winner will be announced February 20 in NYC.


The Mystery Writers of America have named three books by Texas authors as 2018 Edgar Allan Poe Award finalists. The Dime (Mulholland Books) by Dallas's Kathleen Kent is nominated in the category of Best Novel. Also nominated for Best Novel is Bluebird, Bluebird (Mulholland Books) by Texas native Attica Locke. The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple (Simon & Schuster) by Fort Worth's Jeff Guinn is nominated in the Best Fact Crime category. The winners will be announced April 26, also in New York. 


Sandra Cisneros

The Texas Institute of Letters (TIL) announced a class of nineteen inductees for 2018. The new members will be inducted at the group's annual meeting, April 6-7, in San Antonio. Congratulations are in order for Daniel Chacón, Alfredo Corchado, Marcia Hatfield Daudistel, Katherine Hoerth, Michael Hurd, Bret Anthony Johnston, Richard Linklater, Sheryl Luna, Kirk Lynn, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Willie Nelson, Severo Perez, Sasha Pimentel, José Antonio Rodríguez, Mary Beth Rogers, Steven Schneider, Ted Shine, José Skinner, and Christian Wiman. 

2018 TIL inductees






Willie Nelson is the first songwriter to be inducted into the TIL. The Dallas Morning News has the scoop on the rule change that allowed Mr. Nelson's inclusion. Blame, or thank, Bob Dylan and the Nobel Institute. Meanwhile, Sandra Cisneros has been named the winner of the prestigious Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement, the highest honor given by the TIL. 

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Review: HOMETOWN TEXAS by Joe Holley & Peter Brown

February 8, 2018, 10:00 pm
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I reviewedHometown Texas (Maverick Books) by Joe Holley and Peter Brown for Lone Star Literary Life. This is a handsome volume of essays and photography exploring Texas's small towns. “There is much to be seen, heard, and appreciated in these little towns,” Brown writes, “there are creative and energetic people working with good ideas that they apply locally, and their stories are worth passing on and celebrating.” Indeed.

ESSAYS/PHOTOGRAPHY
Joe Holley, with photographs by Peter Brown
Hometown Texas
Maverick Books
Hardcover, 978-1-5953-4807-7 (also available as an e-book), 304 pgs., $32.50
November 7, 2017

The datelines are Mobeetie and the Boquillas Crossing, Cotulla and Paducah, Comfort and Aurora (the Roswell of Texas), Bigfoot (named for Bigfoot Wallace) and Indianola, Canton and Hawkins. The subjects are as disparate as Temple Lea Houston, Italian prisoners of World War II, water witches, and aliens. There is cowboy poetry in Alpine, Chataqua in Waxahachie, the Sanctified Sisters of Belton (a commune whose book collection became the Belton Public Library), the world’s only beauty salon/bookstore (Beauty and the Book), man-heads buried in Malakoff, Port Arthur trying to talk Hollywood into blowing up its downtown, and that time the Marx brothers were arrested for playing cards on Sunday in Nacogdoches.

Hometown Texas is a handsome new volume of essays and photography from Trinity University Press’s Maverick Books. The essays are reproduced from the Houston Chronicle’s “Native Texan” column written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Joe Holley, an author, a former editor, a former staff writer for the Washington Post and a regular contributor to Texas Monthly and the Columbia Journalism Review, among other outlets. The photography is courtesy of Peter Brown, an award-winning photographer who teaches at the Glasscock School at Rice University, whose work has been collected by the Menil Collection, MoMA New York, and the Getty Museum, among others.

The Texas Holley wants us to appreciate is “rural, small-town, and slower-paced … intimately connected to [our] frontier heritage … beyond the metropolitan areas spreading amoeba-like into the surrounding countryside.” Three things draw Holley to these places: “intriguing people, the pervasive influence of place, and the enduring significance of the past on present-day lives.” Holley knows that “towns, like people, are intelligible. They have distinctive personalities.” Muleshoe is not like Valentine, which is not like Llano, which is not like Smithville, which is not like Gladewater.

Brown states in his introduction that he didn’t try to summarize the whole of Texas in a documentary style, but rather uses “lyric documentary style,” defined by Brown as “descriptive and personal, more fictional or poetic than photojournalistic.” Hometown Texas is divided into five geographical regions: West, North, Central, South, and East Texas. Brown provides an “impressionistic” set of photographs, basically his artistic responses to each of these five regions.

Hometown Texas brings home the daily relevance of history, and the truism that truth is stranger than fiction. I’d use this book as a travel guide, and a primer on how small towns survive, thrive, or don’t. “There is much to be seen, heard, and appreciated in these little towns,” Brown writes, “there are creative and energetic people working with good ideas that they apply locally, and that their stories are worth passing on and celebrating.” Indeed.

Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.

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Monday Roundup: TEXAS LITERARY CALENDAR 2/12-18

February 11, 2018, 10:00 pm
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Bookish goings-on in Texas for the week of February 12-18, 2018: 

Special Events:
FronteraFest 2018, Austin, January 16-February 17

Humanities Texas presents Texas Storytime: A Family Reading Program, Midland, February 8-March 15

South By and By: Society for the Study of Southern Literature Conference 2018, Austin, February 15-18

ConDFW XVII, Fort Worth, February 16-18

Teen Bookfest by the Bay, Corpus Christi, February 17

Sur Fest 6, Houston, February 17

Ongoing Exhibits:
Austin
Houston



San Antonio
The Mix, Puroslam with DJ Donnie Dee, 9:30PM

The Twig Book Shop, Naomi Shihab Nye launches Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners, 6PM

Wednesday, February 14:
Dallas
Moody Performance Hall, Oral Fixation presents "Stick Together," 8PM

Houston
Avant Garden, Write About Now Poetry Slam, 7:30PM

Murder By the Book, Tom Sweterlitsch will sign and discuss The Gone World, 6:30PM

Thursday, February 15:
Austin


Bryan
African American Museum, lecture by Dr. John Gruesser, Ph.D, editor of the scholarly edition of The Hindered Hand, and biographer of Dallas-born Baptist minister Sutton E. Griggs, 7PM

Blue Willow Bookshop, Emily Ecton will meet and greet customers and sign her new novel for children, THE AMBROSE DECEPTION, 5PM



Fondren Library, Meet the Author: Diana Strassmann, founding editor of Feminist Economics, 6PM

Sugar Land
BookWoman, How to Write Visually: a conversation with Austin authors and illustrators Tillie Walden, Tammy Stanley, and Pamela Ellen Ferguson, 1PM


El Paso Public Library - Memorial Park, Tumblewords Project Workshop: "Live, Love, Desire" with author Lucy Hopple, 12:45PM

Frisco
Half Price Books, local author Amy Winfield will sell and sign her children's book, Cautious Fred, 1PM

Houston
Blue Willow Bookshop, Ann Leis and Gail Klein will sign their book, MUSIC OF THE BUTTERFLY: A STORY OF HOPE, 11AM

Brazos Bookstore, poet Analicia Sotelo reading from and signing VIRGIN, 7PM

Half Price Books - Clear Lake, Local Author Saturdays: Meet local Indie authors and pick up their latest release!, while supplies last

Murder By the Book, William D. Darling will sign and discuss Anahuac, 4:30PM

River Oaks Bookstore, Anetral Hall discussing and signing Revelations: The Untold Truth and My Little Princess: Count with Teddy and Me from 1 to 20, 3PM

Writespace, Workshop: "Turning Points in the Arc of Memoir" with Joyce Boatright, 1PM

Katy

Nacogdoches

San Antonio
Carver Library, Black History Month: Telling Our History Our Way - Writers and poets speak out on why their perspective counts, 11AM

San Antonio Central Library - Latino Collection & Resource Center, celebrate the release of All Around Us, an acclaimed new picture book by San Antonio natives Xelena González and Adriana Garcia, 2PM

Trinity University, the Black Student Union presents Spoken Word with 2014 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and 2015 National Poetry Slam Champion Porsha Olayiwola, 5PM

Sunday, February 18:
Austin
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2017 LONE STAR BLOGGERS' CHOICE AWARDS

February 13, 2018, 9:45 am
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The Lone Star Book Blog Tours team has voted, and the results are in!  From Best Fiction to Most Engaged Author, we have seventeen awards to hand out to the awesome Texas books and authors featured on Lone Star Book Blog Tours in 2017. 

From February 14-23, 2018, please join us as we hop around the LSBBT blogs and share the winners, runners-up, and shortlisted titles. Don’t miss it! 


AWARDS SCHEDULE:
2/14: Awards Announcement
2/15: AWARDS: Best Hook & Best Creative Concept
2/16: AWARDS: Best Non-Fiction History, Best Biography/Memoir, & Best Western
2/17: AWARDS: Best Children’s/Juvenile/YA & Best Series
2/18: AWARDS: Best Literary Fiction & Best Religious/Inspirational/Spiritual
2/19: AWARDS: Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Romance, & Best Fantasy
2/20: AWARDS: Best Cover & Most Engaged Author
2/21: AWARD: Best Texas Book
2/22: AWARD: Best Non-Fiction Book
2/23: AWARD: Best Fiction Book
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Review: ELEPHANT DREAMS by Martha Deeringer

February 13, 2018, 10:00 pm
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I reviewedElephant Dreams: A Novel (Melange Books, LLC) by Texas author Martha Deeringer for Lone Star Literary Life. The fun cover art promises a charming tale, and Deeringer delivers.

YA FICTION
Martha Deeringer
Elephant Dreams: A Novel
Melange Books
Paperback, 978-1-6804-6532-7, (also available as an e-book), 224 pgs., $13.95
September 2, 2017

Sixteen-year-old Fiona Finn is homeless on the nineteenth-century streets of New York City. After her mother’s death from consumption, her father’s drinking problem subsumed him. Fiona was scavenging for food when the family was evicted; when she returns to the apartment, her father and little brother, Frank, are gone. Fiona has been living in the basement of a condemned tenement, and finally seeks help and refuge in a church after almost being nabbed on the street by a pimp.

The Children’s Aid Society wants to send Fiona west on an orphan train, but her father refuses to sign the documents. He, too, thinks she can make money on street corners, enough to keep him insensately soused. So the society arranges for Fiona to work for them, helping on the trains with the orphans who do go west to new lives. When Fiona’s father stows away on the train, she escapes during a stop in Houston and finds her way to a circus—"The Mollie A. Bailey Show, A Texas Show for Texas People.” As luck would have it, the elephant girl has just run away to marry one of the clowns. Fiona dons the costume, thinking it the perfect disguise to elude the law and her father’s attempts to reclaim her.

Elephant Dreams: A Novel is new historical YA fiction from Texas author Martha Deeringer. The fun cover art promises a charming tale, and Deeringer delivers. Creative and well plotted, the action begins on page one and proceeds at a brisk pace with plenty of twists and surprises. Elephant Dreams is a fine adventure and held my attention until the last page.

Older readers may find her too good to be true, but I was immediately taken with Fiona. She is scrappy, smart, industrious, and brave. Her journal writing strikes me as more sophisticated than her limited education and circumstances would suggest, and her Irish accent and inflections come and go. Though not entirely realistic, as she possesses no discernible flaws, Fiona is an inspiring, entertaining character for middle-grade readers.

Deeringer is a talented, versatile writer. Fiona’s first meeting with Bolivar the Asian elephant is laugh-aloud funny; budding first love is sweet and tender; tension is tight. Deeringer skillfully weaves multiple societal issues and details of the period into the third-person narration, and provides a visceral sense of the orphan train, writing movingly of poverty and desperation. Deeringer’s characters are engaging and diverse, the circus family endearing. Mollie Bailey, whose character Deeringer borrows from real-life events, is an admirable woman, equally adept at business and kindness, a great role model for the virtues of independence, integrity, and gumption.

Fiona develops a taste for adventure, and Deeringer provides a hopeful, satisfying resolution, resisting the sentimental, too-easy ending. The show must go on, after all, and just this morning “the bareback rider announced that she’s going to marry the Turkish camel handler,” as word has it. “They’re headed for the Klondike to search for gold.”

Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.

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2017 Lone Star Bloggers' Choice Awards: BEST HOOK & MOST CREATIVE CONCEPT

February 14, 2018, 10:00 pm
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Click to learn more about:

Click to learn more about:
Bonnie & Clyde Resurrection Road by Clark Hays & Kathleen McFall




AWARDS SCHEDULE:
2/14: Awards Announcement
2/15: Best Hook & Best Creative Concept
2/16: Best Non-Fiction History, Best Biography/Memoir, & Best Western
2/17: Best Children’s/Juvenile/YA & Best Series
2/18: Best Literary Fiction & Best Religious/Inspirational/Spiritual
2/19: Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Romance, & Best Fantasy
2/20: Best Cover & Most Engaged Author
2/21: Best Texas Book
2/22: Best Non-Fiction Book
2/23: Best Fiction Book


Come back tomorrow for the next award announcements!

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2017 Lone Star Bloggers' Choice Awards: BEST NONFICTION HISTORY, BEST BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR, & BEST WESTERN

February 15, 2018, 10:00 pm
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 Click to learn more about:
Understanding Cemetery Symbols by Tui Snider
Yonderings by Ben English
A Witness to History by Janet Neugebauer
Baugh to Brady by Lew Freedman
Equal Opportunity Hero by Phil Price
Of Bulletins and Booze by Bob Horton


  Click to learn more about:
Yonderings by Ben English
The Rebirth of Hope by Sau Le Hudecek
Of Bulletins and Booze by Bob Horton
Bending Angels by Jack Emmott
Equal Opportunity Hero by Phil Price



Click to learn more about:
Badlands by Melissa Lenhardt
Heart on the Line by Karen Witemeyer
Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
To Marry a Texas Outlaw by Linda Broday
Knight on the Texas Plains by Linda Broday
Blood Oath by Melissa Lenhardt



AWARDS SCHEDULE:
2/14: Awards Announcement
2/15: Best Hook & Best Creative Concept
2/16: Best Non-Fiction History, Best Biography/Memoir, & Best Western
2/17: Best Children’s/Juvenile/YA & Best Series
2/18: Best Literary Fiction & Best Religious/Inspirational/Spiritual
2/19: Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Romance, & Best Fantasy
2/20: Best Cover & Most Engaged Author
2/21: Best Texas Book
2/22: Best Non-Fiction Book
2/23: Best Fiction Book



Come back tomorrow for the next award announcements!

↧

2017 Lone Star Bloggers' Choice Awards: BEST CHILDREN'S/JUVENILE/YA & BEST SERIES

February 16, 2018, 10:00 pm
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 Click to learn more about:
Evidence of Things Not Seen by Lindsey Lane
The Eldridge Conspiracy: Sir Kaye the Boy Knight, #4 by Donn Winn
The Secret Room by John Alexander
Hitchin' Post by Julie Barker
Almost a Minyan by Lori Kline and Susan Simon




Click to learn more about:
The Sawbones Series by Melissa Lenhardt
The Ladies of Harper Station by Karen Witemeyer
Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Series by Donn Winn
The Amber-Autumn Mystery Series by John Alexander
The Montana Rescue Series by Susan May Warren 
The Gethsemane Brown Mystery Series by Alexia Gordon
The FBI Task Force Novels by DiAnn Mills
The Men of Legend Series by Linda Broday
The Bonnie and Clyde Series by Clark Hays & Kathleen McFall



AWARDS SCHEDULE:
2/14: Awards Announcement
2/15: Best Hook & Best Creative Concept
2/16: Best Non-Fiction History, Best Biography/Memoir, & Best Western
2/17: Best Children’s/Juvenile/YA & Best Series
2/18: Best Literary Fiction & Best Religious/Inspirational/Spiritual
2/19: Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Romance, & Best Fantasy
2/20: Best Cover & Most Engaged Author
2/21: Best Texas Book
2/22: Best Non-Fiction Book
2/23: Best Fiction Book


Come back tomorrow for the next award announcements!

↧

Guest Post: "Don't Tag Me" by Lincee Ray, author of WHY I HATE GREEN BEANS

February 17, 2018, 5:00 am
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WHY I HATE GREEN BEANS
and other confessions about relationships, reality tv, and how we see ourselves
by
LINCEE RAY
  
Genre: Humorous NonFiction / Memoir
Publisher: Revell
Facebook   ⎸ Twitter
Date of Publication: February 6, 2018
Number of Pages: 208

Scroll down for the giveaway!



Insecurity. As women, we all struggle with it. Our skinny jeans mock us. Our age-defying serums with flecks of gold refuse to erase our crow’s feet. Our social media feeds taunt us with everyone else’s picture-perfect lives. If you’ve ever felt uninteresting, unlovable, or unattractive, you’re ready for Lincee Ray’s particular brand of hilarious (and hard-hitting) self-reflection.

Like a trustworthy friend, she shows us that the fastest way to happiness is to embrace ourselves in all our imperfection and trust that God knew what He was doing when He made us. From maneuvering the muffin top to navigating the sketchy waters of singleness to walking the judgmental halls of the workplace, Lincee’s laugh-out-loud look at real life reveals many of the key truths she’s learned about her identity: Yoga pants are your friend, Jesus sees you, and green-bean diets are never the answer.


PRAISE FOR WHY I HATE GREEN BEANS:
“Lincee is a brilliant writer. She once described me as ‘smelling of worn leather, a vintage nine iron and swagger.’ She pretty much nailed it. She is definitely worthy of the final rose.” —Chris Harrison, host of ABC’s Bachelor franchise and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

"I found myself laughing out loud, wiping away a few tears, and cheering her on every step of the way. Lincee is the best friend you wish you had. Get ready to fall in love with her and her fabulous debut book!” —Melanie Shankle, author of the Big Mama blog

"By the end of this book, you’ll think of Lincee as a favorite friend: someone who shoots straight, finds the funny in every situation, and reminds you what matters most. You are in for a treat!” —Sophie Hudson, author of Giddy Up, Eunice and cohost of The Big Boo Cast podcast

>>CLICK TO PURCHASE<<




Don’t Tag Me
Guest Post by Lincee Ray

If I had a dollar for every person who suggested that I write a book, I could buy a nice pair of jeans at Nordstrom’s and have enough money left to treat myself to a double doozy at the Cookie Company in the Memorial City Mall food court. Truthfully, it never occurred to me to write an actual book until readers on my website planted the seed. Then it was all I could think about.

So I did it. I wrote a book. I holed myself up in my bedroom, my local library, and my neighborhood Target tapping away on my keyboard, pouring my heart out onto the pages.

That’s right. I wrote part of my book at Target. It’s not weird. My love for the red bulls eye runs deep. Plus, I’m not trendy or cool enough to work at Starbucks.

This is a convenient transition which will flow nicely into me introducing the topic of my book: insecurities. My friends would tell you, “Of course Lincee is cool enough to write a memoir at Starbucks,” but the truth is, I’m a big dork. I neither like coffee (please don’t look at me that way), nor do I enjoy vying for the one power outlet with the dude who is gaming in the comfortable leather chair snug in the corner.

My insecurities are a big part of me. Therefore, it’s up to me to make the decision to wake up every morning and face them head on. I figured I’m not the only one facing this challenge, so I decided to write about the times I feel inferior. My hope is that you don’t laugh at me, but with me.

One of the topics I cover in the book is my insecurity with my appearance. I’m not sure when my chin skin decided it no longer needed to cling to my actual chin. I keep waiting for the bags under my eyes to pack themselves up and leave. And when you have to hold your own eyelid up to read a book, you know you’ve finally hit your stride. It’s called being forty, and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about the extra padding, the creaky back, or things that sag.

I call my friends, join in the camaraderie that they too are fighting gravity, and slather on every product my former co-workers are peddling on Facebook. In the words of the spirited kids in High School Musical, “We’re all in this together!”

Speaking of Facebook, the digital world makes me acutely aware of things I used to not even consider. For example: Remember the days when your mom busted out the Kodak disc camera and you called for your family to gather around as she shouted “1, 2, 3, SMILE!” and we all prayed that no one was blinking and that every hair was in place? And then you would run to Walgreens to have the film developed in an hour, grateful if you secured ONE PHOTO that was frame-worthy out of twenty-four?

That’s not a thing anymore. While standing in line at a theme park, I witnessed a group of girls take no less than twelve different photos in basically the same position because someone wasn’t happy. Their part was wrong. Again. Wonky lighting. Again. Stella was doing “duck face” and no one else was doing “duck face,” so Stella pulled focus. Again. Many threatened death to the other girls should they even think about posting and tagging one of the discarded photos on any social media outlet.

I would like to show those girls some of the pages in my yearbook. They would keel over and die.

My generation? We take the picture, hand the phone over to the youngest person in the group and say, “Filter that business.” Then we praise the good Lord that the word filter is both a noun and a verb. We all agree not to tag anyone and then inevitably we forget to post it. Good times.

Whether it’s your jiggly bits, greying hairs, or knobby knees, we all face a myriad of insecurities when we look in the mirror. But we have to remember that we are our worst enemy. God does not see what is outside, but what is inside. Knowing that you are beautiful in His eyes is all that matters.

I constantly remind myself that I am living my dream, my identity is found in Christ, and Target is just as cool, if not trendier, than hipster coffee joints. 



Lincee Ray is an accidental blogging superstar from Texas who now writes for EW.com and the Associated Press. An active speaker, she can be found at her popular website ihategreenbeans.com, where she makes it clear that she believes it’s important to tell your story—even if it makes you seem a little crazy.

Connect with Lincee!
 ║ Blog║ Facebook ║ Twitter ║  
║ Instagram ║ Podcast ║




-------------------------------------
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
FEBRUARY 13-22, 2018
GRAND PRIZE:
Copy of Why I Hate Green Beans with a signed book plate, $50 Barnes & Noble Gift Card, and Lincee's Loves Basket which includes: Rave travel hairspray, Minnie Mouse ears, Vodka*, Heartbreakers Candy, Dr. Pepper, chocolate rose, and green jelly beans.
2nd PRIZE:
Copy of Why I Hate Green Beans with a signed book plate, $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card
3rd PRIZE:
Copy of Why I Hate Green Beans with a signed book plate, $10 Barnes & Noble Gift Card
(U.S. Only; *proof of age required for vodka)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
2/13/18
Notable Quotable
A Page Before Bedtime
2/13/18
Notable Quotable
Hall Ways Blog
2/14/18
Review
Missus Gonzo
2/15/18
Playlist
Reading by Moonlight
2/15/18
Author Interview
The Librarian Talks
2/16/18
Review
Forgotten Winds
2/17/18
Guest Post
Texas Book Lover
2/17/18
Excerpt
The Page Unbound
2/18/18
Review
StoreyBook Reviews
2/19/18
Notable Quotable
Syd Savvy
2/19/18
Notable Quotable
A Novel Reality
2/20/18
Review
Chapter Break Book Blog
2/21/18
Top Five
Momma on the Rocks
2/22/18
Review
Story Schmoozing Book Reviews
2/22/18
Review
Margie's Must Reads



  blog tour services provided by

  

↧
↧

2017 Lone Star Bloggers' Choice Awards: BEST LITERARY FICTION & BEST RELIGIOUS/INSPIRATIONAL/SPIRITUAL

February 17, 2018, 10:00 pm
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 Click to learn more about:
The Grave Tender by Eliza Maxwell
Loving Luther by Allison Pittman
A Good Girl by Johnnie Bernhard
Nowhere Near by Teddy Jones
Before the Rain Falls by Camille DiMaio
Lady Jayne Disappears by Joanna Davidson Politano



Click to learn more about:
Loving Luther by Allison Pittman
Before the Rain Falls by Camille DiMaio
These Healing Hills by Ann Gabhart
The Day the Angels Fell by Shawn Smucker
Almost a Minyan by Lori Kline and Susan Simon
A Moonbow Night by Laura Frantz
A Stolen Heart by Amanda Cabot



AWARDS SCHEDULE:
2/14: Awards Announcement
2/15: Best Hook & Best Creative Concept
2/16: Best Non-Fiction History, Best Biography/Memoir, 
& Best Western
2/17: Best Children’s/Juvenile/YA & Best Series
2/18: Best Literary Fiction & Best Religious/Inspirational/Spiritual
2/19: Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Romance, & Best Fantasy
2/20: Best Cover & Most Engaged Author
2/21: Best Texas Book
2/22: Best Non-Fiction Book
2/23: Best Fiction Book


 Come back tomorrow for the next award announcements!


↧

2017 Lone Star Bloggers' Choice Awards: BEST MYSTERY/SUSPENSE, BEST ROMANCE, & BEST FANTASY/ALTERNATE HISTORY

February 18, 2018, 10:00 pm
$
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Click to learn more about:




Click to learn more about:



Click to learn more about:





AWARDS SCHEDULE:
2/14: Awards Announcement
2/15: Best Hook & Best Creative Concept
2/16: Best Non-Fiction History, Best Biography/Memoir, 
& Best Western
2/17: Best Children’s/Juvenile/YA & Best Series
2/18: Best Literary Fiction & Best Religious/Inspirational/Spiritual
2/19: Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Romance, & Best Fantasy / Alternate History
2/20: Best Cover & Most Engaged Author
2/21: Best Texas Book
2/22: Best Non-Fiction Book
2/23: Best Fiction Book


Come back tomorrow for the 
next award announcements!

↧
Search

Monday Roundup: TEXAS LITERARY CALENDAR 2/19-25

February 19, 2018, 5:00 am
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Bookish goings-on in Texas for the week of February 19-25, 2018: 

Special Events:
Humanities Texas presents Texas Storytime: A Family Reading Program, Midland, February 8-March 15

First Impressions Festival for Local Playwrights, Dallas, February 21-23

22nd Annual ASU Writers Conference in Honorof Elmer Kelton, San Angelo, February 22-23

People's Poetry Festival, Corpus Christi, February 22-24

Celebration of Diverse Literary Voices of Texas, Austin, February 24

Poetry Out Loud Finals, Austin, February 24

Wild & Wonderful Evening: 4word Gala & Dinner featuring Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, Dallas, February 24

Ongoing Exhibits:

San Antonio
The Twig Book Shop, Robb Carlos discussing and signing We Are G.O.D. Guiding Our Direction, From Journal to Journey, 5PM

Southlake
B&N - Town Square, Mike Gleason signing and discussing his Hideout Kids series, 2PM

Tuesday, February 20:
Arlington
UT Arlington - Texas Hall, Maverick Speaker Series presents best-selling author and sustainable food advocate Michael Pollan: "One Writer's Trip: From the Garden to the Plate and the Beyond," 7:30PM

Austin
BookPeople, SUSAN DENNARD speaking & signing Sightwitch: A Tale of the Witchlands, 7PM

Half Price Books - North Lamar, cookbook author and "Peace, Love and Low Carb" blogger Kyndra Holley will discuss and sign her new book, Keto Happy Hour: 50+ Low-Carb Craft Cocktails to Quench Your Thirst, 7PM

Spiderhouse Ballroom, Austin Poetry Slam featuring Paulie Lipman, 7:15PM

College Station
TAMU - George H.W. Bush Presidential Library, Jeffrey Engel discussing and signing When the World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War, 6PM

Dallas
B&N - Preston/Royal, Story time: Mary Virginia McCorm Pittman reads from Four-Legged Heroes, 11:30AM

Crescent Club, World Affairs Council of DFW hosts Alyssa Ayres discussing and signing Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World, 6:30PM

Interabang Books, Michelle Staubach Grimes launches her newest children's book, PIDGE TAKES THE STAGE, 6PM

SMU, the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies presents Jack E. Davis and The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, winner of the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction, 5:30PM

The Wild Detectives, Suzanne Asaff Blankenship, author of How To Take Care of Old People Without Losing Your Marbles, moderates a panel on elder care, which includes Nadine Roberts Cornish, author of Tears In My Gumbo – The Caregiver’s Recipe for Resilience, 7:30PM

El Paso
The Black Orchid Lounge, Barbed Wire Open Mic Series featuring Rencho, 8PM

Houston
Bohemeos, Glass Mountain winter reading, 7PM

Murder By the Book, Tracee de Hahn will sign and discuss A Well-Timed Murder, 7PM

San Antonio

Highland Park High School, Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Orphan Master's Son, delivers the Highland Park Literary Festival keynote address, followed by a book signing, 7PM

SMU, lecture by women's health advocate Judy Norsigian, author of Our Bodies Ourselves, 3:30PM

El Paso
B&N - Sunland Park, Meet Crazy Horse family members and W. Matson, author of Crazy Horse: The Lakota Warrior's Life & Legacy, 5PM

Houston
Brazos Bookstore, David Lazar discussing and signing I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR, 7PM

Murder By the Book, Mark Greaney will sign and discuss Agent in Place, 6:30PM

Poison Girl, Poison Pen Reading Series featuring Robert Boswell, Cait Weiss Orcutt, and Outspoken Bean, 8:30PM

San Antonio
The Alamo Gift Shop, Wade Dillon will sign his children's books, 9AM

B&N - La Cantera, Matthew Pollard discussing and signing The Introvert's Edge, 7:30PM

B&N - San Pedro, Martha Miller discussing and signing Times New Roman: How We Quit Our Jobs, Gave Away Our Stuff & Moved to Italy, 2:30PM

San Antonio Central Library, A Public Platica on the current state of the literary arts in San Antonio, with the debut and signing of Literary San Antonio, featuring Dr. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto Bryce Milligan, Texas Poet Laureate Rosemary Catacalos, San Antonio and Texas Poet Laureate Jenny Browne, journalist and cultural historian Cary Clack, and San Antonio book collector extraordinaire Bill Fisher, 6:30PM

Texas A&M - SA, Writer’s Lecture Series featuring Laurie Ann Guerrero: On Being Deliberate, Afraid of Nothing, 6:30PM

San Marcos
Texas State - Alkek Library, the Wittliff Collections presents a reading and signing with Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, 3:30PM

Sugar Land
Houston
B&N - Houston, Anthony Graves discussing and signing Infinite Hope, 7PM

Brazos Bookstore, Daniel Horowitz discussing and signing HAPPIER?, 7PM

River Oaks Bookstore, Ann Leis and Gail Klein reading and signing Music of the Butterfly: A Story of Hope, 5PM

Huntsville
Sam Houston State, lecture from Dr. Suzy Kim, Professor of Korean Studies at Rutgers University and author of the award-winning book, Everyday Life in the North Korean Revolution, 10:30AM

Kyle
Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center, a reading and signing with Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, 7:30PM

Lubbock
B&N, Superhero Therapy book signing with Dr. Janina Scarlet, 6:30PM

San Antonio
Jo Long Theatre, Blackbird, Fly: Marc Bamuthi Joseph and DBR, both sons of Haitian immigrants, weave movement, music, and spoken word into a richly layered multi-sensory evening, 8PM

UTSA, Creative Writing Program Reading Series presents Karen Tei Yamashita, author of National Book Award-nominated novel, I Hotel, 7PM

Denton
El Paso Public Library - Esperanza Moreno, Award-winning author Alexandra Diaz discussing her critically-acclaimed young adult lit, 3PM

El Paso Public Library - Memorial Park, Tumblewords Project Workshop: "To Tell the Tale" with musician and singer McKinley Cougar, 12:45PM

Fort Worth
The Dock Bookshop, Dock Speaker Series: Dr. Ali Al-Mansour speaking and signing Crytocurrency Glossary 4 Teens and Black Americans at The Crossroads, 4PM

Frisco
Blue Willow Bookshop, Lincee Ray will discuss and sign her new book, WHY I HATE GREEN BEANS, 11AM

Contemporary Arts Museum, WITS Space City Preliminary Slam: young Houston poets, spoken word artists, and emcees, ages 13-19, compete for your spot on the Meta-Four Houston youth slam team, ranked #5 in the world, 12:30PM

Half Price Books - Clear Lake, Local Author Saturdays: Meet local Indie authors and pick up their latest release!, while supplies last

Katy Budget Books, local author Preston Pierott signing Cheat Codes to High School, 2PM


Writespace, Workshop: "Speculative Fiction Critique" with Cassandra Rose Clarke, 1PM

Writespace, From the Page to the Stage Reading & Open Mic, 7:30PM
Dead Tree Books, Melissa Eatherington signing her poetry collection, Night Hag In the Flame, 2PM

Southlake
B&N - Town Square, Celestina Blok signing Lost Restaurants of Fort Worth, 1PM

Sweetwater
Argos Brewhouse & Bookseller, Open Mic Night, 7PM

Sunday, February 25:
Austin

Half Price Books Mothership, local author William Venema will sell and sign his military thriller, Death in Panama, and local author Ray Sharp will sell and sign his children's book, After All, Dogs Are Colorblind, Aren't They?, 1PM

Houston
B&N - Westheimer, poet Tarif Youssef-Agha signing his memoir, The Chronicles of the Syrian Revolution, 12PM

Brazilian Arts Foundation, O Brasil Secreto: Brazilian Art, Prose, and Poetry in Translation featuring Gabriela Maya, poetry in translation by D.A. Smith, and a Q & A with Houston-based painter Tony Paraná, 4PM

Rudyard's Pub, Public Poetry presents "The Passion Series" featuring Mark Irwin, 1PM

Irving
South Irving Library, Hope Nation book launch with Angie Thomas, Ally Carter, Julie Murphy, and Dr. Rose Brock, 3PM
↧

2017 Lone Star Bloggers' Choice Awards: BEST BOOK COVER & MOST ENGAGED AUTHOR

February 19, 2018, 10:00 pm
$
0
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Click to learn more about:




Click to learn more about:
Linda Broday
DiAnn Mills
Ben English




AWARDS SCHEDULE:
2/14: Awards Announcement
2/15: Best Hook & Best Creative Concept
2/16: Best Non-Fiction History, Best Biography/Memoir, 
& Best Western
2/17: Best Children’s/Juvenile/YA & Best Series
2/18: Best Literary Fiction & Best Religious/Inspirational/Spiritual
2/19: Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Romance, & Best Fantasy / Alternate History
2/20: Best Cover & Most Engaged Author
2/21: Best Texas Book
2/22: Best Non-Fiction Book
2/23: Best Fiction Book


Come back tomorrow for the 
next award announcements!

↧
↧

2017 Lone Star Bloggers' Choice Awards: BEST TEXAS BOOK

February 20, 2018, 10:00 pm
$
0
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 Click to learn more about:
Before the Rain Falls by Camille DiMaio
The Grave Tender by Eliza Maxwell
Deep Extraction  by DiAnn Mills
Nowhere Near by Teddy Jones
Breakfast in Texas by Terry Thompson-Anderson
Lamar's Folly by Jeffrey Kerr
The Big Inch by Kimberly Fish



AWARDS SCHEDULE:
2/14: Awards Announcement
2/15: Best Hook & Best Creative Concept
2/16: Best Non-Fiction History, Best Biography/Memoir, 
& Best Western
2/17: Best Children’s/Juvenile/YA & Best Series
2/18: Best Literary Fiction & Best Religious/Inspirational/Spiritual
2/19: Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Romance, & Best Fantasy
2/20: Best Cover & Most Engaged Author
2/21: Best Texas Book
2/22: Best Non-Fiction Book
2/23: Best Fiction Book


 Come back tomorrow for the next award announcements!

↧

2017 Lone Star Bloggers' Choice Awards: BEST NONFICTION BOOK

February 21, 2018, 10:00 pm
$
0
0

 Click to learn more about:
Breakfast in Texas by Terry Thompson-Anderson
The Rebirth of Hope by Sau Le Hudecek
Of Bulletins and Booze by Bob Horton
The Swimming Holes of Texas by Julie Wernersbach and Carolyn Tracy
Understanding Cemetery Symbols by Tui Snider
Yonderings by Ben English



AWARDS SCHEDULE:
2/14: Awards Announcement
2/15: AWARDS: Best Hook & Best Creative Concept
2/16: AWARDS: Best Non-Fiction History, Best Biography/Memoir, & Best Western
2/17: AWARDS: Best Children’s/Juvenile/YA & Best Series
2/18: AWARDS: Best Literary Fiction & Best Religious/Inspirational/Spiritual
2/19: AWARDS: Best Mystery/Suspense, Best Romance, & Best Fantasy
2/20: AWARDS: Best Cover & Most Engaged Author
2/21: AWARD: Best Texas Book
2/22: AWARD: Best Non-Fiction Book
2/23: AWARD: Best Fiction Book


 Come back tomorrow for the FINAL AWARD announcement!

↧

"Keys to Honduras" Guest Post by Dirk Weisiger, author of LEAVE TOMORROW: MY RIDE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD

February 22, 2018, 5:00 am
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LEAVE TOMORROW:
My Ride to the 
Bottom of the World
by
Dirk Weisiger
  
Genre: Memoir / Travel / Inspiration
Date of Publication: October 27, 2017
Number of Pages: 232

Scroll down for the giveaway!



After building a successful business, Dirk Weisiger was ready for something new. But he wasn't sure what. Maybe a motorcycle adventure, I've never done that!

What followed was a fourteen-month, solo motorcycle journey from Austin, Texas to Ushuaia, Argentina, filled with unexpected adventures, surprises, and lessons about life and travel.

In this book, you'll not only enjoy Dirk's adventure and insights, but find inspiration for your own journey.

(A portion of proceeds from this book help sponsor children at the Colegio Bautista El Calvario private school in Managua, Nicaragua.)


PRAISE FOR LEAVE TOMORROW:


I may not ride a motorcycle to the bottom of the world, but my soul comes alive when I hear about people smashing fear and following their dreams. This book will truly inspire you.
--Abigail Irene Fisher, traveler and speaker

Leave Tomorrow is a fun, engaging, and thought-provoking read. If you are looking for a blend of humanity, culture, scary moments with a medicine man, military police, attempts at extortion, and unexpected challenges--along with insightful observations and humor, this book will definitely spark your imagination to "live your own movie." 
--Steve Scott, business coach and author of Wings to Fly

This inspiring and entertaining book is just the tonic needed to get you up out of your chair and ready to "Leave Tomorrow."
--Julie Mundy, Guidebook Author and Travel Blogger, Australia

For everyone thinking of a new adventure, a new life, or even a new venture: DO IT.
--Jim Rogers, bestselling author of Investment Biker and Street Smarts 

This is not the first book I've read on riding to Ushuaia, but it is probably the most enjoyable. Dirk writes about his experiences in an upbeat manner, taking each experience and each day in perspective. 
--Muriel Farrington, Ambassador, BMW Motorcycles of America


(A portion of proceeds from this book help sponsor children at the Colegio Bautista El Calvario private school in Managua, Nicaragua.) 


Keys to Honduras
Guest Post by Dirk Weisiger

AS I HEADED into the interior of Honduras, locals told me not to visit San Pedro Sula.
This town was notorious for MS-13 gangs, robbing, killing, and riding around in pickup trucks. I turned on the GoPro to share with folks back home a firsthand video account of any trouble.
“Just keep your head down and let me do the talking,” I instructed my GoPro audience. So, right before San Pedro, I turned, headed south, and stopped in Villanueva for a bottle of water.
In case you’re wondering if my neck muscles were constantly sore from looking over my shoulder, you’re half right. Yes, the rumors of crime made me nervous and alert, but with each passing day, I became more comfortable with my surroundings.
So far no gangs—only friendly residents of planet earth. I pulled up and parked in front of a lonely roadside store and beer joint.
A single, battle-worn pickup truck was parked outside. There’s the famous pickup, I thought.
But I was thirsty.
It was the middle of the day, but strangely dark inside the old wooden building. A group of seven men sat around a long table, sipping beer. They stared at me but smiled as they turned to eye the Iron Horse, my trusty BMW motorcycle, parked outside.
And some of the famous gang, I mused.
I nodded in their general direction, bought a bottle of water, and walked slowly-but-quickly back to the motorcycle. As I was putting on my jacket, the front door burst open and a man ran toward me.
He was one of the sipping seven.
Startled, I took a step back as he shouted, “Señor, señor, Olvidaste las llaves!”
Which translates into, “Sir, you forgot your keys.” I’d left my keychain on the counter, along with my pride.
I thanked him. And probably over-thanked him. He asked for a picture with the Iron Horse, which I was happy to snap. As we said goodbye, the man whispered, “Ve rapido,”—go quickly.
Shaken and relieved, I headed on down the road. So much of our experience depends on our attitude. If you’re transmitting a fearful vibe, bad things can happen.
If you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, bad things can happen. I never stayed long in one place unless it was a larger city. It’s hard to blend in and easier to be a target in a small community. Passing from town to town, I moved so fast, I didn’t give bad people time to formulate a plan.
If I was in an area notorious for gangs, then I put myself in danger. A safe traveler is usually a smart traveler. 


Dirk Weisiger is a travel trekker, trick roper, and storyteller. He’s the author of the new book, Leave Tomorrow: My Ride to the Bottom of the World. Dirk has always enjoyed speaking to groups, spinning tales, ropes, and offering lessons he’s learned in adventures of life and business. He's traveled to five continents and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. Most of all Dirk loves people and believes that making new friends is the best part of travel.
 ║ Website║ Facebook ║
║ Twitter ║  LinkedIn
║ Instagram ║
║ Amazon Author Page ║


-------------------------------------
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
Three Readers Each Win a Signed Copy + $5 Cash!
FEBRUARY 21-MARCH 2, 2018
(U.S. Only)



a Rafflecopter giveaway

VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
2/21/18
Author Video
StoreyBook Reviews
2/22/18
Guest Post 1
Texas Book Lover
2/23/18
Review
Reading by Moonlight
2/24/18
Guest Post 2
Forgotten Winds
2/25/18
Trip Pic
Books and Broomsticks
2/26/18
Review
Missus Gonzo
2/27/18
Trip Pic
A Page Before Bedtime
2/28/18
Guest Post 3
The Librarian Talks
3/1/18
Review
Bibliotica
3/2/18
Review
The Clueless Gent



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