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<\/span><\/span>Lone Star Reviews<\/span>Michelle Newby, NBCC,<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\nContributing Editor<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n![](\"https:\/\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/description\/dottedline220.jpg\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/description\/dromgoole%2c%20glenn_headshot2b.jpg\")
<\/span><\/span><\/span>Texas Reads<\/span>Glenn Dromgoole<\/span><\/h1>\n>> archive<\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n\u00a0Gardening books offer inspiration, practical tips<\/h1>\n
It\u2019s spring, or almost, and many homeowners\u2019 thoughts<\/span> turn to yards and gardens this time of year.<\/p>\nThree colorful new books from Texas A&M University Press offer inspiration and practical tips to help gardeners make the most of their efforts.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/description\/scheick%2c%20adventures%20in%20texas%20gardening_cover%20sm.jpg\")
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Gardening writer Bill Scheick<\/span> says his Adventures in Texas Gardening<\/span><\/a><\/span> ($26 flexbound, 224 pages) \u201cis designed as a conversational, yet hopefully helpful, account of how things went for me and for some other Texas gardening addicts I met over the years.\u201d He deals with such topics as transforming an entire back yard, coping with pets, squirrels\u00a0 and wildlife, \u201csubversive unlawning,\u201d growing a Christmas tree, and orchids for everyone.<\/p>\n\u201cThe stories told here,\u201d he writes, \u201care about pushing back against gardening challenges, embracing gardening constraints, rethinking gardening possibilities, and learning to care most about those plants that exhibit a can-do spirit in our Texas yards. \u201cIn the course of my gardening adventures,\u201d he adds, \u201cI have zeroed in on some plants and strategies that worked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth E. Spaeth Jr., a plant soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture,<\/span> suggests a simplified, natural gardening approach in his Circle Gardening: Growing Vegetables Outside the Box<\/span><\/a><\/span> ($36 flexbound, 380 pages).<\/p>\nSpaeth advocates arranging plants in a concentrated circle rather than in rows, a method he claims is \u201cas old as agriculture.\u201d He says his book is \u201ca step-by-step guide for the beginner but also contains more advanced plans that you can use as your confidence and experience grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hopes to inspire readers to start a vegetable garden and achieve success using less space, money, resources and time.<\/p>\n
The first section deals with gardening essentials such as ecology, soil, climate, design, and pest and weed control. The second section covers specific types of vegetables with chapters on beans, carrots, broccoli and cabbage, squash and cucumbers, onions, peppers, lettuce and spinach, and tomatoes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/description\/grant%2c%20welch%2c%20the%20rose%20rustlers_cover%20sm220x294.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
In a little different tack, Texas A&M horticulturists<\/span> Greg Grant<\/span> and William C. Welch<\/span> teamed up to write The Rose Rustlers<\/span><\/a><\/span> ($30 flexbound, 244 pages), billed as a personal, in-depth and entertaining account of their efforts to help save antique heirloom roses from extinction.<\/p>\n\u201cWe present tales \u2014 some long, some short, and some tall \u2014 of the many efforts that have helped restore lost roses to not only residential gardens, but also commercial and church landscapes in Texas,\u201d the authors write. Grant enumerates the \u201crules of rustling,\u201d which include not trespassing on private property, asking permission to propagate a plant, taking only cuttings (not the entire plant), tidying up the parent plant, and writing down the name of the owner and the location for future reference.<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
Glenn Dromgoole<\/span> has been writing his Texas Reads column since 2002, focusing on Texas books and authors. Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.<\/p>\n>> <\/span>Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Lit<\/a><\/span>erary Life<\/span><\/h1>\n* * * * *<\/p>\n
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<\/span><\/span>2018 TEXAS BOOKISH DESTINATIONS<\/h1>\nCan you name this literary place in the Lone Star State?<\/h1>\n
Admit it: bookfans love traveling almost as much as they love reading itself.<\/span> Beginning March 4, 2018, Lone Star Literary Life will roll out #10 through #6 in our annual list of Top Texas Bookish Destinations, for readers who want to visit the settings of their favorite books, the birthplaces and haunts of favorite authors, and hot spots for book buying, readings, and other literary activity.<\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But throughout Texas\u2019s 268,597 square miles, there are also lots of out-of-the-way points of interest that we don\u2019t always have space to cover in our Top Ten pages.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Watch this space each week for a new bookish place that you\u2019ll want to add to your own travel list. Be the first to email us with the correct identification, and win a prize!<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This week, we continue with a bookish place that\u2019s located in 2017\u2019s #2 Top Bookish Destination. There\u2019s plenty of poetry in this literary-rich city, but there\u2019s a Poet Tree, too. Can you name the city? And extra credit for telling our readers the neighborhood or street where they can find it, too.<\/p>\n
Email us at<\/span> info@LoneStarLiterary.com<\/span><\/a><\/span> with the specific right answer,<\/span> and we’ll send you a free copy of Literary Texas.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/description\/bookish%20texas%20022518%20sm215x322.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
LAST WEEK\u2019S PHOTO<\/span> (below<\/span>) was correctly identified as the Capitol Gift Shop, inside the state capitol building in Austin. Congratulations \u2014 your prize is on the way!<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/description\/tx%20bookish%20place%2017843%20sm.jpg\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nTOP BOOKISH TEXAS DESTINATIONS 2018<\/h1>\n
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<\/span><\/span>From the spur of Texas\u2019s boot-heel to the tip of the toe, <\/span>we\u2019ve traveled the state in search of some delectable destinations for book lovers. Check out #10 through #6 on our 2018 list this week\u2014then next Sunday we\u2019ll reveal the top 5 plus some honorable mentions. >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\nintroducing LONE STAR LIT\u2019S NEWEST FEATURE<\/span><\/h1>\nLONE STAR LISTENS interviews\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>>> archive<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\nAuthor interviews by Kay Ellington<\/span><\/h1>\n3.4.2018\u00a0 Journalist Bryan Mealer takes on his Texas hometown roots in THE KINGS OF BIG SPRING
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/description\/mealer%2c%20bryan%2c%20lone%20star%20listens_montage%20sm378x258.jpg\")
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It takes real writing skill to tackle the social history of a state, <\/span>an entire industry, and the Almighty. But it takes real guts to tackle it in the context of your own ancestors. Bryan Mealer weaves together these sweeping elements to craft a powerful memoir, The Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil, and One Family\u2019s Search for the American Dream<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0 (Flatiron Books, Feb. 6, 2018), which came out last month to high acclaim. As Mealer observes in the book\u2019s early pages, \u201cOnly in Texas was there enough space for so many second acts.\u201d We caught up with him via email to discuss Texas\u2019s resurrection stories, and his own family\u2019s part in some of them.<\/p>\nLONE STAR LITERARY LIFE: <\/span>Bryan, you were born in Odessa, Texas, and grew up in there \u2014 plus Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Alvin, Big Spring, and San Antonio, Texas. Despite moving around a bit with your family, tell us why Big Spring, Texas, is the locale that defines your family’s history?<\/span><\/p>\nBRYAN MEALER: <\/span>Big Spring was where my grandparents lived, where my father and his siblings were born, and where many of my relatives still lived. It was where we\u2019d finally put down roots after years wandering before the Depression. Big Spring was where my family had been the closest, where we\u2019d had our very best years together.<\/p>\nThe Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil, and One Family’s Search for the American Dream<\/span> is your fourth book. Up until now, your topics and interests have taken you from Austin to Brooklyn, from Kenya to Congo to Florida. What inspired you to write this book?<\/span><\/p>\nI\u2019d always wanted to tell the story of how my dad and his friend, Grady Cunningham, had started an oil company together in the early \u201980s and lived the honky-tonk dream: taking chartered jets to Dallas to buy Rolexes and gold-nugget rings, to the Bahamas for impromptu vacations with a huge entourage.\u00a0\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/description\/dottedline380.jpg\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTexas’s only statewide, weekly calendar of book events
<\/span><\/a><\/span>Bookish Texas <\/span>event highlights\u00a0 3.4.2018<\/span>>> GO this week<\/span><\/a><\/span>Michelle Newby, Contributing Editor<\/span><\/h1>\nSPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEK<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Humanities Texas presents Texas Storytime: A Family Reading Program,<\/span> Midland, February 8-March 15<\/li>\n
- 122nd Annual Texas State Historical Association Annual Meeting, <\/span>San Marcos, March 8-10<\/li>\n
- The Medieval World in a Spanish Context,<\/span> Dallas, March 8-9<\/li>\n
- 33rd Annual Texas Storytelling Festival,<\/span> Denton, March 8-11<\/li>\n
- Houston Writers House Spring Event: <\/span>How to Write a Bestseller with Robert Dugoni, Bellaire, March 10<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
ODESSA\u00a0 Mon., Mar. 5<\/span>\u00a0 UTPB Library, Public Lecture: Professor Dominic Boyer and Associate Professor Cymene Howe present “What Is Energy Humanities”, part of “Boom or Bust: A Collection and Study of Energy Narratives”, 12PM<\/p>\nSAN ANTONIO\u00a0 Tues., Mar. 6\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Presidio Gallery, Lecture and Book Signing with Bill Neeley, author of A TEJANO KNIGHT: THE QUEST OF DON JUAN SEGUIN, 6pm<\/p>\nAUSTIN\u00a0 Wed., Mar. 7 <\/span> LBJ Library, a conversation between Joseph Califano, Jr. and Bob Schieffer, who will be discussing Califano’s new book, Our Damaged Democracy: We the People Must Act, 6PM [a Friends event]<\/p>\nODESSA\u00a0 Wed., Mar. 7 <\/span> UTPB, Creative nonfiction writing workshop with Dr. Jason Lagapa, part of “Boom or Bust: A Collection and Study of Energy Narratives”, 7PM<\/p>\nDALLAS\u00a0 Thurs., Mar. 8 <\/span> The Wild Detectives, Despina Stratigakos will present her book Where Are the Women Architects? (in conversation with Jessica Stewart Lendvay), 7:30PM<\/p>\nSAN ANTONIO\u00a0 Thurs., Mar. 8 <\/span> Trinity University, Gemini Ink Autograph Series: Margaret Atwood, world-renowned novelist and author of The Handmaid’s Tale, will present a public reading, Q&A, and book signing, 7PM<\/p>\nSAN MARCOS\u00a0 Thurs., Mar. 8 <\/span> Texas State – Alkek Library, The Wittliff presents PEN USA-winning authors Steve Davis (the Wittliff\u2019s literary curator) and Bill Minutaglio discussing their acclaimed new book, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Timothy Leary, Richard Nixon and the Hunt for the Fugitive King of LSD (moderated by Dr. Mark Busby), 3:30PM<\/p>\nIRVING\u00a0 Fri., Mar. 9 <\/span> West Irving Library, Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre discussing and signing their latest YA book, Honor Among Thieves, 7PM<\/p>\nALSO SIGNING IN HOUSTON\u00a0 Sun., Mar. 11<\/span>\u00a0 Murder By the Book, 2PM<\/p>\nHOUSTON\u00a0 Sat., Mar. 10<\/span>\u00a0 Brazos Bookstore, Spring Break Kickoff: Houston author and 5th generation Texan Melanie Chrismer entertains with her Western tall tale, PHOEBE CLAPSADDLE, and teaches some roping skills, 10:30AM<\/p>\nHOUSTON\u00a0 Sat., Mar. 10<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 River Oaks Bookstore, Paul Petronella discussing and signing Paulie’s: Classic Italian Cooking in the Heart of Houston’s Montrose District, 7PM<\/p>\nAUSTIN\u00a0 Sun., Mar. 11<\/span>\u00a0 BookWoman, Sarah Webb launches her new book of poetry, Red Riding Hood’s Sister, 4PM<\/p>\nEL PASO\u00a0 Sun., Mar. 11<\/span>\u00a0 rdovino’s Desert Crossing, Kermit “Kim” Schweidel discussing and signing Folly Cove: A Smuggler’s True Tale of the Pot Rebellion, 5:30PM<\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nNews Briefs 3.4.18<\/h1>\n14th Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference to explore balance between informing and entertaining readers, July 20\u201322<\/h1>\n
DENTON \u2014 This summer\u2019s Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference<\/span> will explore how journalists balance writing stories that are factually credible while writing entertaining stories.\u00a0 \u201cAre You Not Entertained? Real Stories, Real People, Real Storytelling\u201d \u2014 The 14th annual Mayborn Conferece, hosted by the University of North Texas\u2019s Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism, will feature keynote speakers are Diana B. Henriques,<\/span> author of The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust;<\/span> Lindy West,<\/span> contributing essayist for the New York Times;<\/span> and Christopher Goffard,<\/span> feature writer for the Los Angeles Times<\/span> and multiple Pulitzer Prize finalist.\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nBookPeople’s Steve Bercu to retire<\/h1>\n
AUSTIN \u2014Steve Bercu, who has been CEO of Austin\u2019s independent bookstore BookPeople for almost 20 years,<\/span> plans to retire from full-time bookselling this coming June.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/description\/austin_bookpeople%20sm267x192.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/span><\/span>As part of the transition, Elizabeth Jordan<\/span> has been named general manager of BookPeople. She has worked at the store since 2002 as a bookseller, manager, adult book buyer and inventory operations supervisor. In her new position, she will oversee day-to-day operations of the store, with an emphasis on improving communication among departments, creating efficiencies and increasing sales.\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nOBITUARY<\/span><\/p>\nBill Crider<\/h1>\n
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<\/span><\/span><\/span>Texas author Bill Crider,<\/span> “someone who wore nearly every hat in the mystery field–author, critic, columnist, reviewer,” died Feb. 12, 2018. He was 76. In a tribute, Janet Hutchings, editor of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine,<\/span> wrote: \u201cI’ve known Bill since 1990, when I bought the first book in his Truman Smith series (a book that went on to be nominated for the Shamus Award for best first P.I. novel) for the mystery line at Walker Books. When you consider Bill’s incredible output–a half-dozen different mystery series (comprising more than 40 books), plus at least 16 standalones in genres outside the mystery, from horror to western to adventure, and five children’s books \u2014 what stands out like a beacon is his modesty about it all.>>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0\u2014\u2014\u00ad\u2014\u2014\u2014 A D V E R T I S E M E N T \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\nLone Star Listens compilation available spring 2018, for readers, fans, and writers everywhere<\/h1>\n
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<\/span><\/span><\/span>The present generation of Texas authors<\/span> is the most diverse ever in gender, age, and ethnicity, and in subject matter as well.<\/p>\nWeek 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<\/p>\n
Lone Star Listens:<\/p>\n
Texas Authors on Writing and Publishing<\/p>\n
edited by Kay Ellington and Barbara Brannon; introduction by Clay Reynolds<\/p>\n
Available in trade paper, library hardcover, and ebook Spring 2018<\/p>\n
360 pages, with b\/w illustrations and index<\/p>\n
Featuring novelists, poets, memoirists, editors, and publishers, including:<\/p>\n
Rachel\u00a0 Caine \u2022 Chris\u00a0 Cander \u2022 Katherine\u00a0 Center \u2022 Chad S. Conine \u2022 Sarah\u00a0 Cortez \u2022 Elizabeth\u00a0 Crook \u2022 Nan\u00a0 Cuba \u2022 Carol\u00a0 Dawson \u2022 Patrick\u00a0 Dearen \u2022 Jim Donovan \u2022\u00a0Mac Engel \u2022 Sanderia\u00a0 Faye \u2022 Carlos Nicol\u00e1s Flores \u2022 Ben Fountain \u2022 Jeff\u00a0 Guinn \u2022 Stephen\u00a0 Harrigan \u2022 Cliff\u00a0 Hudder \u2022 Stephen Graham Jones \u2022 Kathleen Kent \u2022 Joe R. Lansdale \u2022 Melissa Lenhardt \u2022 Attica Locke \u2022 Nikki\u00a0 Loftin \u2022 Thomas\u00a0 McNeely \u2022 Leila\u00a0 Meacham \u2022 John\u00a0 Pipkin \u2022 Joyce Gibson Roach \u2022 Antonio\u00a0 Ruiz-Camacho \u2022 Lisa\u00a0 Sandlin \u2022 Donna\u00a0 Snyder \u2022 Mary Helen Specht \u2022 Jodi\u00a0 Thomas \u2022 Amanda Eyre Ward \u2022 Ann\u00a0 Weisgarber \u2022 Donald Mace Williams<\/p>\n
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\u2014and a great Texas reference volume.<\/p>\n
\n- Examination and review copies will be available fall 2017 in watermarked pdf format.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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It\u2019s spring, or almost, and many homeowners\u2019 thoughts<\/span> turn to yards and gardens this time of year.<\/p>\n Three colorful new books from Texas A&M University Press offer inspiration and practical tips to help gardeners make the most of their efforts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Gardening writer Bill Scheick<\/span> says his Adventures in Texas Gardening<\/span><\/a><\/span> ($26 flexbound, 224 pages) \u201cis designed as a conversational, yet hopefully helpful, account of how things went for me and for some other Texas gardening addicts I met over the years.\u201d He deals with such topics as transforming an entire back yard, coping with pets, squirrels\u00a0 and wildlife, \u201csubversive unlawning,\u201d growing a Christmas tree, and orchids for everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cThe stories told here,\u201d he writes, \u201care about pushing back against gardening challenges, embracing gardening constraints, rethinking gardening possibilities, and learning to care most about those plants that exhibit a can-do spirit in our Texas yards. \u201cIn the course of my gardening adventures,\u201d he adds, \u201cI have zeroed in on some plants and strategies that worked.\u201d<\/p>\n Kenneth E. Spaeth Jr., a plant soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture,<\/span> suggests a simplified, natural gardening approach in his Circle Gardening: Growing Vegetables Outside the Box<\/span><\/a><\/span> ($36 flexbound, 380 pages).<\/p>\n Spaeth advocates arranging plants in a concentrated circle rather than in rows, a method he claims is \u201cas old as agriculture.\u201d He says his book is \u201ca step-by-step guide for the beginner but also contains more advanced plans that you can use as your confidence and experience grow.\u201d<\/p>\n He hopes to inspire readers to start a vegetable garden and achieve success using less space, money, resources and time.<\/p>\n The first section deals with gardening essentials such as ecology, soil, climate, design, and pest and weed control. The second section covers specific types of vegetables with chapters on beans, carrots, broccoli and cabbage, squash and cucumbers, onions, peppers, lettuce and spinach, and tomatoes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n In a little different tack, Texas A&M horticulturists<\/span> Greg Grant<\/span> and William C. Welch<\/span> teamed up to write The Rose Rustlers<\/span><\/a><\/span> ($30 flexbound, 244 pages), billed as a personal, in-depth and entertaining account of their efforts to help save antique heirloom roses from extinction.<\/p>\n \u201cWe present tales \u2014 some long, some short, and some tall \u2014 of the many efforts that have helped restore lost roses to not only residential gardens, but also commercial and church landscapes in Texas,\u201d the authors write. Grant enumerates the \u201crules of rustling,\u201d which include not trespassing on private property, asking permission to propagate a plant, taking only cuttings (not the entire plant), tidying up the parent plant, and writing down the name of the owner and the location for future reference.<\/p>\n * * * * *<\/p>\n Glenn Dromgoole<\/span> has been writing his Texas Reads column since 2002, focusing on Texas books and authors. Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.<\/p>\n * * * * *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Admit it: bookfans love traveling almost as much as they love reading itself.<\/span> Beginning March 4, 2018, Lone Star Literary Life will roll out #10 through #6 in our annual list of Top Texas Bookish Destinations, for readers who want to visit the settings of their favorite books, the birthplaces and haunts of favorite authors, and hot spots for book buying, readings, and other literary activity.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But throughout Texas\u2019s 268,597 square miles, there are also lots of out-of-the-way points of interest that we don\u2019t always have space to cover in our Top Ten pages.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Watch this space each week for a new bookish place that you\u2019ll want to add to your own travel list. Be the first to email us with the correct identification, and win a prize!<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This week, we continue with a bookish place that\u2019s located in 2017\u2019s #2 Top Bookish Destination. There\u2019s plenty of poetry in this literary-rich city, but there\u2019s a Poet Tree, too. Can you name the city? And extra credit for telling our readers the neighborhood or street where they can find it, too.<\/p>\n Email us at<\/span> info@LoneStarLiterary.com<\/span><\/a><\/span> with the specific right answer,<\/span> and we’ll send you a free copy of Literary Texas.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n LAST WEEK\u2019S PHOTO<\/span> (below<\/span>) was correctly identified as the Capitol Gift Shop, inside the state capitol building in Austin. Congratulations \u2014 your prize is on the way!<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n It takes real writing skill to tackle the social history of a state, <\/span>an entire industry, and the Almighty. But it takes real guts to tackle it in the context of your own ancestors. Bryan Mealer weaves together these sweeping elements to craft a powerful memoir, The Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil, and One Family\u2019s Search for the American Dream<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0 (Flatiron Books, Feb. 6, 2018), which came out last month to high acclaim. As Mealer observes in the book\u2019s early pages, \u201cOnly in Texas was there enough space for so many second acts.\u201d We caught up with him via email to discuss Texas\u2019s resurrection stories, and his own family\u2019s part in some of them.<\/p>\n LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE: <\/span>Bryan, you were born in Odessa, Texas, and grew up in there \u2014 plus Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Alvin, Big Spring, and San Antonio, Texas. Despite moving around a bit with your family, tell us why Big Spring, Texas, is the locale that defines your family’s history?<\/span><\/p>\n BRYAN MEALER: <\/span>Big Spring was where my grandparents lived, where my father and his siblings were born, and where many of my relatives still lived. It was where we\u2019d finally put down roots after years wandering before the Depression. Big Spring was where my family had been the closest, where we\u2019d had our very best years together.<\/p>\n The Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil, and One Family’s Search for the American Dream<\/span> is your fourth book. Up until now, your topics and interests have taken you from Austin to Brooklyn, from Kenya to Congo to Florida. What inspired you to write this book?<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d always wanted to tell the story of how my dad and his friend, Grady Cunningham, had started an oil company together in the early \u201980s and lived the honky-tonk dream: taking chartered jets to Dallas to buy Rolexes and gold-nugget rings, to the Bahamas for impromptu vacations with a huge entourage.\u00a0\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEK<\/span><\/p>\n ODESSA\u00a0 Mon., Mar. 5<\/span>\u00a0 UTPB Library, Public Lecture: Professor Dominic Boyer and Associate Professor Cymene Howe present “What Is Energy Humanities”, part of “Boom or Bust: A Collection and Study of Energy Narratives”, 12PM<\/p>\n SAN ANTONIO\u00a0 Tues., Mar. 6\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Presidio Gallery, Lecture and Book Signing with Bill Neeley, author of A TEJANO KNIGHT: THE QUEST OF DON JUAN SEGUIN, 6pm<\/p>\n AUSTIN\u00a0 Wed., Mar. 7 <\/span> LBJ Library, a conversation between Joseph Califano, Jr. and Bob Schieffer, who will be discussing Califano’s new book, Our Damaged Democracy: We the People Must Act, 6PM [a Friends event]<\/p>\n ODESSA\u00a0 Wed., Mar. 7 <\/span> UTPB, Creative nonfiction writing workshop with Dr. Jason Lagapa, part of “Boom or Bust: A Collection and Study of Energy Narratives”, 7PM<\/p>\n DALLAS\u00a0 Thurs., Mar. 8 <\/span> The Wild Detectives, Despina Stratigakos will present her book Where Are the Women Architects? (in conversation with Jessica Stewart Lendvay), 7:30PM<\/p>\n SAN ANTONIO\u00a0 Thurs., Mar. 8 <\/span> Trinity University, Gemini Ink Autograph Series: Margaret Atwood, world-renowned novelist and author of The Handmaid’s Tale, will present a public reading, Q&A, and book signing, 7PM<\/p>\n SAN MARCOS\u00a0 Thurs., Mar. 8 <\/span> Texas State – Alkek Library, The Wittliff presents PEN USA-winning authors Steve Davis (the Wittliff\u2019s literary curator) and Bill Minutaglio discussing their acclaimed new book, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Timothy Leary, Richard Nixon and the Hunt for the Fugitive King of LSD (moderated by Dr. Mark Busby), 3:30PM<\/p>\n IRVING\u00a0 Fri., Mar. 9 <\/span> West Irving Library, Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre discussing and signing their latest YA book, Honor Among Thieves, 7PM<\/p>\n ALSO SIGNING IN HOUSTON\u00a0 Sun., Mar. 11<\/span>\u00a0 Murder By the Book, 2PM<\/p>\n HOUSTON\u00a0 Sat., Mar. 10<\/span>\u00a0 Brazos Bookstore, Spring Break Kickoff: Houston author and 5th generation Texan Melanie Chrismer entertains with her Western tall tale, PHOEBE CLAPSADDLE, and teaches some roping skills, 10:30AM<\/p>\n HOUSTON\u00a0 Sat., Mar. 10<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 River Oaks Bookstore, Paul Petronella discussing and signing Paulie’s: Classic Italian Cooking in the Heart of Houston’s Montrose District, 7PM<\/p>\n AUSTIN\u00a0 Sun., Mar. 11<\/span>\u00a0 BookWoman, Sarah Webb launches her new book of poetry, Red Riding Hood’s Sister, 4PM<\/p>\n EL PASO\u00a0 Sun., Mar. 11<\/span>\u00a0 rdovino’s Desert Crossing, Kermit “Kim” Schweidel discussing and signing Folly Cove: A Smuggler’s True Tale of the Pot Rebellion, 5:30PM<\/p>\n DENTON \u2014 This summer\u2019s Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference<\/span> will explore how journalists balance writing stories that are factually credible while writing entertaining stories.\u00a0 \u201cAre You Not Entertained? Real Stories, Real People, Real Storytelling\u201d \u2014 The 14th annual Mayborn Conferece, hosted by the University of North Texas\u2019s Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism, will feature keynote speakers are Diana B. Henriques,<\/span> author of The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust;<\/span> Lindy West,<\/span> contributing essayist for the New York Times;<\/span> and Christopher Goffard,<\/span> feature writer for the Los Angeles Times<\/span> and multiple Pulitzer Prize finalist.\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n AUSTIN \u2014Steve Bercu, who has been CEO of Austin\u2019s independent bookstore BookPeople for almost 20 years,<\/span> plans to retire from full-time bookselling this coming June.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/span>As part of the transition, Elizabeth Jordan<\/span> has been named general manager of BookPeople. She has worked at the store since 2002 as a bookseller, manager, adult book buyer and inventory operations supervisor. In her new position, she will oversee day-to-day operations of the store, with an emphasis on improving communication among departments, creating efficiencies and increasing sales.\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n OBITUARY<\/span><\/p>\n 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<\/p>\n Lone Star Listens:<\/p>\n Texas Authors on Writing and Publishing<\/p>\n edited by Kay Ellington and Barbara Brannon; introduction by Clay Reynolds<\/p>\n Available in trade paper, library hardcover, and ebook Spring 2018<\/p>\n 360 pages, with b\/w illustrations and index<\/p>\n Featuring novelists, poets, memoirists, editors, and publishers, including:<\/p>\n Rachel\u00a0 Caine \u2022 Chris\u00a0 Cander \u2022 Katherine\u00a0 Center \u2022 Chad S. Conine \u2022 Sarah\u00a0 Cortez \u2022 Elizabeth\u00a0 Crook \u2022 Nan\u00a0 Cuba \u2022 Carol\u00a0 Dawson \u2022 Patrick\u00a0 Dearen \u2022 Jim Donovan \u2022\u00a0Mac Engel \u2022 Sanderia\u00a0 Faye \u2022 Carlos Nicol\u00e1s Flores \u2022 Ben Fountain \u2022 Jeff\u00a0 Guinn \u2022 Stephen\u00a0 Harrigan \u2022 Cliff\u00a0 Hudder \u2022 Stephen Graham Jones \u2022 Kathleen Kent \u2022 Joe R. Lansdale \u2022 Melissa Lenhardt \u2022 Attica Locke \u2022 Nikki\u00a0 Loftin \u2022 Thomas\u00a0 McNeely \u2022 Leila\u00a0 Meacham \u2022 John\u00a0 Pipkin \u2022 Joyce Gibson Roach \u2022 Antonio\u00a0 Ruiz-Camacho \u2022 Lisa\u00a0 Sandlin \u2022 Donna\u00a0 Snyder \u2022 Mary Helen Specht \u2022 Jodi\u00a0 Thomas \u2022 Amanda Eyre Ward \u2022 Ann\u00a0 Weisgarber \u2022 Donald Mace Williams<\/p>\n 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\u2014and a great Texas reference volume.<\/p>\n Lone Star ReviewsMichelle Newby, NBCC, Contributing Editor Texas ReadsGlenn Dromgoole >> archive \u00a0Gardening books offer inspiration, practical tips It\u2019s spring,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1134\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>Texas Reads<\/span>Glenn Dromgoole<\/span><\/h1>\n>> archive<\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n
\u00a0Gardening books offer inspiration, practical tips<\/h1>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n>> <\/span>Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Lit<\/a><\/span>erary Life<\/span><\/h1>\n
<\/div>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span>2018 TEXAS BOOKISH DESTINATIONS<\/h1>\nCan you name this literary place in the Lone Star State?<\/h1>\n
<\/div>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTOP BOOKISH TEXAS DESTINATIONS 2018<\/h1>\n
<\/span><\/span>From the spur of Texas\u2019s boot-heel to the tip of the toe, <\/span>we\u2019ve traveled the state in search of some delectable destinations for book lovers. Check out #10 through #6 on our 2018 list this week\u2014then next Sunday we\u2019ll reveal the top 5 plus some honorable mentions. >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\nintroducing LONE STAR LIT\u2019S NEWEST FEATURE<\/span><\/h1>\n
LONE STAR LISTENS interviews\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>>> archive<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n
Author interviews by Kay Ellington<\/span><\/h1>\n
3.4.2018\u00a0 Journalist Bryan Mealer takes on his Texas hometown roots in THE KINGS OF BIG SPRING
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTexas’s only statewide, weekly calendar of book events
<\/span><\/a><\/span>Bookish Texas <\/span>event highlights\u00a0 3.4.2018<\/span>>> GO this week<\/span><\/a><\/span>Michelle Newby, Contributing Editor<\/span><\/h1>\n\n
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nNews Briefs 3.4.18<\/h1>\n
14th Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference to explore balance between informing and entertaining readers, July 20\u201322<\/h1>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nBookPeople’s Steve Bercu to retire<\/h1>\n
<\/div>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nBill Crider<\/h1>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span>Texas author Bill Crider,<\/span> “someone who wore nearly every hat in the mystery field–author, critic, columnist, reviewer,” died Feb. 12, 2018. He was 76. In a tribute, Janet Hutchings, editor of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine,<\/span> wrote: \u201cI’ve known Bill since 1990, when I bought the first book in his Truman Smith series (a book that went on to be nominated for the Shamus Award for best first P.I. novel) for the mystery line at Walker Books. When you consider Bill’s incredible output–a half-dozen different mystery series (comprising more than 40 books), plus at least 16 standalones in genres outside the mystery, from horror to western to adventure, and five children’s books \u2014 what stands out like a beacon is his modesty about it all.>>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0\u2014\u2014\u00ad\u2014\u2014\u2014 A D V E R T I S E M E N T \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n
Lone Star Listens compilation available spring 2018, for readers, fans, and writers everywhere<\/h1>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span>The present generation of Texas authors<\/span> is the most diverse ever in gender, age, and ethnicity, and in subject matter as well.<\/p>\n\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"