Texas Reads covers Herb’s Cafe, WASPs, Harvey girls, and K-9s<\/p>\n

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Dan Jenkins, author of the hilarious and irreverent sports novel Semi-Tough<\/em> in 1972, brings most of his favorite characters\u2014Billy Clyde Puckett, Shake Tiller, Barbara Jane Bookman, and others\u2014back home for The Reunion at Herb\u2019s Caf\u00e9<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (TCU Press, $27.95 hardcover). Jenkins died in March at age ninety while his novel was still in production.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/span><\/span>Herb\u2019s Caf\u00e9 was modeled after Massey\u2019s, the legendary chicken-fried steak emporium in Fort Worth that was torn down a few years ago. In the novel, Herb\u2019s is bought by Tommy Earl Bruner, awash in oil money, and he starts inviting his wealthy friends to a reunion where stories and libations will flow and, of course, chicken-fried steak will be served. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Jenkins pokes fun at everything from football and political correctness to sports writing, sex, and world history in this Fort Worth-centric romp. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WASP: <\/span><\/strong>Two novels published this year are based on the Women Airforce Service Pilots (or WASP) during World War II\u2014The Flight Girls<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Noelle Salazar (Mira, $16.99 paperback) and Beyond the Horizon<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Ella Carey (Lake Union Publishing, $14.95 paperback). Both have received glowing reviews.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Both authors visited the WASP Museum in Sweetwater while extensively researching their novels\u2014Salazar making the trip from Washington state and Carey traveling all the way from Australia. Sweetwater\u2019s Avenger Field figures prominently in both stories. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Salazar said she \u201cwandered the WASP museum in absolute awe. To stand where they stood, looking up at the skies they trained in . . . It was magic.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cMany of the anecdotes in this book,\u201d Carey notes in her acknowledgements, \u201care inspired by true stories from the real WASP but adapted by me into fiction.\u201d         <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Paw Enforcement Series:<\/span><\/strong> Paw of the Jungle<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (St. Martin\u2019s, $7.99 paperback) is the eighth book in Diane Kelly\u2019s delightful series of light novels featuring female Fort Worth police officer Megan Luz and her K-9 partner, Officer Brigit. One reviewer gave the series a \u201cFour Paws Up!\u201d rating. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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In this story, Megan and Brigit search for animals mysteriously missing from the Fort Worth Zoo, including an endangered rhino stolen for his valuable horn. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Harvey Girls: <\/span><\/strong>Texas novelist Karen Witemeyer teams up with three other writers in Serving Up Love<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, a collection of four inspirational romance novellas featuring Harvey Girl heroines (Bethany House, $15.99 paperback).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Witemeyer\u2019s story, \u201cMore Than a Pretty Face,\u201d is set in Gainesville where Rosalind Kemp is trying to outrun her past, hoping for a transfer to California. The other Harvey Girl stories are by Tracie Peterson, Regina Jennings, and Jen Turano.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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