Excerpt: THE WHOLE DAMN CHEESE by Bill Wright

THE WHOLE

DAMN CHEESE

MAGGIE SMITH BORDER LEGEND

by

BILL WRIGHT

Genre: Biography / Texana 
Publisher: Texas Christian University Press 
Facebook   Instagram   Twitter
Publication Date: October 12, 2018

Number of Pages: 160 pages with B&W photos

Anecdotes about Maggie Smith abound, but Bill Wright’s The Whole Damn Cheese is the first book devoted entirely to the woman whose life in Big Bend country has become the stuff of legend. For more than twenty years, Maggie Smith served folks on both sides of the border as doctor, lawyer, midwife, herbalist, banker, self-appointed justice of the peace, and coroner. As she put it, she was “the whole damn cheese” in Hot Springs, Texas. A beloved figure serving the needs of scores of people in Big Bend country, she was also an accomplished smuggler with a touch of romance as well as larceny in her heart. Maggie’s family history is a history of the Texas frontier, and her story outlines the beginnings and early development of Big Bend National Park. Her travels between Boquillas, San Vincente, Alpine, and Hot Springs define Maggie’s career and illustrate her unique relationships with the people of the border. Vividly capturing the rough individualism and warm character of Maggie Smith, author Bill Wright demonstrates why this remarkable frontier woman has become an indelible figure in the history of Texas.

CLICK TO BUY
TAMU PRESS   ║   AMAZON   ║   BARNES AND NOBLE

EXCERPT FROM

THE WHOLE DAMN CHEESE

BY BILL KNIGHT

Maggie had a dry sense of humor and wasn’t reluctant to express herself. Once a woman wearing shorts and her family came down to Hot Springs. It was on a Sunday. She asked Maggie if there was a church nearby. Maggie advised the couple that the nearest church was in Alpine, almost a hundred miles away. The woman asked Maggie, “Well, what do you do to go to church?” Maggie said, “I don’t go to church. There’s no church to go to.” The lady said, “I think that’s ridiculous!” Maggie, who believed in modesty, was quick with a retort: “Well, if you want to know what is ridiculous, it’s you going around half naked. That’s more ridiculous than me not going to church. I can’t go to church, but you can put on some clothes!” she said, laughing. 

Maggie met all sorts of people who came to take the baths. Some of them were surprised at the primitive nature of the accommodations, but Maggie managed, in her direct and honest way, to win them over. She never let them get the upper hand. One patron who came from Louisiana complained about the situation: a hundred miles of dirt roads, hot weather, and other difficulties. He stated it was supposed to be a beautiful park and asked Maggie, “What part do you play?” She responded, “I’m the whole damn cheese here at Hot Springs if you want to know!” That settled the man down, and she later received a letter from him addressed, “Dear whole damn cheese.” After staying a couple of days, they became good friends. He fell in love with the country, becoming a regular customer, and later sent Maggie a pair of mounted steer horns as a gift.

 

For thirty-five years Bill Wright owned and managed a wholesale and retail petroleum marketing company. In 1987 he sold his company to his employees and since then has carved out a remarkable career as an author, fine art photographer, and ethnologist. He has written or contributed to seven books, and his photographs appear in Fort Worth’s Amon Carter Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center of the University of Texas at Austin, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

10/17/18                Excerpt                              Texas Book Lover
10/18/18                Character Interview           All the Ups and Downs
10/19/18                Character Interview           Max Knight
10/20/18                Author Interview               That's What She's Reading
10/21/18                Review                               Hall Ways Blog
10/22/18                Scrapbook Page                 StoreyBook Reviews
10/23/18                Review                               The Book Review
10/24/18                Excerpt                               Reading by Moonlight
10/25/18                Review                               Forgotten Winds
10/26/18                Review                               The Clueless Gent

   blog tour services provided by

  

Monday Roundup: Texas Literary Calendar October 15-21

Bookish goings-on in Texas for the week of October 15-21, 2018: 

Special Events:
Inkstravagaza Gala: The Writers Life, San Antonio, October 18

Teachers, Write! Workshop for Language Arts Teachers, Houston, October 18-19

Texas Grand Slam Poetry Festival, Bryan, October 18-20

West Texas Book Festival, Abilene, October 18-20

Indiepalooza, Houston, October 19-20

The Dallas Area Writers Group (DAWG) Presents“Write to Publish: Climbing Toward Success!”, DeSoto, October 20

Mid-Cities Teen Book Fest, North Richland Hills, October 20

Fort Worth BookFest, October 20

EPCC Literary Fiesta, El Paso, October 20

San Anto Zine Fest, October 20

13th annual Buns & Roses Romance Tea for Literacy, Richardson, October 21

Ongoing Exhibits:

Literary Frontiers: Historical Fiction & the Creative Imagination, San Marcos, August 1-December 14

"Dawoud Bey: Forty Years in Harlem" photography exhibition (from the book Dawoud Bey: Seeing Deeply), Austin, August 29-December 8

The Texas Liberator: Witness to the Holocaust exhibition (from the book The Texas Liberators: Veteran Narratives from World War II), Houston, September 7-October 28

Texas Writers exhibition, Fort Stockton, October 1-22

Traversing Dimensions: An Exploration of Diversity in Science Fiction, Austin, October 1-31

Finding Sophie Blackall Exhibition, Abilene, October 11-February 1

Monday, October 15:

Austin
BookPeople, MARION WINIK speaking & signing The Baltimore Book of the Dead, 7PM

UT - Joynes Reading Room, a reading of fiction by LENI ZUMAS, 7PM

Beaumont
Sunrise Records, Houston Rap Tapes book launch, 7PM

Dallas

Interabang Books, Iman Mahoui & Sajjad Shah discussing and signing MUSLIMS OF THE WORLD, 7PM

Houston

Archway Gallery, Gulf Coast presents An Evening with Three Irish Poets: Conor O'Callaghan, Elaine Feeney, and Jessica Traynor, 6:30PM

Brazos Bookstore, Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera reading and signing WHAT IF IT’S US, 7PM

Richardson
Richardson Public Library, Writers Guild of Texas workshop: "Fire Up Action Scenes" with Scott Bell, 7PM

Tuesday, October 16:

Austin

BookPeople, DEBORAH HARKNESS speaking & signing Time's Convert, 7PM [ticketed event]

Spiderhouse Ballroom, Austin Poetry Slam featuring Xavier CoolKid, 7:15PM

Canyon
WTAMU - Cornette Library, WTAMU Faculty Poetry Reading, 7PM

Dallas

Deep Vellum Books, Houston Rap Tapes book signing, 7PM

Interabang Books, Gary Myers discussing and signing HOW ’BOUT THEM COWBOYS?, 7PM

Klyde Warren Park, The Wild Detectives' Locals Only Book Club hosts Harry Hunsicker and The Devil's Country, 6PM

SMU, Tate Lecture Series with Jon Meacham, 8PM [ticketed event - SOLD OUT]

Houston

Brazos Bookstore, Ófeigur Sigurðsson reading and signing ÖRÆFI: THE WASTELAND, 7PM

Christ Church Cathedral, Brazos Bookstore presents Ron Chernow discussing and reading from Grant, 7:30PM [ticketed event]

Murder By the Book, Joe Ide will sign and discuss Wrecked, 6:30PM

Stages Repertory Theatre, Tintero Projects Open Mic and reading featuring Hugo E. Rodriguez, 7PM

San Antonio

The Mix, PuroSlam featuring DJ Donnie Dee, 9:30PM

Wednesday, October 17:

Austin
BookPeople, VERNE LUNDQUIST speaking & signing Play by Play: Calling the Wildest Games in Sports—from SEC Football to College Basketball, the Masters and More, 7PM

Chez Zee American Bistro, Chez Zee Author Series with Sarah Bird discussing her new book, Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen, 6PM

Dallas

B&N - Lincoln Park, How 'Bout Them Cowboys?: Gary Myers and Ed Werder in conversation, 7PM

Interabang Books, Tui Snyder & ER Bills discussing and signing 100 THINGS TO DO IN DFW/TEXAS BEFORE YOU DIE, 7PM

The Wild Detectives, Meet author Victor Prince as he presents his book The Camino Way: Lessons in Leadership from a Walk Across Spain, 5:30PM

UT - Dallas, Ófeigur Sigurðsson, author of Öræfi: The Wasteland, in conversation with Shelby Vincent, 7PM

Houston

Avant Garden, Write about Now , 7:30PM

River Oaks Bookstore, M. Laura Nasi, MD discussing and signing Cancer as a Wake-Up Call: An Oncologist's Integrative Approach to What You Can Do to Become Whole Again and Alejandro Chaoul discussing and signing Tibetan Yoga for Health & Well-Being: The Science and Practice of Healing Your Body, Energy, and Mind, 5PM

University of Houston - MD Anderson Library, Poetry & Prose, 5:30PM

Plano
B&N - Legacy West, Master Sommelier wine tasting and book signing With Melissa Monosoff, 6PM

Congregation Anshai Torah, Dallas Jewish Bookfest presents Mohammed Al Samawi discussing and signing The Fox Hunt, 7PM

Round Rock
Piranha Records, Houston Rap Tapes in-store, 7PM

San Antonio

Trinity U - Fiesta Room, Poetry and Politics: An Evening With Remi Kanazi, 7PM

Thursday, October 18:

Austin

BookPeople, WRITERS' LEAGUE OF TEXAS presents "The Craft of Great Mysteries and Thrillers," 7PM

BookWoman, Ellen Rozman speaking and signing Full of Shit, 7PM

First Baptist Church, ANNE LAMOTT speaking and signing Almost Everything: Notes on Hope, 7PM [ticketed event - SOLD OUT]

Harry Ransom Center, Michael Ondaatje presents selections from Warlight, 6PM

Corpus Christi
PRODUCE®, Houston Rap Tapes book launch, 7PM

Dallas
Aaron Family JCC, Dallas Jewish Bookfest presents Mitch Albom discussing and signing The Next Person You Meet in Heaven, 7PM

B&N - Lincoln Park, Play by Play: Calling the Wildest Games in Sports-From SEC Football to College Basketball, The Masters, and More book signing with Verne Lundquist, 7PM

Deep Vellum Books, Ófeigur Sigurðsson reading and signing The Wasteland (with David Searcy), 7PM

SMU, The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World: Robert Kagan, Washington Post columnist and author, 5:30PM

El Paso
Literarity Bookshop, Kim Schweidel signs Folly Cove, 5PM

Houston

Brazos Bookstore, Kim Sagwa reading and signing MINA, 7PM

Lawndale Art Center, a reading with poet and Guggenheim Fellow Ange Mlinko, 7PM

River Oaks Bookstore, an evening of enlightenment and delight when Louisiana poets Bessie Senette and Clare L. Martin read their works, 5PM

Westchester Academy, Blue Willow Books hosts award-winning author Markus Zusak discussing and signing BRIDGE OF CLAY, 7PM [ticketed event]

Midland
George W. Bush Childhood Home, Laura Bush Literacy Program Reading Event, 4:30PM

San Antonio

The Twig Book Shop, Char Miller discussing and signing San Antonio: A Tricentennial History, 5PM

Southlake
B&N - Town Square, Frank Cole signing The Eternity Elixir, 6PM

Sugar Land

B&N - First Colony, Story time with local author Maria Ashworth, 10AM

Friday, October 19:

Alpine
Front Street Books, Lonn Taylor signing Marfa for the Perplexed, 6PM

Austin

All Saints Episcopal Church, Bailey Lectures: award-winning author James K. A. Smith speaks on "Augustine our Contemporary: Ancient Wisdom for a Secular Age," 7PM

BookPeople, ÓFEIGER SIGURDSSON speaking & signing Öraefi: The Wasteland, 7PM

Malvern Books, An Evening with poets Valerie Wallace, Simone Muench, and Katy Chrisler, 7:00PM

Dallas

Heroes Lounge, Dallas Poetry Slam presents Girls Night Out, 8PM

Interabang Books, Elliot Ackerman reading and signing WAITING FOR EDEN, 7PM

Jazz Becuzz Art Center, “OFF THE TOP OF THE DOME” poetry series, 8PM

Houston
Brazos Bookstore, Houston Poetry Fest Closing Celebration: Robin Davidson & Houston’s Favorite Poems, 7PM

Lawndale Art Center, Gulf Coast Reading Series featuring Jamel Brinkley, 7PM

Murder By the Book, Charles Belfoure will sign and discuss The Fallen Architect, 6:30PM

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Brazos Bookstore presents Anne Lamott reading from her new book, ALMOST EVERYTHING: NOTES ON HOPE, 7PM [ticketed event]

Writespace, Women's Voices Open Mic, 7PM

Marfa
Marfa Book Company, Houston Rap Tapes with Lance Scott Walker, 7PM

San Antonio
B&N - San Pedro, Gary Myers discussing and signing How 'Bout Them Cowboys?, 6PM

The Twig Book Shop, Hawes Spencer discussing and signing Summer of Hate: Charlottesville, USA, 5PM

Saturday, October 20:
Austin
ACC - Highland, Writers' League of Texas workshop: "Tackling the Problem of Memory in Memoir" with Rachel Starnes, 10AM

All Saints Episcopal Church, Bailey Lectures: award-winning author James K. A. Smith speaks on "Augustine our Contemporary: Ancient Wisdom for a Secular Age," 9AM

BookPeople, A SPOOKY STORY CELEBRATION with authors Kat Shepherd and Nikki Loftin (Writing workshop & activities geared toward families and kids ages 8-12 to celebrate all things spooky!), 10:30AM

BookPeople, JON LASSER & SAGE FOSTER-LASSER speaking & signing Grow Grateful, 2PM

BookPeople, MEREDITH LEE speaking & signing Digging Up the Dead, 6PM

BookWoman, Poetry Launch: with the dogstar as my witness by John Fry, 6PM

Malvern Books, an evening of enlightenment when Louisiana poets Bessie Senette and Clare L. Martin and Austin poet Robert Okaji share their work, 7PM

Twin Oaks Library, Austin Poetry Society meeting featuring haiku with Agnes Eva Savich, 1:30PM

Boerne
Patrick Heath Public Library, UTSA's Daniel Gelo and Christopher Wickham discuss their book, Comanches and Germans on the Texas Frontier, 10:30AM

College Station
Half Price Books, local author Erica Dubois will sell and sign her semi-autobiographical novel, The Glass Mask: Monsters Lurk Beneath, 12PM

Dallas
Half Price Books Mother Ship, longtime Dallas Morning News sports writer and columnist Matt Wixon will sell and sign his novel, Fourth Down In Texas, 1PM

Interabang Books, Beth Vrabel reading and signing THE RECKLESS CLUB, 1PM

Interabang Books, Dotty Griffith discussing and signing ULTIMATE TORTILLA PRESS COOKBOOK, 7PM

The Writer's Garret, "Ekphrasis: Poetic Response to Visual Art" with Logen Cure, 1PM

El Paso
Memorial Park Library, Tumblewords Workshop: "Stories from The Pocketbook Monologues" with Juba the Griot aka Sarah Addison, 12:45PM

Houston

Blue Willow Bookshop, Crystal Allen will discuss and sign her new novel for children, THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS: MYA IN THE MIDDLE, 1PM

Brazos Bookshop, Elliot Ackerman reading and signing WAITING FOR EDEN, 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, Julie Maloney will sign and discuss A Matter of Chance, 1PM

Murder By the Book, Amy Stewart will sign and discuss her novel Miss Kopp Just Won't Quit, 4:30PM

River Oaks Bookstore, Gary Myers discussing and signing How 'bout Them Cowboys? Inside the Huddle with the Stars and Legends of America's Team, 3PM

Writespace, Workshop: "Scrivener 101" with Cassandra Rose Clarke, 9:30AM

Writespace, Workshop: "Writing the Immigrant Experience" with Onyinye Ihezukwu, 1PM

Lubbock

B&N, Kurt Caswell will be signing Laika's Window, 2PM

Plano
B&N - Preston/Park, Haunted Plano book signing with Mary Jacobs, 2PM

San Antonio

Avenida Guadalupe, Poetry: Una Noche En La Gloria celebrates 10 years of showcasing contemporary art in the cultural zone, 7:30PM

B&N - San Pedro, Billy M. Copeland signing Growing Up Lucky: A Young Magician's Travels in the American Civil War, 4PM

Bihl Haus, Poetry Reading by Anthony The Poet in conjunction with the "American History Does Not Begin with the White Man: Indigenous Themes in the Work of Mel Casas" exhibition, 2PM

Friends of Sound Records, Houston Rap Tapes book launch, 6PM

The Historic Wong Grocery Company Building, Save the Butter Tubs global release party with Brenda Haire, 4PM

The Twig Book Shop, R. L. Toalson signing The Colors of the Rain, 11AM

Sonora
Sutton County Library, Writers' League of Texas presents Texas Writes with Nan Cuba and Donna M. Johnson, 10AM

Southlake

B&N - Town Square, Pamela Taylor signing Second Son, 1PM

Stonewall
Becker Vineyards, Mike Marvins discussing and signing The Texas Hill Country: A Photographic Adventure, ?

Sunday, October 21:

Austin
B&N - Arboretum, Gary Myers discussing and signing How 'Bout Them Cowboys?, 12PM
BookPeople, TERRY H. WATKINS speaking & signing Darling Girl, 2PM

BookPeople, W.F. STRONG speaking & signing Stories From Texas: Some of Them Are True, 5PM

Malvern Books, an afternoon with authors A. R. Ashworth, K. P. Gresham, and Helen Foster sharing excerpts from recent novels, 3PM

Texas French Bread, Eat Your Words with Austin Bat Cave, 6PM

Dallas

Half Price Books Mother Ship, local author Donna Renay Patrick will sell and sign her inspirational book, At All Times: Devotionals for Praise and Worship to Empower You for Daily Living, and local author Robert A. Kittrell will sell and sign his western novel, Sundown Over Texas, 1PM

Interabang Books, Mark Falkin reading and signing THE LATE BLOOMER, 2PM

Majestic Theatre, an evening with poet and illustrator Rupi Kaur, 8PM

The Writer's Garret, "Reflecting Real Diversity in Your Writing" with Richard J. Gonzales, 1PM

El Paso

Literarity Bookshop, Homelands – A Conversation with Author Alfredo Corchado, 2PM

Houston

Brazos Bookstore, Lance Scott Walker discussing and signing HOUSTON RAP TAPES, 5PM

Inprint Houston, Tintero Projects: Fall Writing Workshop Series featuring Leslie Contreras-Schwartz, 6PM

Richardson

Hyatt Regency North Dallas, Buns and Roses Romance Tea with Jodi Thomas, 2PM

San Marcos

The Wittliff Collections, book release event featuring Bill Wittliff’s Devil’s Fork, 2PM

Stonewall
Becker Vineyards, Mike Marvins discussing and signing The Texas Hill Country: A Photographic Adventure, ?

Monday Roundup: Texas Literary Calendar October 8-14, 2018

Bookish goings-on in Texas for the week of October 8-14, 2018: 

Special Events:
Lone Star Storytelling Festival, Frisco, October 12-13

Houston Poetry Fest 2018, October 12-14

Indie Author Day 2018, Dallas, October 13

Tweens Read 2018, South Houston, October 13

North Texas Book & Map Show, Fort Worth, October 13-14

Permian Basin Writer's Workshop, Midland, October 13-14

Writers in the Field: Chapter Two, Venus, October 13-14

Ongoing Exhibits:

Literary Frontiers: Historical Fiction & the Creative Imagination, San Marcos, August 1-December 14

"Dawoud Bey: Forty Years in Harlem" photography exhibition (from the book Dawoud Bey: Seeing Deeply), Austin, August 29-December 8

The Texas Liberator: Witness to the Holocaust exhibition (from the book The Texas Liberators: Veteran Narratives from World War II), Houston, September 7-October 28

Texas Writers exhibition, Fort Stockton, October 1-22

Traversing Dimensions: An Exploration of Diversity in Science Fiction, Austin, October 1-31

Finding Sophie Blackall Exhibition, Abilene, October 11-February 1

Monday, October 8:

Austin
BookPeople, ERIN GIBSON speaking & signing Feminasty: The Complicated Woman's Guide to Surviving the Patriarchy Without Drinking Herself to Death, 7PM

Central Presbyterian Church, KWAME ALEXANDER speaking and signing Swing, 7PM [ticketed event]

Malvern Books, Austin Community College Creative Writing Department’s Literary Coffeehouse:  featured reader Rachel Starnes, author of The War at Home, followed by an open mic, 7PM

The Writing Barn, Workshop: Creative Writing Crash Course for Kids (Ages 8-12), 9Am

Dallas

Interabang Books, Samantha Mabry will discuss and sign ALL THE WIND IN THE WORLD and Nova Ren Suma will discuss and sign A ROOM AWAY FROM THE WOLVES, 7PM

Houston

Blue Willow Bookshop, Lauren Oliver will appear in conversation with author Liara Tamani to discuss and sign BROKEN THINGS, 7PM

Brazos Bookstore, Cyrus Farivar discussing and signing HABEAS DATA, 7PM

University of Houston, The School of Art presents a talk by Caroline Jones, professor of art history at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of The Global Work of Art: World’s Fairs, Biennials, and the Aesthetics of Experience, 6:30PM

Hurst
B&N - NE Mall, Dry B&N Exclusive Edition signing with Neal Shusterman, 7PM

San Antonio

Central Library, Joel Salcido will discuss and sign The Spirit of Tequila, 6PM [includes a tequila tasting--attendees must be 21 years old and bring a valid state-issued picture ID]

Tuesday, October 9:

Amarillo
Amarillo Civic Center, A Celebration of Extraordinary Minds featuring author and actor Henry Winkler, 6:30PM

Austin

BookPeople, REAVIS WORTHAM speaking and signing Gold Dust and MELISSA LENHARDT  speaking and signing Heresy, 7PM

BookWoman, Dr. Mara Karpel discussing and signing The Passionate Life: Creating Vitality & Joy at Any Age, 7PM

Flat Track Coffee, Living Room Lit: Spoken Word Open Mic + Mingle with Chicon Street Poets, 7:30PM

Malvern Books, celebrate the launch of Yuki Tanaka’s poetry collection Séance in Daylight, winner of the 2018 Frost Place Chapbook Competition, 7PM

Red Salmon Arts, Voces Latinas en Tejas: Una Noche with Jasminne Méndez, author of Night-Blooming Jasmin(n)e: Personal Essays and Poetry, and Natalia Sylvester, author of Everyone Knows You Go Home, 7PM

Spiderhouse Ballroom, Austin Poetry Slam featuring Jackson Neal, 7:15PM

Cedar Hill
Zula Bryant Wylie Library, Dallas Area Writers Group meeting with Jim Donovan of Jim Donovan Literary, 7PM

Dallas

Aaron Family JCC, Dallas Jewish Bookfest presents Alexandra Zapruder, author Twenty-six Seconds: A Personal History of the Zapruder Film, 7PM

Interabang Books, Erin Gibson will discuss and sign FEMINASTY, 7PM

Klyde Warren Park, The Wild Detectives' Locals Only Book Club hosts Harry Hunsicker and The Devil's Country, 6PM

The Wild Detectives, a wine- and literature-fueled bacchanal for book lovers with Rachael Small, Director of Publicity at Europa, and Terrie Akers, Director of Marketing at Other Press, 7:30PM

Frisco
B&N - Stonebriar, Dry B&N Exclusive Edition book signing with Neal Shusterman, 7PM

Houston

Blue Willow Bookstore, Marjorie Herrera Lewis will discuss and sign her novel WHEN THE MEN WERE GONE, 7PM

Brazos Bookstore, Lacy Johnson discussing and signing THE RECKONINGS, 7PM

Cafe Brasil, Houston Poetry Fest LGBTQ Pride & Poetry Open Mic, 6:30PM

Murder By the Book, Charlaine Harris will sign and discuss An Easy Death, 6:30PM

Warehouse Live, The Moth StorySLAM presents "Disguises," 7:30PM

Midland
Centennial Library, Project Literacy author visit with Mac Barnett and Extra Yarn, 4:30PM

San Antonio

The Mix, PuroSlam featuring DJ Donnie Dee, 9:30PM

Spring
Houston Area Advanced Research Center, the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston and the The Woodlands Series host Bob Spitz discussing and signing Reagan: An American Journey, 6:30PM

Wednesday, October 10:

Austin
BookPeople, CHARLAINE HARRIS speaking & signing An Easy Death, 7PM

Malvern Books, An Evening with Poets Ellen Doré Watson & Abe Louise Young, 7PM

Dallas

Half Price Books Mother Ship, Dallas Stars journalist and former NHL.com correspondent Sean Shapiro will discuss and sign copies of his new book 100 Things Stars Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, 7PM

Interabang Books, Linda Meyers will discuss and sign THE TELL, 7PM

Sandaga, LitNight with Sanderia Faye, 7PM

SMU - Fondren Library, Anne R. Keene discussing and signing The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II, 5:30PM

The Wild Detectives, Inner Moonlight poetry series featuring poets Nadia Wolnisty and Paul Koniecki’s recent book, You Gotta Let It Go Before It Takes You Over (a brief open mic will follow), 7:30PM

Houston

Avant Garden, Write about Now's LatinX Mic: An Xtraordinary Night of Poetry featuring Analicia Sotelo, 7:30PM

Brazos Bookstore, Intellect U Well: "Civil Rights Journeys" with authors Lisa M. Corrigan, Vincent J. Intondi, and Max Krochmal, 7PM

Murder By the Book, Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker will sign and discuss Dracul, 6:30PM

United Way of Greater Houston, the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston hosts Bob Spitz discussing and signing Reagan: An American Journey, 6:30PM

Irving
South Irving Library, The Darkdeep Tour featuring Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs, 6PM

Midland
Centennial Library, Project Literacy author visit with Nathan Hale and Hazardous Tales: Lafayette, 4:30PM

Richardson
The Drawing Board, Writing Workshops Dallas: "How to Start a Career in Journalism" with Cyrus Farivar, 6:30PM

San Antonio
The Twig Book Shop, Ira Sukrungruang and Mobi Warren Gemini Ink Reading, 6PM

Thursday, October 11:

Abilene

NCCIL, "Finding Sophie Blackall" Exhibition Opening and Gallery Talk: Take a stroll through the NCCIL gallery with Sophie Blackall as she shares exclusive personal stories and insights about her artwork, 6:30PM

Austin
BookPeople, CASEY GERALD speaking & signing There Will Be No Miracles Here (in conversation with Taylor Bruce), 7PM

BookWoman, Second Thursday Open Mic featuring Laura Van Prooyen, 7:15PM

Malvern Books, Novel Night: political science Professor Roy Casagranda will launch his new novel, The Blood Throne of Caria, 7PM

The Writing Barn, Workshop: Creating Your Poetic Altar with Leticia Urieta, 6:30PM

Cypress
Lone Star College Bookstore, Open mic night and poetry slam, 5:30PM

Dallas

Deep Vellum Books, Writing Workshops Dallas MFA Panel, 7:30PM

Half Price Books Mother Ship, Fangoria magazine staff writer Preston Fassel will discuss and sign copies of his debut horror novel, Our Lady of the Inferno, 7PM

Interabang Books, Charlaine Harris will read and sign AN EASY DEATH, 7PM

Houston

Blue Willow Bookshop, tea with Kate Morton discussing her new novel, THE CLOCKMAKER'S DAUGHTER, 1PM

Brazos Bookstore, Ramachandra Guha discussing and signing GANDHI: THE YEARS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD, 7PM

Jewish Community Center, 46th Annual Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival Sneak Preview Night, 7:30PM

Murder By the Book, Aaron Mahnke will sign and discuss The World of Lore: Dreadful Places, 6:30PM

Huntsville
Sam Houston State, SHSU Common Reader Keynote with Dan Rather, author of What Unites Us, 2PM [for current SHSU faculty, staff & students - ticketed event]

Lubbock
Texas Tech, TTU Creative Writing Reading Series featuring poet and translator Curtis Bauer, 7:30PM

Midland
Centennial Library, Project Literacy author visit with Katherine Applegate and The One and Only Ivan, 4:30PM

San Antonio

Palo Alto College, National Coming Out Day and Poetry Open Mic, 11AM

Sugar Land

B&N - First Colony, Story time with local author Maria Ashworth, 10AM

Victoria
UH - Victoria, the American Book Review reading series hosts writer and journalist Amitava Kumar, 11AM

Weslaco
Mayor Joe V. Sanchez Public Library of Weslaco, The Storybook Garden hosts Diana López to talk about her latest book, LUCKY LUNA, 6:30PM

Friday, October 12:

Abilene
NCCIL, Luncheon with Sophie Blackall: Enjoy a meal with Sophie while surrounded by her artwork in the NCCIL gallery, 11:30AM [ticketed event]

Austin

BookPeople, CAROL J. ADAMS speaking & signing Protest Kitchen: Fight Injustice, Save the Planet, and Fuel Your Resistance One Meal at a Time, 7PM

Texas Capitol Visitors Center, Andrew Sansom, Rusty Yates and David K Langford discuss and sign Seasons at Selah: The Legacy of Bamberger Ranch Preserve, 1:30PM

Dallas

Interabang Books, Nancy Borowick will discuss and sign THE FAMILY IMPRINT, 7PM

Mighty Fine Arts, Poets on X+ Feature and Open Mic: Brian Cox, 8PM

Houston

Christ Church Cathedral, Mitch Albom reading and discussing THE NEXT PERSON YOU MEET IN HEAVEN, 7:30PM [ticketed event]

Murder By the Book, John Sandford will sign and discuss his new Virgil Flowers novel, Holy Ghost, 6:30PM

San Antonio

Trinity U - Holt Ctr, "A Writer's Journey": An Evening with Translator and Poet Ellen Doré Watson, 6:30PM

Southlake
B&N - Town Square, Laura Hughes signing Choose Zoe, 5PM

Saturday, October 13:

Austin

ACC - Highland, Writers' League of Texas workshop: "Final Pages, Final Paragraphs: Crafting the Right Ending for Fiction" with Chaitali Sen, 10AM

BookPeople, author guest story time with Susan Kralovansky reading The Book that Jake Borrowed, 10:30AM

Half Price Books - S. Lamar, local author Catherine Hillin will sell and sign her YA fantasy, The Orphan's Code, 1PM

Inside Books Project, Monkeywrench Books presents the Fifteen for Halloween to Save the Anarchy Dream Team!, 6PM

Malvern Books, celebrate the recent launch of Rachel Heng’s debut novel, Suicide Club: A Novel About Living, 7PM

Dallas
Pan African Connection, Kimesha Coleman discussing and signing her new book, Pretty On Pretty Off, 5PM

El Paso
Memorial Park Library, Tumblewords Workshop: "Outside the Box" with Eternity Wauls, 12:45PM

Galveston

Galveston Bookshop, Lance Scott Walker signing Houston Rap Tapes, 12PM

Galveston Bookshop, Jan Johnson signing Unforgettable Galveston Characters, 3PM

Houston

Brazos Bookshop, Special Story Time with Joy Sewing, 10:30AM

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, Lindsay Emory will sign and discuss The Royal Runaway and DiAnn Mills will sign and discuss Burden of Proof, 4:30PM

River Oaks Bookstore, Russell J. Sanders reading and signing You Can't Tell by Looking, 5PM

Writespace, Workshop: "Enliven Your Writing with Imagery" with Allegra Hyde, 1PM

Hunt

The Hunt Store, Mike Marvins at The Hunt Store as he discusses his book, "The Texas Hill Country: A Photographic Adventure, ?

Irving

South Irving Library, Unexpected Texas Historic Cemeteries and Bucket List Day Trips of North Texas with author and travel blogger Tui Snider, 2PM

Olton
Olton Are Library, Writers' League of Texas presents Texas Writes with authors Jennifer duBois and David Eric Tomlinson, 1PM

Pflugerville
Wild Magnolias, NeoSoul Poetry Slam featuring Teresa Johnson, 6PM

Richardson
Chocolate Angel, Fresh Fiction Afternoon Tea with Lorraine Heath, 3:30PM

San Antonio

B&N - San Pedro, Diane Huth signing Reinvent Your Career, 4PM

Barshop JCC, 2018-19 Author & Speaker Series: Four-time Emmy winner Mike Reiss, author of Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons, 7:30PM

Pure Juice - Stone Oak, Reasonable Insanity - A Dr. Olivia C. Maxwell Novel book signing and meet & greet with author Cynthia Freeman Gibbs, 10AM

Trinity U - Holt Ctr, Writing Workshop with Ellen Doré Watson, 10AM

The Twig Book Shop, Ken Roberts signing The Cedar Choppers: Life on the Edge of Nothing, 11AM

Southlake

B&N - Town Square, Kevin Almond signing Every Christian's Call, 1PM

Tyler

B&N, Phebe Phillips signing Why Me? Positive Verse for Loss and Sadness, 2PM

Sunday, October 14:

Austin
BookPeople, DON ZOLIDIS speaking & signing The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig, 2PM

BookWoman, Reading & Fundraiser: Kallisto Gaia Press, 4PM

Malvern Books, Amber Elby releases her new novel, Double Double Toil, the sequel to Cauldron’s Bubble, 2PM

Malvern Books, Austin Writers Roulette present "Otherworldly Intrigues," 4PM

The Writing Barn, Workshop: Sentence-Level Strategies for Big Story Problems, 3PM

Dallas

Dallas Museum of Art, Arts & Letters Live hosts Caroline Fraser, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning historical biography Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, 3PM

Half Price Books Mother Ship, local author Blaise Ramsay will sell and sign her fantasy romance novel, Blessing of Luna, and local author Sean Wright will sell and sign his children's book series Mary & Jerry Canary, 1PM

Interabang Books, Deedie Runkel discussing and signing SCONE BY SCONE, 2PM

Denton
Toms Daiquiri, American Literary Review Graduate Student Reading, 6PM

El Paso

Literarity Book Shop, The Women of Smeltertown – A Presentation, Discussion & Signing, 3PM

Frisco
Dr. Pepper Arena, Dav Pilkey's Howl with Laughter Tour, 2PM

Houston

Inprint Houston, Tintero Projects: Fall Writing Workshop Series featuring Natasha Carrizosa, 6PM

Last Concert Cafe, TZ Press presents the Fall Shindig, 7PM

Screwed Up Records & Tapes, Houston Rap Tapes book launch, 12PM

Richardson

The Drawing Board, "Writing Workshops Dallas: 9 Keys to Dynamic Storytelling" with Mike Farris, 3PM

San Antonio

Landa Library, Author Visit: Martha Miller discussing and signing Times New Roman: How We Quit Our Jobs, Gave Away Our Stuff, and Moved to Italy, 3PM

Trinity U - Taylor Hall, Hugh Fitzsimons, a third-generation rancher from Dimmit County, Texas, discussing and signing A Rock between Two Rivers: Fracturing a Texas Family Ranch, 2PM

The Twig Book Shop, Edward Alderette signing An Alzheimer's Journey, 12PM

Woodlawn Theatre, Voices of Recovery Public Reading with participants from Gemini Ink's Writers in Communities two-day workshop for cancer survivors, family and friends, 6:30PM

Review: BOOKJOY, WORDJOY by Pat Mora

CHILDREN’S POETRY
Bookjoy, Wordjoy
Pat Mora, illustrated by Raúl Colón
Lee & Low Books
Hardcover, (978-1-6201-4286-8), 32 pgs., $18.95
August 7, 2018

“Books and Me”
 We belong
together,
books and me,
like toast and jelly
o queso y tortillas.
Delicious! ¡Delicioso!
Like flowers and bees,
birds and trees,
books and me.

Bookjoy, Wordjoy is the newest collection of poetry for children from Pat Mora, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Institute of Letters and a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Texas at El Paso, among many distinctions. Especially in Texas, y’all may know her best as the founder of Children’s Day, Book Day (in Spanish, El día de los niños, El día de los libros), which celebrated its twenty-second anniversary this year.

Raúl Colón’s whimsical, joyful illustrations are inspired by Mora’s poems and Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo. The colors are rich but muted, reminding me of a child’s colored map pencils. One of my favorites in this book is a boy attempting to capture words with a butterfly net as they cavort through the air:

words that move, like wiggle
that have a brown scent, cinnamon
that sweetly stretch, car-a-mel
hard words, brick
soft words, lullaby

Mora describes “bookjoy” as the fun of reading and “wordjoy” as the fun of writing — listening to words, combining them and playing with them.

Mora excels at experimenting with words — sometimes in an easy mix of Spanish and English, the musical language of the borderlands, she calls “braiding” — words that can fill your senses, an onomatopoeia of touch, taste, smell, and sight that will stir little ones (and me) out of doors, into the night where fireflies may be

lanterns
held by sprites
who tumble, ride
the evening breeze

or a place like “Antelope Canyon” where she writes of the changing seasons and antelope that “lick spring stars at sunset.”

In Bookjoy, Wordjoy, books are a feast and libraries are the laden tables. In “Library Magic,” Mora’s Tomás praises the library as “a treasure house that’s free” and exhorts readers to explore. In “¡Bravo! Hip-hop Book Day!” she writes that “Savoring a book buffet, / I become a book gourmet.”

Mora is inspiring and encouraging. “No one sees a tree just the way you see it or hears the wind just the way you hear it,” Mora writes in a welcome to the book. “So no one can write exactly what you can write.” In “Who’s Inside?” the poet prompts children to “draw, / your inside self, write / your inside poem.”

Bookjoy, Wordjoy may be the first creative writing handbook for children.

Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.

Excerpt & Giveaway: OLD BUILDINGS IN NORTH TEXAS by Jen Waldo

OLD BUILDINGS
IN NORTH TEXAS

by

JEN WALDO

  Sub-genre: Literary Fiction / Dramedy

Publisher: Arcadia Books

Date of Publication: April 1, 2018

Number of Pages: 213

Scroll down for the giveaway!

After rehab, Olivia, a 32-year-old cocaine addict, is required to move back in with her mother and pregnant sister. Having left a promising career in journalism in New York, she’s now working as a sales assistant for a family friend in her home town in North Texas.

Under pressure from her court-mandated counselor – an old high school friend - to take up a hobby, Olivia decides on "urbexing." Soon she’s breaking into derelict homes, ex-prisons, and old drive-ins across North Texas, and it’s not long before she’s looting state property and making money off the possessions, fixtures, and fittings that have been left behind.

Old Buildings in North Texas is about a modern woman’s search for personal equilibrium and wild adventure -- the attempt to find stability in existence without losing sight of what makes life worth living. Jen Waldo’s style modulates effortlessly from domestic nuance to taut adventure, tackling social and moral transgressions with incisive observation and vivid humor.

PRAISE FOR OLD BUILDINGS IN NORTH TEXAS

“A lot of Jen Waldo’s debut novel takes place out on the porch of Olivia’s mother’s house. […] With its casual, confidential tone, Old Buildings in North Texas puts the reader in one of those porch chairs, reclining on a warm evening with a cool drink.” -- The Skinny

“Old Buildings in North Texas is an amusingly written and well worked book” -- Trip Fiction

“This novel is an absolute blast. There are serious moments of course, but Jen Waldo looks for the comedy in everything to create a memorable scenario that reminded me very much of the style of Six Feet Under.” -- Shiny New Books

CLICK TO PURCHASE!

AMAZON     BARNES & NOBLE
AUDIBLE    BOOKS-A-MILLION

EXCERPT FROM

OLD BUILDINGS IN NORTH TEXAS

BY JEN WALDO

These days my paycheck goes straight into my mother’s hands rather than into the hands of various friends; and by friends I mean dealers. In an effort to avoid the humiliation of bankruptcy, and also because she believes that honorable people meet their financial obligations, Mom sits down with me weekly and goes over my finances, meticulously allocating and writing out checks to all the people I owe. Most of the debt is medical—eight hundred for the ambulance, twelve thousand to the hospital, thirteen thousand to the rehab facility.  Also there’s about ten thousand in unpaid credit card debt and a couple of thousand I borrowed from friends.  Debt is an insurmountable wall between me and my future. 

Mom also organizes my doses of medication into small click-top containers, doling them out daily, not even able to trust me with my own stupid pills. Her fingers are thinner than they once were and the blue veins on the back of her hands are more prominent, but she is still youthful and strong, still in complete charge of her world. 

          I wasn’t the only one who used.  I didn’t know a single person who didn’t amp on a regular basis. Co-workers, friends I went out with, people I saw occasionally, people I saw every day—they all used. Now I’m forbidden to communicate with any of them. Am I resentful? Hell yes. Why did this happen to me and not Mary, who won’t even get out of bed until she has, as she puts it, found her center; or Erik, whose feet haven’t touched the ground in five years? Why does one person fall hard when another doesn’t stumble at all?

Jen Waldo lived in seven countries over a thirty-year period and has now settled, along with her husband, in Marble Falls, Texas. She first started writing over twenty years ago when, while living in Cairo, she had difficulty locating reading material and realized she’d have to make her own fun. She has since earned an MFA and written a number of novels. Her work has been published in The European and was shortlisted in a competition by Traveler magazine. Old Buildings in North Texas and Why Stuff Matters have been published in the UK by Arcadia Books. Jen’s fiction is set in Northwest Texas and she’s grateful to her hometown of Amarillo for providing colorful characters and a background of relentless whistling wind. 

◆  WEBSITE  ◆  TWITTER  ◆

◆  AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE  ◆  
◆  GOODREADS AUTHOR PAGE  ◆ 

 --------------------------------------- 

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

1st Prize:

Signed Copy of OBiNT + $10 Amazon Gift Card

2nd Prize:Signed Copy + $5 Amazon Gift Card

3rd Prize: eBook Copy of OBiNT

October 2-11, 2018

(US ONLY)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

10/2/18	Excerpt	Texas Book Lover
10/2/18	Guest Post	That's What She's Reading
10/3/18	Review	Tangled in Text
10/4/18	Author Interview	Chapter Break Book Blog
10/5/18	Review	A Page Before Bedtime
10/5/18	Excerpt	Max Knight
10/6/18	Guest Post	Story Schmoozing Book Reviews
10/7/18	Review	Momma on the Rocks
10/7/18	Notable Quotable	Books and Broomsticks
10/8/18	Notable Quotable	StoreyBook Reviews
10/9/18	Review	Reading by Moonlight
10/9/18	Guest Post	The Page Unbound
10/10/18	Sequel Spotlight	All the Ups and Downs
10/11/18	Review	The Clueless Gent
10/11/18	Review	Forgotten Winds

blog tour services provided by