Lone Star Lit is storming into spring with a bevy of fresh books debuting in April. Check out this month’s Texas-connected titles and find just what you need to snuggle in on a rainy afternoon or escape on a park bench in the spring sunshine. We’re sharing poetry in honor of National Poetry Month along with new titles from all your favorite genres. Grab our list and head over to your local indie bookstore to score your spring reads today!
Houston Skyline: Selected Poems
Carol A. Taylor
Houston Skyline is a narrated collection of poems written by a poet who returned after 30 years.
Sherri L. Dodd
Pitched as a Paranormal Thriller with elements of Magick Realism and a pinch of Clean Romance, this is the second book in the Murder, Tea, and Crystals Trilogy. Those familiar with the trilogy know this novel features Arista Kelly and her great-aunt Bethie, both modern-day good witches. Hosting a cast of diverse characters, the story has plenty of suspense and unexpected twists!
Texas Tales: Stories that Shaped a Landscape and a People
Myra Hargrave McIlvain
Tales for lovers of a good Texas story trace the lives of characters like Cabeza de Vaca, who trekked barefoot across the country, recording the habits of Native Americans. Visionaries like Padré José Nicolás Ballí, the Singer family, and Sam Robertson all tried and failed to develop Padre Island into the playland that it is today. Sally Skull had five husbands and may have killed some of them. Josiah Wilbarger was scalped and lived another ten years to tell about it. Shanghai Pierce, cattleman extraordinaire, often rounded up calves that belonged to other folks, and Tol Barrett drilled Texas’ first oil well over thirty years before Spindletop changed the world. Early-day adventurers, Civil War heroes, and latter-day artists and musicians—created the patchwork called Texas.
The Scientist and the Serial Killer: The Search for Houston's Lost Boys
Lise Olsen
The true story of how one dedicated forensic scientist restored the long-lost identities of the teenaged victims of the “Candy Man,” one of America’s most prolific serial killers
"A masterwork of crime writing . . . Lise Olsen has taken a fifty-year-old story and made it new and fresh and terrifyingly real.”—S. C. Gwynne, New York Times bestselling author of Rebel Yell.
WM Gunn
Long-range monitors detect a massive rock plunging through space on a path toward Earth. Will it miss our planet, deliver a glancing blow, or destroy Mankind? And how will people react to an uncertain future? Or will they be told? What if you knew the very day your world would cease to exist? What if all your dreams and hopes of a brighter tomorrow would never be realized? How would you react if there was nothing you could do to delay it or prevent it?
Prepare yourself for the upcoming end of all that is right and wrong. Prepare yourself for the fear and uncertainty of the unknown. Prepare to feel the tension grow and grow. Prepare to read The Calendar.
Karen Lynne Klink
In the throes of the Civil War, Adrien Villere joins Terry's Texas Rangers to safeguard his East Texas home and protect the reputation of his love, Lily Hart. As war unfolds, Adrien grapples with forbidden love, ethical dilemmas, and the harsh treatment of the enslaved, culminating in a poignant realization that love transcends societal restrictions, prompting him to prioritize compassion over self-interest amidst the relentless battles of Terry's Texas Rangers.
Pat Dunlap Evans
In this sequel to Out and In, a mystery thriller, concert cellist and part-time sleuth Marie (Donovan) Ingles and her attorney husband Ryan semi-retire to Hawai‘i, only to join an FBI task force hunting for a serial killer. One by one, four renowned astronomers fall prey to an evil villain. Is it an anti-astronomy activist? Ryan’s legal team represents him, only to find he’s not guilty. But who is?
Between start-stop investigations, the newly-wed couple feels adrift. Suddenly, their new marriage is at risk—not because of lost love, but the seduction of another woman. Fearing she’s made a mistake, Marie travels with Ryan to the summit of the world’s tallest volcano, only to face a madman who pushes them one ridge too far.
Who will make it down the mountain alive?
Skip Rhudy
This coming-of-age tale set against the sun-soaked beaches of 1970s Port Aransas, Texas, is a love letter to the people and culture of the Texas coast and the enduring allure of the Gulf of Mexico.
Eighteen-year-old Connor O’Reilly isn’t ready to leave his beloved hometown until the tourist girl he met the previous summer, Kassie Hernandez, returns to Port Aransas for one final vacation before college. Their tumultuous summer fling is wrecked by a freak accident in which Connor is lost at sea. His long years of surfing and fishing in the Gulf, as well as Kassie’s desperation to reunite with him, are pitted against the enormity and utter indifference of the sea.
D Williams
How does an attorney end up on the wrong side of the law and holding the only woman he’s ever loved hostage?
Colton has been asking himself these questions for weeks. He looks in the mirror and can no longer remember the man he was. All he knows for sure is that she’s his, and it’s his job to keep her safe from the monster searching for her.
Nicholas Osborn
When they each receive a letter warning them their family is under attack, Thomas and Kaya put their differences aside to return home, only to find a mythical terror once lost to Caddo legend unleashed on the historic town of Jefferson.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
There are so many Texas-connected books publishing this month that we couldn’t feature all of them. The following books also publish in April:
CHILDREN'S, MIDDLE GRADE, & YOUNG ADULT BOOKS
Captive by Bradley Caffee
Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa
Gigi Shin, Live from Manhattan by Lyla Lee
The Longhorn Alphabet: Texas Football A to Z by RT Young
Marya Khan and the Disastrous Class Project by Saadia Faruqi
Mindy Kim and the Fun Family Vacation by Lyla Lee
Mistaco by Eliza Klinkz
Pride or Die by CL Montblanc
Steelwing: Friend or Foe by Matthew Rollins
The Traveling Tuxedo in Port Aransas by Melissa Coyle
The Untraditional Outlaw by Sarah Noffke & Michael Anderle
Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell
MYSTERY / HORROR
The Accidental Detectives : Be A Detective, They Said. It'll Be Fun, They Said by Dakota Cassidy
Amish Country Killer by Mary Alford
Auras, Alibis & Arson by Tessa Bryant
Beyond Danger by Kat Martin
Bop City Swing by M.E. Proctor & Russell Thayer
A Camping Conundrum by Stacy Wilder
The Case of the Washed-Up Corpse by Tam May
Dead Post Society by Diane Kelly
Death, Turmoil and Turtles by Bessie Barr
The Devil's Kitchen by Mark Thielman
The Familiar Stranger by Cheryl Bradshaw & Janet Fix
Fudge and Marriage by Nancy Coco
Her Burning Lies by Pamela Fagan Hutchins
If Two are Dead by Rick Mofina
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones
Kittens, Crafts, and Killers by Leanne Leeds
The Lady and the World’s Fair by Brittany E. Brinegar & J.E. Brinegar
Mirage by L.T. Ryan & Brian Shea
Perilous Obsession by Natalie Walters
Tall Cotton by Catherine Levy Tucker
Trickster in Texas by Heather Silvio
Trouble in Texas (Anthology)
Two Points for Murder by D.B. Borton
Vendetta by J.T. Bishop
The Victorian Locket by Elefair King
NONFICTION
The Age of the Borderlands by Andrew C. Isenberg
Alamo by Alex Leal Oyoque and Herb Moering
Austin Food Crawls: Touring the Neighborhoods One Bite and Libation at a Time by Kelsey Kennedy
Barbacoa: The Heart of Tex-Mex Barbecue by Brandon Hurtado
Cabin Fever edited by Carolina Castillo Crimm
Dare the Night by Michael Cross
Desert by Design by James Burke & Molly Mandell
The Fifty-Year Texas Road Trip: On Assignment from Earth to Uncertain by Randy Mallory
Hidden History of Burnet County by Suzanne Warwick Freeman
Hometown Texas by Peter Brown & Joe Holley
Island Intern by Paul Remmers
Let's Make It! by Alfredo Garcia
The Little Book of Patrick Mahomes by Orange Hippo
Lone Star Tarnished: A Critical Look at Texas Politics and Public Policy by Cal Jillson
Matriarch: A Memoir by Tina Knowles
Pressed, Cleaned and Properly Fitted by James C. Griffin
Sorrowful Mysteries: The Shepherd Children of Fatima and the Fate of the Twentieth Century by Stephan Harrigan
Sweet Tea and Thee by Linda Kozar
Texas (On the Road Histories) by Mary Jo Powell
The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles by Aimee Boorman
Treasures of Texas by Tristan G. Smith
Vanishing Act: A Crashed Airliner, Faked Death, and Backroom Abortions by Jerry Jamison
OTHER FICTION
Anail by Martha Roo
Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
Bitter Texas Honey by Ashley Whitaker
Black Sky Club by Skyler Ramirez
The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
Codename: Whistleblower by TR Cameron, Martha Carr, & Michael Anderle
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Imagined Life by Andrew Porter
The Librarian and Armageddon by Brian Yansky
The Light on Horn Island by Valerie Fraser Luesse
Merchant's Gambit by River Tatum & Michael Anderle
People are Talking by Amanda Eisenberg
The Premonitions Club by Gwendolyn Womack
Resolution: Emmy's Story by Mark A Daniel
Route of Secrets by River Tatum & Michael Anderle
Stone and McKinnon by Patrick Lindsay
The Summer That Shaped Us by Lori Wilde
The Traitors Relic by Martha Carr & Michael Anderle
Without Illusions by River Tatum & Michael Anderle
POETRY
Fragments of Us by Sarairis Slusser
Lady Smith by Jess Smith
ROMANCE
12 Months of Mayhem by Sapphire Knight
Always and Only by Carol James
An Amish Widow's New Love by Vannetta Chapman
Bennett by Donna Michaels
Bishop by Kirby Ann
Bluebonnet Season by Teri Wilson
Captured in West Texas by Barb Han
Center Stage by Kimberly Page
Change of Fortune by RaeAnne Thayne
Closing the Deal by Aven Ellis
Colton at Risk by Kacy Cross
Conveniently a Fortune by Michele Dunaway
Dances with Pucks by Debbie Charles
The Dante by Day Leclaire
Darcy's Disguise by Jen Geigle Johnson
Darcy's Duel by Jen Geigle Johnson
Echo by Jessica Ashley
Escape: Big Bend Canyon by Barb Han
Fly by Night by Kelly Cain
Forbidden Love by Sandra Odom
Force by Kindle Alexander
A Fortune with Benefits by Jennifer Wilck
From Mourning to Dancing by Heather Camacho
Ghost by Andi Rhodes
Gone Country by Kelly Fox
Guarding Kinsley by Barb Han
Her Amish Refuge by Pamela Desmond Wright
Highland Heart by Kirsten Osbourne
An Impulsive Kiss by Alexa Aston
Lilac Time by Fern Michaels, Lori Wilde, & Carolyn Brown
Locked Door by Indie Sparks
Losing the Moon by Kellie Coates Gilbert
No Angel No Saint by Raven Flanagan
Northanger Abbie by Kailin Gow
Outlaw Ridge: Declan by Delores Fossen
Owned by Four Alphas by Mia Wolf
Power Corrupts by L.J. Breedlove
Promises of Mercy by Valerie M. Bodden
Property of Indiana: Kings of Anarchy MC: East Texas by Liberty Parker
Protecting Maggie by Susan Stoker
Protector of Misty Mountain by Eve London
Pucks, Lies, and Sticktape by Ginny Sterling
Quinn by Chris Keniston
The Rebel Seer by Lexi Blake
The Rules of Courtship by Kasey Stockton
Saved by a Texas Ranger by Kathryn Kaleigh
Sawyer by Jessica Peterson
Seven Brides For Seven Texans (Anthology)
Spilling the Tea by Brenda Jackson
Stone Creek Sheriff by Stella Bagwell
Where the Blacktop Ends by Sofia Jade
Want to make sure your forthcoming Texas-connected titles are included in our feature? Email us at Publicity@LoneStarLiterary.
