The good thing about March in Texas is that it will blow new Texas-connected titles your way. We have stars and storms, winds and witches, mystery and mayhem—everything you need to ride out the winds that mean spring is on its way.
Jan Sikes
A shocking proposal that changes everything. If he fails, he’ll lose it all.
World War II is over and he returns to Missouri to find his legacy in shambles and in jeopardy. A foreclosure notice from the bank doubles the threat. He appeals to the local banker for more time—a chance to rebuild, plant, and harvest crops and time to heal far away from the noise of bombs and gunfire.
Desperate to honor his father’s dying wish, Layken Martin vows to do whatever it takes to save the family farm.
The banker makes an alternative proposition—marry his unwanted daughter, Sara Beth, in exchange for a two-year extension. Out of options, money, and time, Layken agrees to the bargain.
Caught in the Crosshairs (Danger in Destiny, Book Four)
Melanie Snitker
For Erica Keyes, a normal day swiftly changes to one of terror when someone intentionally runs her off the road, endangering her and her son’s life. Already unsettled by the encounter, strange things begin happening at the B&B she owns, leaving her watchful and on edge. Unable to find a connection between the events, Erica is grateful for a handsome guest who insists on helping.
In Destiny to scout a new location for his private security employer, Cole Shepherd rents a room at the Tranquil Bed & Breakfast. When he realizes someone is harassing the lovely owner and her son, he'll do whatever it takes to keep Erica and Peter safe.
As the danger escalates and the suspects grow increasingly desperate, it's clear that Cole and Erica are missing a key piece of information. Can they stay one step ahead long enough to figure out who is behind it all and thwart their evil plans?
The Codger and the Sparrow, A Novel
Scott Semegran
Hank O'Sullivan, a sixty-five year-old widower, nurses his loneliness with cocktails at his favorite bar until a brawl with a barfly lands him in jail. The judge pities the codger and sentences him to community service, picking up trash beside the highway alongside a sixteen year-old troublemaker, Luis Delgado. Luis lives with his single father and has remarkable artistic abilities, but his penchant for trespassing onto rooftops late at night lands him in community service. These loners form an unlikely friendship. When Hank tells Luis he wants to drive to Houston to reconnect with an old flame, Luis asks to tag along. Luis's estranged mother also lives there. Hank agrees, setting in motion a raucous road trip. The Codger and the Sparrow is a rambunctious story about an unusual friendship.
The Desk from Hoboken: A Genealogy Mystery
M.L. Condike
After a personal loss, forensic genealogist, RaeJean Hunter, accepts what she believes is a straightforward case to ease back into the game. A student at Connecticut College has found human remains on the school campus. The College hires RaeJean to confirm their tentative identification that it’s a women named Mary Rogers whose cause of death has never been determined.
Unfortunately, it becomes downright dangerous. Someone thwarts her investigation of the same case that inspired Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Mystery of Marie Roget". Still, she follows clues, meets relatives, some helpful and others not, amid escalating threats. Using her skills, including DNA analysis, historical records research, genealogy mapping, and guidance from a mystical antique desk, she follows every clue.
Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Dominique Ramsey
Sun and Grass, Water and Tree, Fire and Rain—nature’s cycle of creation unfolds in a compelling lyrical text and striking illustrations.
Sun grows beams
and Grass grows blades
and Cloud cannot contain herself.
Spring rains change Water from a tumbling creek to a roaring river and bring Tree nutrients it needs to stretch toward the sky. As Sun’s rays intensify, the sprouts and fruits and insects of the forest grow and bloom and develop, all working together in harmony. Even Fire, whose work causes Tree to ache from the inside, brings opportunity for the next generation of flora and fauna. Paired with the vivid, organic imagery of Dominique Ramsey, Liz Garton Scanlon’s poetic tribute to our planet’s resilience is a resonant story of life, death, and regeneration.
Harleigh Sinclair and the Ice Crusade (The Harleigh Sinclair Series, Book Two)
Tamara Grantham
Finding lost artifacts is my specialty, but when an Inuit artifact is hidden in the wilds of Alaska, finding it could be more difficult than I’ve bargained for. My name is Harleigh Sinclair. I’ve been using my abilities as a Neotact to find ancient relics with special powers. After teaming up with a man named Jagg Ransom—a Crimson Knight with a mysterious past—we’re on the search for a lost artifact with immense powers. If we can’t find the relic first, the object will fall into the hands of an evil organization called the Blood Raiders. Worse, we’re not alone. The Inuit artifact is guarded by a giant beast of lore—one that would rather see us dead than accomplish our mission.
Cindy Bonner
Haywood Beatty is a tough Texas outlaw who likes his liquor hard, his women soft, and his life free of fetters. So when he promises to keep an eye on his jailed brother's young wife, he faces the first problem his .45 can't solve. He wants to settle her someplace but finds it's not so easy to leave Lily behind. For one thing, she keeps coming up with what he needs: a horse, a gun, some money, the common sense he doesn't have. And when they journey together through dangerous country, and he witnesses how brave she is, Haywood finds himself coming close to breaking the only law he ever vowed to respect—yielding to his desire for the one woman he knows he cannot touch.
Sheila Quinn
Willie Tollett has her future figured out until she meets a stranger in the dark. When Willie’s father takes John Musick on as a hired hand, her simple life gets complicated. Mr. Musick, a World War I veteran from East Texas, is a good worker, but his off-duty pastimes are problematic for his pious employer. A town controversy, a midnight Howler, and Zane Grey Westerns come together to challenge everything Willie knows about the world. So Long As It’s Wonderful honors the heritage of the women of the West and celebrates the imagination that expanded their prospects and possibilities for the future.
Margaret Izard
After leaving her abusive ex, American scholar Brielle DeVolt embarks on a career-changing opportunity, the renovation of Laird Colin MacDougall’s Chapel ruin. The attractive Laird leaves her weak-kneed, but can she trust herself to love again?
Dusted in construction dirt, the curvy beauty captivates Colin. At his window, her brunette tresses halo in the sunlight, and he sees her as his dream soul mate. When he learns his hereditary duty is safeguarding magic Fae stones, all he wants is to protect Brielle.
Traveling to the past to assume his forefather’s identity is challenging enough. When Brielle appears, an undeniable attraction to his ancestor ignites, causing confused passion. Faced with fighting to save the realms, Colin must choose between saving the stone or saving his love.
Lisa Traugott
It’s 1739. An abused girl accused of witchcraft must be defended by a man married to an actual witch. William MacLeod, a fierce Scottish lawyer, takes on a daunting task—rescue young Annaliese from her tormentors in Virginia colony and deliver her to her aristocratic father in London. But lurking in the shadows are enemies eager to expose MacLeod’s wife, Fiona, as a witch with a dark secret.
Their journey takes an unexpected turn when their ship wrecks, and Annaliese’s “Devil marks” trigger suspicion. Tension peaks when MacLeod must become Annaliese’s unwavering protector in a witch trial, where Fiona’s clairvoyance and a murder are unveiled.
To Rescue a Witch navigates a spellbinding narrative that blends history, magic, and the unyielding resilience of the human spirit.
Betting on Horses: Racing as an Economic Development Tool in Frontier West Texas, 1886-1896
Preston Lewis
As a popular frontier pastime, horse racing always drew a crowd to admire and bet on horseflesh. Realizing its appeal, boosters of the nascent West Texas community of San Angelo used horse racing to attract investors and settlers and to distance themselves from competing communities in the Concho Valley. Betting on Horses: Racing as an Economic Development Tool in Frontier West Texas, 1886-1896, explores how San Angelo promoters incorporated racing into their boosterism, sending local horses across the nation and broadening the community’s national exposure and reputation.
Betting on Horses is the story of one frontier town’s efforts to thrive as it vied with competitors for the telegraph, for the railroad, for exposure that would attract investors, and for its long-term survival.
Here’s the Story... Nine Women Write Their Lives
Kathleen Rodgers, Linda Aronovsky Cox, and seven others; edited by Andrea Simon
Here's the Story … Nine Women Write Their Lives originated from an online course called “Writing about Your Mom without Guilt,” for the Story Circle Network, an international writing organization. Not wanting to end our special bond, we continued to share our writing via Zoom after the course ended. What emerged is this anthology of forty-two pieces: essays, stories, and poems.
Holmes, Moriarty, and the Monkeys
WM Gunn
An old 19th-century Victorian mansion is the home of the Holmes and Moriarty Society where amateur sleuths meet to solve crimes. In front of the mansion’s massive fireplace are three stone statues of monkeys – Mizaru holds its hands covering its eyes, Kikazaru with its hands covering its ears, and Iwazaru covers its mouth. The owner of the mansion and one of the society’s founding members turns up dead. But as more bodies are found, the society’s true purpose is slowly revealed. When the statue of the fourth monkey, Sezaru, appears on the hearth, the questions begin to outweigh the answers. This is no longer a job for amateurs. This is now a job for two police detectives to solve the mystery.
Invocation (Days of Iron and Clay, Book One)
Aileen Erin
From USA Today Bestselling Author Aileen Erin: Samantha Lopez's mission in life is to send as many demons to Hell as she can before her father finds her. He's a fallen angel, and he's hunting her. She yearns for normal, and when an old crush suddenly resurfaces, it feels like divine intervention. Maybe her life won’t be just exorcisms and demons.
Kill Order (Cass Callahan, Book Two)
Chris Mullen
Cass Callahan and his family yearn for a return to normalcy after the unsettling mystery and murders that shook their beloved ranch, the CR. However, their hopes for peace are shattered when the ruthless Camargo cartel sets in motion a disruptive plot that threatens the very fabric of their hometown.
Caroline Frost
Nashville, 1977: A broken heart. A terrible crime. A song the world would sing. Set in the country music world of 1970s Nashville, a struggling musician writes a hit song that both promises her long-sought-after fame and implicates her in a heinous crime.
Dagmar Grieder
In the aftermath of a devastating war, Dagmar Grieder and her family flee the advancing Russian Army. Her father, conscripted into the German military, has not been heard from in months. With her mother and her younger brother, the family learns to improvise every aspect of their existence. With supplies scarce, Grieder and her relatives forage for food in the local forests, with Grieder herself becoming an expert at finding the tastiest mushrooms — a special treat for a hungry family.
Grieder’s story is vivid and deeply personal, a tale of loss and belonging, that offers a new perspective on post-war refugees amid Europe’s rebuilding. Grieder is a natural storyteller, and her life story is truly a Cinderella tale: riches to rags to riches again. Grieder has a keen eye to see meaning, beauty, and humor in daily life. Originally intended for her children and family, these recollections of growing up in post-war Germany will appeal to a wide audience.
Scarred Beauty (Wylder Tales, Book Two)
Jennifer Silverwood
Vynasha is certain of two things: she is forever bound to the monster who loves her, and she can never return to Castle Bitterhelm again. Escape has come at a high cost, and though Vynasha freed the imprisoned beasts, she has awakened an ancient evil that now stalks her. For the curse is unfinished with the one the prophecy spoke of, and Grendel continues to haunt her dreams.
One thing rings true in the waking world and her dreams: Grendel won’t sleep forever. When he wakens, nothing will stop the beast from claiming his bride, even if it means destroying everyone she loves. Only by claiming her powers can Vynasha protect the family she has only just found and prevent the ruination of Wylderland.
Marie Watts
The Dunwhitty family is flying high until their carefully choreographed life falls apart during the 2008 Great Recession. Desperate, Lisa insists they regroup by seeking refuge in rural Central Texas on land she inherits from a distant relative she barely knows.
It's not the ranch Lisa remembers, but a ramshackle money pit. Michael and their teenage son, Andrew, despise the place. Only their young daughter, Jessica, is happy. Michael moves to the city while Lisa and the children begin to plant roots. The couple continues to drift further apart.
A call from the sheriff's department that their son is in custody jolts the couple to the core. Can they repair their relationship for the sake of their son? Or is it too late?
Where the Hell is Ivy Dell (Ivydell, Book One)
Indie Sparks
Scorpion, pecs and biceps . . . oh, my!
No one warned me they didn’t have high-speed internet in the desert. Between that, the seventeen species of scorpions that terrorize this part of the state, and the insufferable handyman/mechanic who can’t seem to keep his shirt on, I don’t know how I’m supposed to get anything done here! I need an escape from my grief, and my life in general. And I can’t think of a better place to run away than my fabled namesake, the hippie-dippy remote west Texas desert compound of Ivydell.
Not that I’m running away. I’m simply taking a brief hiatus. I’ll be back. It's not like some shirtless guy with a scorpion tattoo is going to change my whole life.
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 March:
CHILDREN'S, MIDDLE GRADE, & YOUNG ADULT BOOKS
ABC Candy Book by Jessica Lee Anderson
ABC Fruit Book by Jessica Lee Anderson
Blue Stars: Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem by Kekla Magoon & Cynthia Leitich Smith
Clever Creatures of the Night by Samantha Mabry
Dragonthrall (The Thirteen Origins) by Veronique Medrano
The Fancy Flamingo by Maygon Lucart
Gigi Shin is Not a Nerd by Lyla Lee
In the Orbit of You by Ashley Schumacher
The Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews
Just Like You by Anne Wynter
Legends of Lotus Island: City of Wishes by Christina Soontornvat
Magical Elements of the Periodic Table Presented Alphabetically by the Elemental Dragons by Sybrina Durant
Maple's Theory of Fun by Kate McMillan
Marya Khan and the Awesome Adventure Park by Saadia Faruqi
No More Sleeping In by Anne Wynter
Paws and Responsibilities (Porter and Midge) by Giselle Nevada & Jennie Chen
Quiet Violet Finds Her Voice by Gabrielle Nidus
Would It Be Weird? by Edgar Garcia
NONFICTION
Accidental Sisters by Kimberly Meyer
Adding the Lone Star by Jordan T. Cash
Assimilated Natives by Gume Laurel
The Diaries of John Gregory Bourke by Charles M. Robinson III
Elevate and Dominate by Deion Sanders
Expedition Texas by Bob Mauldin
Forty Years of Texas Storytelling edited by Ted Parkhurst
Francisco Amangual, Trustee of the Presidio by Roland Rodríguez
The German Texas Frontier in 1853 by Daniel J. Gelo & Christopher J. Wickham
Mineral Wells: A Climber's Guide by Robert Page
New View by Beth Benton Buckley
Not From Here: The Song of America by Leah Lax
Portraits of Persistence edited by Javier Auyero
The Texas Lowcountry by John R. Lundburg
Truckload of Art by Brendan Greaves
War Studies Journal by Michael Leggiere
The Water Cries, Uncovering the Slave Auction Houses of Galveston, Texas by Anthony Paul Griffin
Where Are You From by Tomas Q. Morin
Write Your Own Myth by P.J. Hoover
POETRY / SHORT STORIES
Assimilated Natives by Gume Laurel
Forty Years of Texas Storytelling edited by Ted Parkhurst
Red's Familiar (Anthology)
Trusted Friends and Lovers by Burkey & Breakfield
MYSTERY / HORROR
The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones
Battle Lines by L.J. Breedlove
Death and Fondue by Nova Walsh
Death by Fortune by Brittany E. Brinegar
Faulty Bloodline by Gary Gerlacher
Four Minutes of Darkness by Kathy Hinojosa
Girlfriend Retreat. . .Cheaper Than Therapy by Linda Pirtle
A Grave Robbery by Deanna Rayborn
The Hunt by Z.W. Taylor
In the Dark of Night by Lorana Hoopes
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Magpie Maggie Takes the Wheel by Katherine H. Brown
Misguided Truth by Stephanie Kreml
Murder and Macaw by Verena DeLuca
Murder Under Redwood Moon by Sherri L. Dodd
Relics, Rumors & Robbery by Tessa Bryant
Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke
The Shattered Skull by Manuel Ruiz
Three Fudges and a Baby by Nancy Coco
Watch It Burn by Kristen Bird
Wrath by J.R. Tate
ROMANCE
Caught in the Storm by Savannah McCann
Cold Case Target by Jessica R. Patch
Cyrus's Revenge by Darlene Tallman
Demons & Doves by Clio Evans
Expecting a Fortune by Nina Crespo
The Forever Equation by Kathryn Kaleigh
Forever Family by Ginny Sterling
Forever Flawless by Ginny Sterling
Forever Her Bachelor by Cecilia Rene
A Good Wolf is Hard to Find by Terry Spear
A Groom of One's Own by Emma St. Clair
If the Boot Fits by Karen Witemeyer
Jackson by Tilly H. Colson
Just a Stranger by Michelle Donn
Keith and the Mail Order Bride by Caroline Clemmons
Lone Star Showdown by Delores Fossen
Opposites Attract Hero by Jo Grafford
Paxton by Chris Keniston
The Perks of Loving a Viscount by Alexa Aston
The Rancher's Secret Crush by Cari Lynn Webb
Small Town Sash by Jenna Brandt
To Forge Her Fate by Kasey Stockton
Undercover Cowboy Protector by Kacy Cross
Waltz Across Texas by Liz Talley
Where We Belong by Kellie Coates Gilbert
Winds of Change by Maxine Douglas
OTHER FICTION
Sisters with a Side of Greens by Michelle Stimpson
Cowboy Justice by P. Creeden
The Last Philosopher in Texas by Daniel Chacón
Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura
Messengers Rising by Relvin Gonzalez
New Witch Order by Sarah Noffke & Michael Anderle
Once in the Blue Moon by Virginia Reeves, illustrated by Kyle Hobratschk
Rogue Stars: Purgatory by Jaime Castle
Want to make sure your forthcoming Texas-connected titles are included in our feature? Email us at Publicity@LoneStarLiterary.
