Check out the December Texas Books Preview for the shiniest new items out from Texas authors. We have holiday titles to delight your cocoa-reading, couch-snuggling heart. We have mind-boggling mysteries, ravishing romances, nerve-soothing nonfiction, charming children's’ books, and so much more. Lone Star Lit brings you the freshest books on the Texas literary scene just in time for holiday gift giving and vacation relaxation.
Philip Beck
December 1, 2024
The China Riddle is an entertaining, fast-paced CIA thriller—set in Malibu, California, Washington, D.C., and Dallas, Texas—at the intersection of spy balloons, California fires, and an unresolved Presidential assassination twenty years ago. National Airlines executive Lonny Jones and former CIA operative James Gill risk everything to unravel the mystery as the conspirators close in to silence them.
Blair M. Shadows
December 1, 2024
Get ready to lose yourself in a world where art and magic intertwine with a blistering hot romance.
Crystal Iris: Book I is the beginning of a tantalizing romantasy series brimming with mystery, modern conflicts, and a love story that will leave you aching for more.
A sexy, addictive mystical fantasy with a strong female lead, swoon-worthy book boyfriends, and plenty of spice.
Professor Iris De Loughery’s life changes on the night of her thirtieth birthday. The gift she receives from her distant father defies reality as she knows it, launching her on a journey of self-discovery alongside a dive into the spectral unknown. Shaken by her relationships, the Harvard art history professor's struggles intensify when she meets Hoyt, another prism possessor. Controlling her feelings will be her first challenge in this wicked spicy series.
Giant Love: Edna Ferber, Her Best-Selling Novel of Texas, and the Making of a Classic American Film
Julie Gilbert
December 3, 2024
A book that explores the great American novelist and playwright Edna Ferber; the writing of her controversial, international best-selling novel about Texas, and the making of George Stevens’ Academy Award winning epic film.
We see how director George Stevens wooed the prickly, stubborn Ferber, ultimately getting her to agree to everything including writing a draft of a screenplay and okaying James Dean for the part of the ranch hand, Jett Rink.
Here is the casting of Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean and their backstory triangle of sex and seduction, the frustrated Stevens trying to direct the instinctive but undisciplined Dean, and the months-long filming in the sleepy town of Marfa, Texas, suddenly invaded by a battalion of a film crew and some of the biggest stars in the rising celebrity culture.
by Carmen Boullosa, translated from Spanish by Samantha Schnee
December 3, 2024
A contemporary classic from award-winning author Carmen Boullosa, now available in a special Tenth Anniversary Edition.
Loosely based on the little-known 1859 Mexican invasion of the United States, Texas: The Great Theft is a richly imagined evocation of the volatile Tex-Mex borderland. Boullosa views border history through a new lens decentering US narratives, and her sympathetic portrayal of each of her wildly diverse characters—Mexican ranchers and Texas Rangers, Comanches and cowboys, German socialists and runaway slaves, Southern belles and dancehall girls—makes her storytelling tremendously powerful and absorbing.
Featuring a new introduction by Merve Emre, the Tenth Anniversary Edition of Texas sheds important historical light on current battles over the Mexican–American frontier while telling a gripping story with Boullosa's singular prose and formal innovation.
Pamela Taylor
December 5, 2024
The old Duke of Brittany had vacillated for years over who would succeed him and finally settles on his half-brother, John de Montfort. But the years of vacillation had left others believing they would inherit, and no one understands this better than Montfort's wife, Jeanne de Flandre. When the schemes and political maneuvers of the Countess of Penthièvre land Montfort in the French king's prison, it falls to Jeanne to defend his rights and protect their son's patrimony. With limited forces and facing the might of the French army, will her courage and audacity be enough to prevail? Or will she be caught up in the maelstrom of the dynastic conflict between England and France that becomes the Hundred Years War?
The Streets of Laredo: Texas Modernity and Its Discontents
José E. Limón
December 11, 2024
Arguing that the well-known cowboy ballad “The Streets of Laredo” is an early expression of “discontent with an encroaching modernity,” author José E. Limón draws upon ethnomusicology, folklore, history, contemporary literature, and other sources to provide a deeply contextualized analysis of the song. He explores its place in the imaginative construction of the American West and its role in the interpretation of both Anglo-American and Mexican American identity in the Texas borderlands and beyond. The result is a complex and intriguing view of Texas and American culture as seen through the lens of a “simple” cowboy song.
The Bluebonnet Conspiracy: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles, Book 31
Jinx Schwartz
December 20, 2024
Blue, a renowned Texas artist, returns home looking forward to a few months of painting, family, friends, swimming, and boating. What she didn’t foresee was being a murder suspect.
Nicholas Osborn
December 31, 2024
David “Davy” Patton’s once-beloved service as a park ranger in deep East Texas has left him dreaming of a real adventure.
When an ancient Caddo artifact is uncovered, a deadly Native woman named Rose crashes into his life desperately searching for the lost treasure of a long-dead outlaw. Davy joins Rose on a treasure hunt generations in the making.
As their journey challenges the line between life and death, they race to be the first to find the outlaw’s treasure. If they can claim it for their own, the fall of a stolen empire and a future few have dared to dream for awaits. But if they fail, the De León dynasty’s next conquest will drive the final nail in the coffin of a family betrayed through time.
Los Muertos: Day of the Dead Fiction
Edited by Adela Pineda Franco
December 31, 2024
Observed in Mexico and parts of the United States, El Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a celebratory holiday. Los Muertos is the first anthology of fiction relating to or inspired by this bicultural tradition.
Each of the two dozen Mexican and Mexican American writers featured here has a unique affinity for the myriad ideas connected closely to El Día de Muertos—some in less obvious ways. The stories connect to the metaphors and connotations related to memorializing the dead, some reflecting on the ritualized and religious aspects of what has become a commercialized holiday and others reacting to such cultural appropriations.
The Private Thoughts of a Traveling Preacher’s Wife
edited by Jack Darrell Crowder
December 31, 2024
Louisa Foster came to Texas as a child with the Old Three Hundred, the first settlers brought to Texas by Stephen F. Austin. She married a young traveling preacher, the Rev. Finis Foster. Unlike many women at this time, Louisa was educated and well read. During this period, discussions and critical views of religion were the domains of the men. Louisa, however, voiced her views freely and believed that women should be allowed to do so.
She kept a diary, and in these eleven journals from 1847 to 1870, Louisa recounts the difficult weather conditions, the Civil War, religion, conflicting views on slavery, the prices of goods, disease and medicine, and raising a family on the frontier in Central Texas.
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 December:
CHILDREN'S, MIDDLE GRADE, & YOUNG ADULT BOOKS
The Book Binder by C.A. Cordova
Duck and Moose: Duck in the Dark! by Kirk Reedstrom
Frog Butts and Toad Warts? by Jessica Lee Anderson
Lotusfall by Jamie Foley
Rage of the Fallen by M Guida & Michael Anderle
The Revolutionary Rider by Sarah Noffke & Michael Anderle
To Shatter the Night by Katherine Quinn
Trying to Love Them by Stephanie M. Seaton
MYSTERY / HORROR
A Cookie of a Scoundrel Anthology
Deadly Equation by Gary Gerlacher
Deadly Secrets by Nancy Stancill
Delta County Blues by Gina Hooten Popp
Earthdivers, Vol. 3: 1776 by Stephen Graham Jones
Fa-La-La-La-Lola by Melissa Bourbon
Fixin' to Witch by Allie Katt
Ghost of a Chance by Brittany E. Brinegar
It's Called Murder, Brenda. Look It Up by Dakota Cassidy
Lava Cake and Lies by Nova Walsh
The Librarian and the New Gods by Brian Yansky
Lost Love by J.T. Bishop
Miami Interlude by Linda Bennett Pennell
One More Time by Maryann Miller
Out of Control by Terry Shames
Pawfully Wedded by Diane Kelly
Red Barn by Sam Baron and SJ Blake
Shadows of Disguise by Tess Thompson
Tangles by Kay Smith-Blum
Two Steps Ahead by Janie Crouch
A Witchy Christmas by Rhonda Hopkins
NONFICTION
121 Days of Prayer; P O W E R of Prayer (Anthology)
The Alchemy of Talent by Vijay Pendakur
The Art of Dreams, Visions, Other Worlds by Robert Craig Bunch
Austin, Texas: Music City, New Money, Lost Dreams by Edgar T. Mosley
The Cace's Cookbook by Cathy & Chelsea Cace
Gather 'Round by Kristina Downs
The Great Texas Stamp Collection by Charles W. Deaton
Mestizaje by Kathy Sosa
The Other Side of the Iran Contra Affair. If the Jamaicans have Uzi’s. Then they got them from Iran. Who gave the Jamaican Posse’s Uzi’s and Crack-Cocaine to Sell? A Dallas, Texas Story by Schelandria Tallie
Sarah Oppenheimer by Andrée Bober
A Tattooist's Perspective of Texas State Parks by Steven Vandervort
Texas Ukulele by Jeff Campbell
Texas Wildlife Encyclopedia by Scott Shupe
OTHER FICTION
All Silence Must Cease by Raymond Wilkinson
Assassin's Flight by Skyler Ramirez
Bright Moon Deception by Melissa McShane
Codename: Scream Queen by TR Cameron, Martha Carr, and Michael Anderle
Cupid's Play by Lila Sparks and Michael Anderle
Dancing in the Graveyard by Sandra Fox Murphy
Elmer Kelton's The Familiar Stranger by Steve Kelton and John Bradshaw
The Four Worlds: Wrath of Mars by Skyler Ramirez
Glastonbury's Shadow by Michael Todd & Michael Anderle
He is the Principal by Michael Anderle
Kayavan Rising by Maria Grace
Night Shadow by Jaxon Reed
Recompense (Book 2) - A King’s Reckoning by Jay Anderson
Ridin' With the Pack anthology
Silent as the Slay by Michael Anderle
Spies and Spellcraft: The Stowaway Sophomore by Steve Curry
Summer is Home by Mitchell Anne Hagerstrom
Sweet Vidalia by Lisa Sandlin
Tactical Tidings by Michael Anderle
The Veteran by Dustin Carter
ROMANCE
Accidentally Forever by Kathryn Kaleigh
Alaskan Disappearance by Karen Whiddon
The Alpha Wolf's Pregnant Bride by Kayla Wolf
As the Sun Rises by Kellie Coates Gilbert
Bad St. Nick by Barb Shuler
The Beanbaggers of Cornhole County by Madison Love
Before We Turn to Dust by Clara Sneed
Believe in the Magic of Christmas by Kathryn Kaleigh
Bodyguard Rancher by Kacy Cross
Christmas Eve Eve by Jade Behr and Blue Huxley
A Christmas Kiss on the Twenty-Fifth by Kathryn Kaleigh
Christmasing With You by PG Forte
Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witemeyer
Colton's K-9 Rescue by Colleen Thompson
Covering the Cowboy by BA Tortuga
The Cowboy Billionaire's Match by Sylvia McDaniel
The Cowboy's Rodeo Redemption by Susan Breeden
Doctor's Orders by Kat Baxter
Etched Upon the Heart by Kathryn Kaleigh
Fiendish Claus by Barb Shuler
Fighting for Love by Lorana Hoopes
Fooled in Texas by Sandy Appleyard
Forever Feminine by Ginny Sterling
Fortune's Mystery Woman by Allison Leigh
Fusion by Kindle Alexander
The Heart & Soul Pet Hotel by Nova Walsh
Hearts We Claim by Christina Berry
Hellfire & Tinsel by A.M. Rose
Her Christmas Rescue by Kathryn Kaleigh
Her New Year's Wish List by Makenna Lee
Holly's Christmas Biker by Darlene Tallman
If Only in My Dreams by PG Forte
Joy at Christmas by Katherine E. Hamilton
Lawbreaker by Diana Palmer
The Life of a Cowboy by Elsie Davis
Love Comes to Christmas by Linda Broday
Love Letters from Her Cowboy by Sasha Summers
My First Kisment Christmas by Allie Bock
My Frozen Ever After by Erin Bedford
New Dawn Book 4 by Ella Cooper
New Dawn Book 5 by Ella Cooper
New Dawn Book 6 by Ella Cooper
Prickly Poppy by Kara O'Neal
The Princess and the Playboy by Kathryn Kaleigh
Pure Country by Kelly Fox
Quiet & Shy Hero by Jo Grafford
Remember Legacy by Ginny Sterling
Save Me by Barb Shuler
Sidney and the Mail Order Bride by Caroline Clemmons
The Southern Submission by Adrian R. Hale
Spicy Nick by P.G. Forte
St. Nick and Me Are Mint to Be by Tamie Dearen
Stewart by Kathleen Ball
Stolen by Her Alien Mate by Kat Baxter & Emma Lee Jayne
Stranded by Jennifer D. Bokal
The Texan's Journey Home by Jolene Navarro
Texas Kidnapping Target by Laura Scott
Too Many Miles From You by Kellye Hefner
Tracking Down the Lawman's Son by Delores Fossen
The Trouble With A Mistletoe Cowboy by Debra Clopton
Tying the Knot with Her Sweet Scrooge by Ginny Sterling
Wolf Alliance by Terry Spear
Want to make sure your forthcoming Texas-connected titles are included in our feature? Email us at Publicity@LoneStarLiterary.
