Historical Nonfiction
I love history! Always have.
History tells the stories of individual people as well as the humanity. More often than not, it produces the most creative- or the most crazy- stories that no writer could ever come up with.
I put a lot of research into the following books and have learned a lot about these eras. I hope you will enjoy reading them and learn from them too!
The Most Land, The Best Cattle: The Waggoners
Released on October 21, 2021
The land, cattle, horses, and oil are the backdrop for this story of five generations of one extraordinary family who lived at the largest ranch under one fence for over 150 years and built a fortune. Commanche raids and the Civil War, cattle barons and international celebrities, long marriages, short marriages, and many marriages, divorces and lawsuits, lavish entertaining and simple devotion to the land—it’s all here.
A quintessential Texas story.
See this book’s own page for more details.
E-book: Amazon
The Second Battle of the Alamo
Released on March 7, 2020
In 1903, the threat of demolition hung over Mission San Antonio de Valero, better known as the Alamo, site of the massacre by Mexican soldiers under Santa Anna of heroes of the 1836 Texas Revolution–Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William B. Travis, along with over two hundred men. In the early twentieth century, two women combined their efforts to preserve the historic site which had been so neglected there was talk of demolition. Adina De Zavala had the passion for historical accuracy; Clara Driscoll had the money. Neither could have saved the Alamo alone, but together they bought the long barracks, where the Battle of the Alamo was actually fought, from private owners and turned it over to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to manage. Theirs was a natural union but hard headedness—sometimes a Texas trait—turned what was once a friendship into bitter rivalry that reached a zenith when Adina barricaded herself in the long barracks for three days. The ladies’ fight to save the mission and their own fight has come to be known as the second battle of the Alamo.
The Alamo has withstood many battles since it’s eighteenth-century founding and today stands as a symbol of heroism and loyalty and has inspired everything from movies to jigsaw puzzles. The cry of “Remember the Alamo” is known throughout the world. But few people know that without these two women, the Alamo might well be just another shabby shrine. Or a parking lot.
