Note: It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Judy Alter (July 22, 1938—July 13, 2024). As per her wishes, this website will continue to serve as a digital legacy, celebrating her life’s work and literary contributions. We invite you to explore her books, writings, and the impact she made on the world of literature. Thank you for your continued support and for helping to keep her memory alive.
Newsletter – Spring 2021
SPRING 2021
The Irish poet W. B. Yeats penned a marvelous short poem titled, “Speech after Long Silence.” That’s probably what I should call this newsletter. I’ve been silent since summer, but for all of us, it’s been a long, difficult fall. Now we are creeping up on the one-year anniversary of pandemic, quarantine, lockdown, whatever you want to call it. And in Texas, we are still recovering from the great storm of 2021 and now facing a state that is too soon wide open with no covid mandates.
Here’s my storm report: my family and I never lost power and were only without water for less than twenty-four hours—and even then, neighbors rushed in with ice chests of water, food, and drink. I know people who still have no kitchen, a few with no running water, and I realize how extremely blessed we were. So today the sun is shining, the temperature will near sixty, and, surely, spring is just around the corner.
And here’s my Texas covid report: I have had both vaccinations, no side effects. Was just getting ready to venture out to a restaurant or two with friends when the governor removed all restrictions. Since vaccinations aren’t a hundred per cent and both Dr. Fauci and the CDC recommend precautions, I’m back to quarantining.
My book news…
All these years, the main focus of my career has been on the experiences of women in the American West—nineteenth century to the present. In June, the TwoDot imprint of Globe Pequot will reprint two of my historical novels from the 1990s: Libbie (Elizabeth Bacon Custer, wife of General George Armstrong Custer) and Jessie (Jessie Benton Frémont, wife of explorer/adventurer John Charles Frémont).
“George Armstrong Custer’s public life Is backdrop to the personal, private stage of his marriage, and here Judy Alter’s novel is a convincingly intimate account… Alter evokes a Libbie who may not have lived, but could have. Readers will enjoy themselves while learning much about Libbie, her time, her place, and her general.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“Jessie is a marvelous story of self-discovery set against the backdrop of a tumultuous time in American history. Alter should be congratulated for taking Libbie (Custer), and now Jessie, two women so influential to westward expansion, and bringing them to life for modern readers across gender lines.” —San Antonio Express News
Have you met Kelly O’Connell, realtor, restoration expert on Craft homes, mother of two, and a not-so-amateur sleuth? Kelly is the heroine of my first and longest mystery series. But her story began some ten years ago, and I’m afraid some of you might have missed it. Start with the first book, Skeleton in a Dead Space, which I still think is one of the best. (Kindle version – Amazon)
From a Kindle reviewer: “When Kelly begins a remodel of a lovely old Craftsman house in a Fort Worth neighborhood, she doesn’t expect any problems except to get it accurate. A body-turned-skeleton behind a set of shelves wasn’t in the plans. Suddenly all kinds of problems begin. Fires, paint attacks, handymen getting assaulted, targets painted on her home. What’s going on? Here comes the ex-husband causing problems. Will Kelly ever finish the house and sell it? This one is a real Who dun it!!!!”
Some books I’ve recently enjoyed…
This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing, a memoir by Jacqueline Winspear. Noted for her WWII mysteries set in England and featuring Maisie Dobbs, Winspear here recalls a childhood in Kent post-WWII. From an eccentric family, always on the edge of poverty, she worked hard from the time she was five or six—sometimes in the fields with her mom, sometimes at a variety of jobs from babysitting to receptionist to house cleaning. As you read, you realize that, despite its hard-scrabble nature, hers was a childhood surrounded by much love and recollected with affection. Throughout there is a sense of closeness to the land, probably because for much of her “growing,” the family’s livelihood depended heavily on working with crops. But Winspear seems unusually in tune with the seasons and the ebb and flow of life. A truly worthwhile book.
Marry in Haste, by Susan Van Kirk. I loved the way this book paralleled past and present to shed light on both stories and to deal, tastefully but penetratingly, with the age-old problem of spousal abuse. The contemporary mystery (and slight touch of romance) would be likeable enough in itself but weaving in the past pushes the book to the top of my list. This is the middle of a trilogy, and the first and third books are now high on my TBR list.
Night Moves, by Julie Mulhern. Mulhern once again takes us into country club life in Kansas City in the 1980s. This twelfth in the popular series is at once a murder mystery, a romance, social criticism, a spoof, and laugh-out-loud funny. As Ellison Russell talks to her coffeepot, fights off her high-school boyfriend come back and defends her detective-fiancé Anarchy Jones (so not correct socially), tries to cope with her teen-age daughter’s mood swings, and fends off her socially-correct mother, the action gets fast and furious—and more fun by the moment. I love this series.
Tapestry of Tears, by Michelle Drier. With the Stained Glass Mysteries, Michelle Drier introduced a craft relatively rare to mysteries—stained glass design. In this second of the series, internationally renowned stained glass artist Roz Duke has left her coastal Oregon home for England and a chance to study the Bayeux Tapestry and transform it into windows. But what should be a quiet retreat turns dangerous when she accidentally finds a body in a small English churchyard, then is drawn into the search for stolen medieval stained glass, and finds herself the target of international human traffickers. Suspense builds and so does the love interest as she gets to know DI Hal Fitzroy. Roz had left her dog—and her life—with good friend Liam back in Oregon. Will she stay in England or return to Oregon? That is, if the bad guys don’t dump her in the Channel first. Looking forward to the third in this riveting series, Resurrecting the Roses, due in 2021.
An easy, delicious spring recipe…
Chicken Divan
Do you get those terms mixed up—Divan, Florentine? If it’s Florentine, it’s over spinach; if it’s Divan, it’s over broccoli.
2 10 oz. pkg. frozen broccoli spears (or use fresh)
½ c. butter
6 Tbsp. flour
½ tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
2 c. chicken broth
½ c. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. white wine
3 chicken breasts, halved and cooked
½ c. Parmesan or Pecorino
(Pictured: A delicious example of Chicken Divan; not mine.)
Cook broccoli and drain; melt butter and blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Add chicken broth to flour and cook until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in cream and wine.
Place broccoli crosswise in 12 x 7 x 2 oven dish. Pour half sauce over. Top with chicken and pour remaining sauce over all. Top with Parmesan.
Bake 350 for 30 minutes; broil until sauce is golden. Serves six.
A giveaway!
Be one of the winners of three copies of The Second Battle of the Alamo, the dramatic story of two women, so completely opposite each other in temperament, interests, and social standing, who together saved the iconic mission and fort, the Alamo, from destruction. And then became bitter enemies. I’ll send a copy to each of the first three who tell me what love song soldiers heard as they marched to the Battle of San Jacinto. Shoot it to me at
Spring, the time of new growth, flowers, balmy temperatures, and anticipation (or dread) of summer heat, is also the time of many religious festivals from various cultures. The ones we know best are Easter, Passover, and Ramadan, but many lesser-known religions have unique springtime traditions. No matter how you celebrate, here’s wishing you the joy and hope of the season. Take time to smell the flowers, listen to the birds sing, feel the sun shine upon you.
—Judy
PS: If you’re still quarantining like I am, why don’t you take the opportunity to try out some new recipes? I wrote a lot of cookbooks; the most recent one is the Gourmet on a Hot Plate (ebook on Amazon). You can see a list of my cookbooks here.
Aaand that’s the tail-end of this newsletter! (See what I did there?)
Here, Sophie anxiously awaits the arrival of the new book!
Aaand that’s the tail-end of this newsletter! (See what I did there?)
