Johnnie Bernhard’s latest novel, The Witch of Sonora (Stoney Creek Publishing, 2026), returns readers to the gritty Central Texas landscape introduced in Hannah and Ariela. Hannah, now in her eighties, continues to grapple with the horrors of human trafficking, offering refuge on her isolated ranch to young women who have been victimized. Bernhard frames this […]
“Bullets in the Water” by Conor McAnally
July 15, 2026 by Leave a Comment
It is not often, in these days of perpetual motion and constant demands for our time and attention, that a book comes along and simply demands to be devoured in a single sitting. Conor McAnally’s debut novel, Bullets in the Water, is one such book. Mystery, murder, mysticism, political intrigue, redemption, and loss – this […]
Donna Meredith interviews Phil Oakley, author of The Oakleys series
July 13, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Book Summaries Little Hatchet When his brother is kidnapped from their New Mexico cabin, 12-year-old Walter Oakley sets off in pursuit, launching a multi-generational saga. Following the Oakley family from 1800s frontier life among Apaches and Comanches through Prohibition-era Texas, Little Hatchet chronicles their courageous struggle for survival amid unimaginable tragedy, violence, and determination. Runners […]
“Bless Your Heart” by Lindy Ryan
June 13, 2026 by Leave a Comment
The sun is rising over a small Texas town and the dead are rising too. Four generations of the Evans family run a funeral parlor, putting the dead to rest, even when they have to kill them again. It’s 1999 now and the buried are growing restless. Something has come to town, leaving a bloody […]
“A History of Heartache” by Patrick Strickland
June 1, 2026 by Leave a Comment
The first story in A History of Heartache, Patrick Strickland’s debut short story collection, gives away the title when we learn an alcoholic mother “has a history of heartache, most of which she drums up all on her own nowadays.” The question that arises again and again in these loosely-interconnected stories is this: Is heartache […]
“The Burning Side” by Sarah Damoff
May 20, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Sarah Damoff’s second novel, The Burning Side, is just as rich in poignant moments and nuanced characters as her first, The Bright Years, which Southern Literary Review selected as its 2025 Book of the Year. The Burning Side explores two very different marriages, revealing both the best and the worst of committed love. One begins […]