Showing posts with label Non Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Non Fiction. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

100 Things to Do in Dallas Fort Worth Before You Die ~ Lone Star Book Blog Tours promo, review, & giveaway!


100 THINGS TO DO 
IN DALLAS FORT WORTH
BEFORE YOU DIE
2ND EDITION
by
TUI SNIDER

  Genre: Non-Fiction / Texas Travel
Publisher: Reedy Press   Twitter   ⎸  Facebook
Date of Publication: September 15, 2018
Number of Pages: 160 with black & white images

Scroll down for Giveaway!

Have you ever drawn a blank when a friend or family member asks, “What do you want to do today?” Maybe you have visitors to show around the Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex, or perhaps you’ve lived here for years but feel like you’re in a rut rather than experiencing anything new.

If so, Tui Snider’s new book is for you! If you live in, or are visiting, the DFW region, this list will inspire you to start exploring. If you’re hungry, flip through the Food & Drink section. Looking for entertainment or want to get outdoors? Dig into the Music & Entertainment or the Sports & Recreation sections. Want to barter for antiques or see a museum? Check out the Culture & History or the Shopping & Fashion sections.

This book is a playful bucket list of suggestions meant to spark ideas: everything from family outings, date nights, and solo excursions, to simply hanging out with friends on your day off.







✪✪✪✪✪
HALL WAYS BONUS REVIEW:
Final score: the book wins 57 to 43. Time to expand my local horizons.

100 Things to Do in Dallas-Fort Worth Before You Die is a fabulous guidebook that gives concise but informative overviews of one hundred plus places and activities in the DFW Metroplex. By the way, the DFW Metroplex, I learned, is a 9,286 square MILES area! Wow! Author Tui Snider's travel writing skills are on point as she shares the places and tidbits about each that make north Texas so unique.  

As a Fort Worth, Texas-born gal, I was raised in a family where my momma was always seeking-out and taking us to the cool, off-the-beaten-track places and festivals. Even with that upbringing and the majority of my fifty plus years lived in DFW, I found over half the one hundred places in the books are sights and activities (57 of them, to be exact) I have never experienced -- and a bunch I had never even heard of!

An awesome aspect to 100 Things is that it really is an excellent resource for locals to not only have on hand for visitors but to use as a source for new ideas and a lot of reminiscing.  Some of my favorite childhood memories and restaurant experiences were made at places mentioned in the book (like Burger's Lake Fossil Rim, and the National Cowgirl Museum, and Bonnell's, Ol' South Pancake House and Edelweiss). After reading 100 Things, I realize that I am a creature of habit with the local activities I enjoy: for example, Grapevine does not have the only wine trail; Fort Worth does not have the only ghost tour. I plan on getting a bunch of copies of this guide for my local friends and family to enjoy. 

The “Hundred Things” is actually well over a hundred because of the glorious sub-lists in many sections. Plus, there are lots of extra cultural details, statistics, and tidbits thrown in that add an extra layer of interest. Again, much of what’s included is new information to me that reinforces DFW has some of the biggest and best events in the US.  The organization of the book, which includes a divided table of contents, index, suggested itineraries, and activities by season, and website addresses really helps users find what they need for quick reference.  Especially helpful are the "Free Family Fun" and "Rainy Day Fun" lists.  Also included in the book are interesting photos sprinkled throughout the book that add interest, though they are not clearly labeled. I am okay with the small selection of photos and that they are black and white since the purpose and focus of 100 Things is informational.

The book is well-edited, the writing is clear and friendly, and the generous white space and formatting make it very user friendly and easy to read (as opposed to other guides that pack too much on a single page with teeny-tiny print). There are a few places where it seems like there are no spaces between words, and this Grammar Policewoman issues only a few citations for some misspelled words and comma issues. (Though the Neiman Marcus police might have a full warrant for arrest out!) Snider gets an Award of Excellence for being on Team Oxford Comma, which counters any punctuation pitfalls. The issues are all minor and none detracts from the overall fabulousness of this book.  I can't wait to plan a staycation to include some new excursions and also to re-visit some old favorites around my own stomping grounds. 


I subscribe to Tui Snider's newsletter (you should to) and answered the author's call a while back when she asked for suggestions of places to include in the book. What a surprise to find I am mentioned in the acknowledgments! I am excited and honored -- just like I was to finally meet the author at the AME Book Fest in July. When I was there, I bought another copy of her book Understanding Cemetery Symbols and arranged for my gorgeous signed print copy of 100 Things to be sent when it was hot off the presses. There were no strings attached, and my bonus review, shared via Lone Star Book Blog Tours, is my honest opinion -- the only kind I give. 

Planning my staycation while on vacation!
Meeting Tui at AME Book Fest

Tui Snider is an author, speaker, and photographer who specializes in hometown travel. As she puts it, “I used to write fiction – but then, I moved to Texas!” Snider's work has been featured by a variety of outlets, including Coast to Coast AM, LifeHackeasyJet and Authentic Texas. Snider’s award-winning books include Unexpected Texas, Paranormal Texas, Understanding Cemetery Symbols, and more. Tui enjoys connecting with readers all over the globe through her WEBSITE.




◆  WEBSITE  ◆  FACEBOOK  ◆  TWITTER  
◆  AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE  ◆
◆  INSTAGRAM  
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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!
 1ST PRIZE: Signed Copy + $5 Amazon Gift Card
2ND PRIZE: Signed Copy
3RD PRIZE: eBook Copy
(US ONLY)
  September 18-October 2, 2018
CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
9/18/18
Excerpt
9/19/18
Guest Post
9/20/18
Review
9/21/18
Excerpt
9/22/18
Author Interview
9/23/18
Review
9/24/18
Bonus Review
9/25/18
Review
9/26/18
Guest Post
9/26/18
BONUS Review
9/27/18
Review






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Monday, April 2, 2018

The Downfall of Galveston's May Walker Burleson ~ ~ Blog Tour New Release Promo!

THE DOWNFALL OF GALVESTON'S MAY WALKER BURLESON
Texas Society Marriage & Carolina Murder Scandal
by
T. Felder Dorn
Genre: True Crime
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing / The History Press
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Date of Publication: April 2, 2018
Number of Pages: 192 pages, 30 b&w images


Jennie May Walker Burleson was envied for having everything a woman of her time could want—the privileged upbringing, the dazzling good looks, the dashing war hero husband. She was admired for demonstrating that a woman could want more, from the front of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession to the bottom of a Mesoamerican archaeological dig. But as she stood over the body of her husband’s second wife, gun in hand, society’s envy and admiration quickly hardened into pity and scorn. T. Felder Dorn examines the complicated trajectory of her life as socialite, suffragist and shooter. 





CLICK TO BUY ONLINE
┃  Also available  locally in Texas wherever books are sold ┃  



T. Felder Dorn graduated from Duke University in 1954 with a BS in chemistry and was awarded a PhD in that discipline in 1958 by the University of Washington. He was a member of the chemistry faculty at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1958–69 and then served four years on the program staff of the College Board in New York. From 1973 to 1991, he held administrative positions at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, serving as associate dean, dean and vice-president for academic affairs. His last ten years at Kean were spent as professor of chemistry. He retired in 2001. Felder Dorn and his wife, Sara Ruth, have resided in Millburn, New Jersey, since 1973. They have three children and three grandchildren. Dorn has previously published four books: Challenges on the Emmaus Road: Episcopal Bishops Confront Slavery, Civil War, and Emancipation (University of South Carolina Press, 2013); Death of a Policeman, Birth of a Baby: A Crime and Its Aftermath (Xlibris, 2012); The Guns of Meeting Street: A Southern Tragedy (University of South Carolina Press, 2001); and The Tompkins School, 1925–1953: A Community Institution (Attic Press, 1994).


VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

4/2/18
Promo
4/2/18
Bonus Post
4/3/18
Promo
4/4/18
Review
4/5/18
Excerpt
4/6/18
Review
4/7/18
Promo
4/8/18
Author Interview
4/9/18
Review
4/10/18
Promo
4/11/18
Review




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Friday, March 16, 2018

A Target on My Back ~ ~ Blog Tour Promo & Giveaway!

A TARGET ON MY BACK
A Prosecutor's Terrifying Tale of Life on a Hit List
by
Erleigh Wiley
Genre: True Crime
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
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Date of Publication: October 3, 2017
Number of Pages: 176 with b&w photos

Scroll down for the giveaway!


Murders don’t happen in Kaufman County, Texas, a sleepy community where people raise their kids quietly and drive into Dallas for work and entertainment. In 2013, murder came to town when two professional prosecutors were slain in cold blood, simply for doing their jobs: one in broad daylight in plain view of the courthouse, and one in his home, along with his wife. Eric Williams is responsible for all the bloodshed—and he has a list of who to kill next.

A Target on My Back is the first-person true story of Erleigh Wiley, an accomplished lawyer who accepted the job as the new district attorney—after the death of her predecessors—which turned her into the next target on the killer's hit list. This is her story of how she and her family endured the storm of the press, the array of Homeland Security agents assigned to protect them 24/7, and the weight of knowing she was someone’s prey. Though fearing for her life, she served as the prosecution's final witness against the murderer, sealing his fate on death row. This chilling account of how she survived the hit list is a terrifying cat and mouse tale.

PRAISE FOR A TARGET ON MY BACK:


“A legal thriller with a twist: a crazed lawyer and his wife, believing they have been wronged, become a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde and go on a terrifying murder spree. Next on their kill list is the new DA, and her courage in confronting the killers makes this a fascinating read.”
Dennis L. Breo, coauthor of The Crime of the Century: Richard Speck and the Murders That Shocked a Nation 

“John Grisham and Scott Turow had better start looking over their shoulders. . . Wiley’s engaging, nimble style immediately draws you into the action and proves that sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. It’s a good thing for us all that she lived to tell about it!”
David Dean, Dallas attorney, former Texas secretary of state and chair of the North Texas Crime Commission
 
“When murder comes to her town, Erleigh Wiley steps into the shoes of the slain district attorney and finds herself on the killer’s hit list. In A Target on My Back, Wiley tells her personal story of overcoming fear in order to carry out her duty to hold Kaufman County, Texas, together while the killer is brought to justice. Don’t miss it!”
Mike Farris, author of A Death in the Islands: The Unwritten Law and the Last Trial of Clarence Darrow
 
A Target on my Back is a unique first-person look into the world of crime-fighting in which the tables have been turned. The author takes the reader on an all-too-real journey into what it means to stand for justice when your very life is in danger. A must-read.
Robert Kepple, executive director of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association

CLICK TO ORDER ON:
┃  Amazon  ┃  Barnes & Noble  ┃ IndieBound



Erleigh Norville Wiley was born and raised in Kaufman County. She is a graduate of Texas Tech University, Rawls College of Business; where she received a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree with a degree in Finance. She attended law school at Texas Law at The University of Texas in Austin receiving her Doctorate of Jurisprudence.
In 1990, Judge Wiley joined the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office. Her goal was to prosecute the criminals and protect innocent children and victims who have no voice. She was promoted to supervising attorney-training other new attorneys and managing fourteen different courts.

Wiley takes an active role in her community by volunteering. Some of her board work includes Chairman of the Kaufman County Juvenile Board, Trustee of Texas Health Resources- Kaufman, Kaufman County Children’s Advocacy Center and Kaufman County Children’s Shelter Board member.

Wiley has been lauded by various organizations for her work in the legal community as a Judge and as the Criminal District Attorney in Kaufman County. Some of the most notable were in 2013, from the State Bar of Texas, Outstanding Leadership-Profiles of Courage Award and Texas District & County Attorney’s Association, Lone Star Prosecutor Award; as well as the Dallas Black Police Officer’s Association with the Paved the Way Award in 2015.

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3/16/18
Excerpt
3/16/18
Bonus Post
3/17/18
Review
3/18/18
Author Interview
3/19/18
Review
3/20/18
Author on Video
3/21/18
Author on Video
3/22/18
Review
3/23/18
Author on Audio
3/24/18
Author Interview
3/25/18
Review



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