Historical Fiction / Texas History / 20th Century / Independent Women Publisher : Stoney Creek Publishing Group Publication date : October 1, 2025 Print length : 354 pages
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ABOUT THE BOOK: What is the true meaning of family?
Imogene Good finds herself wrestling with this question when, still grieving her mother’s death, she abandons a promising teaching career to open a boarding house in the near-lawless oil boomtown of Borger, Texas. Alone.
The business thrives, love arrives in the form of mysterious Texas Ranger, and Imogene takes in a stray dog and a runaway cousin from the Good family farm in East Texas. But months later, as fatigue, mounting threats, and violence against her business threatens to overwhelm her, she finds refuge in the contents of a trunk she carted to town after her mother’s death.
In it, Imogene finds secrets about the women who raised her that changes her life and her understanding of family. Can the Good women build a new life from the ashes of hardship on the inhospitable plains of the 1920s Texas Panhandle?
Inspired by historical events, A Family of Good Women is a compelling tale of inner strength, the bonds of family, and the power of the human spirit.
I don't spend time on plot summary, so please read the book synopsis above.
HALL WAYS REVIEW: WOW! Spectacular story, spectacular writing, and A Family of Good Women by Teddy Jones gives me all the feels.
Reading A Family of Good Women was just the boost I needed
as a reader; how amazing it is to seamlessly enjoy and get lost in the
world a talented writer creates. And this world, set in the late 1920s (but
spanning years earlier), is intriguing.
“The scenery here—oil derricks and shotgun houses with
nary a tree in sight unless you count the mesquites out on the edge of town—was
different from the green lushness of Central Texas. The Texas Panhandle takes
some getting used to.”
Living in the Panhandle area of Texas ain’t for sissies, even
in modern times, but in 1929, it was even tougher, especially in the rough and often
lawless oil boom towns. And for twenty-three-year-old Imogene Good, an educated
woman serving meals to the oilfield workers, it’s even rougher. But this gal is
no shrinking violet, even when some of the men try to push her around and
threaten violence. She uses her smarts, makes connections, and takes control through
her wit, spirit, and spunk. She’s a strong woman, but she also recognizes her
vulnerabilities, and that – along with her sassy red shoes – make her pop to
life.
“I love that time between sleep and waking where I see
the past and the future all together, where ideas drop into my mind like
feathers drifting on a breeze from a cloudless sky.”
In A Family of Good Women, the writing is dreamy,
lyrical, and evocative. I finished reading
this book nearly six weeks ago, but the story remains fresh in my mind. I also learned lots of new-to-me (but old)
terminology, and the Author’s Note refers to the Women’s Commonwealth of Belton,
Texas, which inspired the author to weave the tale that ultimately became the
book -- and sent me down a researching rabbit hole to learn more.
I feel like the characters, along with the lovable dog, Big
Guy, must still be doing their thing out in the Panhandle, in some kind of time
warp where it’s 1930 or so. That’s the power of Teddy Jones’s writing. I highly
recommend snagging a copy of A Family of Good Women and indulging in fascinating
historical fiction and immersing yourself in engaging storytelling that’s sprinkled
with a side of sass.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Since completing a graduate degree in creative writing in 2012, Teddy Jones has made creating fiction her full-time occupation. She’s had six novels and a collection of short stories published and collected some prizes along the way. Jackson’s Pond, Texas was finalist in the Women Writing the West Willa Award for contemporary fiction in 2014, and one of her short stories won the Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition first prize medal in 2015. Marva Cope, another novel, was named finalist for the Sarton Award in 2024.
Jones earned a degree in nursing and a doctorate in education, worked as a family nurse practitioner and was founding dean of the School of Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She focused on rural health promotion and was a monthly columnist for The Farmer Stockman for thirteen years. When she and her husband decided in 2001 to leave their “real jobs” and begin farming, opportunity presented itself. “If you’re going to write fiction, now’s the time,” she told herself. She’s been at it ever since.
A Sci-Fi Satire of Alien Espionage, Southern Charm & Chaos on Earth!
First-time novelist Paul McGrath delivers a sharp, witty, and wildly entertaining sci-fi satire that asks: What if an alien held up a mirror to America—and we didn’t like what we saw?
Anton-7—aka Roy McDonald—was supposed to observe Earth, not get stuck on it. But after missing his ride back to planet Xylodon, he decides to make the most of his exile in Hernando, Mississippi. Breaking the number-one rule of alien espionage—never interfere—he dives headfirst into human affairs, finding friendship, romance, and the simple joys of a good cup of coffee and a highly anticipated trip to Buc-ee's.
But when tragedy strikes, Anton-7 takes matters into his own hands, setting off a whirlwind of chaos that shakes both Earth and Xylodon.
To learn more about the book, look for #LoneStarLitLeft on your preferred social media platform.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul McGrath is an award-winning journalist and educator whose career spans five decades. He spent thirty-seven years working at the Houston Chronicle after stints in Conroe, Lubbock, and Lockhart, Texas. He currently teaches at Texas A&M University.
From the author of the French Letters trilogy comes a sweeping historical adventure full of unforgettable Texas legends!
Six years after the fall of the Alamo, Mexican armies invade freely across the Rio Grande, and Texas is but one skirmish away from losing its hard-won independence.
Against this backdrop, naïve surveyor Alexandre LaBranche accepts a dubious commission to map the Rio Grande boundary between Texas and Mexico but soon finds himself far out of his depth.
Laced with exuberant, Texas-sized historical figures such as Sam Houston, Mirabeau Lamar, and Jack Hays, Dangerous Latitudes is a quest across a war-torn frontier that becomes a race to save two hundred captured Texans who the Mexican army has marked for death.
Jack’s previous books include the multi-award-winning French Letters trilogy, about the American generation that came of age in World War II and their children, Shades of the Deep Blue Sea, and A Novel Approach (the accepted text used by the MWSA to introduce veterans to the basics of writing).
In 1971, famed astronaut Alan Shepard returned from the moon and went to get a haircut. Before settling into the barber’s chair in Webster, Texas, near NASA’s Mission Control, Shepard gave his longtime barber and friend, Carlos Villagomez, an autographed golf ball.
During his Apollo 14 moonwalk, Shepard had conducted a world-famous demonstration of gravity by hitting a golf ball in an out-of-this-world sand trap. It took him two tries.
Carlos, a Navy combat veteran and barber for numerous astronauts, says Shepard gave him the ball immediately after he returned to earth and was released from quarantine.
Had Shepard taken a third ball to the moon? And did he give it to his barber as a token of their long friendship?
The debate provides a backdrop for The Barber, The Astronaut, and The Golf Ball, a story of two extraordinary men and their lasting friendship. The book offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes of America’s space program at its pinnacle and shows the ordinary people who supported one of the nation’s most monumental scientific endeavors.
PRAISE FOR THE BARBER, THE
ASTRONAUT, AND THE GOLF BALL:
It’s perfect!! Barbara and Ed capture Daddy and his long friendship with Carlos.
--Laura Shepard, Daughter of Alan Shepard
Brings back the glory days of the U.S. Space Program and the importance of the "little people" who made it happen. We see stern Shepard in a new and admirable light - in Shepard's high regard for the vast team of dedicated supporters who enabled astronauts to succeed. --Charlie Duke, Apollo Astronaut
HALL WAYS REVIEW: Reading THE BARBER, THE ASTRONAUT, AND THE GOLF BALL feels like sitting in your parents’ or grandparents’ kitchen, listening to them tell the stories of the olden days. It’s familiar; it’s comfortable; it’s fascinating. One can practically see the authors’ grins and grimaces and hear the chuckles and chokes of tears. The stories and people are personal to them, and despite the otherworldly element, that personal element is what makes for a down-to-earth and memorable book.
From celebrity politicians, actors, and astronauts to the local heroes who lived in the NASA community, the authors’ respect for them all shines. But their level of admiration for the two main personalities of THE BARBER, THE ASTRONAUT, AND THE GOLF BALL – barber Carlos Villagomez and astronaut Alan Shepard – makes the pages of the book glow.
Through extensive research and lots of interviews, Barbara Radnofsky and Ed Supkis (who are the married co-authors of this book and co-owners of Brazos Bookstore) transport readers back through history, literally to the moon and back. But the barber, astronaut, and golf ball are only part of many stories. Readers learn about the authors’ parents, impressive in their own accomplishments, and their early ties to NASA and Space City. Again, the authors’ pride is palpable. The extensive Introduction gives the authorsa good excuse to brag on their parents (rightfully so) and readers a chance to be impressed.
“There are many brilliant, helpful and kind people who aren’t famous at all. They surround us. And we should celebrate them and recognize them for their greatness.”
Astronaut and barber are both men who served their country, but that bond was only a small part of what made Carlos and Alan friends. And really, the Alan Shepard parts, sprinkled throughout, almost take a back seat to Carlos’s experiences. At its core, THE BARBER, THE ASTRONAUT, AND THE GOLF BALL is really an ode to Carlos, an extraordinary man in his own right, and the blessing he continues to be who those who cross his path.
Beyond the extensive quotes from primary sources, many given exclusively to the authors, included in the book are photographs, which really help readers connect & visualize. (No attribution or captions are under the photos, and I would have liked to have those.) And holy cow — the information included in the Acknowledgments & Sources sections are like a whole bonus book. Readers who love to know the inside skinny and fine details will relish the last third of the book.
Radnofsky and Supkis have produced a well written and heartwarming biography. Additional copy editing would make it less repetitious and better suited for a wider audience. These tweaks would take the book to the next level – from really good to really great.
THE BARBER, THE ASTRONAUT, AND THE GOLF BALL is a treasure especially to the authors’, Shepard, and Villagomez families. What a gift it is to have this written record to cherish and pass down to future generations so this unique era of American history is not forgotten.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Barbara Radnofsky and Ed Supkis grew up in the 1960s in the shadow of NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center and married in 1982. They have three children and five grandchildren. The couple —with many other community members — are co-owners of Brazos Bookstore, an independent bookseller. As children of NASA scientists, Barbara and Ed had front-row seats to the development of the space program and the community built around it on rural cow pastures near Webster, Texas.
Barbara Radnofsky is a writer, mediator, teacher, and lawyer. She’s the author of "A Citizen’s Guide to Impeachment," a nonpartisan explanation of U.S. constitutional impeachment history and practice.
Ed Supkis, MD is a board-certified anesthesiologist specializing in cardiac anesthesia. He served as Director of Quality Assurance for the Division of Anesthesiology and as Medical Director of Respiratory Care for the Division of Surgery and Anesthesiology.
Kate Caldwell is a 72-year-old romance novelist writing under the nom de plume, Desiree Desire. With more than thirty bestsellers to her credit, Kate is considered an authority on romance. Her personal life, however, has been lacking in the love department for a long time, and she has all but given up hope of finding a true, romantic connection. Her latest series, about a rakish eighteenth-century pirate, has been a struggle. Her struggle with her own creative processes boils over on a stormy night, when Captain Edward Peregrine, a pirate of the Caribbean during the year 1721, begins appearing to her as she sleeps. Convinced that Edward is a figment of her imagination, Kate happily accepts his return visits, and the two collaborate on the first two books of the series. Then, Edward suddenly stops appearing, and Kate is frustrated with her publisher’s demands for the next book.
In desperation, she decides to take a two-week cruise with her granddaughter, Ellie, hoping the chance to relax and watch the waves breaking in the beautiful waters of the Caribbean will reset her creative process. Little did Kate know that troubled waters lay ahead or that she’s in for the adventure of her life, and possibly, true love at long last.
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