On December 8th I will take part in the first Ben Wheeler Book Festival. If you’ve never been to Ben Wheeler, it’s a typical small Texas town with one main street.

Like a lot of rural towns, it was on the verge of drying up, but someone from the city (Dallas, I think) took an interest in it. They came in and renovated all the buildings, and gave it new life.

It’s located close enough to Tyler and Canton, there’s plenty to do in the area. And just up the road is Edom, Texas which boasts many artisans, along with Blue Moon Gardens, a terrific plant nursery.

So, if you’re in the area on December 8th, come by to see me along with 20 more authors, who will be signing, selling, and talking about their books. I will speak at 3:15.

Below is the press release:

The first Ben Wheeler Book Festival, Dec. 8, brings together more than 20 authors including two of Texas’ leading writers to celebrate and share the written word and more. Genres represented include general fiction, historical fiction, Christian mystery and fiction, mystery, suspense, western, romantic mystery, humor, inspirational/self help, poetry, short fiction, music criticism, essays, romance, detective, children’s fiction and poetry, photography and more. Authors will sell, sign, and talk about their books and the writing and publishing processes.

It’s free to attend, and is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the historic and beautifully restored Elwood School House, 5475 FM 858 in downtown Ben Wheeler.
Special guests are Joe Nick Patoski and Joe Lansdale. Patoski will be at the fair from 10-11:45 a.m. with his new, nationally acclaimed book The Dallas Cowboys: The Outrageous History of the Biggest, Loudest, Most Hated, Best Loved Football Team in America, a definitive, 805 page history. Patoski has written and co-written biographies of Selena and Stevie Ray Vaughan, collaborated with photographer Laurence Parent on books about the Texas Mountains, the Texas Coast, and Big Bend National Park, all published by University of Texas Press, and other books. He also recorded the oral histories of B.B. King, Clarence Fountain of the Blind Boys of Alabama, Memphis musician and producer Jim Dickinson, Tejano superstar Little Joe Hernandez, and 15 other subjects for the Voice of Civil Rights oral history project, some of which appeared in the book My Soul Looks Back in Wonder by Juan Williams, published by Sterling, and rode on the The Voices of Civil Rights bus tour, a 70 day journey across the nation where personal oral histories on civil rights were collected for the Library of Congress.