Our website update on member news is sort of a catch-as-catch-can activity whenever our volunteer webmaster gets around to it, but our monthly email newsletter, FOOTNOTES, sent to dues-paying members, includes the latest news about our members in much greater detail, interesting facts about writing and publishing, and information on upcoming writer events of interest to Houston area writers.

2007 Member News

Farewell to Alice O'Brien Borchard. Alice Borchard died July 24, 2007. Alice lived in Houston and was the sister of Anne Rice and an aunt to Christopher Rice. She was a gracious speaker at Houston writers conferences. Alice, a wonderful writer, was in her mid 50s when the first of her novels, Devoted, was published in 1995. She is perhaps best known for a trilogy about werewolves in medieval Rome. In The Silver Wolf, Night of the Wolf and The Wolf King, the orphan Regeane and the gladiator Maeniel, both part werewolf and part human, contend with bullying chieftains, embattled emperors and supernatural interventions. The last book in the series was published in 2001.

GEORGE CHAMBERS' (aka Zach Rogers)  novella, Dating the Alphabet, will begin in The Public News, Houston's Art & Entertainment Resource Newsweekly and continue for 20 installments, no less! You can pick up a copy without charge at your locations in Montrose, Rice Village, Downtown and Southtown as well as Humble, Spring, Jersey Village, Klein, Katy, The Woodlands and Atascocita.

HARRY HUNSICKER's third novel, Cross Hairs, is in bookstores now. Published in August 2007 by St. Martins Press, Publisher's Weekly describes Harry's writing as "Hunsicker has a flair for turning phrases, and his broken, wounded characters could have stepped straight from the pages of Cornell Woolrich's despairing stories." Harry is the 2007 President of Mystery Writers of America Southwest Chapter and won second place in the Fort Bend Writers Guild 2003 Workshop Writing Competition for his novel, Still Rivers Run Dead.

RICK NELSON first mystery novel, Bound by Blood, a winner in a previous FBWG novel contest is heading for publication. Rick will sign Bound By Blood at Murder by the Book on Feb. 21, 2008. You can read more about the book, a character-driver police procedural, at Rick's website.

ROSEMARY POOLE-CARTER new book, Women of Magdalene, will be released on Sept. 1, 2007. She will do a signing at Murder by the Book on October 27, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. Booklist describes Women of Magdalene as "a fine mix of thriller, historical fiction, and Southern Gothic."

KAY FINCH is the winner of our Summer 2007 Novel Contest for her novel, Relative Chaos. You'll find the complete list of winners in all categories of the contest here.

L.B. COBB was a guest author at the International Mystery Writers Festival June 12-17, 2007 in Owensboro, Kentucky. L.B. gave a master workshop and signed her novels, Splendor Bay and Promises Town. The line up of mystery guest authors included Sue Grafton, Stuart Kaminsky, Robert Levinson, Cordelia Frances Biddle, James W. Hall, Beverle Graves Myers, Tasha Alexander, Kit Ehrman, and James J. Holcomberg, Lance Rucker, John Jakes, and Ira Levin.

The Fall 2006 Fort Bend Writers Guild Mini-Workshop was held at the Sugar Land Barnes & Noble on Saturday, November 18, 2006. Award wining author SANDRA WORTH, author of The Rose of York Trilogy, talked about "Promoting the Sale of Your Published Novel."

JOE MARZIOTTI announces that Chris: A Memoir, the story of his son's stuggle with lukemia, is now in bookstore. Chris: A Memoir is gathering five-star reviews. Joe recently participated in the November 4/5, 2006, Story Telling and Book Fair at Dewberry Farms, Brookshire, Texas.

Fall is the time for nationwide Sisters in Crime events and several FBWG members participated in book events at area book stores. Kay Finch participated in the mystery writers panel at Borders in the Fountains in Stafford on Saturday, September 16, 2005. L.B. Cobb was on the speakers panel Saturday, September 23, 2006, at the Borders Westchase book event that included Julie Wray Hermann, Pauline Baird Jones, and Gayle Wigglesworth. The Sisters in Crime grand finale Champagne party styled Friday the 13th on October 13, 2006, at Murder by the Book, 2342 Bissonnet Blvd. included acclaimed Texas mystery authors Susan Albert, Robert E. Armstrong, Bill Crider, L. B. Cobb, Diana L. Driver, Dottie Enderlee, Kay Finch, L.C. Hayden, Julie Wray Herman, Pauline B. Jones, Leann Sweeney, Gayle Wigglesworth, and Vickie Williams.

Roger Paulding's THE PICKLED DOG CAPER, released in November 2005, is a five-star read.

L.B. COBB's set-in-Houston mystery, PROMISES TOWN, made the HTexas Magazine's list of "Hot Summer Books." In the May 1995 print edition of HTexas Magazine, Meghana Kulkarni's spotlight on local writing talent described Promises Town as "a perfect read for any mystery buff."

RICK RIORDAN has two June 28 releases: MISSION ROAD, which continues the Tres Navarre mystery series, and THE LIGHTNING THIEF, the first in a series geared toward ages 9-14. Rick will sign THE LIGHTNING THIEF on Thursday, June 9, 5-7 PM at The Twig Book Shop, 5005 Broadway, San Antonio.

Samples of CHRIS ROGERS' new book, SLICE OF LIFE, is posted on her website. Chris, author of the smash hits BITCH FACTOR, RAGE FACTOR, and CHILL FACTOR was a speaker at our Spring 2005 workshop.

LB COBB's second novel, PROMISES TOWN, received glowing reviews from Mystery Scene Magazine and Review of Texas Books. It has been selected by the Texas State Library and Archives for the Talking Book Program, which provides free audio books to Texas library patrons with disabilities.

TEENA MAENA's feature article about the Rosenwald schools received the Texas historical Commission award and an honorable mention in Writer's Digest feature article category.

LEANN SWEEENY's second book, Shoot from the Lips, in her Yellow Rose Mysteries series, A WEDDING TO DIE FOR, is due out in January 2007.

PEGGIE HERRON MILLER's novel, The Lucas Stick, was released by Panther Creek Press in August 2006.

JOAN UPTON HALL has signed a 3-novel contract for her futuristic suspense trilogy with Zumaya Publishing, a British Columbia company with a branch office in Austin.

MARTY BRANIFF's novel, Step Over Rio, won the 2005 Writer's League of Texas Best Novel Award in the Mystery-Thriller-Action-Adventure category.

CAROL DENNIS first of three dragon books is scheduled for hardcover release by Wildside Press.

If you have member book news, email FBWG. If you're a member with a website and would like to exchange links with Fort Bend Writers Guild, first put a link on your site, then send an email to webmaster.

MEMBER WEBSITES

Cobb, L. B.
Hall, Joan Upton
Havens, Sam
Herman, Julie Wray
Hunsicker, Harry
Marziotti, Joe
Nolan, Rebecca
Paulding, Roger
Poole-Carter, Rosemay
Reeves, B.K.
Riordan, Rick
Rogers, Chris
Smith, S. Owen
Walther, Rodney

MEMBER BOOKS

BERGERON, LARRY: Unknowing Savior

COBB, LB: Splendor Bay
Promises Town
Old-Fashioned Recipes

DEVLIN, MICHELLE: Afraid of the Dark

EWING, BARBARA: Till Murder Do Us Part

FINCH, KAY: Final Decree

HALL, JOAN UPTON: Demystifier

HERMANN, JULIE WRAY: Three Dirty Women Mystery Series

HUNSICKER, HARRY: Still Rivers, Cross Hairs 

IRELAND, DAWN: The Puppy Baby Book

KLEIN, GEORGE: Dissensions

MARTIN, JOAN: Yankee Girl

MARZIOTTI, JOE:
Chris: A Memoir

MILLER, PEGGIE HERRON: The Lucas Stick

PAULDING, ROGER: The Pickled Dog Caper

POOLE-CARTER, ROSEMARY: What Remains, Women of Magdalene

REEVES, B.K.: My Buffalo Soldier

ROGERS, CHRIS: Bitch Factor, Rage Factor, Chill Factor

SHELBURNE, BILI MORROW:
Blackbirds and Butterflies

SMITH, S. OWEN: Year of the Tiger

TERRY, ADDISON: Rush

ARE YOU A MISSING LINKS?

If you are a "dues paying" member who used to have a website link from FBWG but now find it missing, that's because we got a "page not there" message the last time we did a links check. To get your link back, first add a link to Fort Bend Writers Guild on your links or resources page (or even your home page), then send an email to our web coordinator with a link to your current website address to have a link to your website added to this page.

Use this link for linking to Fort Bend Writers Guild: http://www.fortbendwritersguild.org.

If you are a new member with a website or a book, first put a link on your website to FBWG and then send an email to the website coordinator with a link to your website and a link to your book at the Amazon or Barnes and Noble website. Then be patient. Websites updating is a volunteer function.

FALL 2008 WORKSHOP!

Contest Entry and early registration for the 2008 Fall Workshop is now open for the Fall Workshop! See the WORKSHOPS page for details or contact us by EMAIL.