Book Notes: 2 Abilene authors have new books
12.8.20
By Glenn Dromgoole
Two more local authors have published new books just in time for the holiday season.
Christmas Story: Retired teacher Sue Gill Harris has written a Christmas book for children – Nana’s Christmas Snowflakes – dealing with the true meaning of Christmas.
She crochets six-sided snowflakes and explains to her grandchildren that each side teaches a special lesson related to the birth of Jesus.
At the end of the book, she provides instructions on how to crochet a snowflake.
We have autographed copies of her book ($10.95 paperback) at Texas Star.
Storyteller: Bill Neal, longtime West Texas lawyer, historian, journalist, rancher, and author, compiled some of his favorite stories in Now You Are Told: A Collection of True Tales from My Yesteryears.
Of course, Bill Neal is quite the story-teller. His earlier books include Getting Away with Murder on the Texas Frontier and Sex, Murder, and the Unwritten Law, dealing with frontier justice in West Texas. During his career as a lawyer, Neal worked both sides of the courtroom – as a district attorney and as a defense attorney.
In his new book, Neal’s stories range from growing up on a ranch to his brief career in journalism in Abilene and Amarillo before heading to law school, and numerous experiences as a rancher and attorney.
The title of the book comes from a really strange and hilarious story about having to prosecute a victimless crime that involved a married woman, her husband, and her “boyfriend,” a Shetland pony.
At one point, as the woman described other people being intimate with various animals, Neal blurted out, “Oh, I had no idea!” To which the woman replied, “Well, now you are told.”
By the way, Bill Neal is not to be confused with former Texas State Historian Bill O’Neal of Carthage. They are good friends, but their names can be a bit confusing, especially since both write books having to do with Texas history. To make it even more confusing, Bill Neal’s middle initial is O. So Bill O. Neal calls Bill O’Neal “apostrophe,” while Bill O’Neal refers to Bill O. Neal as “period.”
Autographed copies of Now You Are Told are available at Texas Star Trading for $19.95 paperback or $29.95 hardcover. We also have autographed copies of most of Neal’s earlier books.
