September|October Alumni Authors

By Anna Daugherty and Jane Robbins Mize in Sept | Oct 2015, TXEX on August 28, 2015 at 1:31 pm | No Comments

The Carriage House

by Louisa Hall, MA ’09, PhD ’14

Louisa Hall’s debut novel is set in her hometown in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The story focuses on what happens after William Adair awakens from a stroke to discover that his three daughters are struggling through adulthood and that his beloved carriage house is falling into disrepair. On the brink of emotional upheaval, the Adairs must work together to reexamine themselves, rebuild their relationships, and restore their family home.

 

Coming Out Christian in the Roman World

by Douglas Boin, MA ’03, PhD ’09

History buff Boin’s love for ancient Rome is evident in the amount of time he’s spent in the Italian capital. In his second book, he examines the small, persistent group of fourth-century Christians that captured his curiosity most. Boin breaks down the formula of social organization, resilience, and compromise that made the early Christians so influential in Rome, despite their small numbers.

 

 

Death, Taxes, and Cheap Sunglasses

by Diane Kelly, BBA ’88, JD ’90

In Kelly’s latest Tara Holloway novel, our protagonist once again balances career and romance as she fights white-collar crime, while her DEA-agent boyfriend Nick’s stakes get much higher. Sworn to refrain from contact from the outside world while he is on an undercover mission to bring down a violent drug cartel, he surreptitiously reaches out to Tara, potentially putting her in harm’s way.

 

 

Forward Story

by Mark L. Casey, BBA ’94

In Forward Story, Casey is interested in examining the future through forward-thinking stories that encourage a hard look at oneself and the road ahead. Casey goes beyond the typical self-help book. Instead of providing rules to live by, he challenges the reader to take control of their life, to become “the author of your own story.”

 

 

A Rose Blooms in Texas

by Carlos R. Hamilton Jr., BA ’61

Based on artifacts the author uncovered detailing the life of his great-grandmother, Hamilton’s historical fiction novel follows the life of Berta Smith Wootters. Set in East Texas during the Civil War, A Rose Blooms in Texas is the story of a young widow who, in the face of personal tragedy and a turbulent South, manages to keep her family together and have a lasting effect on her community.

 

 

Intimate Grammars

by Anthony K. Webster, PhD ’04

Webster, a linguistic anthropologist, spent more than 10 years working with Navajo poets to create this ethnography of the tribe’s poetry. Webster examines how the tribe assigns emotional value to various written languages, the concept of “ugliness” inherent in Navajo poetry, and the ways in which young Navajo relate to the language through contemporary poetry.

 

 

The Nutcracker Comes to America

by Chris Barton, BA ’93; Illustrated by Cathy Gendron

This picture book tells the story of the Christensen brothers, three small-town ballet dancers who staged the first-ever U.S. production of The Nutcracker. The Christensens learned the story from Russian immigrants, and during World War II, they brought the 19th-century ballet to San Francisco, kicking off what is now a beloved holiday tradition.

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