Named a “Top Pick” by RT Book Reviews Named a “Fall Must-Read” by RedbookMag.com * PopSugar * Parade Magazine * Brit + Co * SoulCycle Hailed as a “Best Fiction Book by Women of Color” at Bustle.com Pitched as “a poor man’s Halle Berry,” forty-one-year-old soap star Jo Randolph, has successfully avoided waiting tables since she left Midland, Texas at eighteen. But then, in the span of twenty-four hours, Jo manages to lose her job, burn her bridges in Hollywood, and accidentally burn down her lover/director’s beach house—after which she is shipped home to Texas by her agent to stay out of sight while she sorts out her situation. The more Jo reluctantly reconnects with her Texas “roots” and the family and friends she left behind, the more she regains touch with herself as an artist and with what is meaningful in life beyond the limelight. The summer of 2007 is cathartic for Jo, whose career and lifestyle have allowed her to live like a child for forty years, but who now must transition to making grown-up decisions and taking on adult responsibilities. In the Heart of Texas is a wry, humorous commentary on the complexities of race, class, relationships, politics, popular culture, and celebrity in our current society.

My name is Texas and this is my story. The daughter of a Southern Baptist pastor, I ran away from home when I was 17. For 28 years I traveled a path that took me to places from which few return. Unhealthy relationships and unbridled lusts corrupted my view of freedom and left me cornered in addiction--financed by crafty manipulation and drug dealing. My tainted knowledge of love and polluted desire for escape kept me on a treacherous treadmill that continually fed the heartache of those I loved. But, through it all, the One who loved me unconditionally remained. This is my unvarnished account of the years I spent running and what brought that season to its redeeming end.

Riley Hayes, the playboy of the Hayes family, is a young man who seems to have it all: money, a career he loves, and his pick of beautiful women. His father, CEO of HayesOil, passes control of the corporation to his two sons; but a stipulation is attached to Riley's portion. Concerned about Riley's lack of maturity, his father requires that Riley 'marry and stay married for one year to someone he loves'. Angered by the requirement, Riley seeks a means of bypassing his father's stipulation. Blackmailing Jack Campbell into marrying him ""for love"" suits Riley's purpose. There is no mention in his father's documents that the marriage had to be with a woman and Jack Campbell is the son of Riley Senior's arch-rival. Win-win. Riley marries Jack and abruptly his entire world is turned inside out. Riley hadn't counted on the fact that Jack Campbell, quiet and unassuming rancher, is a force of nature in his own right. This is a story of murder, deceit, the struggle for power, lust and love, the sprawling life of a rancher and the whirlwind existence of a playboy. But under and through it all, as Riley learns over the months, this is a tale about family and everything that that word means.

Texas is a diverse state. But the one thing that binds Texans more than their state pride, even more than religion, is football. For the many towns and cities of Texas, high school football is more than a sport or an extracurricular activity—it’s the glue of their community. Author Gray Levy, a high school football coach for more than two decades, became disillusioned with the state of the education system nationwide and traveled to Texas, a place where high school football still matters, to see just what schools and communities were doing right. What he found will both confirm and debunk common presumptions about high school football in Texas, a complex phenomenon that varies by region, school size, and the ethnic diversity of the Lone Star State.

Three sisters who were also Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders reveal the behind-the-scenes glamour, exploitation, and excitement they experienced as members of the most famous cheerleading squad in the country. Reprint.

Welcome to Texas—home of cowboys, cattle, and NASA—where "Friendship" is the motto folks live by. Remember the Alamo, where a brave Army fought against Santa Anna; visit Big Bend National Park and try to spot a Bear; and go to the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame to discover the women who Conquered the Old West. Celebrate Texas in this alphabetical tour from Laura Krauss Melmed and Frané Lessac, the bestselling duo who brought us Capital! Washington D.C. from A to Z and New York, New York! The Big Apple from A to Z. With a treasure trove of facts and bright, bold art, this rootin'-tootin', rip-roarin' tribute to the Lone Star State will have readers shouting "Yee-haw!"

Welcome to Promise, a small town in the heart of Texas where the neighbors are friendly and you just might find love. Nell’s Cowboy Nell Bishop, widowed mother of two children, is turning Twin Canyons into a dude ranch. One of her first guests is Travis Grant: a celebrity of sorts, a wannabe cowboy and an Easterner known for his books about the West. Her kids adore him—and she has to admit she’s drawn to him, too. But it’s too soon to be thinking of love and marriage again. Isn’t it? Lone Star Baby When Amy Thornton shows up in town pregnant and alone, she’s looking for some guidance and compassion, so she turns to Reverend Wade McMillan. He might be a minister, but he’s also a man. An unmarried and very attractive one. But is it as a man that he responds to Amy? Or as a man of God? Maybe it’s both. Amy needs the town’s help to get back on her feet. What she wants is the love of a man named Wade…