New Book, "How Did They Die? Murders in Northern Texas 1926-1975" is finally finished!

     Another two years has gone by very fast. It took me two years to write my first book, "How Did They Die? Murders in Northern Texas 1892-1926," and a week later I started my second book. I finished the second book last week and it is available for sale here How Did They Die? Murders in Northern Texas 1926-1975

     This book has 40 stories of horrific murders and it is more gory than the first book. Many of the suspects were electrocuted for their crimes. Most of these stories occurred in and around Wichita Falls, TX and were stories that people had asked me to write.

     For two years, I poured over court records, confessions, police reports and newspaper articles, having stacks of manilla folders in every corner of my home that stood at least two feet tall. You would have been appalled if you walked in my house because at any given time, I had papers sprawled out all over the couch, or on the floor, usually with a cat lying on top of it all, thinking he or she had to protect it. I don't know who feels stranger, me because I have since packed away all of those papers and manilla folders since I am through with the book, or the cats because they can't find something, anything to lie on now that it is all gone.

     Now what do I do? What do the cats do? For me, it's the end of fours years of a habit. Every day I would do research or write, or look for photos, or correspond with a descendant of either a murderer or a victim. For the cats, it means they are now looking for something else to lie on. They haven't been on the couch for days. Tabatha has taken to lying on my purse on the floor instead and Tiger has taken his place back in the window. I now sit twittling my thumbs, feeling like I should be doing something. I guess I will have to clean the house, something that has often been neglected because I have been sitting at the computer all day every day, writing for two years. Maybe the house can wait. I really need to come up with another project!

     I have an idea for a new book. It too, will take some time, but a few times over the last year, people have looked at old postcard images that have been posted on one of my Facebook sites called  Wichita Falls Texas History and said that I should put them all in a book. So, I think I will start gathering old postcards and photos of buildings and businesses that are from the downtown area and put together a photo book about Downtown Wichita Falls. I think I will call it, "Thanks for the Memories, Downtown Wichita Falls, TX Photos" or something like that. (Thank you Sue Bradberry for making that comment!) What do you think about this idea?