austin

"Tells the story of Alice Conroe, a forty year old Texas barbecue owner who has the perfect life, except she and her husband long for a child. Unable to conceive, she's trying desperately to adopt but her destiny is quickly altered by a young woman she's never met. Fearless thirteen-year-old Carla Trujilio is being raised by her grandmother in Honduras along with her four year old twin brothers. Her mother is sending money home from Texas where she's trying to make a better life for her family, but she only has enough to bring one son to her. When Carla's grandmother dies, Carla decides to take her fate into her own hands and embarks on a dangerous journey across the border with Junior, the twin left behind."--Provided by publisher.

"The story of two refugee families and their hope and resilience as they fight to survive and belong in America The . . . acceptance of immigrants and refugees has been central to America's identity for centuries--yet America has periodically turned its back at times of . . . humanitarian need. [This book] is a . . . look at the lives of two women as they struggle for the twenty-first century American dream. Mu Naw, a Christian from Myanmar struggling to put down roots with her family, was accepted after decades in a refugee camp at a time when America was at its most open to displaced families; and Hasna, a Muslim from Syria, agrees to relocate as a last resort for the safety of her family--only to be . . . separated from her children by a sudden ban on refugees from Muslim countries. [The author] tracks the human impacts of America's ever-shifting refugee policy as both women narrowly escape from their home countries and begin the . . . process of resettling in Austin, Texas"--Provided by publisher.

"An uneasy alliance forms as two widows delve into their husbands' deadly and dangerous secrets--as they try to protect their own ... Together, these two widows will face a powerful foe determined to write a false narrative about the murders. In doing so, neither Flora nor Kirsten will remain the women the world thought they were"--.

Julia Jaynes of Austin, Texas, is one of the select, a secret group of humans with abilities bordering on the supernatural, but, unlike her younger sister, she has never been entirely comfortable as part of the "perfect" family--and when she falls for a normal human guy and draws attention to her more-than-normal family she finds herself banished to that most ordinary of institutions: public high school.

Michael Brick is one of those writers who never leaves your side, and what pleasurable company he provides.In reading this collection of his newspaper and magazine stories from Brooklyn, Houston, and beyond, picture the man. Tall, and lanky, and so proud to be Texan, wearing a brown vest and cowboy boots, his narrow reporter?s notebook in his back pocket slapping at his flat ass, as if urging him onward because these blank pages needed filling.Brick?s words breathe life into his subjects. Here is Willy, the world-weary lady bartender at a salt-air bar, and all you need to know is that Her daddy was William, who wanted a son.? Here is Minerva Ramirez, aging with Down syndrome, her hair tied in a floral bow, pretty like Tinkerbell.? And Danny Wimprine, a talented quarterback too small for the N.F.L., whose gorgeous touchdown throws for the New Orleans VooDoo arena football team makes women swoon. And Peter Carmine Gaetano Napolitano, the bartender at the Melody Lanes bowling alley in south Brooklyn, wearing suspenders and a red-trimmed cummerbund, an insurance policy for pants.?Brick brings his characters to life, and brings them along with him to the party. Make room for the Coney Island mermaids, wearing green-sequined bras and knocking back Buds. Another round, please.Proceeds from the book will benefit the Brick family.

"In the late 1800s, the city of Austin, Texas was on the cusp of emerging from an isolated western outpost into a truly cosmopolitan metropolis. But beginning in December 1884, Austin was terrorized by someone equally as vicious and, in some ways, far more diabolical than London's infamous Jack the Ripper. For almost exactly one year, the Midnight Assassin crisscrossed the entire city, striking on moonlit nights, using axes, knives and long steel rods to rip apart women from every race and class. At the time the concept of a serial killer was unthinkable, but the murders continued, the killer became more brazen, and the citizens' panic reached a fever pitch. Before it was all over, at least a dozen men would be arrested in connection with the murders. Along the way, the murders would expose what a newspaper described as "the most extensive and profound scandal ever known in Austin." And yes, when Jack the Ripper began his attacks in 1888, London police investigators did wonder if the killer from Austin had crossed the ocean to terrorize their own city. With vivid historical detail and novelistic flair, Texas Monthly journalist Skip Hollandsworth brings this terrifying saga to life"--.

Presents an irreverent and tongue-in-cheek tour of Austin, Texas, and some of its inhabitants.

Private investigator Tres Navarre accepts a teaching position in Austin and moves in with his computer programmer-entrepreneur brother Garrett, only to flex his detective muscles once again when Garrett's business partner is murdered.

Miranda was the quiet type-until she moved to Austin. Home of th hippest college rock bands, Austin Texas, is a scene. And Miranda is dying to break out of her small-town shell. So she decides to do something totally un-Miranda: learn to play the drums. When crashing the cymbals, the girl's a wild child! Plus there's a perk to her new gig: a cute bass player. Unfortunately Mr. Bass Man isn't exactly looking for love. Can this rocker chick change his tune? Or does finding her own rhythm mean sacrificing true love?.