For 13 consecutive years at Alumni Weekend, Trinity University has featured alumni who have become authors with a book review and signing. On Saturday, Oct. 8, alumni authors will gather at the William Knox Holt Conference Center at 106 Oakmont Court from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to share their work with the greater Trinity community. Included here is a listing of the authors and their books.
Beth Bando Bontley ’75, What I Learned from an Onion: Big Wisdom from little things.
Inspired by nature, Bando Bontley wrote What I Learned from an Onion, a book that features 13 vignettes about the wisdom held in nature. The book calls attention to the little things in life that can bring everyday joy to the reader.
Delora Alyce Domain ’99, Dominic’s Nemesis and When Lucifer Met Calamity
Dominic’s Nemesis is a historical gothic romance novel where the main character, Dominic Ambrosi, struggles to live a peaceful life away from prying eyes and innuendo. In When Lucifer Met Calamity, a contemporary comic romance, fate brings Lucifer and Calamity together for a joint take-down of a common enemy.
Marguerite Martin Gray ’83, Hold Me Close: Revolutionary Faith (Book One)
This novel takes readers into pre-revolutionary South Carolina and lives of Louis Lestarjette, a Frenchman, and Elizabeth Elliott, the daughter of prominent British citizen. Lestarjette searches for meaning into a society on the brink of rebellion and Elliott trusts in God in uncertain times. Hold Me Close is historical Christian fiction.
Marjorie McLane Maxfield ’69, The Write Stuff: A Modern Guide to Personal Stationery and Weddings: 3rd Edition
Wedding, etiquette, and stationary expert McLane Maxfield published the third edition of The Write Stuff in 2013. The book is an insider’s guide to etiquette and tells readers “what is done, why, when, and what you should not be caught doing.” Once again, McLane Maxfield offers insight into today’s weddings for the modern bride.
Jim Nelon ’71 ’74, Pursuing A Dream: A Wandering Executive’s Journeys into Indonesia and Pursuing A Dream: A Wandering Executive’s Journeys into The Philippines
As a child, Nelon imagined traveling to faraway countries and untouched places. During lulls in his work as an executive, Nelon decided to live out some of his childhood imaginings and went to Indonesia and the Philippines on separate occasions. Through narratives and photography, both books feature the people Nelon has met, the places he has visited, and the adventures he has undertaken.
Anita Belles Porterfield ’84 and John Porterfield, Death on Base: The Fort Hood Massacre
Death on Base is an in-depth look at the events surrounding the mass murder that took place on Nov. 5, 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas. Anita and John Porterfield investigate the life of U.S. Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan and his connections to the Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and Al Qaeda. The book also explores the paradox that the shooting was classified as workplace violence rather than a terrorist act.
Elizabeth Stuller Kirk ’98, Margin+Mission: A Prescription for Curing Healthcare's Cost Crisis
The goal of Margin + Mission: A Prescription for Curing Healthcare’s Cost Crisis is to share ideas to help solve the cost crisis in healthcare. The mantra “No Margin, No Mission” provides a call to action and serves as the inspiration for this book. The book addresses health care costs in the U.S. and discusses the viability of the future of hospitals and health systems.
Jim Peyton ’65, Classic Tex-Mex Cooking
Peyton’s latest cookbook brings culinary sophistication to American kitchens with a collection of outstanding recipes and the lore surrounding the most popular dishes ordered in Tex-Mex restaurants. This cuisine has become enormously popular not just in Texas but across the U.S. and the world.
William Mohammad Razavi ’95, 27 Short Plays About Being Murdered in a Hotel by ABBA: a play and Julie: a new version of August Strindberg's Miss Julie
27 Short Plays features Detectives Asta and Greta in the wake of the mysterious crime spree at a hotel. Julie is a new version of August Strindberg's Miss Julie. In the modernized twist, the play follows Julie, the daughter of an auto dealer, as she becomes involved with an older man.
Denise Barkis Richter ’83, 100 Things To Do in San Antonio Before You Die
In 100 Things To Do in San Antonio Before You Die, Richter talks about San Antonio as a large, cosmopolitan city with a small-town feel. She welcomes the reader to “America’s best town” and encourages them to interact with the city through a list of 100 things every person visiting or living in the Alamo City should do in their lifetime.
Stacy Slaughter ’93 ’94, The Never List (Love Across Londons, Book One), Rescue (By Eyes Unseen, Book One), and She Hates Me Not (Richer in Love, Book One)
Stacy Slaughter, writing as F.E. Greene, brings three separate novels to Alumni Weekend. The Never List follows a London bookseller and a time-traveling journalist as they fall in love in the midst of a search for hidden treasure. Rescue introduces the reader to a young woman who discovers an invisible castle and meets its enigmatic king. The king opens her eyes to the world’s unseen evil and invites her to join the outcasts who fight it. She Hates Me Not is a romance where Lou Aucoin ends up on a blind date with a man she is supposed to hate. Her heart and her safety are both at risk when she finds herself falling in love.
Christina Soontornvat ’02, The Changelings
Soontornvat’s first novel follows older sister Izzy as she searches for her kid sister Hen inside a magical fairy world she only dreamed existed. Suddenly on her own, Izzy encounters a group of changelings, or fairy creatures, who may or may not be able to help save her sister. The Changelings was originally devised as a bedtime story for Soontornvat’s nieces.
Susan Montgomery Wendler ’71, Is It Treason? or Not?: The Constitution’s Law of Treason and the American Perception in the 21st Century
Wendler examines what exactly can be considered treason under the U.S. Constitution with Is It Treason? or Not? The book clarifies what it means to commit a treasonable offense by examining what the Constitution states, what judges have decided, and how current events are shaping attitudes about treason.
Retired English professor Robert Flynn will serve as the moderator. English professor Peter Balbert and retired religion professor Doug Brackenridge will also present their books at the event on Oct. 8.
- Dr. Peter Balbert - D.H. Lawrence and the Marriage Matrix: Intertextual Adventures in Conflict, Renewal, and Transcendence.
- Dr. Doug Brackenridge – Trinity University: A Tale of Three Cities paperback edition
- Dr. Bob Flynn - Holy Literary License: The Almighty Chooses Falliable Mortals to Write, Edit and Translate GodStory
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