Surprise! A new book

When my neighbor, Prudence, emailed that she’d gotten my new book, The Second Battle of the Alamo, from Amazon, it came as a total surprise to me. I thought and have been telling people the publication date was March 7, at which time I’ll be in San Antonio for the annual meeting of the Alamo Society at the historic Menger Hotel. So I looked on Amazon, still thinking there must have been a flub, and it’s only available for pre-order. Not so! It released January 10.

So, woohoo! I have a new book out.

This is a book with an unusual back story. Several years ago, Texas author Susan Albert Wittig invited me to join the Work-in-Progress group of the Story Circle Network, an international network of women telling their own stories. So I became part of a small—probably ten or twelve active women—close-knit group. Debra Winegarten of Austin was one of the members. I didn’t know her but had, of course, heard of her mother, Ruthe, an author, activist and historian known primarily for her involvement with Texas and Jewish history. Debra proved in many ways to be her mother’s daughter—unabashedly Texan and Jewish.

Deb was a woman of incredible energy, an author with several projects both published and ongoing, a part-time faculty member at UT, an much-in-demand public speaker who never turned down an opportunity, and a tireless promoter who specialized in Outrageous Requests and taught the rest of us how to use them. She and I shared interests in Texas history and Jewish food, among other things. Deb was under contract to write a book about the second battle of the Alamo, but she kept getting distracted by other projects. She also kept resolving to focus, and I encouraged her because the topic really interested me.

In the winter of 2018 Debra developed some health problems—a persistent hoarseness, a chronically sore hip. She limped along, keeping her busy schedule, but in late spring x-rays revealed overwhelming malignancy throughout her body. She was immediately hospitalized.

One day in June she called me and, in her whispery voice, asked if I would write her book for her. She made one of her outrageous requests to Erin Turner, editor at Two Dot Books (Rowman and Littlefield), and Erin agreed. A new contract was issued, and Deb’s wife, Cindy, sent me a two boxes of research material and a box of books. Debra died in September, and I got her research material shortly after. The manuscript was due in May. I immersed myself in Alamo material and loved every minute of it. It was my kind of subject.

After I turned in the manuscript in March, I submitted a new proposal to Erin, and she issued a contract—more about that another time. I have ongoing sadness that Deb’s life was cut off when she was on such a roll and guilt that I profited from her death. My good friend Carol finally put it in perspective for me when I said, for the umpteenth time, that Deb had opened a door for me. “No,” she said, “she cracked the door. You opened it by doing a good job with what was given you.”

The Second Battle of the Alamo is dedicated to Deb, and the title page reads, “By Judy Alter, based on the research of Debra Winegarten.” And now you know why I’m not writing mysteries right now—I’m deep in Texas history.

The Second Battle of the Alamo is available in bookstores and at https://tinyurl.com/w7n4pe5