Books published by publisher Wings Press (TX)

On October 28, 1959, John Howard Griffin underwent a transformation that changed many lives beyond his own—he made his skin black and traveled through the segregated Deep South. His odyssey of discovery was captured in journal entries, arguably the single most important documentation of 20th-century American racism ever written. More than 50 years later, this newly edited edition—which is based on the original manuscript and includes a new design and added afterword—gives fresh life to what is still considered a “contemporary book.” The story that earned respect from civil rights leaders and death threats from many others endures today as one of the great human—and humanitarian—documents of the era. In this new century, when terrorism is too often defined in terms of a single ethnic designation or religion, and the first black president of the United States is subject to hateful slurs, this record serves as a reminder that America has been blinded by fear and racial intolerance before. This is the story of a man who opened his eyes and helped an entire nation to do likewise.

A vivid depiction of the early injustices encountered by a young Mexican-American girl in San Antonio in the 1920's, this book tells the true story of Emma Tenayuca. Emma learns to care deeply about poverty and hunger during a time when many Mexican Americans were starving to death and working unreasonably long hours at slave wages in the city's pecan-shelling factories. Through astute perception, caring, and personal action, Emma begins to get involved and eventually, at the age of 21, leads 12,000 workers in the first significant historical action in the Mexican-American struggle for justice. Emma Tenayuca's story serves as a model for young and old alike about courage, compassion, and the role everyone can play in making the world fairer. Una representación vívida de las injusticias con las que se encuentra una joven mexicano-americana en San Antonio en las décadas de 1920 y 1930, este libro cuenta la historia verdadera de Emma Tenayuca. Emma aprende a preocuparse por la pobreza y el hambre durante una época cuando muchos mexicano-americanos se morían de inanición y trabajaban horas excesivamente largas por sueldos exiguos en las fábricas de pacana. A través de percepción perspicaz, un buen corazón y acción personal, Emma empieza a involucrarse y al final, a los 21 años, lleva a 12.000 trabajadores a tomar acción por la primera vez en la historia de la lucha mexicano-americana por la justicia. El relato de Emma Tenayuca sirve de modelo para tanto los jóvenes como los adultos sobre el valor, la compasión y el papel que puede desempeña quienquiera en hacer más justo el mundo.

A vivid depiction of the early injustices encountered by a young Mexican-American girl in San Antonio in the 1920's, this book tells the true story of Emma Tenayuca. Emma learns to care deeply about poverty and hunger during a time when many Mexican Americans were starving to death and working unreasonably long hours at slave wages in the city's pecan-shelling factories. Through astute perception, caring, and personal action, Emma begins to get involved, and eventually, at the age of 21, leads 12,000 workers in the first significant historical action in the Mexican-American struggle for justice. Emma Tenayuca's story serves as a model for young and old alike about courage, compassion, and the role everyone can play in making the world more fair.

**WINNER, Sarton's Women's Book Award - GOLD**WINNER, Literary Views, FIRST PLACE General Fiction/Novel**WINNER, Nautilus Book Award - SILVER**WINNER, Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) - BRONZE**WINNER, Jewel Kats Special Needs Award**FINALIST, USA Best Book Awards General Fiction**FINALIST, National Indie Excellence Awards**HONORABLE DISTINCTION, A Woman's Write, International Novel CompetitionSchool psychologist Dr. Mary Meyers evaluates students who fail to fit in. While skillfully responding to these children’s emotional needs, she is entirely sealed off from her own. When her mother dies, Mary discovers an artifact from her past, the tattered black hooded coat she had worn throughout third grade. Reuniting with the coat sets in motion a stream of long-forgotten memories of her childhood and her nine-year-old self, a girl with a love of stories who struggled to read even the simplest words. Overwhelmed with intrusions from a past filled with failure, Mary finds her professional practice beginning to crumble as she struggles to separate herself from who she once was.Once Upon a Time a Sparrow artfully weaves past and present into a fabric that reveals the dangers of denying the past, how our imperfections can make us whole, and the abundant possibility of transformation at any stage in life.

Few poets of Western America fill the “organic intellectual” role better than David Lee. His poetry is the real deal when it comes to recording hilariously insightful (and linguistically accurate) observations of rural culture—and America at large—while using a host of astute literary allusions and techniques. Imagine Robert Frost simultaneously channeling Will Rogers and Ezra Pound. Imagine Chaucer with a twang. Bluebonnets, Firewheels, and Brown-Eyed Susans is focused on the women of mid-20th century rural Texas: frontier survivors and the daughters of frontier survivors, indomitable women with tastes that run from Baptist preaching to bourbon-and-branchwater. No element of hypocrisy escapes the poet’s lethal attention. This is an authentic book of the mid 20th century based on actual characters, a paen to women who shaped and molded the poet’s life. It is in many ways a folkloric study of women in hard times: characters, survivors, intellects, harbingers, anonymous influencers. Utah’s first and longest serving Poet Laureate, Lee has received both the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Award in Poetry and the Western States Book Award in Poetry.

School psychologist Dr. Mary Meyers evaluates students who fail to fit in. While skillfully responding to these children’s emotional needs, she is entirely sealed off from her own. When her mother dies, Mary discovers an artifact from her past, the tattered black hooded coat she had worn throughout third grade. Reuniting with the coat sets in motion a stream of long-forgotten memories of her childhood and her nine-year-old self, a girl with a love of stories who struggled to read even the simplest words. Overwhelmed with intrusions from a past filled with failure, Mary finds her professional practice beginning to crumble as she struggles to separate herself from who she once was.Once Upon a Time a Sparrow artfully weaves past and present into a fabric that reveals the dangers of denying the past, how our imperfections can make us whole, and the abundant possibility of transformation at any stage in life.

Silver winner of the 2019 Literary Classics International Book Award for Young Adult Fantasy"A well written and utterly charming coming-of-age tale. With excellent world-building in a realm where magic, elves, and unicorns exist, we are introduced to perfectly flawed and highly relatable characters."About AspiringA coven of witches plots to overthrow a kingdom. One brave woman stands in their way.At her mother’s death-bed, Elisabeth learns her mother’s illness is no accident and that her own life is in danger. Evil witches are plotting to take over the kingdom of Vendale. All alone, naive, and untrained, Elisabeth’s determination is all she has to confront her mother’s murderers as she discovers love at the same time. While Richard’s behaviour sends distracting mixed messages, Elisabeth finds herself stuck in limbo: she is treated like a child but is forced to make adult decisions. Meanwhile, the witches’ plot spins a fateful web around her. Can Elisabeth succeed in the face of insurmountable odds?This is the first part of a two-part story. Becoming, Part 2 of the Siblings' Tale will be available in August 2019.The e-book of Aspiring, Part 1 of the Siblings' Tale also includes exclusive access to "Nyriana's Musings or The Diary of an Equine Companion". This think piece from Elisabeth's horse's perspective is not intended for publication and is only accessible through this e-book. The link to Nyriana's Musings is embedded in a concealed place. This is a treasure hunt. Good luck!

* IndieReader Discovery Awards 2019: Winner of Best First Book (fiction)* Eric Hoffer Book Awards 2019: Finalist, General Fiction* Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2019: Finalist in two categories - Fiction (over 80,000 words) and First Novel (over 90,000 words)What is paradise for a fourteen-year-old boy?For Conrad it's definitely not dusty Los Angeles, where he's stuck living with his mother and his cheeky little sisters. Paradise is the forest where his dad still lives, by the water where everything is beautiful, where he belongs.

Matthew Dickerson takes his readers from tiny mountain streams in the southern Rockies of New Mexico to the mighty Colorado River at the head of the Grand Canyon, to the Hill Country of Texas, exploring these various waters that manage to hold cold-loving trout in the midst of the hot desert landscapes of the American southwest. This lovingly described journey brings us through Dickerson’s own life of discovery and his love of fly fishing, trout, and the rivers where trout live. Though neither an historical nor a scientific text, the writing is informed by both. The book is illustrated by original prints from Texas artist Barbara Whitehead.

Few poets of Western America fill the "organic intellectual" role better than David Lee. His poetry is the real deal when it comes to recording hilariously insightful (and linguistically accurate) observations of rural culture—and America at large—while using a host of astute literary allusions and techniques. Imagine Robert Frost simultaneously channeling Will Rogers and Ezra Pound. Imagine Chaucer with a twang. Bluebonnets, Firewheels, and Brown-Eyed Susans is focused on the women of mid-20th century rural Texas: frontier survivors and the daughters of frontier survivors, indomitable women with tastes that run from Baptist preaching to bourbon-and-branchwater. No element of hypocrisy escapes the poet's lethal attention. This is an authentic book of the mid 20th century based on actual characters, a paen to women who shaped and molded the poet's life. It is in many ways a folkloric study of women in hard times: characters, survivors, intellects, harbingers, anonymous influencers. Utah's first and longest serving Poet Laureate, Lee has received both the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Award in Poetry and the Western States Book Award in Poetry.

In Blood Flower, passionate imagery married to music bursts from each line pushing out the boundaries of Uschuk’s earlier poems. It continues themes in Uschuk’s American Book Award winner, Crazy Love. The poems braid the startling, sometimes brutal stories of her Russian/Czech immigrant family during the McCarthy Era in a conservative Michigan farming community with stories of courageous individuals, especially women, who persevere to love, despite it all. Uschuk’s step-grandfather, father, brother, nephews, and first husband all suffered severe PTSD as combat veterans who returned home from wars that ravished not only their lives, but the lives of the women and children closest to them. This is the history not just of one family but of immigrants in this nation. These poems, although set in landscapes across the globe, commonly draw their imagery and healing from the natural world, the wild world, and the integrity of the human heart.