Non-Fiction Books

RED BOOTS & ATTITUDE speaks to every Texas woman. It echoes her spirit, her strength and her indomitable will. This unique collection, edited by Texas authors Diane Fanning and Susie Kelly Flatau, showcases the fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry of established and emerging Texas Women Writers. Featuring the creative non-fiction of Liz Carpenter (award-winning author of Starts With a Laugh) and Farnoosh Moshiri (Bartheleme Memorial Fellowship for non-fiction, 1996), the poetry of Teresa Palomo Acosta (Voertman Award for Poetry, 1993) and Vicky Charleston (Best Texas Poet-Austin International Poetry Festival, 1995), and the short fiction of Suzy Spencer (New York Times Bestseller) and Ruth Pennebaker (finalist for the Book Publishers of Texas Award for Best Book for Children and Young People, Texas Institute of Letters) and many others.

Ten-Year-Old Krystal Surles Watched In Horror As Her Best Friend Was Murdered At The Hands Of An Intruder. Then with cold-blooded precision he brought a twelve-inch boning knife to Krystal's throat. With a single, violent slash, he severed her windpipe and left her for dead. Miraculously, she survived and would lead authorities to the arrest of 35-year-old Tommy Lynn Sells, a former truck driver, carnival worker, and cross-country drifter... He Aspired To Become "The Worst Serial Killer Of All Time." With no apparent motive and no common pattern to his inconceivable bloodshed, the elusive Sells had carved his way across the country for two decades slaughtering women, men, transients, entire families, teenagers, and even infants with ghoulish abandon. Through The Window is more than an investigation into a crime spree that stunned a nation. It's an utterly terrifying plunge into the unfathomable dark mind of a serial killer, and the heart-wrenching story of the brave child who finally brought him to justice.

An army brat-turned-marine, he saw combat in Vietnam, and returned a decorated soldier. An avid reader, his dreams of being an acclaimed novelist came true. His desire to find love was fulfilled when he married brilliant executive Kathleen Atwater, the first female student accepted at Duke University's School of Engineering. The Petersons seemed the ideal academic couple- well-respected, prosperous, and happy. All that came crashing down in December of 2001, when Kathleen apparently fell to her death in their secluded home in an exclusive area of Durham, North Carolina. But blood spattered evidence and a missing fireplace poker suggested calculated, cold-blooded murder. Her trusted husband stood accused. Prosecutors introduced evidence at trial that sixteen years earlier, Peterson was one of the last people to see his neighbor alive before she was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her home in Germany. A dramatic trial followed in the explosive final chapter of a life that no novelist could ever have conceived... Written in Blood is a 2006 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Fact Crime.

Susan McFarland was a vivacious, successful mother of three young sons. On November 25, 2002, she disappeared. Three days later, her car was found, keys in the ignition. Later that day, her husband reported her missing--and a desperate search began. Her friends and family hoped against hope that Susan was not gone forever. But investigators became increasingly suspicious of Richard McFarland. When the charred, decomposed body of Susan McFarland was finally discovered at an overgrown farmstead outside of San Antonio, a new hunt began--for justice. McFarland maintained his innocence, and investigators only had circumstantial evidence against him. While headlines screamed out new details in the case, and police tried to gather more evidence, a blockbuster trial was about to begin. Then, Richard McFarland finally spoke...and a terrifying, chilling truth came out...

Handsome, charming, and a fixture on the New York City club scene, Dean Faiello had built a thriving beauty business. But money was never enough for Faiello, whose hard-partying ways constantly left him on the edge of ruin. So he did the unthinkable and worked as a cosmetic surgeon--even though he had no medical degree, or training whatsoever. In the spring of 2003, a beautiful, successful woman named Maria Cruz went to "Doctor" Faiello for a relatively simple cosmetic procedure…and succumbed to a fatal complication while under his care. Faiello allegedly buried her corpse beneath a concrete slab at his Newark, New Jersey home--and went on the run. It was only after Cruz's body was found that the true callousness of Faiello's plan would be dissected…and he would be accused of putting her UNDER THE KNIFE

Lisa Nowak was dedicated, smart, and courageous―one of the first astronauts to fly a space shuttle mission after the horrific 2003 Columbia disaster. But that was before a fit of pure, primal jealousy landed her in an airport parking lot in Florida, where Lisa had a fateful, near-fatal confrontation with the woman believed to be her romantic rival. Did Lisa intend to kidnap―or kill―Air Force captain Colleen Shipman because she was involved with fellow astronaut William Oefelein? What was the nature of Lisa's connection with William: True love or dangerous obsession? As the details of Lisa's news-making journey unfolded―she donned a disguise, even wore a diaper during her 900-mile car ride to find Colleen―Americans couldn't help but wonder: Why? In this captivating account, master crime journalist Diane Fanning goes straight to the heart of the case. Through interviews with key family members, friends, and colleagues, the author reveals for the first time the real story behind the headlines―and casts a light on Lisa's groundbreaking fall from grace.

When Pastor Matthew Winkler was found dead at his Fourth Street Church of Christ parsonage in Selmer, Tennessee, both police investigators and parishioners were shaken and mystified: How could evil strike this cradle of faith? Meanwhile, Mrs. Winkler and her three daughters were still missing… A frantic search for Mary Winkler and the girls ensued. Once they were found, on a beach in Alabama, Mary was charged with murdering her husband in cold blood. But why did Mary pull the trigger? What sexual and psychological abuses did she allege she had suffered? In the months that followed, the crime―and the Winkler's marriage―would be exposed by the national media; Mary herself even appeared on Oprah . Set in a world of domineering men, obedient wives, and unshakable faith, this is the true story about what happened to Matthew Winkler and THE PASTOR'S WIFE

When news broke of three-year-old Caylee Anthony's disappearance from her home in Florida in July 2008, there was a huge outpouring of sympathy across the nation. The search for Caylee made front-page headlines. But there was one huge question mark hanging over the case: the girl's mother. As the investigation continued and suspicions mounted, Casey became the prime suspect. In October, based on new evidence against Casey―her erratic behavior and lies, her car that showed signs of human decomposition―a grand jury indicted the young single mother. Then, two months later, police found Caylee's remains a quarter of a mile away from the Anthony home. Casey pled not guilty to charges of murder in the first degree, and she continues to protest her innocence. Did she or didn't she kill Caylee? This is the story of one of the most shocking, confusing, and horrific crimes in modern American history.

By the age of twenty-four, Air Force Staff Sergeant Mike Severance had already survived a series of missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. But his life back at home, in Texas, would prove a lot more dangerous... In the winter of 2005, Mike's wife, a veterinarian named Wendi Mae Davidson, reported him missing. Wendi told police that Mike had been acting erratically-visiting local clubs, staying out late, sometimes not coming home at all. She filed for divorce the very next day. Eventually Mike's body turned up in a stock pond on a private ranch. Investigators described a corpse that was weighted down with two cinder blocks, a rock, a boat anchor, and other equipment. It had also been stabbed forty-one times with a knife. But an autopsy report told a different story: That the cause of death was exposure to pentobarbital and phenobarbital, drugs commonly used in veterinary medicine. All the evidence pointed to Wendi...and soon she would be found guilty of murder in the first degree. Diane Fanning's A Poisioned Passion is the true, shocking story of a war hero and a marriage that ended in cold-blooded murder.

Raynella Dossett Leath said she came home one morning in 2003 and found her husband's body in bed―covered in blood, a Colt .38 by his side. But authorities were suspicious of Raynella's story. Why would her husband of ten years suddenly commit suicide? And if he had taken his own life, why did it appear that three shots were fired? David Leath was not the first of Raynella's husbands to turn up dead. After digging into Raynella's past, police unearthed bizarre, gruesome details surrounding the death of her first husband, who was seemingly trampled by his own cattle. Which led investigators to wonder: Could Raynella have staged his death, too? To those who knew her, Raynella was a loving mother of two, a good neighbor and friend, a nurse who always reached out a helping hand. Was this woman capable of killing both her husbands? And if so: Why did she do it―out of greed, jealousy, revenge? This is the story about what dark secrets were lurking inside HER DEADLY WEB .

SLEEP MY DARLINGS Diane Fanning On January 28, 2011, the Tampa Police Department received a phone call from a woman who was worried about her daughter, Julie Schenecker. A devoted Army wife and mother of two, Julie had sent her mother an email that could be described as "suicidal." When authorities arrived at the Schenecker home, they encountered a horrific scene… Sixteen-year-old Calyx and thirteen-year-old Beau Schenecker were found dead―both of them shot, then covered with blankets. Upon questioning, Julie admitted that she was "tired of the kids talking back" and just "wanted it to be over." Had her manic depression driven her to the point of insanity? Or was hers a case of cold, calculated violence and manipulation? This is the shocking true story of motherhood, mental illness, and two charges of murder in the first degree.

It was planned to look like a suicide. But even in the best-laid plans, evidence is left behind… Jocelyn Branham Earnest was found dead on the floor of her living room in Forest, Virginia. By her side was a gun and a suicide note—typed, lacking a signature, and with one fingerprint on it. A fingerprint apparently belonging to Jocelyn’s estranged husband… Wesley Earnest was a respected high school administrator, poised to restart his life in a new community. Parents entrusted their children to his care and believed he was above reproach. But the investigation into the life the couple once shared would reveal adultery, troubled finances, and shattered dreams—enough for one man with murder on his mind to travel hundreds of miles… Under Cover of the Night INCLUDES PHOTOS

The bestselling true crime author of Under Cover of the Night recounts Laura Ackerson’s disappearance and murder in North Carolina, the discovery of her remains in Texas, and the aftermath… On July 13, 2011, Laura Jean Ackerson of Kinston, North Carolina, went to pick up her two toddler sons. It would be the last time she was seen alive... Two weeks later, detectives searching for the missing mother made a gruesome discovery on the shores of Oyster Creek near Richmond, Texas—the dismembered body parts of a young woman whom they were able to identify as Laura Ackerson. Laura’s ex, Grant Hayes—the  father of her two sons—and his wife, Amanda, the mother of his newborn daughter, both pointed the finger at each other as the one guilty of murdering Laura, cutting up her body, and then transporting and disposing of the remains. This is the haunting true crime story of a devoted mother, a disturbed couple, and how these horrific events came to pass... INCLUDES PHOTOS

In Death on the River, b estselling true crime author Diane Fanning recounts a tragic kayak accident that left one man dead―and his fiancée arrested for his murder. A DREAM GETAWAY. A REAL-LIFE NIGHTMARE... It seemed like the perfect romantic afternoon: a kayaking trip for two on the Hudson River. But it ended in tragedy when beautiful, blonde Angelika Graswald called 911 to report that her fiancé, the handsome and athletic Vincent Viafore, had fallen into the choppy frigid waters. Authorities assumed it was an accident. But when the bereft bride-to-be posted videos of herself doing cartwheels on social media―shortly before Vincent’s body was found―suspicions of murder rose to the surface… After hours of questioning, Angelika made several shocking admissions. She said she felt “trapped” and fed up with Vincent’s “demanding” sexual lifestyle: the nightlife, the strip clubs, the threeways. “I wanted him dead,” she had said, even though she insisted that she didn’t kill him. But as more lurid details emerged―including a $250,000 life insurance policy―a killer question remained: Did Angelika remove the plug of her fiancé’s boat…and knock away his paddle as he sank?