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Welcome to Pairings
Pairings by Jann Alexander include creativity, inspiration, books, writing, photography, art, history, travel, Texas life, lore and more
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Shelfie Time! Show Off the Books on Your Shelves — and Show Us Who You Are
If our selfies are our way of putting our best selves out there, these staged pictures show us little of who we really are. Can't we tell worlds more about people by looking at the books on their shelves?

Jann Alexander
Nov 21 min read


"Grabs Your Heart and Doesn't Let Go"
The Historical Novel Society Highlights Unspoken as an Editors' Choice selection: A book that “will stick around in your mind, because legacy isn’t just what’s passed down. It’s what you refuse to let slip away.”

Jann Alexander
Nov 22 min read


"A Gripping Story of Survival"
A reviewer calls Unspoken "Both heart-wrenching and hopeful, shining with the grit of those who dare to redefine what 'home' truly means."

Jann Alexander
Oct 62 min read


When There Was Dancing in the Streets: Revisit 1945 on V/J Day
See 1945 through the eyes of someone who lived it, 80 years ago, when the headlines called it: PEACE on V/J Day. Victory Over Japan was declared and in Unspoken, Ruby Lee Becker recounts the day.

Jann Alexander
Aug 153 min read


Can the Dust Bowl Happen Again?
With new research showing the world's fresh water supply is quickly disappearing, it's not a leap for an author to plot a dystopian waterless future — and another novel in The Dust Series

Jann Alexander
Jul 273 min read


My Writing Journey's Taken Me All Over Texas, on Wheels, by Click, and by Page
How I wrote a historically accurate, wickedly fictional novel by gathering ten years of Texas research—on wheels, by click, and by page

Jann Alexander
Jun 224 min read


What I've Been Reading While Waiting
I'm playing favorites with books while I count down the days to the Unspoken Book Club Launch July3. Catch three+ of my favorites.

Jann Alexander
Jun 72 min read


Even More Texas Authors to Get to Know: Up & Coming
In the Lone Star State, we celebrate Texas Writers Month in May. For the final part of this series in Pairings, featuring Texas authors all month, we finish with those who are just beginning — and a few who led the way.

Jann Alexander
May 284 min read


From Design to Dust Storms
Diving deep into the creative evolution of a seasoned art director turned full-time author on the Hill Country Authors Podcast.

Jann Alexander
May 151 min read


More Texas Authors to Get to Know
Today in Texas Writers Month, we turn to the women. When you're reading Texas authors who write about Texas, and watching films set in Texas, having a woman's point of view is in itself a whole new genre. Here are nine Texas women writers to get to know.

Jann Alexander
May 114 min read


Getting to Know Texas Authors
With so many Texas authors to applaud and read in May during Texas Writers Month, are you wondering where to start?

Jann Alexander
May 54 min read


On This Day 90 Years Ago, the Sky Went Black. Today Marks the 90th Anniversary of Black Sunday, April 14, 1935.
On This Day 90 Years Ago, the Biggest, Baddest, Blackest Dust Storm of Them All Struck the Texas Panhandle — and set the stage for the opening of my historical novel, Unspoken (A Dust Novel) ... on Black Sunday: April 14, 1935.

Jann Alexander
Apr 133 min read


What Makes Earth Month So Special?
Nearly a century ago, the unthinkable happened: The U.S. was five years into the biggest ecological disaster we'd ever known.

Jann Alexander
Apr 63 min read


How Do Unspoken's Themes Echo Today's Struggles?
UNSPOKEN shines a light on women driven apart by disaster who persevere, with themes of estrangement and upheaval that still resonate today.

Jann Alexander
Mar 212 min read


Three Women Who Made History Behind the Camera
In the 1930s, these women captured Texas on film—the good, the bad, and the truly ugly.

Jann Alexander
Mar 173 min read


The Dust Storm That Stopped A First Lady
When First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt met a Texas dust storm in 1939, her encounter gave me an idea for my historical novel, Unspoken

Jann Alexander
Mar 105 min read


How to Build a Library, circa 1885: Start with a Book Club
All it took in 1885 to build Houston a city library was a book club, begun by women with a desire for "intellectual culture."

Jann Alexander
Feb 242 min read


That’s What I Like About Texas
Just when you get used to land, lots of land, and starry skies above, Texas shows you something else. Take a Panhandle road trip in photos.

Jann Alexander
Jan 272 min read


The Irony of Surpassing Yourself
It’s ironic many extra words writers have to cut once they hit the magic length historical novels are: 100,000 - 120,000. Cue the angst.

Jann Alexander
Dec 12, 20242 min read


The Next Best Thing To Time Travel
When you’re researching historical fiction, it would be so much easier to rev up the Time Machine. Here's how I did without time travel.

Jann Alexander
Dec 11, 20242 min read
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