For the third straight year, the East Central University Bookstore is sponsoring a book signing for ECU alumna Maxine Neely Davenport at the Golden Tiger Brunch on Saturday, Oct. 25, in ECU Foundation Hall at the Chickasaw Business and Conference Center.
The Golden Tiger Brunch begins at 9:30 a.m. Davenport will be on hand to sign her latest book, “Rebel on Horseback” (Lance Publishing), which was launched two weeks ago. She will also be signing her two previous books, “Saturday Matinee” and “Murder Times Two.” She will be signing prior to the brunch at 9 a.m. and after the brunch.
While at ECU, Davenport was an award-winning editor of the Journal and received the Most Valuable Student of the Year Award in 1951. Most recently, “Murder Times Two” was awarded honorable mention in the Dan Poytner Global Ebook Awards Contest.
“Rebel on Horseback” is the story of Cara Morgan’s struggle to run her ranch as she sees fit. A fiercely solitary woman, she guards a deeply-buried personal secret. Cara must dodge predators on all sides, protect and manage migrant laborers hiding from the INS and capture modern-day cattle rustlers. She is devastated when her brother files a lawsuit to overturn their father’s will, claiming Cara unduly influenced his decision to leave the ranch to her.
“Saturday Matinee” is a collection of short stories in novel form set in Oklahoma during the Great Depression. One reader said, “After I finished the book, those characters kept walking around in my home.” It was published in 2013.
“Murder Times Two” is Davenport’s first murder mystery, which was set in Ada. Criminal investigator Tracy Hunter returns to probe the strange events surrounding her birth. Her inquiries quickly entangle her in the investigation of two deaths with two extreme results. She rekindles a romance with her high school sweetheart, Hal Montgomery, now a rancher and oil tycoon. However, when she lands in jail she begins to suspect that Hal is involved in shady political shenanigans and perhaps the murders.
The three books will be sold during the event. “Rebel on Horseback” is $16, “Murder Times Two” is $14.95 and “Saturday Matinee” is $9.95.