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Duncan W. Alderson

@bard.of.houston

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I reveal the "Hidden Houston" in my historical novels beginning with the Harper's Bazaar Must-Read MAGNOLIA CITY and its sequels.

POSTS STORIES REELS

MY NEW COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES IS OUT TO BETA READERS!

A beta reader is a test audience who reads an unreleased book manuscript to provide feedback from the perspective of an average reader. They help authors spot plot holes, confusing scenes, pacing issues, and character inconsistencies before the book is published, acting as a final "vibe check" before professional editing.

Key Characteristics

Not a professional editor: Beta readers are typically unpaid civilians and represent your future audience, rather than copyeditors or developmental editors.

Testing stage: The beta read happens after you have completed multiple self-editing rounds, but before you send the manuscript to a professional editor.Focus on the big picture: Instead of correcting grammar or punctuation, they focus on whether the story engages them, if the ending is satisfying, and if the characters are believable. by @bard.of.houston

MY NOVEL HAS BEEN RE-KINDLED! The formatting error that stripped out all the scene breaks in the Kindle version of MAGNOLIA CITY has been fixed! The text now reads with the proper transitions between time and space shifts. Thanks to my wonderful editor at Kensington Books, John Scognamiglio, for assisting with this mission! by @bard.of.houston

The AI summary of my novel is pretty thorough LOL. Magnolia City is a historical novel by Duncan W. Alderson that brings 1920s Houston to life. The story blends romance, wealth, and the rough-and-tumble Texas oil boom as an elite debutante navigates societal expectations and dangerous ambition.Plot & SettingSet in 1928, Houston is experiencing an explosive oil boom, with wealthy cotton kings and newly rich oil barons mixing in high society. Debutante Hetty Allen is groomed by her father to marry Lamar Rusk, a wealthy heir to an oil fortune who can secure her place among the city's elite. However, during the No-Tsu-Oh Carnival, she meets Garret MacBride, a passionate and ambitious wildcatter from Montana who works the rough oil fields.The Central ConflictHetty finds herself torn between two very different worlds:The High-Society Choice: Lamar Rusk offers a lavish courtship and guaranteed acceptance into the highest social circles.The Reckless Romance: Garret MacBride offers adventure, passion, and illicit jazz club dates, though he lacks social standing.Hetty rebels against her family's expectations, rejecting Lamar and choosing a life of adventure with Garret. The conflict intensifies as their personal romance gets tangled up in the high-stakes battle over a vast, untapped ocean of oil in East Texas, threatening to either make their fortunes or ruin them.Key ThemesRebellion and Independence: Hetty's rejection of a traditional, socially advantageous marriage in favor of a partner who offers personal connection and excitement.Greed and Ambition: The cutthroat nature of the 1920s oil rush and how the relentless pursuit of wealth affects relationships.Class Divisions: The clash between the entrenched "cotton kings" and roughneck wildcatters seeking their fortune. by @bard.of.houston

YES, I WRITE POETRY! Although I am principally a novelist, I do write poems from time to time. Here is a poem for Michaelmas which I just sent off to my guru, Baba Ganapati, to celebrate his Purnima, July 19 (the day he entered a state of enlightement and became a guru).
To Michael By Duncan W. Alderson

Angels should not be aloof.
You are like a dark father
Who appears at dusk
To silence the laughter of his children.

Your frown must be ancient . . .
Thundering
With memories of a mutiny
Fought once in heaven
With lightning bolts for weapons.

We are too young
In the universe
To understand the importance of your anger,
Known to us as autumn.
We want to dream on
Coiled
In the serpentine memories of summer.

But while we sleep,
Frost falls at night,
Turning the earth into your anvil.
Over and over
You strike your sword
Spilling meteors on our rooftops
Like specks of fire
From a sparkler.

You are the angel made of iron.
You hide your wings well
Under your armor.
Like a drop of blood,
The planet Mars hangs over the earth
While you scourge the landscape
Whipping
Until the last red leaf
Hangs like a body from a cross.

Angels should not be aloof.
Tell us what lessons we should learn.
We are dull metal
Tarnished since ancient times
By the breath of dragons.
We need sharpening.
Take an iceberg for your whetstone.
Hone us with winter till we wake:
As exact as a razor’s edge
As shining as a new sword,
Unsheathed.

Copyright 2026 by Duncan W. Alderson by @bard.of.houston

Look what I found during a tour of the art at the Hotel Chelsea yesterday! A photo of Salvador Dali along with Warhol taken at the hotel! Amazing since I just finished my novelette about Dalí! This hotel is haunted. by @bard.of.houston

DALI-ANCE! Just finished a novelette based on the surrealist art of Salvador Dalí and I'm exhausted! Almost 50,000 words! This will make a great addition to my collection of short stories inspired by the art of New York. by @bard.of.houston

FAIRY TALES Just finished another short story for my collection centered on the arts in New York -- this one revolving around the exhibit of Victorian Fairy Paintings at the Frick in 1999. I'm happy with the way it turned out. Here's a detail of the painting by Joseph Noel Paton of THE RECONCILIATION OF OBERON AND TITANIA. "Now my Titania, wake you my sweet Queen!" #fairytales #frick #frickcollection #titania #shortstories #newyorkart #fairydust #bardofhouston by @bard.of.houston

I’VE GOT A PEDIGREE! “I wish I could be writing with better news. We’ve had a huge uptick recently in submissions by veteran authors, so even if we’re fans (please tell Duncan that I loved MAGNOLIA CITY), it’s our current policy not to consider any new work. I’m sorry that we can’t connect and I hope you and Duncan find the perfect home. I can’t imagine that you won’t, given both the pitch and his pedigree. Thanks again for sending it my way, and please keep sending more great submissions!” – Message to my agent from a top New York editor #nyeditors #publishers #pedigree #editors #pitch #pitchingnovels #literaryagents #fans #magnoliacity #bardofhouston by @bard.of.houston

So much fun to write a short story about fairies! I learned so much in my research. For instance, did you know that their favorite food is purple morning glories, poisonous to humans? One of the obscure facts I wove into the story! First draft finished! Seven out of ten stories completed for my new collection! Onward and upward with the arts! #fairies #fairiesarereal #victorianfairypaintings #victorianperiod #fairyfiction #shortstories #shortstorycollection #magnoliacity #bardofhouston by @bard.of.houston

Doing research for my latest short story. I want my material to be as accurate and authentic as possible. #fairies #irishfairytales #folklore #yeats #victorianfairypaintings #gardens #naturespirits by @bard.of.houston

I have to remind myself of this every time I draft out a new scene. LOL. #firstdraft #hemingway #ernesthemingway #fiction #shortstories #bardofhouston #magnoliacity by @bard.of.houston

CAPTIVATING JOURNEY! "Magnolia City" transports readers to a vividly rendered era of opulence and ambition, where Hetty's struggle between societal expectations and her heart's desires unfolds against the backdrop of Texas's oil boom, weaving a tale of passion, rivalry, and redemption that is both compelling and evocative. -- from a recent five-star review on Amazon #texasoilboom #texasoil #texas #oilindustry #wildcatters #flappers #redemption #magnoliacity #bardofhouston by @bard.of.houston