BIG SPRING, TX — Last night, author Charles Alcorn held a book signing event at Hotel Settles for his debut novel Beneath the Sands of Monahans. Fresh out of college, Alcorn was the sports writer for the Big Spring Herald from 1984-1986 and has since received his Ph.D. in English Literature/Creative Writing from the University of Houston where he later taught for 25 years. He has now retired and moved to Edinburg on the U.S.-Mexico border to write full-time.
Covering high school football in the Permian Basin was the inspiration for Beneath the Sands of Monahans, Alcorn said. Alcorn’s time in Big Spring was during the same years Buzz Bissinger was covering Friday Night Lights. Alcorn said he didn’t know it at the time, and he never met Buzz, but they sat in the same press box. Big Spring High School and Permian were in the same district at the time. Beneath the Sands of Monahans had been brewing in Alcorn’s mind for about 20 years. He said he loved the Permian Basin and West Texas, and especially loved the people. “[The book] is a love letter to West Texas,” Alcorn said.
During the book signing, Alcorn read an excerpt from the book that takes place in Big Spring.
You can purchase Beneath the Sands of Monahans online through the publishing company, Deep Vellum, or you can find it on Amazon.
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