SIX FEET UNDER TEXAS by Tui Snider – Book Blog Tour and Giveaway

Whether you are a Texas resident, planning a visit to Texas soon (or because of Covid, are only doing armchair traveling and dreaming at the moment), do I have the book for you – and just in time for “spooky season” (as my teen calls October). Today I’m featuring Texas author Tui Snider’s new book Six Feet Under Texas – Unique, Famous, & Historic Graves in the Lone Star State (Cemetery Tales Book 1). Read on to learn more about this book, and find out how you could win your own copy of the book.

I received an advanced copy of the book from the author via Lone Star Book Blog Tours; all opinions are my own.

SIX FEET UNDER TEXAS:
Unique, Famous, & Historic Graves in the Lone Star State
(Cemetery Tales Book 1)
by
TUI SNIDER

Genre: Nonfiction / Texana / History / Texas Travel
Publisher: Castle Azle Press
Date of Publication: August 15, 2020
Number of Pages: 250 pages 

Scroll down for Giveaway!

Explore the cemeteries of Texas with Tui Snider as she reveals overlooked history in these fascinating open-air museums. 

Along the way, you’ll meet fascinating characters, including a whistleblower who died in suspicious circumstances, an oilman who added a phone line to his mausoleum, and the events that caused two “frenemies” to be chained together in death.

CLICK TO PURCHASE Six Feet Under Texas!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m not sure who was more enthusiastic when this book arrived in the mail – me, or my slightly ghoulish 14yo. (The latter has already dog-eared a fair amount of sites to visit which are within an hour or so of our north Dallas suburb.) With 50 chapters, each dedicated to a different gravesite, we have much to choose from!

6 Feet Under Texas is organized alphabetically by city, and as I mentioned, each chapter focuses on a different gravesite. But more than just a book about the gravesites themselves, this book shares the stories of the people buried at each site. Many of these people have a story (previously) lost to history. Some stories are touching, some are amusing, and some are simply tragic – but with this book, all of them are remembered. (Even the not-so-nice guys.)

Additionally, each chapter includes a black-and-white photo of the respective tombstone/headstone/memorial and directions to the cemetery.

What I Liked

Some of my favorites (ok, given the topic, this is even weird to me to write) from the book include learning about the actual “Lost Cemetery of Infants” (Chapter 4), as I first learned of this cemetery in a recently read fiction book Home for Erring and Outcast Girls. If you’ve read my reviews here of Hays and McFall’s Bonnie and Clyde alternative history novels, you’d understand my fascination with “Why Aren’t Bonnie and Clyde Buried Together? (Chapter 15). I also learned that it’s not uncommon in older Texas cemeteries to find tombs for amputated limbs (Chapter 31). Weird, but understandable.

My ghoulish teen, on the other hand, was fascinated by the tombs of Texas’ own space alien (Chapter 6) and the tomb that is NOT a witch’s (Chapter 47). She also went right for the chapters on serial killers (Chapter 5 ), and we learned that Texas is the home of the only memorial for murder victims (Chapter 34), which is both sad (because we so often remember the names of the killers but not their victims) and inspiring in its thoughtfulness. We also were agog at the quirky Anthony Bascilli’s overly thorough planning of his casket and gravesite (Chapter 42).

Overall

6 Feet Under Texas is delightful (and I mean that in a non-creepy way). Tui Snider’s fascination with the topic shines in her wonderful storytelling of the people behind (or, technically, under) each gravestone. There are some really fascinating tales and insights into the past in these short chapter treatments.

We’re making a list of all the gravesites Teen 2 wants to visit, and armed with this book, a map, and a copy of Tui’s Understanding Cemetery Symbols, she and I will have big (weird) plans for some quiet weekends this fall.

We’re giving 6 Feet Under Texas 5 stars for all its quirky weirdness and history and research pulled together in one delightful (again, weird to write, but accurate) paperback book.

 Tui Snider is an author, speaker, photographer, YouTuber, podcast host, and musician who researches historic cemeteries and symbolism, offbeat Texas travel, overlooked history, and haunted lore. As she puts it, “I used to write fiction–but then I moved to Texas!” 

Snider’s best-selling books include Understanding Cemetery Symbols, 100 Things to Do in Dallas-Fort Worth Before You Die, Paranormal Texas, and many more. Snider has several books in progress and enjoys connecting with readers all over the globe through social media, her weekly newsletter, and website: TuiSnider.com.

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GIVEAWAY!

 THREE WINNERS 

GRANDPRIZE (US only):
Paperback + $10 Amazon Gift Card + Thank You Postcard

2^ND PRIZE (US only): 
Paperback & Thank You Postcard

3^RD PRIZE  (worldwide): 
e-book

 September 29-October 9, 2020

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CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY, or visit the blogs directly:

9/29/20	Review	StoreyBook Reviews
9/29/20	Review	Rainy Days with Amanda
9/30/20	Review	Momma on the Rocks
10/1/20	Review	Missus Gonzo
10/1/20	Review	The Clueless Gent
10/2/20	Review	Reading by Moonlight
10/2/20	Review	The Adventures of a Travelers Wife
10/3/20	Review	Forgotten Winds
10/4/20	Review	That’s What She’s Reading
10/5/20	Review	Chapter Break Book Blog
10/6/20	Review	Hall Ways Blog
10/7/20	Review	Max Knight
10/7/20	Review	All the Ups and Downs
10/8/20	Review	It’s Not All Gravy
10/8/20	Review	Book Fidelity