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Writer. Storyteller.

Mike Vance is the author of 3 novels and 10 non-fiction books on Texas history, historic true crime, comedy, and sports history. That non-fiction work informs his historical novels. He has produced well over 150 award-winning videos including feature length documentaries, short films and television shows on a variety of Texas history stories. Mike also traveled the English speaking world for 16 years doing stand-up comedy and fronting a band for which he wrote original music. He sometimes teaches Texas history at Rice University’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. Please check out the links below and sign up for my newsletter!

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History, News, and Thanks from Mike Vance

March 1, 2024 The Latest Hi, Reader I have a story for you, and further down you can read more about my newest book plus the Texas history class I'll be teaching online through Rice University starting this month. So please scroll and read it all! But first, a confession. I'm a history nerd, and have been for a long time. I love researching deep into stories. I like being alone in an archive, whether it's dusty and tangible or a digital maze, and finding something that no one has thought...

February 20, 2024 The Latest from Mike Hi, Reader First, as you can see, I've changed up the look of the newsletter. I finally figured out how to make my face smaller. This is the news that I've been promising, not a full newsletter anyway, but the new look will stay for a while. The New Novel is Here! Wingo: The Remarkable life of an Unremarkable Man is now live on both Amazon and IngramSpark. That means that you can purchase ebooks and paperbacks online or order them through your favorite...

Hello, Reader For almost a year now I've been promising new books, and the first one will be coming in a few weeks. More on that just below. I've been working very hard to get the Undertold Texas Volume 1 done for a release at the end of April since that is tied to my online Rice University Continuing Studies course that starts in mid-March. Not to make it confusing, but the course will highlight 64 subjects over 8 weeks. I've got book chapters done for 50 of those now! The book itself will...

Hello, Reader One of the big goals for 2023 was to vastly improve things like branding and visibility that will lead to sales of books. That means leading to where I want to be in life - writing full time. There have certainly been challenges, but hopefully I'm laying a base, and yes, that's phrase that used to mean an extra helping of fried chicken and potatoes before we went out drinking all night. In hindsight, this plan sounds healthier. I hope all of you have had a wonderful Holiday...

Don't Forget the Books I just wanted to offer a quick, friendly reminder that books make a wonderful gift, and it just so happens that I have some available. While I'm hard at work writing the next books, two of which should be out in the first quarter of 2024, there are some fun ones that would make a dandy last minute stocking stuffer. If Christmas is not your thing, books are also excellent presents for New Year's, MLK Day, Groundhog Day... just saying. Thanks so much, and I'll have a full...

Hello, Reader I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving and that the entire Holiday season treats you well. My November has been a busy month. Actually, it started the last weekend in October when I went to Los Angeles for a long weekend and got to hang out with longtime friends including my old Hollywood writing partner. Then it was flying home to Texas, driving to Kansas City for a family thing then flying from there to Las Vegas for a weeklong indie writers conference. So much good...

Hello, Reader Since I wrote last month, I've added a new personal title - grandad. She's barely a week old, so we're just getting to know one another, but I can already tell that she's pretty awesome. We may be making the trip into Houston a tad more often since she's not yet able to drive. Judging by my longtime observation of other Houston drivers, you need to be at least seven years old. New to View The new history podcast, Prick the Balloon, is sailing right along. There are now four...

Hello, Reader I really did not mean to get into a rhythm of doing one newsletter a month, but that's where we are. This one has a great deal to report. The biggest two items are just below, but work also continues on the second historical crime novel set in 1900s Houston. Plus I'm working on an idea for a new course this spring at Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies where I've enjoyed teaching on and off for a decade plus. It's called Undertold Texas, and I hope to...

Hello, Reader Happy September! Not to send mundane talk about the weather, but it finally dropped into the 90s here in Southeast Central Texas, and I find myself making excuses to go outside. Birds are migrating across our county by the literal millions, and I've found several Baltimore orioles at our hummingbird feeders. I'm having fun dropping things like bird mentions into this historical crime novel series I'm working on. Still no word from the literary agent who requested the first book...

Hello, Reader This past week was not what I had in mind. Instead of spending time on amazingly fun writing and creative projects, I got Covid instead. No my first choice, I promise, but life happens. Thanks to Paxlovid and forced rest, I'm feeling much better. Now if this nasty, bitter medicine side effect will kindly vacate my mouth, we'll be back in business. I had to reschedule a radio interview promoting my Stand Up Stories book, but that should happen this week. If they offer a link,...