East Texas Magazine

A little-known chapter of East Texas history is returning to public attention this fall with the publication of Through Many Dangers: A Novel of the 1905 Pistol-Packing Preacher.

Set primarily in Groveton, Texas, and inspired by the true story of a Methodist minister who confronted organized lawlessness there in 1905, the novel recreates a period when timber money, political corruption, bootlegging, and violence collided in Trinity County.

The novel is the second book in Goodman’s Texas Tales series, which retells remarkable true stories from Texas history. His first novel, The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery, won the 2024 Spur Award from Western Writers of America.

James Wade, Western Heritage Award-winning author of the East Texas historical novels, Narrow the Road and Hollow Out the Dark, wrote of Goodman’s new book: “Thomas Goodman’s vision of East Texas, both the place and the people, is as accurate as it is spellbinding.”

Goodman, who like his protagonist is a pastor, has served in ministry for more than forty years. He and his wife live in Austin.

Through Many Dangers will be available wherever books are sold starting October 1. Information about the new novel and the Texas Tales series is available at mainsailbooks.com/fiction.