A book based on a true story, which includes a tempestuous time in the history of Amarillo and the surrounding area about a famous feud between cattlemen and families, is reaching a big audience after its recent release.
“Because This is Texas” by Clara Sneed has been ranked as the No. 1 new True Crime Story in Canada, according to Ricky Treon, director of publishing of Blue Handle Publishing. It is also a No. 1 best seller in Australia for 20th Century American History books and No. 1 on the new releases chart for American History and No. 10 in history overall.
Sneed’s nonfiction book originally appeared in the pages of Panhandle-Plains Historical Review in 1999. She had since written a fictional account of the Sneed-Boyce Feud in a book titled, “Before We Turn to Dust.” The feud had rocked the area and Fort Worth, where a murder trial resulted around 1912.
The intriguing true story expands on the Sneed-Boyce feud between two well-known ranching families in the 1910s. The author, Sneed, was a relative of the man who shot two men for revenge of an unfaithful relationship with his wife. Sneed was in Amarillo to promote her new release and share the story, which takes place partly in Amarillo.
It involves the former XIT manager, Colonel Albert G. Boyce, his son Al Boyce and John Sneed Boyce, Sneed’s great-uncle. The resulting trials, involving two murders, were front page news in Fort Worth for weeks, and people became so involved in the story that fights broke out in the city. The unbelievable outcome of the trials and the marriage are what make the story so engaging and one that could happen, “because this is Texas.”
Clara and her husband divide their time between Berkeley, California, and Milam County, Texas. She did her research before the computer age, with paper files and microfilm, while raising a son and working fulltime. It took her 30 years to complete the process, mainly due to time and the fact that people wouldn’t discuss it for many years after.
The book is available for purchase online at major book outlet,s including bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble and through Amazon. Signed copies can be purchased at offices@BHPubs.com.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Sneed’s new book ‘Because This is Texas’ hits No. 1 on several charts
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
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