MCM Books News

MCM Books author Ricardo D. Palacios, 75, passed away on Saturday, Dec. 15, at his home. On Sept. 5, he suffered an arrhythmia caused by plaque in an artery, but was making a remarkable recovery and had returned home to his ranch in Encinal. Unfortunately, he experienced a second heart attack from which he was unable to recover. “We will miss Ricardo greatly, MCM Books publisher Alfredo E. Cardenas said. “We are under contract to deliver his second novel with us and will work with his family to publish it posthumously.” Palacios was anxious to get back to work on final edits to the novel, tentatively entitled Judgement Reversed . The story is about a land dispute, a familiar subject to many in south Texas. “I’m home. Glad to be here for sure,” Palacios texted Cardenas in mid-November after moving back home from spending two months in a series of Austin medical and rehabilitation facilities. He assured the publisher he was ready to work on the final edits. A month later he succumbed to ...

MCM Books author Ricardo D. Palacios suffered an arrhythmia caused by plaque in an artery on Wednesday, Sept. 5, after he completed a presentation at the Bullock Texas History Museum in Austin. Palacios is recovering at an Austin hospital. Palacios is the author of Chon, The Story of a WWII Japanese Spy Who Became a South Texas Vaquero . His presentation at the Bullock, however, involved another of his books, Tio Cowboy: Juan Salinas, Rodeo Roper, and Horseman . Some 30 people turned out to hear Palacios speak about the experiences of his uncle Juan Salinas, a nationally recognized roper and horseman during the 1940s. The audience was very engaged in Palacios’ presentation, asking questions and exchanging observations. After the talk, Palacios remained to speak one-on-one with the audience participants and to sign books purchased at the museum’s bookstore. During this time Palacios began to exhibit symptoms suggesting something was not right. As he left the event, he collapsed in the m...

In his foreword to Abel Rubio’s book Stolen Heritage, A Mexican-American’s Rediscovery of His Family’s Lost Land Grant , Thomas H. Kreneck who now serves as  Associate Library Director for Special Collections and Archives at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi writes: “In my work as a public historian…I have encountered at least 200 laymen who claimed they were ‘writing books’ about the history of their families. None of the people, I should add, ever completed their projects; the difficulty of such a task always outstripped their ability and enthusiasm.” That is unfortunate. If anyone out there is having trouble completing their family history take hope from Rubio’s formidable achievement. Rubio recognizes in his introduction that: “This narrative is not a standard history of Texas because it was never intended as such. But how can we write about an old-time Texas frontier family without involving the entire region and its society?” He is right on point with this observat...

Believe it or not, some people have written a novel or nonfiction book and have been unable to find a publisher. They dejectedly put away their manuscript in a file drawer or a box in their closet or garage and forgot about the dreams they once had of being published. Such was the case for Alfredo E. Cardenas and Ricardo D. Palacios, both now published authors with MCM Books. In 2015, Cardenas decided to do something about his novel Balo’s War , which he had written ten years earlier. He founded his own publishing house. He dusted off his manuscript, and with the help of his family, prepared it for publishing. He could do that because he had experience in publishing newspapers and magazines. He realized, however, that other authors did not have that experience, so he set up MCM Books to help them. One such author is Ricardo D. Palacios, a practicing attorney in Laredo, who had in his files a couple of manuscripts written as long as thirty years before. With MCM Books’ help, earlier thi...

“I have always been fascinated with books; how they transport you into another world and lure you in their stories,” MCM’s summer intern Darcy Ramirez said about spending her summer learning the publishing business as a Media Intern for MCM Books. Darcy is a senior at Texas A&M University in Kingsville with a double major in English and Communications with a specialty in Journalism. In the Fall she will resume her position as editor-in-chief of The South Texan the student newspaper. She also serves as a tutor in the Educational Opportunity Center. This is not Darcy’s first internship. She gained valuable experience last summer with the U.S. Department of Education, TRIO Program as a Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations & Media Intern. The experience in that internship as well as here at MCM Books should prove valuable in her career aspirations in the publishing world. “Ever since I started interning at MCM Books I have become accustomed to editing drafts, helping with...

Seminar talks features George Parr, The Freedom Party and political climate of Jim Wells and Duval counties. The Jim Wells County Historical Commission invites the public to a free history seminar centered on the political atmosphere of Jim Wells and Duval counties from the 1940s and 1950s.”It’s a collage of incredible issues that were happening in that era and George Parr was in the middle of it,” said Antonio “Tony” Bill, JWC Historical Commission co-chair.Bill will be presenting a paper on the Texas Ranger and George Parr confrontation of January 1954.Alfredo Cardenas,

Manuel Andres “Andy” Soto, author of Life in a South Texas Colonia presented his book and artwork to students at Coastal Bend College in Beeville today, May 3. Some of the students were from Kennedy, Runge, and other nearby communities, which are very familiar with the subject of his book.

Life, Love, and Marriage in a Texas Colonia | Bullock Texas State History Museum As a boy, I remember waking up to the wonderful aroma of cafecito and homemade flour tortillas cooking for breakfast. Hearing my mami and papi talking softly and lovingly to each other was common. Often the conversation was interrupted by my mother’s playful laughter after my dad had told her a funny story about their children, or work, or some of the locals.

LaVoz de Amor features in Laredo Morning Times.

We have begun shipping pre-orders for Chon. If you haven’t placed your order you can do so here!

The release of Chon: The Story of a WWII Japanese Spy Who Became a South Texas Vaquero is almost here. We are still planning to ship pre-ordered copies on or about March 15. If you haven’t ordered your copy do so now here .

March marks the third anniversary of MCM Books’ first book publication. Since the release of Balo’s War , MCM Books has published two other books and is getting ready to release its fourth. In March, the publishing house that focuses on South Texas will release Chon: The Story of a WWII Japanese Spy Who Became a South Texas Vaquero . Ever since men entered what would eventually become known as the Americas, people from the orient, including Japan, were among them. They crossed the Bering Strait and made their way down to the Magellan Strait. No doubt some stayed in South Texas. It is not surprising then, that many natives of the area possess Oriental facial features. It is certainly plausible that a Japanese spy could have made his way into the United States by blending into the South Texas landscape.

A number of poems authored by MCM Books author Servando Cardenas were recently found in the Spanish language newspaper La Prensa of San Antonio. Cardenas is author of La Voz de Amor . Here is one of those poems. It is a somber look at what life is all about.