TomRoushOnline

Let’s get right to it: if you buy my novel, write a review, and email me proof, I’ll refund the first 100 readers. 100% of your money back.

Why? Because I want you to read it. I want your honest opinion. And I want this book to get seen. I’m not trying to get rich (yet). I just want to connect—with readers who love good stories. It’s called Once Upon A Time In Texas, and its good.

So, what’s the book?

It’s a Texas family drama set in 1986, with a dark edge. Think Terms of Endearment meets Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It’s about a family on the edge, in a state, and a nation, that’s changing fast.

At the center is Bob Buckhorn—a former NASA engineer who helped get Americans to the Moon. By 1986, he’s watching the Challenger explode on live TV with a vodka in hand, a washed-up alcoholic who knows NASA lost its soul after Apollo. His life collapsed when the space program traded glory for bureaucracy—and now his family is falling apart with him.

Jack, his oldest son, is a once-promising rodeo star turned small-time drug dealer. He’s in deep with the cartels. His story drives the climax, and yeah—it gets violent.

Jennifer, the daughter, is wrapped in 80s fashion and Madonna attitude. She’s not gay—but when the school’s most notorious lesbian recruits her to the track team, Jennifer starts figuring out who she really is. It gets complicated.

Carol, Bob’s wife, is a Mexican-born immigrant trying to reinvent herself as a late-blooming American hippie—she’s leaving Bob behind in more ways than one. And then there’s Josie, the youngest—a smart, lonely boy lost in the chaos, trying to figure out who in this mess is actually raising him.

This is a novel about a moment in American life when everything seemed to be coming apart—families, institutions, even the frontier myth itself. This is about the modern urban frontier cowboys of Houston. It’s about pride, regret, danger, love, and the choices that shape us. It’s about a family, a moment in time, and a nation drifting.

I think it’s the kind of book that will stick with you.

A quick note about me

I’ve been a full-time salesperson for 25 years—successful, independent, and good at what I do. But I’ve always been a writer at heart. I’ve written screenplays (one produced, called Purpose), nonfiction reports, scores of short stories, even an American history book. This novel, though, is my first long-form fiction.

And I didn’t go through a traditional publisher—not because I didn’t want to, but because the publishing world in 2025 isn’t looking for books like mine or authors like me. I’m not writing YA fantasy. I’m not “diverse” enough. I’m not checking the boxes.

So I took the indie route on Kindle Direct—because I’d rather take my shot than wait for someone’s permission.

This book is a literary novel, rooted in Texas, with the emotional resonance of McMurtry, the structure of Irving, and a few drops of Tarantino blood in the mix. It’s not neat or cute or genre-safe. It’s honest. This book’s got echoes of Hemingway—with a little Cormac McCarthy is its DNA. It’s fiction with Texas grit, and it’s deeply personal. If you’ve ever said, “They don’t write them like they used to,” well—I just did.

Here’s the deal one more time:

Buy the book HERE. Write a review. Send me proof at thomasroush@gmail.com. I’ll refund the first 100 readers—every penny, via Zelle, Venmo, or whatever.

Thanks for reading. And if you do take a chance on this story, I’d love to hear what you think.