Author Roccie Hill will present her award-winning book, "The Blood of My Mother," at the Desert Hot Springs Library at 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9.

One audience favorite: "20,000 years of Austin history in 20 minutes." The title, at least, never fails to generate a laugh.

Gill, a Lufkin native, connected with his cousin Benjamin Toney for the first time in 2012, it marked the start of a ...