Debut Novel Unearths Epic Tragedy

It’s 1911 in the Texas Panhandle and Lena Snyder Sneed is madly in love. The only problem is, it’s not with her husband Beal.

Beal Sneed, a cattle broker and rancher, is often away from their home in the wealthiest part of Amarillo, leaving Lena to care for the house and their two daughters.

And inadvertently to her own devices.

And in the booming town of Amarillo, gossip spreads like wildfire, especially if it involves the rich.

When Beal gets wind of how far things have gone with Lena and Al, jealousy, revenge and pride brew up a biblical storm that consumes three prominent families and leaves tragedy in its wake.

Based on one of the most infamous feuds in Texas history, and incorporating family archives, newspaper accounts and trial transcripts, Before We Turn to Dust is an honest, shocking and masterfully written glimpse into sex, society and justice in early 20th century Texas.

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“A fresh new voice in literary fiction steps on the stage.”

— JODI THOMAS, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author

“Beautifully written and Shakespearean in scope, BEFORE WE TURN TO DUST is a stunning debut novel by Clara Sneed. Part family drama, part crime story, this piece of historical fiction will seduce and shock readers with its vivid portrait of passion and vengeance.”

— RICK TREON, award-winning author
of LET THE GUILTY PAY

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Love and Revenge in the Texas Panhandle: Voices from the Love Triangle

In Clara Sneed's debut historical novel—based on an infamous Texas feud—passion, pride and vengeance brew up a storm in 1911 Amarillo that spreads to consume three prominent families and leaves tragedy in its wake.

John Beal Sneed

Lena's Husband; born 1877

Lenora “Lena” Snyder Sneed

Maiden name Lenora Snyder

Wife of John Beal Sneed ; born 1878

Albert “Al” Gallatin Boyce Jr.

Bachelor ; born 1875

DISCLAIMER/PLEASE READ: Despite the fact that the words spoken in the videos above are pulled from Before We Turn to Dust, they are NOT related to a pending audiobook or any official narrator/orator or dramatic interpretation. These snippets have been created in order to promote the physical book, and offer the reader special insight into the characters, colloquialisms, time period and depth of the story. There is currently no set or guaranteed date for an audiobook release of Before We Turn to Dust. No AI was used during the creation of these videos, and no element within the video or as a whole may be used for AI training, reproduced or replicated without official author consent.

Because This is Texas

Because This is Texas is the updated publication of Clara Sneed’s book-length article, which first appeared under the same name in the 1999 edition of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Review. Recognizing the quality and general interest of Sneed’s work, the editorial board chose to devote the 1999 edition to it, a rarely granted honor in the Review’s long history as the academic journal of the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum (PPHM) The PPHM is the largest history museum in Texas, and one of the first 100 museums to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It remains one of only 1,099 officially accredited museums out of more than 33,000 museums in the United States.

Because This is Texas is a non-fiction account of the same dramatic story told in Sneed’s recently released historical fiction, Before We Turn to Dust (2024), a shocking and colloquial piece of literary Americana. While the historical fiction is told from three different perspectives for dramatic and immersive effect, it incorporates source material verbatim and sticks closely to known facts about events and characters. Because This is Texas provides information that Before We Turn to Dust does not, though there are ‘non-fiction’ episodes in Dust that do not appear in Texas.

Sneed is the grandniece of John Beal Sneed, one of the principals in the catastrophic love triangle that led to the Sneed-Boyce ‘feud’. Her connection to this history is intrinsic and profound, resulting in a depth in its retelling—in both versions—that a reader is unlikely to encounter elsewhere.

One might say that legacy—and desire and pride—are at the core of this family drama. Whether you’re reading Because This is Texas or Before We Turn to Dust, you feel that legacy and desire and pride, not only through the development and culmination of the story, but through the author’s words and the ways she’s found to tell it.