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David Marion Wilkinson

Goodreads Author

Born

in Malvern, Arkansas, The United States

Website

http://david-marion-wilkinson.com

Genre

Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Biography

Member Since

June 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/davidmarionwilkinson

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David Marion Wilkinson is a fifth-generation native of Arkansas, born in 1957 in Malvern, Hot Springs County, to a Presbyterian minister and his wife. His struggling family relocated to Houston, where he attended Sharpstown High School and worked every afternoon and weekends for an aging, charismatic, and world-weary golf pro and raconteur who told him wonderful stories of life in East Texas, serving as a bomber pilot during WWII, and his experiences on the professional tour in the era stretching from Byron Nelson to Ben Hogan and Harvey Pennick. David was also mentored by two of his high school English teachers, Margaret Stork and Freda Katz--both of whom encouraged him to write.

Within days of his 18th birthday, David began classes at the David Marion Wilkinson is a fifth-generation native of Arkansas, born in 1957 in Malvern, Hot Springs County, to a Presbyterian minister and his wife. His struggling family relocated to Houston, where he attended Sharpstown High School and worked every afternoon and weekends for an aging, charismatic, and world-weary golf pro and raconteur who told him wonderful stories of life in East Texas, serving as a bomber pilot during WWII, and his experiences on the professional tour in the era stretching from Byron Nelson to Ben Hogan and Harvey Pennick. David was also mentored by two of his high school English teachers, Margaret Stork and Freda Katz--both of whom encouraged him to write.

Within days of his 18th birthday, David began classes at the University of Texas at Austin, roughnecking offshore in Texas and Louisiana in order to pay for his college expenses. He earned a degree in English literature (BA, 1980) with a creative writing concentration, which first introduced him to classic and contemporary fiction. His undergraduate years also placed him in close proximity to working writers like Michael Mewshaw, David Ohle, Laura Furman, Zulikar Ghose, and Don Graham, among others. 1970s Austin was also home to many of the best Texas writers of the time--like Jan Reid, Edwin "Bud" Shrake, Stephen Harrigan, Gary Cartwright, Shelby Hearon, Billy Lee Brammer, and the ghost of J. Frank Dobie to name only a few. All of these energies combined to attract David's attention, fan the flames of his own ambition, and focus his mind and spirit on the goal of becoming a novelist. By graduation, he knew he wanted to be a writer.

After college graduation, David accepted an assignment in the oil fields of the North Sea and Saudi Arabia--work that took him to remote and hostile locations throughout the world. Those experiences helped to mature him, but, he later said, also cut him off from his middle-class trajectory and prepared him for the isolation of life as a struggling novelist. While overseas, he also read voratiously for the first time in his life, both British and American and even middle-eastern writers, one book after another. This experience would later prove invaluable. As anyone familiar with Larry McMurtry's non-fiction work can attest, one must first hunger to read before they hunger to write. For too long, David had his prerequisites upside down--and the countless idle hours of offshore drilling and long, lonely commutes on boats, trains, and airplanes to Godforsaken places, many not unlike his grandparent's farm in Arkansas, corrected this deficiency.

At the age of 25, David began to write seriously if not professionally. He returned from Saudi Arabia to Austin at age 27, where he married a ballet dancer turned lawyer, and continued to write in conjuction with working a wide variety of horrendous occupations.

Over the next twelve years David wrote four failed novels, racking up well over 300 publisher and literary agent rejections which papered the walls of his garage office, finally publishing his fifth, NOT BETWEEN BROTHERS, in 1996. BROTHERS received award-distinction, was optioned to NBC Studios/Tig Productions for a television mini-series (three years in development before the project was abandoned), and sold 100,000 copies. The 15th Annivesary edition of the book will be released in Spring 2010. The REVIEW OF TEXAS BOOKS said NOT BETWEEN BROTHERS was "simply the best historical novel published about Texas in over a decade."

David went on to publish THE EMPTY QUARTER (contemporary mainstream, 1998), OBLIVION'S ALTAR (historical, 2002), ONE RANGER (with H. Joaquin Jackson, biography/memoir, 2005). His fifth effort, WHERE THE MOUNTAINS ARE THIEVES, is due October 2013. He is currently at work on an historical novel, based on true events, set in Renaissance Italy.

David's work has earned two Spur Awards (and been a finalist for that award twice more), the Violet Crown Award (by Barnes & Noble and the Writers Le ...more

Combine Editions
David Marion Wilkinson’s books

Average rating: 4.25 · 817 ratings · 122 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	One Ranger by H. Joaquin Jackson, David Marion Wilkinson (Goodreads Author) 4.18 avg rating — 507 ratings — published 2005 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Not Between Brothers: An Epic Novel of Texas 4.38 avg rating — 264 ratings — published 1996 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Oblivion's Altar 4.21 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 2002 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Where the Mountains Are Thieves 4.29 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Daddy-O's Book of Big-Ass Art by Bob Wade, W.K. Kip Stratton (Editor), Kinky Friedman (Foreword) 4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	[ Oblivion's Altar - Greenlight by Wilkinson, David Marion ( Author ) Jun-2013 Hardcover ] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Where the Mountains Are Thieves: A Novel (2nd Edition) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	One Ranger Limited Edition (Bridwell Texas History) by H. Joaquin Jackson (2009-03-01) by David Marion Wilkinson (Goodreads Author), H. Joaquin Jackson, Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	One Ranger: A Memoir (Bridwell Texas History Series) by H. Joaquin Jackson David Marion Wilkinson(2008-10-01) by David Marion Wilkinson (Goodreads Author), H. Joaquin Jackson, Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	ONE RANGER: A MEMOIR by H. JOAQUIN AND DAVID MARION WILKINSON JACKSON, David Marion Wilkinson (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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David Wilkinson liked Alison Topper's review of Where the Mountains Are Thieves: "really liked this as it gave a wonderful description of life in West Texas. I have visited Fort Davis. would like to go back."
Sep 09, 2025 03:18PM · see review
David Wilkinson liked Crystal's review of Oblivion's Altar: "This is one of the best biographical/historical fiction's ever! The story of Ridge Walker is without a doubt very moving, intriguing, heart breaking and invokes a score of other emotion. The story is told mainly from the perspective of one Cherokee " Read more of this review »
Apr 19, 2025 09:45PM · see review
David Wilkinson made a comment on Issa’s review of Oblivion's Altar " So grateful for readers like you! "
Apr 19, 2025 09:43PM · see review
David Wilkinson made a comment on Spencer Adams’s review of Not Between Brothers: An Epic Novel of Texas " Disclaimer: not a professor of history at UT Austin or anywhere else. "
Apr 19, 2025 09:40PM · see review
David Wilkinson finished reading Not Between Brothers: An Epic Novel of Texas by David Marion Wilkinson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 04, 2024 08:20AM · 1 like · like
David Wilkinson and 1 other person liked Parker Dalton's review of Not Between Brothers: An Epic Novel of Texas: "I don't read a lot of historical-fiction but I couldn't put this one down. My family has been in Texas since before the Alamo so I loved reading about the birth of Texas through the lives of a settler and a Comanche. The author remains very balanced " Read more of this review »
May 21, 2024 11:56AM · see review
David Wilkinson liked Greg's review of One Ranger: "Joaquin Jackson's autobiographical account of his years as a Texas Ranger. A good read, especially for those interested in law enforcement in general, or the Texas Rangers in particular. Replete with true to life stories of Jackson's experiences as a" Read more of this review »
Feb 21, 2024 01:55PM · see review
David Wilkinson made a comment on Tntbrd’s review of One Ranger " You get it, man! Much appreciated! dmw "
Feb 21, 2024 01:54PM · see review
David Wilkinson made a comment on Adam Arnold’s review of One Ranger " Much appreciated, Mr. Arnold! dmw "
Feb 21, 2024 01:52PM · see review
David Wilkinson made a comment on Stephen’s review of One Ranger: A Memoir (Bridwell Texas History Series) " Much appreciated, amigo! dmw "
Feb 21, 2024 01:49PM · see review