Texas Author T. Dianell Johnson Releases ZANA, a Novel Inspired by a Forgotten East Texas Community

HOUSTON - EntSun -- HOUSTON, Texas — Texas author T. Dianell Johnson announces the release of ZANA, a historical fiction novel exploring family, identity, memory and the stories that survive long after the places connected to them have changed or disappeared.

Set in East Texas, ZANA follows Alma, who returns from Oklahoma in 1965 searching for answers about her family's connection to a disappearing community called Zana. What begins with old records and an unidentified photograph leads her into Browndell, where strangers recognize her face, family stories begin to contradict the official record, and three haunting words follow her search:

"DON'T FORGET US."

Zana was not simply a name created for the novel. It was a real community in San Augustine County, Texas, in an area whose landscape was transformed during the development of what is now Sam Rayburn Reservoir. That history provides the backdrop for Johnson's fictional story.

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For readers with generational roots in East Texas, ZANA may inspire questions about their own family histories and the names, photographs, places and stories passed from one generation to the next.

"How much of our family history disappears simply because no one thought to ask about it?" Johnson said. "Sometimes all we have left is a name, an old photograph, a place someone remembers, or a story passed from one generation to the next."

Although ZANA draws upon real East Texas places and regional history, the novel is historical fiction. Its central characters, relationships, conversations, mysteries and events should not be interpreted as documented accounts of specific individuals or families. A familiar name does not mean a fictional character represents that person's actual personality, actions, relationships or life story.

At its heart, ZANA asks a question that extends beyond Alma's journey: How well do we really know the stories of the people who came before us?

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Johnson hopes the novel encourages readers to talk with their elders, examine old photographs, preserve family names and ask questions while there are still people available to answer them.

"History remembers what is written down. Families remember everything else."

ZANA by T. Dianell Johnson is available now on Amazon in eBook and paperback editions.

For more information about T. Dianell Johnson and Mono TēTot Publishing Productions LLC, visit:
https://admin9651293.wixsite.com/monotetotpublishin

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

T. Dianell Johnson is a Texas author whose fiction explores family, history, identity, memory and the stories carried across generations.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

ZANA is published by Mono TēTot Publishing Productions LLC.