Sandra Brown’s novels are famous for page-turning plot twists, but the bestselling author and 1969 TCU alumna got several real life twists when her husband, Michael Brown, threw her a surprise birthday party in February.

He had told her the fete was for famed pianist Van Cliburn, but the flashbulbs began popping when she walked in the room.

“Imagine my astonishment when we entered the City Club in downtown Fort Worth, and I saw assembled 150 people who were there to surprise me!” she wrote on her blog at www.sandrabrown.net.

But the real shocks were yet to come.

In a ceremony that brought together her longtime friends including Bob Schieffer ’59, fellow best-selling authors Dan Jenkins ’53 and Rick Bragg and a video message from Pat Conroy, Brown learned her husband had established the Sandra Brown Excellence in Literary Fiction Award, which will provide full tuition to a promising undergraduate pursuing a creative writing career.

Then came the biggest shock of all.

Chancellor Victor Boschini presented her with an honorary Doctor of Letters, conducting the hooding ceremony himself.

Brown has published more than 70 novels including 56The New York Times bestsellers such as Play Dirty,White Hot and The Crush.