THE ART OF THE ASK: Earlier this month, Bill Lively was announced as the new CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He’ll take over the post in April – that’s because he’s pretty booked up these days as the head of the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee. And THAT job comes on the heels of his leadership of the AT&T Performing Arts Center during its early stages. What do all of those jobs have in common? Answer: They require someone who is very good at getting people to financially support a big idea. So how does he do it? Lively spoke with dallasnews.com about reeling in the big fish and about one of his early arts job – band director at Seagoville High School.

NAME THAT WRITER: For nearly 20 years, Fort Worth writer Roxanne Longstreet Conrad struggled to make a name for herself in the publishing world. She wrote fantasy and adventure stories under many pen names without a whole lot of success. And then she gave that cash cow of a novel a try – the vampire book – and everything fell into place. Writing under the name Rachel Caine, her Morganville Vampire novels are now best sellers. And she says she’s thrilled to find success in a genre that causes some to turn their noses up. “I don’t understand why it’s more legitimate to write about visiting Italy than, say, visiting Mars,” Conrad tells fwweekly.com in an extensive feature. “I’ll be happy if my obituary says I’m an author of respected potboilers.”

MONEY FOR THE ARTS: This week, the Texas Cultural Trust and the Texas Commission on the Arts will release a report called “The Art of Economic Development.” The report looks at five cities whose economies rely heavily on the arts – and they aren’t the big names you might be thinking of. The cities in the report are Amarillo, El Paso, Rockport, Texarkana and Clifton. Never heard of Clifton? Learn all about how the tiny Bosque County town is thriving thanks to the arts in this Texas Tribune report.