Party @ the Padre Island National Seashore

I have always been a family-oriented, outdoor-adventure-lovin’ gal.

But in the Year of the ‘VID, I’ve developed a whole new appreciation for seeing the people I love best, and for the freedom offered by the wide open spaces of the great outdoors. As mask orders accumulate across the country, it becomes an unspeakable gift to run around outside without something plastered to your face.

So when a recent trip home to Texas provided a chance for a family excursion to the Padre Island National Seashore, I was all for it.

The Seashore, affectionately known as PINS, is a 70-mile stretch of coastline consisting of sand and saltwater, dunes and prairie, complete with turtle nesting grounds and an obscene number of seagulls and pelicans. Armed with surfboards, snacks, and a well-stocked cooler, the husband, my dad, my brothers, and I ventured out on a broiling-hot day in search of sunshine and surf.

Short Stories & Texas Salt

So here’s some exciting news: I’ve just had a short story accepted for publication in an upcoming literary anthology.

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This isn’t my first short story rodeo. But this one is particularly fun, since my tale, “Moonshine,” will be appearing in the inaugural edition of Keep Texas Salty. The debut publication for new Texas press Quartermarch, Salty is to be a collection of poetry and short fiction paying tribute to the Texas Gulf Coast.

And as anybody who reads my blog will tell you, that sort of theme is right up my Texas-surfer-girl alley. As they say, you can take the girl outta Texas, but you can’t take Texas outta the girl. You can, however, distill it into a work of fiction or two.

A magical realism, gothic noir (many thanks to the husband for helping me quantify this strange little story set in Prohibition-era Texas), “Moonshine” isn’t what you’d call a polite tale. But it should fit in just fine given Quartermarch’s aim for the anthology: