This week, I’m turning the blog over to my friend and fellow author, Annette O’Hare. If you enjoy historical romance, be sure to check out her latest release, Redeeming Light.
The Great Galveston Storm
September 8, 2018, will mark the one hundred eighteenth anniversary of The Great Storm of 1900. This unnamed hurricane hit Galveston Island in South Texas with such force it is estimated that more than six thousand perished. Some say the number reached up to twelve thousand. The storm remains today as the deadliest natural disaster ever to hit the United States.
Dozens of books, both fiction and non-fiction, have been written about this historic event. One book, Isaac’s Storm is presented from the records of U.S. Weather Bureau Meteorologist, Isaac Cline who manned the weather station in Galveston during the storm. Even weatherman, Al Roker wrote a book about the storm in 2015 titled, The Storm of the Century.
Since I was raised in Houston, Texas, about an hour away from Galveston, the Great Storm has been a lifetime obsession of mine. Another of my fascinations is the Bolivar Point Lighthouse located on the Bolivar Peninsula, a ferryboat ride away from Galveston Island. Combining the Great Storm and the Bolivar lighthouse is how I came up with the plot of my most recent novel, Redeeming Light.
Redeeming Light is a fictionalized love story based on how over one hundred twenty people survived the deadly hurricane on the conical staircase of the Bolivar Point Lighthouse. Here’s a little bit about the novel.
Redeeming Light – 1900
Sarah Jane McKinney takes over her father’s cattle ranch on the Texas Coast following his tragic death. After a harrowing cattle drive, she sells off the herd saving only the breed stock. Amid this turmoil Sarah finds herself distracted by her uncle’s young law apprentice, Frederick Chessher. To court Sarah, Frederick must end his relationship with another girl. He leaves Sarah not knowing that a great storm is brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. While Sarah and her family seek refuge in the Bolivar Point Lighthouse, Frederick rushes back to her. Will he make it to Sarah in time, or will he be claimed by the storm like thousands of others?
Bolivar Point Lighthouse
Part of my fascination with the Bolivar Point Lighthouse is because a not so distant relative of mine bought the lighthouse and surrounding property from the U.S. Government at auction in 1947 for the whopping price of $5,500.00! The lighthouse is also featured in the Emmy award-winning, 1970 TV movie, My Sweet Charlie, starring Patty Duke. The Bolivar light went dark in 1933, but the tower’s third-order Fresnel lens is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. The defunct lighthouse remains standing on the Bolivar Peninsula to this day.
About Annette O’Hare:
Annette O’Hare is an award-winning author of inspirational historical romance. Her love for history shines through in her 
novels. As a member of the Christian Author Network, American Christian Fiction Writers and ACFW The Woodlands, Annette desires to reveal God’s love to her readers while hopefully giving them a laugh or two. Annette and husband Dan of thirty-three years live in Porter, Texas and enjoy fishing on the Texas Gulf Coast and spending time with their two sons, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, two loveable rescue dogs, two grand-dogs, and a Russian tortoise named Frankie.
Redeeming Light – Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2Hxmrur
Barnes & Noble Buy Link: http://bit.ly/2vJGhho
