A new adult, midcentury romance by Skip Rhudy
Information
The Novel
The Novel
The Novel
In January 2021 I started writing a novel set in my hometown, Port Aransas, Texas. I don’t think it was a sense of nostalgia that prompted me to write, but the memories of growing up there stood out as unique and, maybe, a bit mysterious.
Stoney Creek Publishing, part of the Texas Book Consortium, has accepted the manuscript for publicati
In January 2021 I started writing a novel set in my hometown, Port Aransas, Texas. I don’t think it was a sense of nostalgia that prompted me to write, but the memories of growing up there stood out as unique and, maybe, a bit mysterious.
Stoney Creek Publishing, part of the Texas Book Consortium, has accepted the manuscript for publication about the middle of April 2025.
On the surface the novel is romance, a beach read with lots of surfing and summertime parties. But it is also a love letter to the Texas coast, to the town where I came of age, to its culture, its people, and to the enduring power and attraction of The Gulf.
The Place
The Novel
The Novel
Port Aransas, called "The Island" by locals, has a long history, showing up in records dating back to the times of the Spanish Inquisition. Karankawa originally dwelled there. Pirates plied their trade along in the Gulf around what would become Port Aransas in the early nineteenth century. The US built an official lifesaving station at Po
Port Aransas, called "The Island" by locals, has a long history, showing up in records dating back to the times of the Spanish Inquisition. Karankawa originally dwelled there. Pirates plied their trade along in the Gulf around what would become Port Aransas in the early nineteenth century. The US built an official lifesaving station at Port Aransas in 1850, which was built on the site of the current day Coast Guard Station. A lighthouse across the way was established soon after when a regular steamship route from New Orleans was announced. The lighthouse still exists today.
After the Civil War Port Aransas slowly morphed into a small fishing villiage and (very low key) vacation destination: The Tarpon Inn was constructed in part from torn down Cival War barracks.
By the latter part of the 20th century Port Aransas had become a vacation spot for millions of Texans from all across the State of Texas. But it was a much smaller and less developed Port Aransas than that of today: 1200 souls lived there, and it was quiet in winter.
Those folks plied their living on its shores by shrimping, working in restaurants, running fishing charters, and servicing the oil rigs in the Gulf.
The Times
The Novel
The Times
Under the Gulf Coast Sun takes place in the late nineteen seventies. There are no computers, no smart phones, and certainly no social media. In that time the telephone had almost completely supplanted letter writing as the high tech of the moment. Answering machines weren't yet on the market.
The times were raw. Vietnam had only just ended
Under the Gulf Coast Sun takes place in the late nineteen seventies. There are no computers, no smart phones, and certainly no social media. In that time the telephone had almost completely supplanted letter writing as the high tech of the moment. Answering machines weren't yet on the market.
The times were raw. Vietnam had only just ended a few years before. Some in the anti-war movement championed peace, drugs, rock and roll.
But by the time the kids in the novel were coming of age, all that was left of the anti-war movement was the partying and rock-and-roll.