Why You Should Visit Galveston Island
If there’s one thing I will not shut up about it’s that Galveston Island is worth a visit. And I don’t mean a rushed stop on your way to a big cruise ship, but rather a slow, immersive experience in which you allow yourself to feel the gentle breeze, smell the salt and occasional seaweed (maybe even a little horse manure from one of the carriage horses I adore?), learn why the water is occasionally brown, marvel at the beauty of one of the largest Victorian neighborhoods in America, eat a crab cake, some gumbo, a muffaletta (from Maceo’s, duh!), a copious amount of fresh local shrimp, an ice cream cone that melts before you can finish it, and listen to at least one local ghost story that might or might not be true. Galveston Island deserves to be savored. It deserves to be tasted, smelled, photographed, and above all, it deserves to be read.
What to Read in Galveston
While I don’t see Galveston as exclusively a beach destination (hello, there’s so much more to do here!), it is indeed an island with beaches. It’s also an island with hotel balconies overlooking the gulf, with shady Victorian porches, cute coffee shops (some of which have been thoroughly flooded in hurricanes and had the grit to come back, case in point Mod), occasional downtown benches, and many other places that are ideal for feeling the breeze while reading a book. And what should you read on Galveston Island? Well, you should read something with a strong sense of place, something that inspires you to enjoy and explore the island. If you want non fiction, you should pick up Gary Cartwright’s history of the island, or perhaps the famous Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson. Though, personally, I am partial to the slightly fictionalized account of the Great Storm of 1900, A Weekend in September. I also highly recommend the Galveston books written by Kimber Fountain. Both her authorized history of the Maceo’s as well as her book about Galveston’s Red Light District are absolutely fascinating and will give you lots of historical insight into the island.
If you want fiction, and I make no secret about finding fiction superior (including the enjoyment it provides), I love The Promise by Ann Weisgarber. This is a beautiful historical novel about the Great Storm of 1900, and I myself have read it several times. I also like Galveston by Suzanne Morris and The Drowning House by Elizabeth Black.
Do you notice a theme here? A lot of the best Galveston books have to do with the Great Storm of 1900, and rightfully so, as that tragic event changed the course of Island history. And yet. There is so much more to Galveston and it’s worth exploring too. Here’s where my Galveston novels come in, and why I am finally learning how to properly market them.
Galveston Novels that Go Beyond the Great Storm
Writing women’s fiction and historical fiction set on Galveston Island was not something I ever thought I would do, but I came across the inspiration for my first Galveston novel, Storms of Malhado, by sheer serendipity, and once I wrote that one and readers loved it, I just couldn’t stop. The idea for Storms of Malhado came to me while I was riding out Hurricane Harvey in Houston. I wanted to write a book about destinies repeating themselves and needed a suitable catastrophe to punctuate various timelines in which a similar cast of characters made the same mistake over and over. As the winds raged outside, I remembered that hurricanes are the kind of catastrophe I am well familiar with, and Galveston Island the perfect setting for an eerie and moody historical novel with some paranormal elements. I ended up choosing three hurricanes as central events in the novel: The Great Storm of 1900, because it’s crucial to Island history, also an interesting era to write about, Carla in 1961 because I love the aesthetic of the early 1960s and how it clashes with the social and political turmoil brewing (I was excited to get to write about both gender and racial inequality in that era), and then, finally, Hurricane Ike in 2008, because it is the most destructive storm in recent memory, but also because it was a storm I was familiar with, one I had witnessed the destruction of, a storm I knew so much about, one that felt deeply personal.
While my readership at the time of the publication of Storms of Malhado was small, I had some very positive early reactions and even requests to write more Galveston books. Someone picked up on a loose thread. I had mentioned Galveston’s infamous red light district, but not really told a story about it. Could I please do that? I was enthusiastic about the prospect and so The Glory Days of Aimée Bonnard came about, my second Galveston novel, set strategically in 1898 as to avoid the Great Storm, because not every Galveston book needs to be about that. The novel follows a mysterious high-end courtesan who settles in Galveston under a false identity after some deadly trouble in New Orleans. The story is infused with mystery and seduction, but ultimately becomes a narrative about personal freedom and identity.
These two initial Galveston books were followed by two more historical novels and one contemporary one. If you’ve come across this page, I hope you are intrigued enough to order one of them (yes, you can get them on Amazon, and you can get them in various formats, even audiobook. My suggestion is starting with Storms of Malhado and then following following that with The Glory Days of Aimée Bonnard and Lola Is Never Drinking Again). If you do read my books, I hope they make you want to come to Galveston Island or add a little bit of magic to your vacation here.
Pair Your Island Reads with Food and Sights
Storms of Malhado
If you’re reading Storms of Malhado, I highly recommend visiting one of the stately mansions on Broadway as well as the historic cemetery. A house that played an important role in inspiring this book is the League-Kempner House, so that might be a good historic house to visit. While there, imagine the two horses going up the grand staircase. Make sure you don’t miss the service stairs at the back too. Can you imagine Josepine going up those stairs carrying a baby?
To eat, I would suggest the muffaletta from Maceo’s I mentioned before. I also recommend finding some decadent desserts. Nobody beats Edna when it comes to that, but surely you can get your hands on some chocolate cake to eat under the full moon?
The Glory Days of Aimée Bonnard
If you’re reading The Glory Days of Aimée Bonnard, again, go to Maceo’s (I mean, seriously, you should go there no matter what you’re reading) and get some red beans and rice. Get a copy of Kimber Fountain’s book Walk the Line (about Galveston’s Red Light District) to read as a companion, and walk around the area around Maceo’s (North of Broadway, West of 25th Street) where the Red Light District used to be. Notice buildings that are old enough to have been houses of prostitution before 1900. Wander into Antique Warehouse at the corner of 25th and Postoffice and go upstairs to see the rooms of the former Oleander Hotel, a place where that trade was certainly practiced. Take a carriage ride. Meditate on just how wonderful horses are. Try to find an English Pointer to pet. Go to Hendley Market on the Strand and buy a tiny piece of fragrant French soap. Go to La King’s (also on the Strand) and buy a few pieces of vintage candy.
Lola Is Never Drinking Again
If you’re reading Lola Is Never Drinking Again you should eat at Gaido’s. You should also go check out the bar at the Tremont House (or maybe even consider staying there), get coffee in the lobby of the Grand Galvez. You should also attempt shopping for vintage clothes. Definitely try to go dancing! And go to the Witchery on Postoffice for some Florida Water.
Galveston 1922
If you’re reading Galveston 1922 you should stand on the Seawall where the Balinese Room used to be and feel wistful. Go have a sandwich at the Star Drug Store. Visit the most haunted Walmart in America (where the orphanage used to be) and try to find a toy that’s not wrapped in plastic, a toy ghost children might have fun playing with at night. Sweet dreams! If you can’t sleep after all that, try to find some jazz. Perhaps you should also go to Maceo’s and while there buy Kimber Fountain’s authorized biography of the family.
Breakaway Bridesmaid
If you’re reading Breakaway Bridesmaid you should probably ride the Bolivar ferry. It’s free and fun, just be mindful of times when the line gets too long (I recommend going in the off season and driving to Stingaree on Crystal Beach for some good seafood). You should also wander around the Strand and try to catch glimpses of very steep stairs. You could consider getting a tattoo (there’s a cool place with a view at the top of the Old Strand Building). You could also consider crashing a wedding, but I probably shouldn’t give that kind of advice. Maybe we should keep drama in books where it belongs. You could, however, go to the Pleasure Pier if you like rides.
