Lois Barrett takes her characters to hurricane country

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[It is not an easy life being a character in Lois Barrett's historical fiction. She has previously placed Campbell Smith in the middle and in the aftermath of the great earthquakes of 1811 and 1812.

Now she is sticking her characters in the middle of the devastating hurricanes on the Texas coast in 1875 and 1886 in her book "Gulf Coast Love Affair."

Barrett divides her time between two towns, Harrisburg and Cuero, Texas. When in Southern Illinois her mind is on earthquake history and when in Texas she writes about tropical storms.

Barrett bought a house in Cuero, Texas, that had been moved there from Indianola, Texas. Many houses moved inland after a hurricane in 1886.

"It was wiped clean to the sand," Barrett said.

She decided to take the Smith family from Boston to the west and place them in hurricane country.

Barrett researched historical hurricanes, especially the ones in 1875 in Galveston, Texas, 1886 and 1900 that destroyed the homes of 8,000 people.

She became fascinated with the psychology of coastal people.

"I was researching why people keep going back to the coast," Barrett said.

She came to believe that even though destructive storms are almost guaranteed, the sense of home and belonging overcomes the fear.

Barrett's husband pointed out to her risk is everywhere.

"I keep coming up here for the earthquakes just like people move back to the hurricanes," she said.

While coastal residents have a love affair with the coast, Barrett's main characters pursue a love affair of their own, one of a forbidden relationship due to religious conviction.

Barrett will be at The Book Emporium in Parker Plaza noon to 3 p.m. June 13 signing her book and the book is now for sale there.

-- DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.