Houston – This year marks the 125th anniversary of the great Galveston hurricane of 1900, the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. To honor that chapter of Texas history, two Houstonians have turned the storm into powerful fiction that still resonates with readers and with Galveston itself.
Paul Remmers, author of Island Intern, and Greg Funderburk, author of The Mourning Wave, both draw on local history and personal perspective. Their books tap into a city that has kept the storm alive through archives, family stories, and the Rosenberg Library collections. For many native Galvestonians, the event is not distant history; it is part of family memory.
Research played a big role in both books. Paul says his wife nudged him to finish a manuscript he began around the 100-year anniversary in the year 2000, then resurrected it after Hurricane Harvey when she found an old floppy disk. Greg looked for the small, compelling stories inside the epic event, interviewing people like Linda McDonald, who helped uncover contemporary newspaper accounts and orphan rosters at St. Mary’s Orphanage Asylum that sparked his imagination. He used archives and survivor rosters to shape his narrative.
The authors also brought their own life experiences to the page. Greg, who does pastoral care work, says he wanted the book to move toward hope while acknowledging grief and trauma, and that listening to people’s stories influenced how he wrote. Paul, a physician and first-time author, set his story during the intern year because it is a pivotal, often humbling time, which he felt added emotional depth to a book set amid disaster.
Both writers have been surprised and moved by readers reaching out with family memories. After Greg’s book was published, a descendant called, revealing a personal connection to one of his characters. Those exchanges have shown how fiction can reopen dialogue about the storm and its long impact.
If you want to read these novels, both titles are available at Brazos Bookstore and Galveston Bookshop.