www.julielake.com

Dallas native Julie Lake has always been fascinated by turn-of-the-century Texas. As a child, she loved wandering through old houses and discovering all their nooks and crannies. She also pestered her grandmother mercilessly about life in “the olden days.”

Julie earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Texas. While doing research several years ago, she ran across several sobering memoirs of the Galveston hurricane of 1900, which remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. The stories and photos haunted her and raised many questions as to why so many people died in the storm and how those who survived found the strength to rebuild the island. Eventually, Julie wove those questions into a manuscript.

TCU Press published Galveston’s SUMMER OF THE STORM in Spring 2003. The book, geared for upper elementary and middle school readers, takes readers into early Galveston and plunges them into the heart of the storm. Julie’s book is part of the state’s Accelerated Reader Program and is being used as a classroom text in the education classes at Sam Houston State University. She was a featured author at the 2004 Texas Book Festival.

Julie is available for school visits and also presents writing workshops for both children and adults. She lives in Austin with her husband, two daughters, a mouse and one very demanding guinea pig.