Newly published by Palmetto Publishing, the novel follows a young hunting guide whose paradise life on the Texas Gulf Coast unravels after a deadly storm and a dangerous discovery.
Brushstrokes and White Lines
Charleston, SC, Aug. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Palmetto Publishing has released Brushstrokes and White Lines, a new novel by D.A. Bennett. Set along the barrier islands of the Texas Gulf Coast, the book tells the story of a young man whose carefully chosen life of simplicity collides with a criminal underworld he never expected to encounter.
River Fitzhugh is a twenty-six-year-old hunting and fishing guide living on Mustang Island near Port Aransas, Texas. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Rice University, River turned his back on a privileged Houston upbringing to pursue the outdoor life he always wanted. Under the mentorship of Doc Wilkerson, the most respected guide on the coast, River builds a quiet existence defined by salt air, hard work, and his relationship with his girlfriend Mason. It is, by any measure, a life most people only dream about.
That life is shattered when a violent Blue Norther storm tears across the backwater flats during a routine hunting trip. A prominent client, a doctor with deep ties to Doc’s own past, is killed in a boating accident. What River finds in the aftermath of the tragedy pulls him into territory he never imagined. Hidden in the dead man’s vehicle is a secret worth a fortune, one that forces River and a fellow hunter to confront a temptation that could destroy everything they have built. The novel traces the consequences of that discovery as the stakes extend far beyond the Texas coast.
D.A. Bennett stated, “Understanding that we are all different but so what. We’re human. Live like one. I want readers to feel good about themselves while also confronting the problems we all face. Good books have helped me with that in my own life, and I want to pass that on to everyone who reads my writing.”
The novel will appeal to readers of rugged, character-driven fiction set in the American outdoors. Fans of Texas literary voices such as Rick Bass and Ben Rehder will find familiar ground in Bennett’s detailed portrayal of coastal life, small-town loyalty, and moral compromise. With its themes of identity, belonging, and the cost of temptation, Brushstrokes and White Lines speaks to a broad adult readership drawn to stories where ordinary people face extraordinary choices. Bennett, who holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A&M University, brings a builder’s precision to his storytelling, shaped by a life of constant motion as the child of a military family.
Brushstrokes and White Lines is available for purchase online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. For more information about the author, please visit any of their social media platforms.
About the Author: D.A. Bennett holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A&M University and began a writing career in poetry and short stories while studying at the University of Nebraska. Bennett was the first City Manager for the City of Port Aransas in 1979. With a background that spans academia, real estate development, and new home construction, Bennett brings a builder’s eye for structure and detail to every narrative, constructing stories with the same precision and care once applied to blueprints and foundations.
Bennett’s path to fiction was shaped by a life in constant motion. Born into a military family, Bennett moved twenty-three times in twenty-six years, from Newfoundland to Riverside, California, and finally to San Antonio, Texas. That itinerant upbringing cultivated a deep fascination with the people, landscapes, and moral complexities of American life. These themes run through Brushstrokes and White Lines: A Good Read, a novel set on the Texas coast that explores ambition, accident, and the choices that define us. Bennett writes with a core conviction: that life is good, and that we must keep working to make it better for everyone.
After formally retiring from home construction in 2008, Bennett split time between Florida and Blue Hill, Maine, where a sense of place and community continued to fuel the creative imagination. Bennett’s fiction reflects a lifetime of lived experience and a belief that good storytelling can help readers feel better about themselves while confronting the challenges we all share. Follow D.A.Bennett for updates on new releases.
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- Brushstrokes and White Lines
CONTACT: Leah Joseph Palmetto Publishing [email protected]
