Which Texas?

I recently asked Martina to take some pictures that would be representative of Waylon County, the fictional setting of many of my short stories. Waylon County is in Texas, but Texas has such a wide and varied physical and cultural landscape that asking someone "to take Texas pictures" is hardly useful.

I got to thinking about it. East Texas, with its pine trees and lakes, is physically and culturally more like the Deep South than the fictional world of Waylon County. Waylon County has entirely too many oak and pecan trees to be in West Texas, and my knowledge of the Gulf Coast is so limited that I would be reluctant to set a story anywhere near Galveston or South Padre unless it was told from a neophyte tourist's point of view.

In the end, Waylon County is geographically similar to the less populated parts of Gillespie County or perhaps the area around San Saba. The characters, however, tend to talk and behave like old timers from Wise or Denton counties. My characters tend to use the colloquialisms I was raised on, and they think out loud using cowboy logic.


Here is a picture that could be set in Waylon County.

Here is a picture of Monahans Sand Dune State Park. It is not in Waylon County.