An eighteen-year-old girl, two young boys, and a reclusive elderly neighbor work together to survive the aftermath of a destructive hurricane during the summer of 1969... "Despite the Wind" won 1st Place, out of 691 entries, in our Eighth Playground Challenge... Holly Grover Brandon is a talented writer from Petal, Mississippi. She is a preschool teacher and mother of four who squeezes bits of writing into the cracks of a chaotic life. She has published a few short stories here and there, and hopes to add a full-length novel to that list one day. You can follow Holly on social media - on Twitter @hollygb - on Instagram @holly_b_writer - or on Bluesky @hollygb.bsky.social… You can also read more of the winning stories from our competitions on our website, writersplaygroundllc.com