Laurence Parent is the author of thirty-seven books, including Big Bend National Park, Texas Coast, Texas Mountains (all coauthored by Joe Nick Patoski), and Official Guide to Texas State Parks and Historic Sites. A full-time freelance photographer and writer specializing in landscape, travel, and nature subjects, Parent has been published in Men's Journal, Outside, Backpacker, Sierra, Natural History, National Parks, Newsweek, Arizona Highways, Travel & Leisure, the New York Times, Texas Highways, Texas Monthly, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and New Mexico Magazine.