Duplechain's 'Bayou' a haunting tale

            Leigh Benoit left Louisiana without a look in her rearview mirror but her brother’s death brings her home. Benoit wants only to return to California and away from hurtful family memories but her grandmother insists she now take care of her orphaned niece, Lyla, in the page-turning thriller “Dark Bayou” by Nancy K. Duplechain, published by Lulu.com.

There’s evil lurking in the woods, threatening her family and possibly the reason for her brother’s death. Benoit must protect Lyla, and with the help of her childhood friend, Detective Lucas Castille, uncover the dark secrets hiding in her Cajun Country origins.

            Duplechain hails from Ville Platte and is a graduate of ULL with concentrations in creative writing and literature. She moved to Los Angeles to work on screenplays but, like her character, may be coming home soon. We hope so because “Dark Bayou” is a worthy debut novel and we hope to see more.

You can purchase this book in a variety of ways, from downloads to hardback, at www.lulu.com.

In other new releases:

Robert Williams of Smart has published a memoir titled “The Addiction,” with an emphasis on a love for deer hunting, by Dorrance Publishing. For information or to obtain a copy, visit rosedogbookstore.com.

Westlake author Rodney Hennigan has published a heartfelt book about his outdoors adventures with his sons titled, “My Father’s Gift: A Louisiana Outdoor Legacy.”

            Chuck Hustmyre’s “House of the Rising Sun,” a suspense novel involving the mafia in New Orleans, has been made into a movie by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

Rick Bragg now writes “The Southern Journal” on the last page of Southern Living each month. You can view Bragg narrating his articles (which really makes it fun), at www.southernliving.com.

Mary Harris of Sunset now living in Houston has published a book dedicated to those struggling with feelings of abandonment titled “The Children That Nobody Wanted,” published through iUniverse.  

Morena Caleb of Fenton has published a new book titled “Woman, Are You Sure God Called You to Preach?,” addressing the Bible’s answer to women preachers. “I did a thorough study of the Bible, examining almost all of the women of the Bible,” she wrote by email. “It expresses my desire to be a preacher until I spent five years in Boulden Seminary.”

            Sam Irwin of Baton Rouge has been selected as the “Featured Writer of the Month” by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Writers Association. He submitted a short piece of fiction for their Web site titled “Run, Redneck, Run,” a short story inspired by his football career. For more on Irwin, visit his blog at www.LaNote.org.

Kima Lucille Richard of St. Bernard Parish has published a children’s book titled “Possibilities,” available at www.yourtimepublishing.com. The boy features  History and Heritage Hanks, a brother and sister duo from New Orleans who teach readers lessons through their own self discovery and explorations.

Southeastern professor Norman German has published a tome on the origins of words in “The Word on Words: The Play of Language” (CreateSpace) and David M. Sever, head of the Department of Biological Sciences at Southeastern, has co-edited “Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Snakes” with Robert D. Aldridge of St. Louis University, the ninth volume in a series on reproductive biology.

Book events

Barnes & Noble at 2590 CitiPlace Court in Baton Rouge will host a book signing with former Gov Edwin W. Edwards & Leo Honeycutt at 2 p.m. Saturday. They will be signing "Edwin Edwards: Governor of Louisiana."

            Cara Hoffman will sign “So Much Pretty” at 6 p.m. Thursday at St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. Fifty percent of the proceeds of this sale will benefit the Advocacy Center of New Orleans.

The Acadiana Writing Project in collaboration with LSU-Eunice Continuing Education is sponsoring the third annual Word Up! youth writer’s camp from 9 a.m. to noon daily July 25-29. Camp directors are consultants for the Acadiana Writing Project and are experienced teachers who love writing. The camp is open to students in fourth to 12th grade. The cost is $89 and includes tuition, T-shirt and an anthology of student writing. For information, call (888) FOR LSUE, Ext. 390, or (337) 550-1390.