Tuesday ebook spotlight - Jennifer Blake

Love Louisiana history paired with a steamy love story? Look no further than Steel Magnolia of women's fiction, Jennifer Blake. Right now Blake is offering four wonderful stories for only $4.99 as ebook downloads.

The Louisiana Plantation Collection includes:

SILVER-TONGUED DEVIL
Renold spins an enchanting tale of love and marriage, but Angelica only remembers their kiss before the steamboat exploded. How can she trust her supposed husband's word--when he is her father's sworn enemy?

MIDNIGHT WALTZ
Amalie's husband in an arranged marriage is uncaring and aloof during the day--but tenderly passionate in the dark of night. She could almost believe he's two different men....

ARROW TO THE HEART
At a tournament, Rowan wins a special prize he can neither accept nor refuse: bedding his host's young wife. Katrine declines to bear another man's child at her husband's command. The two play a defiant game of "Let's Pretend"...but can it keep them apart?

TENDER BETRAYAL
Roland proposes to Melanie to right a wrong. She accepts for vengeance. Will fiery passion join their troubled hearts--or ignite a final betrayal?

Please remember, 99-cent, free and discounted ebooks are gifts from authors. You can show your gratitude by leaving reviews on the websites where you downloaded the books. And of course buy their other books.

Louisiana Book News is written by journalist Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. The first two books (pictured here) in her award-winning series are free as ebooks! Visit http://www.cherieclaire.net/.

'Thousand Miles From Nowhere' by John Gregory Brown a Hurricane Katrina road to redemption

Henry Garrett wallows in a self-inflicted purgatory. He’s left his wife, moved into an abandoned grocery store on Magazine Street in New Orleans and worries for his sanity because of the endless clatter in his head, a condition he believes is linked to his father’s mental health and death. But Hurricane Katrina changes everything in John Gregory Brown’s “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere.” The storm forces Garrett out of New Orleans and he lands in a small Virginia town, not far from where he believes his wife to be. The town’s inhabitants, the colorful owner of the hotel where he stays, a lost manuscript and a tragic accident pulls Garrett back from insanity and gives him a reason to be. It’s a novel of loss, longing and the redemptive power of art.

Brown is a New Orleans native and the author of “Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery,” “The Wrecked,” “Blessed Body of Shelton Lafleur” and “Audubon’s Watch.” He directs the creative writing program at Sweet Briar College in Virginia and serves as the Julia Jackson Nichols Professor of English.

New releases

New Orleans-based writer and teacher Lara Naughton has published a memoir titled “The Jaguar Man,” a story of how one woman’s use of compassion helped her survive a rape and later find peace. Naughton leads writing workshops with inmates in New Orleans’s Parish Prison and is chair of the Creative Writing Department at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. She has published poetry and nonfiction and was the recipient of the Alice Judson Hayes Fellowship in 2012 for work that addresses social justice and the Surdna Arts Teacher Fellowship in 2009 for her work as a teacher. As a documentary playwright, she has created work with groups such as AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Program for Torture Victims and Resurrection After Exoneration and has written the play, “Never Fight a Shark in Water.” Naughton will discuss and sign her memoir beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Octavia Books of New Orleans.

  

Book events

            The Decatur Book Festival, the nation’s largest independent book festival, will be Friday through Sunday, Sept. 2-4, in Decatur, Ga. For more information, visit

www.decaturbookfestival.com.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country.” She writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Tuesday ebook spotlights

Nicole Dior continues her Louisiana series with “The Streets Or Me 2: A Louisiana Love Story,” available on Kindle for only 99 cents. Her first book is also discounted, so check out both.

Here’s the book description: “They say when love is on the front lines of the battlefield, it makes one question who's really loyal to them. After Legacy walked out, Khyia decided to make some changes in her life. She went from being a ride or die girl to opening her own boutique and becoming a full-time mother to her now seven month old twins, Lyric and Legend. When old love and new "drama" arise in her life, will Khyia be able to handle the pressure all on her own or will it be too much for one woman to handle? Legacy was on a mission to bring hell to the lives of those that took his best friend’s life, causing him to walk away from the only woman he loved. When he returns to Louisiana to get his cartel back on track, he doesn't return alone. Showing up with a new flame on his arm causes more unwanted drama in Legacy's life. Can he mend the break that he caused in Khyia's heart, or will he be left having his loyalty questioned? More drama arises in their lives and secrets are brought to the light, putting loyalty on the front lines. When the flames are ignited and smoke starts to rise, will Khyia and Legacy prove their loyalty to one another or will all respect be lost?

Here are two ebooks set in Louisiana, available as ebooks for $2.99:

Kirsten Osbourne of Texas sets her romance in the Bayou State around a wedding that takes an unusual turn with “Longingin Louisiana (At the Altar Book 8).”  

Here’s the book description: “Michelle Strempel firmly believes that she isn’t worthy of being loved. After her fiancé of almost three years tells her he’s got to break off their engagement, she decides to take matters into her own hands. With all the hours she’s spent planning a wedding, she’s going to have one on the day she’s planned. So she contacts Dr. Lachele Simpson from Matchrimony.

“Seth Henderson has no time to find a bride, but when he sees how happy his best friend, Daniel Axford, is with his new wife, he wants the same thing. He asks for a sweet little thing just like his friend received for a bride. When he meets Michelle, he can tell she’s got an inner strength that surprises him. Will he be able to get past her fears that she’s unlovable? Or will they spend the rest of their lives in a loveless marriage?”

P.W. Child and Paul Hunter have teamed up for a Louisiana-based mystery titled “Bones in the Bayou (TheLouisiana Files Book 1).”  

Here’s the book description: “FBI Agent Andrea Jensen is forced to leave her home to go to Calvin Parish Louisiana to investigate the murder of the eccentric Jean Beaumont, a charity worker, addict and wife beater, who left a crumbling plantation home to his wife Elizabeth. The beautiful socialite invites Andrea into her home and provides her with everything she needs during her stay. She even gives Andrea clues as to what happened, but she has her secrets, and they may prove deadly. Andrea will be have to navigate the macabre landscape and the intrigue within it while fighting to maintain her sanity. If the swamp doesn't kill her, the people might ...”

Louisiana Book News is written by journalist Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. The first two books in her award-winning series are free as ebooks! Visit http://www.cherieclaire.net/.