New and upcoming Louisiana books

There are always new books being released about our state. Or books by Louisiana authors. Here are a few of which to take note.

Louisiana author Deanna Chase publishes her fifth book in the Pyper Rayne series, "Spirits, Spells and Wedding Bells," out this week. "Power of the Witch," book seven in the Witches of Heating Hollow series, follows in September. 

Geoffrey Baker offers tours of New Orleans’ iconic neighborhoods in “New Orleans: An Intimate Journey Through a City with Soul” by Images Publishing.

“Fireworks in Jubilee,” an anthology featuring Louisiana author Linda Joyce, as well as Rachel Jones and Melissa Klein, asks the questions, “Can six totally different people really find love in Jubilee, Georgia, on the Fourth?”

Norman German offers a bone-shaking murder mystery set in the backwaters of Lake Charles with "Cripple Bayou Two-Step," published by DVille Press. The book's manuscript was a finalist in the St. Martin's Private Eye Writers of American first novel contest. 

August

Food personality Poppy Tooker’s latest book, “Drag Queen Brunch,” will hit bookshelves Aug. 27 from Rainbow Road Press. The book contains dishes and recipes of several drag queens of New Orleans. A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the book will be dedicated to Crescent Care of the New Orleans AIDS Task Force, and the Lazarus House.

Farrah Rochon’s eighth and final book in the Holmes Brothers series, “Return to Me,” is now available for pre-order. The book will be available Aug. 30.

September

The Historic New Orleans Collection will release “Enigmatic Stream: Industrial Landscapes of the Lower Mississippi River,” a new book by New Orleans-based photographer and author Richard Sexton. Nearly 100 black-and-white photographs document the dramatic influence of heavy industry between and along the river’s banks, as well as the sometimes jarring juxtapositions between innovation and decay, the commercial and the residential, and the manmade and the natural.

Joseph Arthur Simon’s “The Greatest of All Leathernecks” by LSU Press chronicles John A. Lejeune (1867–1942), a Louisiana native and called by Simon the most influential leader of the U.S. Marine Corps in the 20th century. As Marine Corps commandant from 1920-29, Lejeune reorganized, revitalized and modernized the force by developing its new and permanent mission of amphibious assault. At the time, the corps was a constabulary force used to protect American business interests in the Caribbean, not the significant contributor to national defense it is known as today.

Also by LSU Press, “Observing the Invisible,” poetry by Kelly Cherry, the Eudora Welty Professor Emerita of English and Evjue-Bascom Professor Emerita in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “Jim Crow’s Last Stand” by Thomas Aiello will be re-released this month in paperback.

October

Monique Boutte Christina heads back to her family's New Orleans restaurant with “Let’s Party at Mulate’s,” published by Pelican Publishing. We received an advanced copy and have a review coming soon so check back!

In addition to her fall books, Chase begins a new series with “A Witch For Mr. Holiday,” book one in the Witches of Christmas Grove.” The book will be available Oct. 8.

November

Globe Pequot Press will publish “Louisiana Off the Beaten Path” by Jackie Sheckler Finch. According to the book’s press release, “Louisiana Off the Beaten Path” shows you the Pelican State with new perspectives on timeless destinations and introduces readers to new ones, such as the pirate pistol-adorned bridge that’s an homage to swashbuckler Jean Lafitte's stomping grounds, the country's largest rose garden and stories from “America's Most Haunted City.”

Louisiana Book News is written by award-winning author Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is FREE to download as an ebook, including "Emilie," book one of The Cajun Series, "Ticket to Paradise," book one of The Cajun Embassy series and "A Ghost of a Chance," the first Viola Valentine mystery.