Ebook Spotlight: Christa Allan

Christa Allan of New Orleans offers a free novella to get you in the holiday spirit, “All They Want for Christmas,” book one of the Magnolia Hills Garden Club series. There’s a new bakery to open, a broken engagement, and feuding mothers. Just what Levi and Holly wanted for Christmas. 

This novella is written for a general market audience.

Allan’s latest novel is “Since You’ve Been Gone,” available for download for $3.99. 

Here’s the book description: One moment, Olivia Kavanaugh is preparing to walk down the aisle and embrace her own happily ever after. The next, she learns that her fiancé, Wyatt Hammond, has been in a fatal car accident. Then comes a startling discovery: Wyatt’s car wasn’t heading toward the church. He was fifty miles away…with a baby gift in the backseat.

Her faith shaken, Olivia pores over the clues left behind, desperate to know where Wyatt was going that day and why. As she begins uncovering secrets, she also navigates a tense relationship with her judgmental mother and tries to ignore the attentions of a former boyfriend who’s moved back home. But when she starts receiving letters written by Wyatt before his death, she must confront a disturbing question: Can we ever know anyone fully, even someone we love?

When an unexpected path forward—though nothing like the life she once envisioned—offers the promise of a new beginning, will she be strong enough to let go of the past and move toward it?

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! For more information and to sign up for her newsletter visit www.cherieclaire.net.

Children's book tells all the things you never knew about Jean Laffite

            I’ll bet you thought you knew everything about Jean Laffite. Did you know the pirate was Jewish, spelled his name with two f’s as opposed to two t’s and lived out his life in exile in St. Louis?

            There is a school of thought that Jean headed to Missouri where he lived under a fake name, married and had children and asked that his memoirs be published after 107 years. Susan Goldman Rubin tells this version in the children’s picture book, “Jean Laffite: The Pirate Who Saved America.”

            Illustrated by Jeff Himmelman, the book begins with Laffite’s childhood in Port-au-Prince, then part of Saint Domingue and a colony of France, now known as Haiti. Young Laffite admires his pirating older brother Alexander and follows in his footsteps, despising Spain for its brutal treatment of Jews during the Spanish Inquisition. Naturally, the Laffite brothers pillage Spanish ships.

            When Jean is captured by a Spanish man-of-war, he and his family are left to die on an island where they were later rescued by Americans and brought to New Orleans. This experience, Rubin claims, makes Jean loyal to Americans.

            The rest is more familiar to Louisianans, Laffite first being hounded by then Louisiana Gov. Claiborne, selling smuggled slaves to Louisiana residents against U.S. law and hiding out in Barataria Bay. When the English set out to attack New Orleans, Laffite spreads the word and is eventually recruited by Andrew Jackson and the pair help win the famous Battle of New Orleans.

            Rubin concludes the book with a lengthy author’s note, describing Laffite’s later years and his little-known memoir.

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            Theresa N. Singleton of Lafayette has published a charming children’s book titled “Zydeco Zoom,” in which a young boy named Zerick plays his accordion in front of an audience for the first time. Illustrated by L. Foote, the book also includes the song, “Zydeco Zoom” and definitions of zydeco and other unique attributes of Louisiana in the forword. Singleton will read “Zydeco Zoom,” along with her previous book, “Grandfather Lee and the Bees,” at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 13, at the St. Martinville Branch Library and later Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Breaux Bridge Branch Library and 2 p.m. at the Cecilia Branch Library. She will also be at the Thensted Outreach Center as part of the Thensted Summer Renaissance Program from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday, June 21, in Grand Coteau.

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            Just in time for peach season out of Ruston, Pelican Publishing has released the “Giant Peach Yodel!” picture book for children, written by Jan Peck and illustrated by Barry Root. The book follows a family on their way to a peach festival and each time they pass a field, Little Buddy Earl yodels and makes the crops grow faster. His mom doesn’t think there’s much use for yodeling until Little Buddy Earl fattens up the peaches, resulting in one giant peach.

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            Joanne Aamodt of Minnesota has written a children’s picture book about a loon who travels from the warm waters of Louisiana to the spring lakes up north in “Claire, the Loon” (AuthorHouse). The book geared for ages 4 to 8 plays off Claude Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.”

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            “Minette’s Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat” by Susanna Reich tells the story of gourmand Child and her determination to learn French cooking while in Paris through her experience adopting “a mischievous, energetic poussiequette” named Minette, who prefers mice to anything gourmet. It’s a charming exploration of the famous chef, accented by adorable illustrations by award winner Amy Bates, with a fun biography in the afterword.

           

Book awards

            Christa Allen’s sophomore novel, “The Edge of Grace,” received the Selah Award for first place in Contemporary Fiction at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference in Ridgecrest, North Carolina. Allen recently moved from Abita Springs to New Orleans.

             Covington’s O’Neil De Noux received the 2011 Police Book of the Year award for his novel, “John Raven Beau,” published by Big Kiss Productions of New Orleans. De Noux is a police investigator for Southeastern Louisiana University and has written 10 novels and eight short story collections.

           

Book events

            Casa Azul Gifts hosts an oral history presentation with Grand Coteau native Joseph “Bay” Brooks and New Orleans author Constance Adler at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 14, at the store in Grand Coteau. Brooks owned his own auto repair garage for 35 years and he will share stories of growing up and living in Grand Coteau. His presentation will be filmed by documentary filmmaker Chere Breaux. Adler teaches a creative writing workshop and writes a blog, “Emily Every Day.” Her writing has appeared in Spy Magazine, Utne Reader, Self, Cable Guide, Baltimore Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, Oxford American and Gambit New Orleans. Adler’s first book, “My Bayou,” is a memoir that takes place in New Orleans. Bring your own poems, songs or stories for the open mic that follows. This free, community event is appropriate for all ages. For more information call (337) 662-1032 or email festivalwords@gmail.com.

            “The Complete Women of William Shakespeare” will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 15 and 16, and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 17, at Theatre 810 in downtown Lafayette.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She teaches writing at UL-Lafayette’s Continuing Education. Write her at chere@louisianabooknews.com.

Cyril Vetter, ALA Convention

Cyril E, Vetter, author of “Fonville Winans’ Louisiana: Politics, People and Places” and “The Louisiana Houses of A. Hays Town,” has published a novel about Louisiana singer-songwriter Charles “Butch” Hornsby titled “Dirtdobber Blues” (LSU Press). Upon entering my house, “Dirtdobber Blues” was snatched up by my husband, Bruce Coen, the music manager at Barnes & Noble and a blues aficionada. Here is his review of Vetter’s book:

            “In the latest release of a fairly new genre called creative non-fiction, author Cyril E. Vetter’s account of Charles ‘Butch’ Hornsby in his book ‘Dirtdobber Blues’ depicts one of the most versatile, creative and musical icons to come out of South Louisiana. Vetter got to know Hornsby by producing most of his music and acting as a friend when Hornsby needed one during his many alcoholic and drug periods of which there were many during the early and middle years.

“Vetter chooses to create dialogue and add certain elements to Hornsby’s life that certainly makes for good reading whether they actually happened or not. The book is fast paced and flows quickly in line with the life Hornsby chose for himself attributed to his sometimes erratic but always colorful personality. Even though Hornsby comes across as a tortured genius at times he’s virtually unknown in most creative circles, which is a shame. Vetter takes care of that by including a 14-song CD of Hornsby’s inspired South Louisiana version of country flavored, swamp pop blues along with sheet music. There are also full-page photographs of Hornsby’s paintings and sculptures taken by local favorite Philip Gould.

“This is a good read and should be in anyone’s collection with an interest in the great but not forgotten spiritual folk who have and always will contribute to the real South Louisiana.”

Librarians unite!

            The massive American Library Association national conference was held in New Orleans this past week. I ran into humor author Christee Atwood (“In Celebration of Elastic Waistbands”) and her equally funny husband, David, who makes a living as a voice author (movies trailers, ads, you name it). We toured the convention, running into Louisiana authors Ciji Ware, Johnette Downing and Dianne de Las Casas, in addition to Louisiana librarians. Other state authors at the convention were Judy Christie, Joyce Magnin, Christa Allan and Mo Willems, to name a few.

            Ware was promoting her latest book, “Midnight on Julia Street,” to be published in August by Sourcebooks. Ware once lived on Ursulines Street in the French Quarter but now makes her home in San Francisco, but you could tell she was glad to be back in New Orleans, especially since she continues to write about the city. An Emmy award-winning TV producer and journalist, Ware’s latest novel concerns a reporter who comes to New Orleans and discovers a great story.

            Ocean Tree Books introduced me to “Anna Christiana’s ‘Un-a-fancii’ New Orleans Cookbook,” by Deborah J. Lindsey and Anna Christiana, the latter of which lives in New Orleans and once owned a seafood shop on Oak Street. The cookbook is filled with interesting recipes and history of the Carrollton Street area.

            Russell Freedman signed his award-winning “Lafayette and the American Revolution,” a beautifully illustrated chapter book of the American hero who helped the American colonists win independence. And, of course, I had to tell him I hailed from one of the many Lafayette towns in America.

            Deborah Heiligman signed her nod to July 4, a “Holidays Around the World” book from National Geographic titled “Celebrate Independence Day” and a great book to have on hand this weekend.

            At the Pelican Publishing booth, the New Orleans publisher touted De Las Casas and Downing’s numerous titles, plus Rickey Pittman, Sheila Hebert Collins, Cecilia Casrill Dartez, Denise McConduit and Holly Stone-Barker, among others.     

Ebook news

New Orleans playwright Rosary O’Neill has just published an ebook titled “Tropical Depression” (Smashwords). The romantic woman’s novel tells the story of a wealthy student and housewife who runs off with a college professor only to be caught by a hurricane in a Louisiana swamp. The book cost $2.99 and can be downloaded at www.smashwords.com.

Also at Smashwords is “A Darker Shade of Midnight” by Baton Rouge author Lynn Emery. The paranormal murder mystery takes place in Louisiana. 

Seminars, contests

The Writers’ Guild of Acadiana will host a one-day seminar titled “Scare ’Em and Sell ’Em: How to Write a Paranormal Novel” with author Deborah LeBlanc, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, in the annex building attached to the Rice Theater in Crowley. The cost is $45 for non-members, $35 for members. To register, mail your check or money order to Writers’ Guild of Acadiana, P.O. Box 51532, Lafayette, LA 70505-1532.

            Entrants are now being accepted for the Sixth Annual Dixie Kane Memorial Contest, sponsored by Southern Louisiana Romance Writers of America. Submission fee is $15 with cash prizes offered to the winners. The deadline to enter is July 15. For more information, visit http://solawriters.org or email contest coordinator Nick Genovese at ngenovese@gmail.com.