Evangeline Riley is quite happy living at the bottom of the
world, in a small fishing village known as Bayou Perdu in Plaquemines Parish.
Even though she’s chosen by default to reign as Fleet Queen during the annual
blessing of the shrimp fleet, Evangeline wears jeans and white rubber boots.
She is, after all, the daughter of a shrimp fisherman and loves every minute of
it.
Joanne O’Sullivan opens her young adult tale “Between Two
Skies” with Evangeline happy in her native habitat — even though she also wears
a shrimp tiara for the festival. It’s this juxtaposition of her love of nature
versus modern expectations that will resonate throughout the book when
Hurricane Katrina destroys Bayou Perdu and sends Evangeline and her family to
Atlanta. After the family evacuates and realizes that returning home is a
long-term option, they head to Georgia where Evangeline’s aunt resides. The
Riley family acquire through a family member furnished housing, receive charity
for clothes and start school at one of Atlanta’s best high schools. But it’s
heart-breaking for all. Without his livelihood, the father falls into a
depression, Mandy has difficulty making the cheerleading squad and Evangeline
floats rudderless through each day. Her saving grace happens when she meets another
evacuee, a boy whose blues resonates in her soul and helps her to rebound.
“Between Two Skies” is the perfect read for this time of
year, when the Katrina anniversary looms and we’re reminded of how life as we
know it in Louisiana can be easily washed away. It reminds us of the precious
commodity we call home, both physically and with the people we love. O’Sullivan’s
lyrical writing paints this story with a delicate brush. I suddenly was back in
2005, experiencing that anguish through the sweet, tender heart of a
16-year-old missing the bayous and Gulf waters of her South Louisiana home.
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| L-R: Clara Martin, Kristen L. Gray. Cassie Beasley, Kimberly Willis Holt, Alison McGhee |
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the annual
Mississippi Book Festival in Jackson where I heard several outstanding female
authors speak, all at the gorgeous and historic Mississippi State Capitol. Two
panels stood out for me, one on middle grade authors and another emphasizing
the female story, both encouraging to both readers and writers.
Several middle grade authors, including Kimberly Willis Holt
who has ties to Louisiana, spoke of how books at a young age allowed them to
experiment and envision who they wanted to be. Alison McGhee, author of “Pablo
and Birdy,” said she felt empowered reading at age 10. Holt chose the genre
because it represents a time when “anything is possible.”
“Middle grade readers are so enthusiastic about books,” said
Cassie Beasley, author of “Tumble and Blue,” where an alligator narrates the
story. “I feel there is no such thing as a reluctant reader. They just haven’t
found the right book.”
Holt credits teachers for putting her on the path to
publishing, after a friend and two teachers complimented her on her creative
writing in middle school. “I went to school thinking I couldn’t be a writer and
I went home thinking I could be a writer,” Holt said. “And it was all because
of those three people.”
In the panel, “Her Story,” four outstanding women spoke of
their road to publishing, its challenges and successes. “Write your story,”
said Mary Ann Connell, long-time Mississippi lawyer, professor and author of
the memoir, “An Unforeseen Life.” “Take pictures. Record your stories. You can
do whatever you want to do regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, if you work
at it.” Other “Her Story” authors included Jessica B. Harris, a ground-breaking
African American author of 12 cookbooks; Suzanne Marrs, a Welty Foundation
scholar-in-residence at Millsaps College and author of “Meanwhile There Are
Letters: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald;” Norma Watkins,
author of the memoir “That Woman from Mississippi;” and Susan Cushman, author
of “Cherry Bomb.”
National Book Fest
Ernest Gaines will launch his new book, “The Tragedy of Brady Sims,” and New Orleans’ Jesmyn Ward will launch, “Sing, Unburied, Sing,”
Saturday at the 2017 Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington,
D.C. The event marks the festival’s 17th anniversary, with more than 100
authors on 10 different stages. For information, visit loc.gov/bookfest/.
New releases
David Cappello, a business writer who lives in New Orleans,
will discuss his new book, “The People’s Grocer: John G. Schwegmann, New
Orleans, and the Making of the Modern Retail Worlds” at 7 p.m. Thursday at
the East Bank Regional Library in Metairie. The book is a business-based
biography of Schwegmann, founder of a New Orleans’ supermarket chain. His 1951
Supreme Court victory over “fair trade” laws played a key role in legalizing
discount pricing. Cappello is a business writer, musician, poet and
playwright in New Orleans.
Award-winning author Linda Joyce of Louisiana has a new book
out and it’s only 99 cents to download until Thursday. “Her Heart’s Desire”
centers around Lia, who has loved Lucas for years, unbeknownst to him. Lucas
loves Lia as well, and thoughts of her have kept Lucas alive while fighting
overseas. But she’s the sister of his best friend, and when he returns home he’s
promised to keep the wrong kind of guys away from her. Family, Mother Nature,
and the bank are standing in the way of their happily-ever-after. But will
their love have a chance to bloom?
Book events
Price Ainsworth discusses and signs his novel partially set
in New Orleans, “A Minor Fall,” at 2 p.m. today at the Garden District Book
Shop in New Orleans.
The Jeanerette Museum presents writer and roots music
scholar Todd Mouton in a music history talk at 6 p.m. Wednesday at 500 E. Main
St., Jeanerette. Mouton will give a multimedia presentation and discussion of
the zydeco musician Clifton Chenier and the many musicians he influenced. Mouton
is the author of “Way Down in Louisiana: Clifton Chenier, Cajun, Zydeco, and
Swamp Pop Music.” This free talk is suitable for an adult audience, seating may
be limited and taken on a first come, first serve basis and a book signing will
follow. For more information, visit www.jeanerettemuseum.com
or email jeanerettemuseum@yahoo.com.
“The 10 Secrets of E-book Self-Publishing Success” by author
Deborah LeBlanc and members of the Writers Guild of Acadiana from 10 a.m. to 3
p.m. Saturday in the large meeting room at South Regional Library in Lafayette.
There will be a one-hour lunch break at midpoint of the workshop.
Cheré Coen is the author
of the “Viola Valentine” Louisiana paranormal mystery series under the pen name
of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.
