I picked up my copies of Gumbo Justice yesterday from Billie, my publisher at Oak Tree Publishing, and I am amazed at how good the cover looks. I wish I could say I had a lot to do with it, but I don't. The colors are fitting for New Orleans, purple and gold on the cover, purple, green and gold on the back cover, appropriate for the town that celebrates Mardi Gras. My kids learned in pre-K, apparently the history of Mardi Gras is part of the pre-k curriculum in southeast Louisiana public schools, that purple of Mardi Gras stands for justice, green for faith, and gold for power.
I am trying to decide when to hold the book launch. It will definitely be at the bar, whether it is opened as a bar or not. (If we get screwed by code enforcement, we can still have a free private party in the building until we file suit in JP.) In any event, I am looking forward to everyone reading it and letting me know what they think. Hopefully, readers will enjoy it enough to want the read second one I'm working on now.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
GUMBO JUSTICE is for sale
I am amped because GUMBO JUSTICE is finally available for purchase. I don't know whether to write "is for sale," or "is on sale." It's actually both, kind of, because the Amazon and BandN price is sale priced from the cover- not that I care. I am just stoked people can finally get it to read it.
I am also a little apprehensive. It's a little nerve wracking, wondering if people are going to get it, if they'll like it, if they'll think parts of it are borderline pornographic. I worry about things like sex scenes in the book, because I don't want people to think I'm a pervert, and sometimes I come away from a regular thriller, say for instance an Iris Johnasen novel, and I think, the book was okay, but the sex scenes were insane. But then she always has those men and women who just meet, immediately hate each other, but immediately are attracted to each other, sort of romance novelish even in her thrillers that are not romance novels.
In any event, the book is like my third child. I've certainly spent as much time raising it as I have my kids, and of course, every mama wants her babies to make a good first impression. I guess I'll soon see.
I am also a little apprehensive. It's a little nerve wracking, wondering if people are going to get it, if they'll like it, if they'll think parts of it are borderline pornographic. I worry about things like sex scenes in the book, because I don't want people to think I'm a pervert, and sometimes I come away from a regular thriller, say for instance an Iris Johnasen novel, and I think, the book was okay, but the sex scenes were insane. But then she always has those men and women who just meet, immediately hate each other, but immediately are attracted to each other, sort of romance novelish even in her thrillers that are not romance novels.
In any event, the book is like my third child. I've certainly spent as much time raising it as I have my kids, and of course, every mama wants her babies to make a good first impression. I guess I'll soon see.
Friday, June 5, 2009
GUMBO JUSTICE
I am so excited to have seen the tentative cover for Gumbo Justice. It didn't quite seem real that the book was actually coming out until I saw the potential covers. So many decisions still to be made after a book is written and slated for publication. The cover, as I mentioned. What to include in the author bio. Whom to thank.
There are also decisions when proofing for the final draft. Some things may have changed since the novel was written. In my case, the law has changed, so I had to update some things to make sure they were current. Of course, the law is liable to change again, and then the info may be outdated. I put a note to that effect in the foreword. Also, we have had so many shifts in the makeup of the NOPD since Katrina I don't know if anyone could accurately portray it from one month to the next. Our current superintendent may make a run for mayor, and when we get a new mayor, whether it's Riley or not, we will get a new superintendent, who is appointed by the mayor. Then the structure of the NOPD is likely to change again. It's no wonder we can keep a lid on the crime problem.
Not that I'm complaining. It's excellent fodder for writing.
There are also decisions when proofing for the final draft. Some things may have changed since the novel was written. In my case, the law has changed, so I had to update some things to make sure they were current. Of course, the law is liable to change again, and then the info may be outdated. I put a note to that effect in the foreword. Also, we have had so many shifts in the makeup of the NOPD since Katrina I don't know if anyone could accurately portray it from one month to the next. Our current superintendent may make a run for mayor, and when we get a new mayor, whether it's Riley or not, we will get a new superintendent, who is appointed by the mayor. Then the structure of the NOPD is likely to change again. It's no wonder we can keep a lid on the crime problem.
Not that I'm complaining. It's excellent fodder for writing.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Angel Trap (formerly Bernie Angel)
While I am still editing Angel Trap, the screenplay I nicknamed Bernie Angel, after the protagonist, I am happy to report that an early version placed in the semi-finals of the Wild Sound Spring 2009 screenplay contest. From the twenty-five finalists, three winners will be chosen. The winning screenplays will be read at the Wild Sound Festival in Ontario.
I am still editing, based on feedback I've received, but placing as a finalist is a good step, because if I ever try to shop the screenplay, I can include the fact that it was a finalist in my information, which may mean it will actually get read. No guarantees, of course.
Interestingly, every time I thought I was finished with it, I felt sort of depressed, like my baby was leaving home.
I am still editing, based on feedback I've received, but placing as a finalist is a good step, because if I ever try to shop the screenplay, I can include the fact that it was a finalist in my information, which may mean it will actually get read. No guarantees, of course.
Interestingly, every time I thought I was finished with it, I felt sort of depressed, like my baby was leaving home.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Speaking of red tape
When I last wrote, we were waiting for the permits for the bar. Specifically, we were waiting for the permits from Jefferson Parish, and I was bemoaning the red tape we would have to hurdle.
Turns out, my fears were completely justified. We received a zoning revocation from the Director of Code Enforcement, Debbie Villio, claiming that we didn't have adequate parking for the zoning. No matter that the bar has always been a bar, apparently she was of the opinion it can no longer be a bar because of the zoning.
It boils down to a city councilman's constituent who lives in the neighborhood and does not want the bar to reopen there. This city councilman is obviously pulling the puppet strings, and couldn't care less that we were already advised by Code Enforcement that we could in fact reopen a bar there.
I'm a lawyer- I'll fight this to the end of time if I have to, because it only costs me the filing fee at court. What bothers me is all the people who suffer through this who are not attorneys, and who don't have attorney friends to work with them, and who have to perhaps give up their businesses because of political bullshit in Jefferson Parish.
Elton Lagasse is the city council member who, to my understanding, advised Ms. Villio to revoke the zoning. Mr. Lagasse visited the location of the bar room when my husband ran for sheriff and put a sign up on the building, and was asking about it at the Code Enforcement Office. Obviously, someone complained to him early on, while the roof of the building was still being repaired from Hurricane Katrina, and Mr. Lagasse takes his voters, or perhaps his voters' contributions, very seriously.
This is a building that was damaged by Katrina. The owner lost his will to continue running his bar and did not have the building repaired. The building was purchased, repaired, and is now ready to go back into commerce. Instead of being happy that the once-blighted, damaged building is now serving a function, the political powers that be would rather the hoi polloi work , I suppose, at jobs run by the politicians. If John Young, another council member, wanted a bar there, the bar would be there, and constituents be damned.
So now we are fighting the political machine once again, just to open a neighborhood bar on a street that already has several neighborhood bars, in an area zoned C-2, just because some people can't handle the little bit of power they've been able to grab.
Don't be surprised when my husband runs against Elton Lagasse in the next city council election.
Turns out, my fears were completely justified. We received a zoning revocation from the Director of Code Enforcement, Debbie Villio, claiming that we didn't have adequate parking for the zoning. No matter that the bar has always been a bar, apparently she was of the opinion it can no longer be a bar because of the zoning.
It boils down to a city councilman's constituent who lives in the neighborhood and does not want the bar to reopen there. This city councilman is obviously pulling the puppet strings, and couldn't care less that we were already advised by Code Enforcement that we could in fact reopen a bar there.
I'm a lawyer- I'll fight this to the end of time if I have to, because it only costs me the filing fee at court. What bothers me is all the people who suffer through this who are not attorneys, and who don't have attorney friends to work with them, and who have to perhaps give up their businesses because of political bullshit in Jefferson Parish.
Elton Lagasse is the city council member who, to my understanding, advised Ms. Villio to revoke the zoning. Mr. Lagasse visited the location of the bar room when my husband ran for sheriff and put a sign up on the building, and was asking about it at the Code Enforcement Office. Obviously, someone complained to him early on, while the roof of the building was still being repaired from Hurricane Katrina, and Mr. Lagasse takes his voters, or perhaps his voters' contributions, very seriously.
This is a building that was damaged by Katrina. The owner lost his will to continue running his bar and did not have the building repaired. The building was purchased, repaired, and is now ready to go back into commerce. Instead of being happy that the once-blighted, damaged building is now serving a function, the political powers that be would rather the hoi polloi work , I suppose, at jobs run by the politicians. If John Young, another council member, wanted a bar there, the bar would be there, and constituents be damned.
So now we are fighting the political machine once again, just to open a neighborhood bar on a street that already has several neighborhood bars, in an area zoned C-2, just because some people can't handle the little bit of power they've been able to grab.
Don't be surprised when my husband runs against Elton Lagasse in the next city council election.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Bar opening
Completely unrelated to my writing, my husband and I are waiting on the final permit from the parish so our bar in Harvey, the Last Stand, can open. I have always wanted to own a bar, and it is pretty exciting that it is finally happening.
My husband has put so much work into this bar. It needed a total renovation, and he basically started from scratch. When I had my car accident, the entire thing was put on hold for half a year. When I was finally able to move around again, he was able to be gone for short periods of time, and worked as much as he could. Now he is finally finished, and if we can hurdle the plethora of red tape it takes to get anything accomplished in Jefferson Parish, we will finally open.
When Gumbo Justice comes out, I'm thinking of hosting a book release party there. I'm also thinking of starting a writer's group or a book group out of the bar. I'll have to see how it goes.
My husband has put so much work into this bar. It needed a total renovation, and he basically started from scratch. When I had my car accident, the entire thing was put on hold for half a year. When I was finally able to move around again, he was able to be gone for short periods of time, and worked as much as he could. Now he is finally finished, and if we can hurdle the plethora of red tape it takes to get anything accomplished in Jefferson Parish, we will finally open.
When Gumbo Justice comes out, I'm thinking of hosting a book release party there. I'm also thinking of starting a writer's group or a book group out of the bar. I'll have to see how it goes.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Hurricane season in New Orleans
Last night we had tremendous storms in the New Orleans and southeast Louisiana area. Thunder so loud it woke me up, had me sitting up in bed making sure it wasn't the train sound of a tornado I've heard so much about. It wasn't, but with hurricane season right around the corner again, and with the forecasters predicting another bad one, I started thinking about the last big hurricane around here, Katrina.
I haven't thought about Katrina too much. When I do, I think of the businesses here that didn't return, friends who have moved away, the neighborhoods that have still not recovered.
This time I started thinking about Katrina changed us. Not just my family, but pretty much everyone I know. I recall being stuck in a hotel, a very nice one in Houston, 24 steps away from the Galleria, and fretting each day because we didn't know if they were going to continue to extend our stay. The hotel was booked, and we stayed for two weeks. I think about how for several days we had no idea if our house was okay, if the strays that lived in our yard survived, if our fish were okay.
We were lucky. Our house had minor roof damage, the animals survived, the cars were okay. For days, though, my husband couldn't work. He was a contractor, so work would abound eventually, but for a while, there were no supplies to be had, nothing was open, no way to start the recovery.
Without his income, we were in a pickle. I still got my pay, but we are a two income family for a reason. We applied for FEMA money, the $2000 everyone got, and were declined. No reasonable explanation, except maybe I applied too early and they weren't giving the money out yet. I applied for Red Cross money, which we did receive. I also applied for and received Food Stamps. I guess it should have been humiliating using the Louisiana debit card they give you from the state to purchase food, but at the time we needed it.
I had never thought in this life I would need food stamps. I work, I'm a lawyer, I have always paid my own way. But there were people who made more money than me, professional people, people who also worked and always paid their own way, who needed the boost from the state to make ends meet until the recovery began.
I had a boss once who said most people are one paycheck away from living on the street. I never thought about it too much until Katrina hit. But she was right. I can only imagine what happened to those people who didn't have at least one income to rely on while they were evacuated.
I haven't thought about Katrina too much. When I do, I think of the businesses here that didn't return, friends who have moved away, the neighborhoods that have still not recovered.
This time I started thinking about Katrina changed us. Not just my family, but pretty much everyone I know. I recall being stuck in a hotel, a very nice one in Houston, 24 steps away from the Galleria, and fretting each day because we didn't know if they were going to continue to extend our stay. The hotel was booked, and we stayed for two weeks. I think about how for several days we had no idea if our house was okay, if the strays that lived in our yard survived, if our fish were okay.
We were lucky. Our house had minor roof damage, the animals survived, the cars were okay. For days, though, my husband couldn't work. He was a contractor, so work would abound eventually, but for a while, there were no supplies to be had, nothing was open, no way to start the recovery.
Without his income, we were in a pickle. I still got my pay, but we are a two income family for a reason. We applied for FEMA money, the $2000 everyone got, and were declined. No reasonable explanation, except maybe I applied too early and they weren't giving the money out yet. I applied for Red Cross money, which we did receive. I also applied for and received Food Stamps. I guess it should have been humiliating using the Louisiana debit card they give you from the state to purchase food, but at the time we needed it.
I had never thought in this life I would need food stamps. I work, I'm a lawyer, I have always paid my own way. But there were people who made more money than me, professional people, people who also worked and always paid their own way, who needed the boost from the state to make ends meet until the recovery began.
I had a boss once who said most people are one paycheck away from living on the street. I never thought about it too much until Katrina hit. But she was right. I can only imagine what happened to those people who didn't have at least one income to rely on while they were evacuated.
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