A City of Stories: Welcome to New Orleans ~guest post by Suzanne Johnson, author of Belle Chasse #giveaway

It's always great to have Suzanne Johnson here as my blog guest. Please welcome her, enjoy her guest post about New Orleans legends, check out her new release, Belle Chasse, and enter her terrific giveaway.

A City of Stories: Welcome to New Orleans

by Suzanne Johnson

Every city has its legends and stories, but in the U.S., it’s hard to find any place with more unusual tales than New Orleans. It’s widely considered the most haunted city in the States, a byproduct of its unique history.

A lot of the most infamous New Orleans stories are of the gruesome or frightening variety, and I have a theory about that. First, the city is old by U.S. standards, and thanks to a miscalculation during the Civil War, much of its old architecture is still standing. (All the soldiers were sent north to guard the city, so the Yankees simply sailed up the unguarded river and took the city without a fight. Duh.)

Second, as an old port city that has belonged to France, then Spain, then France again, then finally the United States, it is a true melting pot of cultures and nationalities, and each came in with its own traditions. Free people of color fleeing Haiti brought with them their voodoo, which blended with Catholicism for a unique mix of rituals and beliefs. Also as a port city, and because the climate is so inhospitable, my adopted hometown has a core history of violence.

But today, I’d like to share a few of the interesting New Orleans stories—real ones and legends—that are part of the reason I love this place!

* The Rougarou, or Loup-Garou. The “rougarou” is the South Louisiana version of the werewolf—which is an interesting legend for Louisiana to have because the state has no native wolves. According to legend, the rougarou—which is always white but sometimes is a dog or bear rather than a wolf—is a cursed human who can only be freed of the curse by killing someone else and passing it on to the victim. As the victim “dies” (to be resurrected as a rougarou), the beast must reveal his human identity. In the Sentinels of New Orleans series, the loup-garou, aka rougarou, are rogue werewolves that do not adhere to the pack structure and have poor control over their beasts. They are often killed by one of the packs.

* The Patriot Pirate. This particular story is true, and dates back to the War of 1812, when the Americans and British were continuing to fight over the “new world” territory. The final battle of the war, which became known as the Battle of New Orleans, took place in 1815. General Andrew Jackson, heading up the American forces, was badly outnumbered by the Brits and didn’t have enough weapons or ammunition. Against his better judgment, he sought help from the real “King” of the New Orleans area, the French pirate Jean Lafitte. Lafitte not only tricked the British into thinking he was supporting them, but brokered a deal with the Americans so that he and his followers would be pardoned for all their pirating crimes. Against all odds, with American soldiers fighting alongside Lafitte’s renegades and pirates, the battle was won and the British retreated. Alas, the charming “gentleman pirate” Lafitte was soon bored with life as an upstanding citizen and he renewed his life of piracy. Thanks to the magic of human memory, however, he lives on in his immortal undead form in the Sentinels series, and much of BELLE CHASSE takes place at his home in the preternatural world.

* The Napoleon House. This story is also true. Nicholas Girod, the mayor of New Orleans, had a fine ca. 1797 house in what is now the French Quarter, at the corner of Chartres and St. Louis streets. In 1821, when Napoleon Bonaparte was sent into exile, Girod prepared the second-story apartments for the exiled emperor and began hatching a plot to bring him to New Orleans. Napoleon never made it, having died before the plans could be enacted. But ever since, the Girod residence has been known as the Napoleon House. It’s now a bar and restaurant, and is a great place to soak in the local history and watch the world go by. Several key scenes in the Sentinels series take place here.

* The Casket Girls and the Vampires. The Frenchmen living in New Orleans in 1700 had a problem—there was a distinct shortage of suitable young women for them to marry. The French government had the perfect solution, however. They sent many virtuous young women, taken from orphanages and convents, and sent them to “Louisiane” with a government-issued trunk of belongings, “casquettes” or “cassettes.” The girls became known as “les filles a la cassette.” Until they could be paired with husbands, the girls lived in the Ursuline Convent with the nuns, sleeping in the attic. According to legend, the girls’ trunks were shaped like coffins and contained vampires. During the evening hours, the dormer windows of the attic would open and dark figures would be seen flying from them…even after the windows were nailed shut by fearful residents.

Have you been to New Orleans? Which is your favorite legend? 

Belle Chasse 

Sentinels of New Orleans

Book 5

Suzanne Johnson

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: TOR Books

Date of Publication: November 8, 2016

ISBN: 978-0765376992

ASIN: B01E3PFTCQ

Number of pages: 336

Word Count: approx. 93,000

Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen

Book Description:

Suzanne Johnson's "strong and intriguing" (Publishers Weekly) urban fantasy series continues with Belle Chasse. The Sentinels of New Orleans series has earned starred reviews from Library Journal ("a resourceful heroine who relies on her magical ingenuity") and PW ("vivid...a lively tale jam-packed with action, magic, and intriguing plot twists").

With the wizard-elven treaty on the verge of collapse, the preternatural world stands on the brink of war. Unless former wizard sentinel DJ Jaco manages to keep the elven leader, Quince Randolph, focused on peace and not personal matters.

With no one on the throne, Faerie is in chaos, with rival princes battling for power. The still-undead pirate, Jean Lafitte, is building his own army of misfits, and DJ stripped of her job and hiding in the Beyond to avoid the death sentence handed down by the wizard Council of Elders can’t get anywhere near her beloved New Orleans or her significant something-or-other, Alex.

It's time to choose sides. Friends will become enemies, enemies will become allies, and not everyone will survive. DJ and her friends will learn a hard lesson: sometimes, even the ultimate sacrifice isn’t enough.

Amazon     BN     Book Depository     Books-a-Million     Indie Bound

Excerpt:

I expected Christof to start a snowstorm above Rand’s head. What I didn’t expect was for the prince to lower his head and charge Rand like a raging bull, head-butting him in the midsection. They hit the ground, and I saw my chance at the same time Eugenie spotted me.

            I motioned her toward the woods where the transport lay. To hell with the Blue Congress wizards. We were going to make a run for it while Christof kept Rand too busy to notice.

            She set off for the woods, and I met her halfway. “My family thinks I’m crazy!” she wailed, loud enough to draw the attention of the tall, skinny Blue Congress wizard with the rooster haircut.

            “Hey, stop!”

            Holy crap. I whipped out the elven staff, paused long enough to aim just to the right of the wizards. They already had their hands up and were doing some of their nifty Blue Congress magic when I released my fire and blew up the tombstone next to them, sending a rain of marble and playing cards onto their heads. Around us, evidence of their magic appeared as tombstones began moving to block our escape route.

            I grabbed Eugenie’s arm and pulled her around a marble stag the size of a small SUV. It had lowered its head and pawed the ground as if to charge. Blue Congress magic was so damned cool— create and re-create.

            “Stop, DJ!” Eugenie grabbed my arm as I tried to race past her. “A sinkhole!”

            I looked stupidly at the ground in front of us, which had opened a gulf big enough to drive a Greyhound bus into. “Go around and run fast,” I shouted, sending another shot of the staff toward the Blue Congress wizards and blowing up a ginormous marble eagle perched atop a nearby tomb.

            We didn’t stop to see if the stag was chasing us, but ran for all we were worth. Finally, at the edge of the tree line, I hazarded a look back at Christof and Rand. The faery stood watching us; the elf had crumpled on the ground. Not dead, though, because in my head, far behind my protective barriers, I heard him yelling my name.

            Christof grinned and motioned for us to move along. He didn’t have to motion twice, because the wizards were chasing us, still chanting and doing their finger dance. The stag was getting way too close.

            I raised the staff and blew a hole in the earth in front of the advancing stag, forcing him to change direction. Luck was on our side for a change— the stag began charging toward the wizards instead, who had to stop pursuing us in order to protect themselves from being trampled beneath marble hooves.

            “Let’s run to the transport before those idiot wizards can get out from under the stag.” I grabbed Eugenie’s hand and we ran to the clearing. “Help me roll this werewolf out of the transport.”

            To her credit, she didn’t ask a single question. We tipped the werewolf onto his side and rolled him outside the interlocking circle and triangle, leaving him at an awkward angle with his

feet in the air. Oh well.

            I touched the staff to the edge of the transport and said, “Winter Palace, Faery” just before the Blue Congress wizards reached the edge of the clearing. I waved at them as the transport sucked the air out of my lungs. They were too late.

            As soon as we materialized on the round floor of ice in the Winter Palace, Eugenie screamed. I figured she was getting her first look at the grisly remains of Faerie Princess Tamara until a blinding light knocked me off my feet and a big crack appeared in the ice between us.

            “Where is my brother?”

            I whirled to see Florian sitting on a block of ice behind us bundled in a heavy coat, a blanket spread beneath him, no doubt to protect his royal assets from getting cold and wet.

            “He’s in Shreveport, Louisiana, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help church, having a fi stfi ght with an elf,” I said, pretty confident that of all the things he might expect me to say, that wasn’t it.

About the Author:

Suzanne Johnson is the author of the award-winning Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series but perhaps is best known for her romantic suspense and paranormal romance books written as Susannah Sandlin, including the Penton Vampire Legacy paranormal romance series, the Wilds of the Bayou suspense series, and The Collectors romantic thriller series. Her awards include two Holt Medallions in 2013 and 2015, a 2015 Booksellers Best Award in romantic suspense, and nominations in 2014 and 2015 for the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award. A displaced New Orleanian, she currently lives in Auburn, Alabama. Suzanne loves SEC football, fried gator on a stick, all things Cajun, and redneck reality TV.

Web: http://www.suzannejohnsonauthor.com

Blog: http://www.suzannejohnsonauthor.com/blog

Newsletter: http://www.suzannejohnsonauthor.com/newsletter

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorSuzanneJohnson

Twitter: @Suzanne_Johnson

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sj3523/

Tour giveaway:

1 $50 Amazon gift card

5 $10 Amazon gift cards

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. 

JOIN MARSHA'S MAILING LIST and receive a free copy of her paranormal romance story RULER OF THE NIGHT.

Read Marsha's COON HOLLOW TALES of paranormal romance and her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Art Therapy for the Writing Life ~guest post by Suzanne Johnson, author of Pirate's Alley #UF #giveaway

I'm thrilled to have my good friend Suzanne Johnson return and spend a day on my blog. I'm also excited about her guest post--relating the benefits of a recent return to her love of drawing and painting. When I saw her art journal she shared at the end of last year, I was completely impressed at not only the artwork, but the free flow of emotions in those works. Years ago, I started my own creative path with art, and it still calls to me. This year, inspired through the peace I noticed it bring Suzanne, I set a goal for myself to explore a similar release and am finding time to explore soft pastels, a new medium for me. Thank you, Suzanne, for the inspiration! 

Be sure to check out Suzanne's new release, Pirate's Alley, as well as her terrific giveaway contest at the end of this post.

Art Therapy for the Writing Life

by Suzanne Johnson

I wish I could say I returned to my first love, art, out of intuition or wisdom. Actually, it was driven by a really bad case of writer’s paralysis and an unknowing gift from a reader.

Here’s how I got there: I flat-out overcommitted myself in late 2013 and 2014, with five full-length novels due in 12 months, plus a full-time job, family caregiver responsibilities, and online workshops I’d agreed to teach. The day job became mired in dirty political shenanigans I couldn’t avoid and caregiving responsibilities at home grew more complicated, but those workshop and writing deadlines kept hitting. Somewhere in the middle of book four, as the day job hit an all-time low and began requiring a lot of overtime, I hit a wall. A really hard wall, complete with stress hives and insomnia. I was hitting my writing deadlines, mostly, but I was running on creative fumes and the joy was being sucked out of it.

Several months earlier, one of my awesome readers, Roger Simmons, sent me some of the beautiful Zentangles he’d been doing. I loved them so much I did some investigating and learned that it was a type of meditative drawing—good for the spirit as well as producing beautiful art—so I thought I’d give it a try. I’d never been able to stick to a meditation program, but maybe this would be different.

I sucked at it. I mean really sucked! One, it takes patience, something of which I have very little. And two, it takes a steady hand, which I no longer have most days. I have suffered from a nerve disorder called essential tremors for several years. I still have more good days than bad days, but steady mark-making and brain surgery are now off my list of skill-sets. (Well, okay, brain surgery never was.)

But something did come of that short-lived Zentangle experiment—I remembered that once upon a time, before writing stole my heart, I had been in love with drawing and had even entertained thoughts of a career in commercial art. Where other teenage girls kept diaries, I kept sketchbooks. My aunt did beautiful work in oils, while my mom enjoyed folkart painting. I drew in graphite.

Maybe my hand wasn’t steady enough to do Zentangle, but maybe it could do something else. I could still draw.

I had no idea where to start, so like any good geek, I bought a book and a few art supplies, stumbled across mixed-media art journaling, and fell in love. To my surprise, and in fairly short order, my creative paralysis broke and I found myself able to write again with enjoyment.

Now, almost every day, I show up to the day job with paint on my hands. And though it seems counter-intuitive, carving out an hour a day to putter around in my art journals has proven to be a great aid in writing novels.

Sometimes I use them to vent.

Sometimes I use my art journal to plot in the background and then paint over it, or to brainstorm an idea.

I almost always rough-sketch floor plans and city grids.

Most often, though, I use art to escape. To meditate in my own way.

I don’t make great art—couldn’t do it if I tried. There’s a reason I ended up as a writer rather than an artist. But that’s not the point. I’m not trying to earn a living at it, but to exercise different creative muscles than those I use for writing. It’s letting one side of the brain play and experiment and dabble while the other side—the writing, plotting side—does some subconscious ruminating.

I have grand writing plans for 2015 and 2016. Yeah, I still have a ton of deadlines. Yeah, the day job is still stressful, although less so than a year ago. The family obligations are still there. But with my new “secret weapon,” I’ve found a way to deal with it all. 

  *~*~*

Pirate’s Alley

Sentinels of New Orleans

Book 4

Suzanne Johnson

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Tor Books

Date of Publication: April 21, 2015

ISBN: 978-0765376978

ASIN: B00O0FZQS2

Number of pages: 352

Word Count: 96,000

Book Description:

From award-winning author Suzanne Johnson comes the fourth book in the smart and sexy Sentinels of New Orleans series.

Wizard sentinel DJ Jaco thought she had gotten used to the chaos of her life in post-Katrina New Orleans, but a new threat is looming, one that will test every relationship she holds dear.

Caught in the middle of a rising struggle between the major powers in the supernatural world—the Wizards, Elves, Vampires and the Fae—DJ finds her loyalties torn and her mettle tested in matters both professional and personal. Her relationship with enforcer Alex Warin is shaky, her non-husband Quince Randolph is growing more powerful, and her best friend Eugenie has a bombshell that could blow everything to Elfheim and back.

And that's before the French pirate Jean Lafitte, newly revived from his latest "death," returns to New Orleans with vengeance on his mind. DJ's assignment? Keep the sexy leader of the historical undead out of trouble. Good luck with that.

Duty clashes with love, loyalty with deception, and friendship with responsibility as DJ navigates passion and politics in the murky waters of a New Orleans caught in the grips of a brutal winter that might have nothing to do with Mother Nature.

War could be brewing, and DJ will be forced to take a stand. But choosing sides won't be that easy.

Available at   Amazon   BN   Book Depository

Excerpt:

DJ, are you awake?

            Freaking elf. “Go home, Rand.”

            I am home. Where are you?

            I frowned and burrowed my face into the soft down pillow. Which wasn’t my pillow.

            Holy crap. What had happened?

            I sat up and took in several observations at once, none of which made sense and all of which sent my heart rate jack-rabbiting hard enough to send my blood pressure into the ozone.

            First, I was lying beneath a heavy bedspread woven in a rich blue-and-cream print. The bed was an elaborate confection made to look like an antique half-tester, and a brass chandelier hung overhead.

            I recognized the Hotel Monteleone. I recognized Jean Lafitte’s bedroom in the posh Eudora Welty Suite in the Monteleone. I didn’t have a clue as to how I got here.

            Second, I wore only underwear. My clothes were thrown across a chair in the corner. I had no recollection of removing them.

            Third, the pillow next to mine still held the clear indentation of a head, and there was water running behind the closed bathroom door.

            What in God’s name had I done?

            Rand! Where are you? So help me, if that elf was behind this, I’d splay him open like a catfish and watch his guts fall on the floor. Then I’d batter and deep-fry him.

            God, Dru. Stop shrieking like an elven shrew. I think you got too cold and went into a survival state.

            Survival state? Then I remembered, and shame joined panic. I had gone into hibernation like a bear, right out on Royal Street in front of God and everyone. Quince Randolph, you sonofabitch! Why didn’t you warn me that would happen?

            Stop yelling. How did I know you’d be stupid enough to go traipsing through the snow to the point of unconsciousness? I can tell you’re in the Quarter, but where are you?

            Catch you later.

            I slammed shut every mental door I could imagine and then troweled imaginary caulk in any imaginary cracks around said doors. I was vaguely aware that, off in the distance of my mental stronghold, Rand was yelling at me.

            Had Jean hauled me back to the hotel like a sack of pommes de terres? How had he explained a hibernating blonde to the hotel management? At least my dark blue underwear matched. Had he taken advantage of me? No, it wasn’t his style. Which meant I’d consented.

            Alex was going to kill me if I didn’t kill myself first. I wasn’t sure hibernation-brain was an adequate defense.

            The bathroom doorknob rattled and I dove under the covers, even though I realized it was like closing the barn door after the half-naked cows had escaped.

            From my hiding spot, I heard the door open and footsteps cross from tile to carpet before stopping with a rustle of fabric. “Hey, babe. You finally back from the dead? Whatcha doin’ under there?”

            “Rene?” I poked my head out and frowned at my buddy the merman, fully dressed in jeans and a Saints sweatshirt. His feet were bare, and he walked around the bed and climbed in as if either one of us belonged here, much less at the same time.

            “What are you doing here? What am I doing here? Who undressed me? Where’s Jean?” And, as an afterthought, “Why are we in bed?”

            Now that I realize I hadn’t acted like my licentious great-aunt Dru and slept with the pirate, I transferred my anger to the proper place and it wasn’t to myself. I’d kill that sneaky Frenchman if he weren’t immortal.

            Rene was not immortal, however, and he was within reach. “You better start talking, fish boy.”

            “Aiyeeee.” Rene cackled like the Cajun he was, and fluffed the pillow behind his head. “I told Jean you’d be spittin’ mad. Nothing happened, babe. Your clothes were wet and I was just trying to keep you warm. I’m a shifter, you know. We run hot.”

            “Oh, do you now.”

            That made him laugh harder.

            I threw off the covers and stomped over to my clothes. He’d seen whatever I had and I knew he didn’t want it, so there was no point in hiding. I picked up three soggy layers of T-shirts and sweaters, and cords so wet they weighed about ten pounds.

            My breath hitched. The staff; I’d lost the staff. I whirled to Rene, who sat propped against the lush draped fabric that covered the headboard, watching me with a grin. “Where’s my bag?”

            “In the living room. Everything’s there, babe, even your magic stick. Jean, he took care of you.”

            Yeah, I just bet he did. It was hard to argue effectively in underwear I’d intended only Alex Warin to see, so I went into the living room, dug my room key out of my messenger bag, and stuck my head out the door, looking up and down the hallway.

            “I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere,” I yelled at Rene, and made a run for it, jamming the keycard into my door lock and slipping inside before I was spotted. If hotel cameras caught my mad dash on security footage, well, I’m sure they’d seen stranger things. This was New Orleans, after all.

About the Author:

Suzanne Johnson writes urban fantasy and paranormal fiction from Auburn, Alabama, on top of a career in educational publishing that has thus far spanned five states and six universities—including both Alabama and Auburn, which makes her bilingual. She grew up in Winfield, Alabama, but was also a longtime resident of New Orleans, so she has a highly refined sense of the absurd and an ingrained love of SEC football, cheap Mardi Gras trinkets, and fried gator on a stick.

Writing as Susannah Sandlin, she also is the author of the best-selling Penton Legacy paranormal romance series and The Collectors romantic thriller series. Elysian Fields, book three in the Sentinels of New Orleans series, won the 2014 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence while her Sandlin-penned novel, Allegiance, is nominated for a 2015 Reviewer’s Choice Award from RT Book Reviews magazine.

Website: http://www.suzannejohnsonauthor.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SusannahSandlin

FB: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorSuzanneJohnson

Tour giveaway

1 $50 Amazon gift card

2 $15 Amazon gift cards

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*~*~*

Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her COON HOLLOW TALES of paranormal romance and her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Christmas Bonfires on the Levee ~guest post by Suzanne Johnson

Today, it's wonderful to have Suzanne Johnson return to my blog, this time with a fun guest post about one of her favorite Christmas traditions and her new paranormal romance release, Christmas in Dogtown.

Christmas Bonfires on the Levee

Suzanne Johnson

One of the greatest things fiction authors get to do is write about favorite places and traditions, and weave them into our stories. In my novelette “Christmas in Dogtown,” I was able to not only explore the close-knit communities of one of Louisiana’s river parishes but talk about one of my favorite traditions, the Christmas bonfires.

There are lots of explanations of how the tradition of burning bonfires along the river levees on Christmas Eve got started; truth is, no one really knows. The real story’s probably a lot more boring than the legends.

My favorite legend is that the tradition stemmed from the Cajuns who live in the countryside along the Mississippi River, and it’s this legend I drew on for “Dogtown,” specifically the stories about the Cajun version of Santa, Papa Noel.

Instead of a sleigh and reindeer (a citified concept, for sure), Papa Noel arrives by river in the flat-bottomed boat called a pirogue, pulled by eight alligators named Gaston, Tiboy, Pierre, Alcee, Ninette, Suzette, Celeste and Rene (who might or might not have a shiny red snout).

Papa Noel and his leathery entourage sail down the Mississippi River, delivering his presents to children on Christmas Eve. But unlike in the big cities, with all their lights, the river land and bayous and swamps are dark. What’s to make sure Papa Noel doesn’t lose his way?

That’s where the bonfires come in, of course.

So weeks before Christmas Eve arrives, local families and businesses stake out their claim on the big earthen levees along the river in St. James, St. Charles, and St. John the Baptist parishes (what the rest of the U.S. calls counties). On both sides of the river, they build big teepee-shaped wooden structures filled with kindling, boxes, or paper—whatever will burn. At the appointed time on Christmas Eve, everyone lights their bonfires and Papa Noel and his gators have a path lit all along the river with beautiful flaming tree-shaped bonfires.

It has become quite a tourist attraction now, of course, and people like me drive out from New Orleans or Baton Rouge or points beyond to line up along the Great River Road and see the sights. There’s also an annual Festival of the Bonfires held a couple of weeks before (because in Louisiana, we can turn ANYTHING into a party).

In “Christmas in Dogtown,” Teresa Madere is forced by circumstances to return to her small hometown community in St. James Parish for the month of December, and she ends up helping build the Madere family bonfire…and maybe learning a lot of about love and family and home than she ever expected. And yeah, there might be a paranormal element as well!

What’s your favorite winter holiday tradition? One commenter will win a copy of the awesome Cajun Night Before Christmas, with Papa Noel and his eight gators featured in illustrations by James Rice. Sure, it would also make a good gift for a book-loving child!

Christmas in Dogtown

Suzanne Johnson

Genre: Sweet Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Story Vault

Date of Publication: December 2012

ASIN: B009RBKTSG

Number of pages: 30

Word Count: approx. 11,000

Amazon   Barnes and Noble

Book Description:

A woman who spent years escaping her rural past learns that Dogtown, Louisiana, hides more family secrets than just the recipe for boudin blanc…..

Resa Madere’s on the verge of losing it all. The boyfriend’s gone. The job’s history. Her beloved house is on the brink of foreclosure. She’ll do anything to save it—even spend a long Christmas holiday working in St. James Parish, Louisiana, helping her uncle run the family meat business. But the community of Dogtown, which has been home for seven generations of the Madere and Caillou families, has deep roots and deeper secrets. For Resa, going home is one thing.

Getting out might not be so easy. 

Short Excerpt:

          “You are stupid,” Resa told her reflection in the tiny, scratched mirror of the White Castle’s rose-pink bathroom. “Stupid, ridiculous, and absurd.”

          She’d been wrestling with her curly black hair for a half hour, and the brown eyes that stared back at her from beneath freshly plucked brows and carefully applied eyeliner looked more jittery than sexy. “And idiotic.”

          First, it had been almost a week since Chan had asked her to the Saturday night community dance, popping the question almost shyly as they hacked at the bodies of gigantic dead fish. They’d both been covered in blood and smelled like they’d been rolling in bait, which should have tipped her off that anything in Dogtown reeking of romance, well, reeked.

          Second, her potential date had left immediately after asking her out so he could catch an alligator that had eaten somebody’s poodle in one of those backwater houses near the swamp. He burned rubber out of the Madere’s driveway after making sure he had enough duct tape to wrap around the gator’s jaws. Adequate duct tape was not an attribute she’d ever sought in a man.

About the Author: 

Suzanne Johnson writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance (under the name Susannah Sandlin) from Auburn, Alabama, on top of a career in educational publishing that has thus far spanned five states and six universities—including both Alabama and Auburn, which makes her bilingual. She grew up in Winfield, Alabama, halfway between the Bear Bryant Museum and Elvis' birthplace, but was also a longtime resident of New Orleans, so she has a highly refined sense of the absurd and an ingrained love of SEC football, cheap Mardi Gras trinkets, and fried gator on a stick. She’s the author of the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series and, as Susannah Sandlin, the Penton Legacy paranormal romance series.

Website: www.suzanne-johnson.com

Blog: http://suzanne-johnson.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Suzanne_Johnson

FB: http://www.facebook.com/Suzanne.Johnson.author

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5046525.Suzanne_Johnson

*~*~*

Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Interviewing Suzanne Johnson about her new UF release, Elysian Fields - Sentinels of New Orleans

As a special treat for my readers, I have Suzanne Johnson returning today to tell us about the latest in her tremendous urban fantasy series Elysian Fields - Sentinels of New Orleans Series, Book Three. Be sure to check out her book and the great giveaway she's offering at the bottom of this post.

In Elysian Fields - Sentinels of New Orleans Series, Book Three, New Orleanians are under attack from a copycat killer mimicking the crimes of a 1918 serial murderer known as the Axeman of New Orleans. Thanks to a tip from the undead pirate Jean Lafitte, your heroine, DJ Jaco, knows the attacks aren't random--an unknown necromancer has resurrected the original Axeman of New Orleans, and his ultimate target is a certain blonde wizard.

What are some possible reasons why the unknown necromancer might want to target DJ?

Hm…without spoilers, let’s just say DJ is amassing quite a few enemies who wouldn’t mind seeing her disappear. The wizards don’t like or trust the amount of elven magic she’s able to do, and don’t always approve of her methods. The elves don’t like it that she’s been claimed by one of their ancient staffs, which they’d thought was lost, nor are they happy that she can do any of their magic at all. The vampires have been politically neutral up until this book, and they could possibly see her, the local Sentinel (bounty hunter/border guard), as a threat. Ancient gods, members of the historical undead, and members of the water species such as merfolk and nymphs, have tangled with her in the past and might have scores to settle.

As an undead, is Jean Lafitte able to help fight this resurrected Axeman? What can DJ herself do against the Axeman and/or the necromancer?

The Axeman, as a member of the historical undead, poses a lot of problems for DJ and her allies. The historical undead—a group of which the early 19^th-century pirate Jean Lafitte is a member—are granted immortality by the magic of human memory. The more that people talk about the Axeman, the stronger he grows and the longer he’s able to survive outside the preternatural realm. So sure, DJ could kill him and send him back to the prete world, but he’d just return, madder than ever.

In the grand scheme of things, Jean Lafitte is a much stronger member of the historical undead than the Axeman. But neither can kill the other, so they’re at a stalemate in that regard. Also, Jean Lafitte does not want to fall under the control of the necromancer, so for him to get involved in this battle means taking a huge risk. A necromantic wizard, who can control the dead, is about the only type of opponent Jean Lafitte can’t win against.

DJ seems overwhelmed. Fighting off an undead serial killer as troubles pile up around her isn't easy. Jake Warin's loup-garou nature is spiraling downward, enigmatic neighbor Quince Randolph is acting weirder than ever, the Elders are insisting on lessons in elven magic from the world's most annoying wizard, and former partner Alex Warin just turned up on DJ's to-do list. Not to mention big maneuvers are afoot in the halls of preternatural power.

What possible changes in the halls of preternatural power are being rumored?

Until Hurricane Katrina tore down the metaphysical borders between our world and the world Beyond, the wizards controlled who came and went from the modern world. But once the borders fell and other preternatural groups saw their chance to move in, the power struggle to unseat the wizards began. An interspecies council is being formed, and the major preternatural groups—Elves, Vampires, Fae, Shifters and Weres, Historical Undead, etc.—are jockeying for power, either siding with the wizards or against them. That picture has been hazy through the first two books in the series, but becomes clearer as Elysian Fields progresses.

Facing all that, a move to the Beyond as Jean Lafitte's pirate wench could be DJ's best option. What might her life be life in the Beyond? What are some of the pros and cons she must consider?

Some things happen early in the book that make DJ seriously consider this move as her only option to stay alive, and she does get a taste of what it would be like to live there.

Pros: She’d be safer from the people and things that are after her in the modern world. She’d have Jean Lafitte’s protection, and as an immortal he’d be quite capable of protecting her. And he’s very charming and sexy, which DJ knows all too well.

Cons: She’d not only be leaving behind Alex and her friends, but Jean Lafitte’s Old Barataria exists in a circa 1812 time warp. She’d really miss things like running water and air conditioning. And unlike the immortal pirate and his equally immortal pirate cronies, she could catch yellow fever or be eaten by a gator. Finally, and this is a big negative, wizard’s magic doesn’t work in the Beyond, so except for the elven magic she’s able to use, she’d be unable to defend herself.

Thanks for having me here today, Marsha!

*~*~*

Elysian Fields
Sentinels of New Orleans Series

Book Three

Suzanne Johnson

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Tor Books

Date of Publication:  August 13, 2013

ISBN: 978-0765333193

ASIN: B00CQY7TOI

Number of pages: 352

Word Count: approx. 102,000

Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/2NskZi9B0gU

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Book Description:

The mer feud has been settled, but life in South Louisiana still has more twists and turns than the muddy Mississippi. New Orleanians are under attack from a copycat killer mimicking the crimes of a 1918 serial murderer known as the Axeman of New Orleans.

Thanks to a tip from the undead pirate Jean Lafitte, DJ Jaco knows the attacks aren't random--an unknown necromancer has resurrected the original Axeman of New Orleans, and his ultimate target is a certain blonde wizard.

Namely, DJ. Fighting off an undead serial killer as troubles pile up around her isn't easy. Jake Warin's loup-garou nature is spiraling downward, enigmatic neighbor Quince Randolph is acting weirder than ever, the Elders are insisting on lessons in elven magic from the world's most annoying wizard, and former partner Alex

Warin just turned up on DJ's to-do list. Not to mention big maneuvers are afoot in the halls of preternatural power.

Suddenly, moving to the Beyond as Jean Lafitte's pirate wench? It could be DJ's best option.

River Road

Sentinels of New Orleans

Book Two
Suzanne Johnson

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Tor Books

ISBN: 978-0765327802

ASIN: B00842H5VI

Number of pages: 336

Word Count: approx. 92,000

Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen

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Book Depository  Indiebound

Book Description:

Hurricane Katrina is long gone, but the preternatural storm rages on in New Orleans. New species from the Beyond moved into Louisiana after the hurricane destroyed the borders between worlds, and it falls to wizard sentinel Drusilla Jaco and her partner, Alex Warin, to keep the preternaturals peaceful and the humans unaware. But a war is brewing between two clans of Cajun merpeople in Plaquemines Parish, and down in the swamp, DJ learns, there’s more stirring than angry mermen and the threat of a were-gator.

Wizards are dying, and something—or someone—from the Beyond is poisoning the waters of the mighty Mississippi, threatening the humans who live and work along the river. DJ and Alex must figure out what unearthly source is contaminating the water and who—or what—is killing the wizards. Is it a malcontented merman, the naughty nymph, or some other critter altogether? After all, DJ’s undead suitor, the pirate Jean Lafitte, knows his way around a body or two.

It’s anything but smooth sailing on the bayou as the Sentinels of New Orleans series continues.

Royal Street

Sentinels of New Orleans

Book One

Suzanne Johnson

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Tor Books

ISBN: 978-0765327796

ASIN: B006OM459U

Number of pages: 337

Word Count: approx. 94,000

Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen

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Book Depository

Book Description:

As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco's job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ's boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond.

Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans' fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters. While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering soldiers sent to help the city recover.

To make it worse, Gerald St. Simon has gone missing, the wizards' Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ's new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and the killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter roux.

About the Author:

 On Aug. 28, 2005, Suzanne Johnson loaded two dogs, a cat, a friend, and her mom into a car and fled New Orleans in the hours before Hurricane Katrina made landfall.

Four years later, she began weaving her experiences and love for her city into the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series, beginning with Royal Street (2012), continuing with River Road (2012), and now with Elysian Fields (August 2013).

She grew up in rural Alabama, halfway between the Bear Bryant Museum and Elvis’ birthplace, and lived in New Orleans for fifteen years—which means she has a highly refined sense of the absurd and an ingrained love of SEC football and fried gator on a stick.

She can be found online at her website or her daily blog, Preternatura. As Susannah Sandlin, she writes the best-selling Penton Vampire Legacy paranormal romance series and the recent standalone, Storm Force.

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~ ~ ~ Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance: Book One, SEEKING A SCRIBE, Book Two, HERITAGE AVENGED, Book Three, LOST VOLUMES, and Book Four, STAUROLITE. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.