CHERIE CLAIRE

This short story was originally published in The Times of Acadiana, Lafayette, Louisiana. You can read more about Blue Moon Bayou in the second book of my Viola Valentine series, "Ghost Town." Legend has it that in LaSalle, Louisiana, the first person you see upon the rising of a Blue Moon will be the one you will love forever. Old Eraste Simoneaux married Marie Landry following his rendezvous with Eros, moon dust still fresh on their eyelashes. Sheriff Tate always had eyes f

Yesterday, I woke to frigid temperatures and frozen pipes. I turned on the faucets and nothing came out but air. I flushed the toilet and the tank emptied and didn’t refill, made a grumbling noise. My first reaction? A pair of expletives. We have freezes in the South and they’re usually broken into two categories — light freeze, where you cover your plants and know that pruning will follow come spring, and hard freeze, where you bring the plants inside or kiss them goodbye. R

"Trace of a Ghost," the third book in the Viola Valentine paranormal mystery series is now available for pre-order for only 99 cents. Travel writer Viola Valentine takes a trek down the historic Natchez Trace of Mississippi. Traveling with her is an adventurous heiress who’s been dead since 1860 and a living fellow travel writer who’s not what he seems. In the end, it’s a showdown between good and evil, and a bargain made with the devil at the crossroads may be Viola’s final

Parkinson’s is a disease that affects many — three people in my family alone! That’s why I'm donating a percentage of profits from Ghost Town, the second book in my Viola Valentine paranormal mystery series, to Kickin’ Parkinson’s, the Louisiana fundraiser for Team Fox for Parkinson’s Research. It’s going to be a Wicked Good Time on Oct. 19 in Covington, LA! Y'all come and pass a good time. #kickinparkinson #ghosttown #cherieclaire #mysterywritercherieclaire #bookforparkinson

In addition to writing novels, I pen a weekly book column for two Louisiana newspapers plus a corresponding blog. It’s called Louisiana Book News and, like its title, I focus on Louisiana authors and/or books set in the Bayou State. So, when I receive book catalogs from publishers, I scan their pages for both. In the process, I’ve discovered that a lot of authors live in New England, New York or Bainbridge Island, Washington. Seriously, it’s uncanny how many there are. Either

I love a good mystery so when one landed in my lap — a genealogy mystery at that — I was up for the task. Add a cocktail to the mix and you’re talking good times. It all started with my grandmother’s family, who took in a young woman when she lost her parents in the late 19th century. Leontine McCarty’s father served in some capacity in the Civil War for he left behind letters he wrote to his wife, Mary Howard, a native of Baltimore. On what side Joseph McCarty served is anyo

Happy National Pralines Day. Not sure who came up with this national holiday but it's a sweet one. Here's a recipe for Dark Sugar Pralines, darker than most because of the brown sugar, but creamy as well. It's from "Cooking in Cajun Country," a cookbook-travelogue by my twin Chere Dastugue Coen and "Cajun" Carl Breaux of Lafayette, Louisiana. It's out of print now, but still available as an ebook. Note: When making pralines, remember that humidity will affect the consistency.

DeSoto magazine spotlighted my new book, "A Ghost of a Chance," book one in the Viola Valentine paranormal mystery series. I write travel articles for DeSoto and my main character in the series, Viola Valentine, is a travel writer so DeSoto asked me to explain how the book came to be. #cherieclaire #violavalentine #paranormalmystery #ghosts #booksaboutghosts #katrina #neworleans #mystery #ebooks #freeebooks #desotomagazine

In addition to writing novels, I work as a food and travel writer. Tough life, I know. And like most writers, I have specific interests. So, as I travel and eat my way throughout the South — my particular region of expertise — I look for great ghost stories and odd and unusual places, people and things. Then, I blog about them. If you're interested...here are my blogs: Weird, Wacky and Wild South. The South is one of the craziest places on earth. We eat well, pass a good time

“Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” — Henry David Thoreau “So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.” — Dr. Seuss Half the work of writing is cleaning the manuscript afterwards. Writers tend to write long and use way too many words (I could have omitted "way" right there, as an example). So once you hit the lovely "The End," your job is not done. It's time to put on the editor

Gumbo doesn't have to be difficult — or time consuming. Here's an easy recipe for a delicious chicken and sausage gumbo.

Which made me think that writing a book is a lot like living. You might reply, “art reflects life,” but it’s more like art reflects the livi

This past weekend I was thrilled to be a part of the Louisiana Book Festival, in which I moderated a panel on ebook publishing titled "A New Frontier: Electronic Publishing for the Digital Age” with authors (pictured, from left) Nancy Duplechain, Lori Leger, Julie Smith and Farrah Rochon. These four women are not only writing outstanding books but publishing them as well. It was an honor to be in their company. On a funny note — and proof that we’re all related in Louisiana —

People always tell me I have a nice smile but the fact is I can't stop smiling. Even on my worst days I smile. I don't want to bring anyone else down. I also rescue pets, talk to plants and bring home photos from estate sales so they can once again have a home. I hate rudeness, especially when driving, and pick up litter. And yes, I write books with happy endings. My dad said I was too nice. He was a businessman where being nice in a man's world meant — I'm guessing here — th

I have something to admit – I have a split personality. There’s the me with the wrong accent on my French given name who works as a travel writer, educator and book columnist and me with the easy to understand name as the novelist who writes romantic stories. There was a reason for this. Cherie Claire is much easier to find in the bookstore than having to remember Cheré Dastugue Coen. The latter is a mouthful and one most people outside of Louisiana — and quite a bit inside —

Photo from Wikepedia Years ago I got the call from Hollywood — but it’s not what you think. I nabbed a job as an Internet editor for Variety.com, the entertainment news daily. I was honored and thrilled, even though that little voice inside my head kept saying, “I thought you weren’t happy in web work, missed the people and writing stories.” It was true. I had spent years working in entertainment reporting and editing for newspapers but got talked into going to the Internet s

When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his epic poem, Evangeline, it was the first time American readers knew about the Acadian (Cajun) exile from the Maritime Provinces of Canada beginning in 1755. The story follows Evangeline who is set to marry her true love Gabriel. On the eve of their marriage, the British force the Acadians from their home in what was to become le grand dérangement or the great exile. Evangeline travels throughout America, including Louisiana, searching

In each of The Cajun Embassy books, I include a gumbo recipe. The following recipe is by Martin Taylor, the hero of “A Ticket to Paradise,” and it utilizes seafood. I’m from New Orleans where we include a lot of seafood in our gumbos and the roux is usually lighter. In Cajun Country where I now live, chicken and andouille sausage with a darker roux is more prevalent. But here's a secret because time is never something I routinely lack. Cajun Power sells a gumbo starter for se

In "Ticket to Paradise," the first book in my "Cajun Embassy" series, my main character Lizzy Guidry relates a song her mother sang to her as a child. She recalls the song upon seeing a lovely home in the quaint town of Ojai, California. “I know it sounds silly,” Lizzy said as Olivia handed her a cup of coffee. “My mother used to sing me this song, some old ballad Nana sang to her when she was a child. It talked about finding perfect peace in a place out west.” “And let the r

The Cajun Embassy is now available at online bookstores! And it all begins with Ticket to Paradise. Lizzy Guidry is having the worst day of her life, thanks to newspaperman Martin Taylor, whose editorial has raised the ire of Lizzy’s boss, the mayor of Santa Helena, California. Martin is on the verge of losing his newspaper, which is why he’s buying yet another lottery ticket the night he runs into Lizzy. Still fuming, Lizzy beats him to it, nabbing the last ticket before the