I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Captain's Log, Supplemental
Today I have a guest blog by my good friend and awesome romantic suspense author, Robin Caroll! Robin’s debut novel, Bayou Justice, releases this month from Steeple Hill.
I’ll be giving away several copies of it later (when they arrive at my doorstep), but for now, here’s the blurb:
Alligator conservationist Coco LeBlanc knew real fear when she found a body in the clutches of her beloved beasts. Fear turned to horror when she saw that it was one of the Trahan clan—and he'd been shot in the back. Her ex-boyfriend, Luc Trahan, had dumped Coco two years ago when she refused to give up her family's centuries-old voodoo traditions, and he didn't know about her newfound faith. Now, as they and their families become prime suspects in the grisly crime, they'll have to work together to clear their names before the Cajun killer strikes again.
And now, here’s Robin!
It’s all about the food! My friends will attest this is one of my personal mantras, so when Camy asked me to talk about southern cooking as exhibited in my new book, Bayou Justice, well, my mouth watered! LOL
When I selected south Louisiana, Cajun country, as the setting for my bayou series, I knew from the get-go that spicy food would play a major part of the story. It’s such a vital part of the rich culture of the Cajun people.
Just for the record, drowning something in hot sauce or red pepper doesn’t make it Cajun! LOL True, south Louisiana cooking is more about the combination of spices used to enhance the natural flavor of the food. But yeah, we do like things on the hot and spicy side! LOL
To clarify, here are a few basics regarding Cajun cooking—
Roux is a flour base used to make soups, sauces, etc. Gumbo is a soup (made with a roux start) with okra, veggies, rice, and meat (usually seafood). Bisque is a seafood sauce (again, started with a roux) that is creamy. Jambalaya is and rice and meat dish. Fricassee is a stew, again started with a roux. And etouffee is a type of smothered stew, started with a roux. Boudin is a meat and rice mixture shoved into a sausage casing. A cochon de lait is a pig roast, normally the whole pig roasted on a pit and is considered a social occasion.
When I was writing Bayou Justice, I wanted to show the love of food and culture the Cajuns have. Crawfish boils, sucking out the head of crawfish, are quite common, and are socially acceptable! LOL (I had to clarify that as even in central Arkansas, sometimes sucking the heads of crawfish can be considered “gross”) Weaving in the food of the area added flavor to the setting of the bayou series, firming up that these stories could happen nowhere BUT in south Louisiana.
Now I’m hungry! LOL So, visit a Cajun cookin’ website, grab a recipe and laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)
Camy here: YUM! Thanks for being here, Robin!
Today I have a guest blog by my good friend and awesome romantic suspense author, Robin Caroll! Robin’s debut novel, Bayou Justice, releases this month from Steeple Hill.I’ll be giving away several copies of it later (when they arrive at my doorstep), but for now, here’s the blurb:
Alligator conservationist Coco LeBlanc knew real fear when she found a body in the clutches of her beloved beasts. Fear turned to horror when she saw that it was one of the Trahan clan—and he'd been shot in the back. Her ex-boyfriend, Luc Trahan, had dumped Coco two years ago when she refused to give up her family's centuries-old voodoo traditions, and he didn't know about her newfound faith. Now, as they and their families become prime suspects in the grisly crime, they'll have to work together to clear their names before the Cajun killer strikes again.
And now, here’s Robin!It’s all about the food! My friends will attest this is one of my personal mantras, so when Camy asked me to talk about southern cooking as exhibited in my new book, Bayou Justice, well, my mouth watered! LOL
When I selected south Louisiana, Cajun country, as the setting for my bayou series, I knew from the get-go that spicy food would play a major part of the story. It’s such a vital part of the rich culture of the Cajun people.
Just for the record, drowning something in hot sauce or red pepper doesn’t make it Cajun! LOL True, south Louisiana cooking is more about the combination of spices used to enhance the natural flavor of the food. But yeah, we do like things on the hot and spicy side! LOL
To clarify, here are a few basics regarding Cajun cooking—
Roux is a flour base used to make soups, sauces, etc. Gumbo is a soup (made with a roux start) with okra, veggies, rice, and meat (usually seafood). Bisque is a seafood sauce (again, started with a roux) that is creamy. Jambalaya is and rice and meat dish. Fricassee is a stew, again started with a roux. And etouffee is a type of smothered stew, started with a roux. Boudin is a meat and rice mixture shoved into a sausage casing. A cochon de lait is a pig roast, normally the whole pig roasted on a pit and is considered a social occasion.
When I was writing Bayou Justice, I wanted to show the love of food and culture the Cajuns have. Crawfish boils, sucking out the head of crawfish, are quite common, and are socially acceptable! LOL (I had to clarify that as even in central Arkansas, sometimes sucking the heads of crawfish can be considered “gross”) Weaving in the food of the area added flavor to the setting of the bayou series, firming up that these stories could happen nowhere BUT in south Louisiana.
Now I’m hungry! LOL So, visit a Cajun cookin’ website, grab a recipe and laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)
Camy here: YUM! Thanks for being here, Robin!
Comments
And for anyone else whose mouth is watering, drop by website www.robincaroll.com to enter into a drawing for a Cajun basket, filled with some things to get you started on "Cajun cookin'"