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{Image Courtesy of Stevie Z Photography}
Friends have asked to see a bit of my novel, FRENCH QUARTER NOCTURNE. So here are a few paragraphs from the first chapter.
“Our Nation is prepared, as never before, to deal
quickly and capably with the consequences of
disasters and domestic incidents.”
--FEMA chief Michael D. Brown - March 09, 2005
Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans August 29, 2005
CHAPTER ONE
It rained lies and death today.
I stood knee-deep in water outside my French Quarter jazz club, Meilori’s. It was a place in which almost anything was likely to happen and in which almost everything had.
Inside, the fifty-one survivors of Katrina that I could house were huddled in shivering, too quiet clusters.
Words have no meaning when a city dies. Nothing much does.
Inside, the fifty-one survivors of Katrina that I could house were huddled in shivering, too quiet clusters.
Words have no meaning when a city dies. Nothing much does.
My soul stretched tight across my chest. Everything I saw in the shadows spoke to me ... in threats.
The sudden, short explosion of an unseen gun. A quick, sharp scream in the distance. And the blue spurt of a lighted match at the far end of the street.
My city bled slowly in the ripples of the flooded streets.
The sudden, short explosion of an unseen gun. A quick, sharp scream in the distance. And the blue spurt of a lighted match at the far end of the street.
My city bled slowly in the ripples of the flooded streets.
Somewhere distant in the hot, red darkness a shot rang out. Another called out to it like a wolf. But it came from a different direction.
I smiled bitterly. The predators had crawled out from their boarded shelters. They knew the restraint of law had died this day. Soon they would come for me.
I smiled bitterly. The predators had crawled out from their boarded shelters. They knew the restraint of law had died this day. Soon they would come for me.
You see, I had enemies. And not all of them were human. But that was all right. I wasn't human either.
***********************
If you like what you read, let me know. If not, let me know how I could improve. Thank all of you for caring to drop by.
Here's a song about hope and Hurricane Katrina :
Thanks for the reminder, Roland, that I have that book in my TBR virtual stack. I will tackle it next, as I'm halfway through a Gabaldon book. You are one of my favorite writers, and I've read lots of your books. I prefer the stories about New Orleans and Egypt, though. This is a good counterpoint to the 'state of the state ten years after Katrina. . .'
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy FQN. That's very nice of you to say that you like my writing. :-) You think like me: I thought reading or listening to FQN now would be a nice counterpoint to all the news articles on New Orleans ten years later.
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