Immerse yourself in the vibrant tapestry of the LaPierre-Menard family's saga in Mint Julep: The Reunion, As Told to Gracie Buckhalter. Journey from the rustic bayous of Louisiana to the heart of New Orleans, tracing a narrative that leaps from humble shacks to high-society soirees, from rags to riches, and from quiet plantations to the vivacious rhythm of Zydeco music. Your charismatic narrator, Alexandra LaPierre-Menard, unfolds the family's adventurous reunion to the keen pen of Gracie Buckhalter with a Southern charm that's as enticing as a sweet summer breeze. As the tale unwinds, you'll dance to the beat of the South, if only momentarily, amidst laughter, camaraderie, and a sprinkle of good ol' mischief. Meet the tale-weavers of the LaPierre-Menard lineage as they reminisce about the indomitable Dolice Marie and Jean Pierre LaPierre, the tender matriarch Mama Mozelle, the infamous Madam Frou-Frous, the mystical allure of voodoo priestess MamaDel, and a life-altering encounter with a tall, red-headed Canadian named Menard./span

Fasten your seat belts and hop aboard a roller-coaster ride through the shenanigans of the fictitious LaPierre-Menard family as they celebrate their three-day family reunion in the shade of a big magnolia tree and the traditional telling of the family stories. You'll meet the old storytellers as they share their family tales of Dolice Marie and Jean Pierre LaPierre; their beloved Mama Mozelle; the notorious mistress of the LaPierre Plantation, madam Frou-Frous; the powerful juju of the voodoo priestess, Mama Del; the charm of Savannah, MISS BB Carson Declouette; and the tall redheaded Canadian that changed their lives forever, named Menard. Mint Julep: The Reunion takes the reader from plantation life on the bayous of Louisiana to life in the great city of New Orleans, from poverty to society, rags to riches, shacks to bordellos, with fine clothes and the joys of zydeco music, all with laughter and just plain old good fun! Relax and enjoy your narrator, Alexandra LaPierre-Menard, as she describes the LaPierre-Menard family reunion to Ms. Gracie Buckhalter, fine writer that she is, in long, drawn-out sentences that represent the very essence of true Southern finesse while supporting the very idea that everyone who reads Mint Julep: The Reunion is a true Southerner, if not just for the moment.

FROM EXCITING AUTHOR OF COZY MYSTERIES, CC DRAGON Book one in the Southern Belle Cozy Mysteries series Ah, sweet home Tennessee, with the Music City, Dollywood and Murder... Annabelle &‘Belle' Baxter returns home to her small southern town after studying catering and hotel management, to help her Gran, the only real family she has. Determined to make their preserves shop a success, Belle expands the menu and boosts business—until the pompous sheriff drops dead, poisoned, after trying one of her signature smoothies. People looking down on Belle is nothing new, but this time they're quick to point a finger as well. Now it's not just her high school rival or the perfect church ladies—the bumbling deputies want to pin it on her too, leaving her no choice but to find the murderer herself. If the preserves shop goes under, she and her gran are ruined. But it's scary how many suspects her poking around turns up—the sheriff's jealous deputy, his pissed-off wife, the girlfriend he was about to dump his wife for, or even the handsome new deputy, Gus Haywood, whose city ways riled the stuffy sheriff. Belle can't let this handsome stranger distract her, not when she has to clear her name and protect the town she loves, despite its people. Well, maybe he can distract her a little...

The fictitious LaPierre-Menard family, celebrating their family reunion and, of course, the traditional telling of the family stories to an audience of an incoming generation of young boys! Grab yourself a chilled mint julep, stick a fresh magnolia blossom in your hair and sit yourself down in a quiet place to enjoy The Continuing Saga of the LaPierre Family, including Dolice Marie and Jean Pierre LaPierre with all of the other wild characters from Mon Village, on the Bayou Frou-Frous. You’re invited to a wedding, but whose wedding will it be? Find out as you follow the frolics of Angeline, Miss B B Carson Declouette and Obadiah, as well as all of the lovely ladies doing business at the New Orleans House in the great city of New Orleans…if you know what I mean. Follow Jubil down a trail smothered on either side with that pesky mint, all the way to the noble Commonwealth of Kentucky where he slams head-on into history! And meet all of the brand new characters and all narrated by Alexandra Menard LaPierre, as told to Miss Gracie Buckhalter. And now… Laissez le bon temps rouler!

For decades Ethel Davis Hopper, known by everyone around town as a poison-dripper and a control freak, has hosted family reunions in her little slice of beautiful northern Vermont for what has burgeoned into five generations of Davis and Hopper offspring. This year's reunion will be different, though: she's planning to host her own living funeral. The extended family, described by Ethel's favorite granddaughter as people who cluster themselves in three factions, "like bunches of Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds," plans to gather at Ethel's dream home overlooking the quaint village, despite their confusion as to what the longtime organizer has in store for them. Even the far-flung and estranged Hopper clan intends to show up this year, mostly because they wouldn't miss the old harridan's send-off to the world. As the reunion approaches, this richly textured, dark yet comic novel reveals generations of family secrets and the inbred dysfunction that accompanies that history, much of it told through the journals of Ethel's late husband, Lyle. In her finest melodrama to date, Ethel serves up guilt-trips, barbs, and a self-serving, revisionist view of life with her loving husband to her long-suffering offspring. Come and see how much fun a Family Reunion can be. Our own families will seem tame by comparison.

Follow Author Joseph Szalay thru the Great Depression as the son of Hungarian immigrants, thru his service during World War II with the 102nd Infantry Division. Candidly written through various artlcles that appeared over the course of more than 10 years in "The Herald Democrat" newspaper in Sherman, Texas

Evelyn Rogers calls the romances of Martha Hix "sexy." "Explosive. Extraordinary. Pure ambrosia," raves Rendezvous. Now, the acclaimed author of River Magic brings you a love story set on a Mississippi riverboat--a story that will captivate and bewitch you--a story to winyour heart... Burke O'Brien's orders to his crew were explicit: No females, young or old, were to board his Mississippi riverboat on his thirtieth birthday. Long ago, the brawny captain of the Yankee Princess had been cursed to meet his bride on that date, and he would do anything to break thehex. Then, just as the clock was about to chime midnight on that fatefulday, a golden-haired enchantress stole her way onto O'Brien's vessel--and into his heart... Susan Seymour spent most of her life under the thumb of her tyrannical father. Now, she had a chance to escape his cruelty forever. Fleeing a carnival with a young child in tow, the beautiful snake charmer sought refuge on a New Orleans-bound vessel. How could she know that Burke O'Brien's own mysterious past was irrevocably bound to hers--his very fate in her hands? Without her, he faced certain ruin. Without him, Susan could lose not only her chance for a new life, but the love the sensual captain was awakening in her heart....

In the bustling city streets of late 18th century Louisville began a tradition of thoroughbred racing that has transcended centuries. Follow author Kimberly Gatto as she chronicles the history of the world's most famous racing venue, which revolutionized the "Sport of Kings" and created the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks, and Clark Handicap races. Fans will enjoy the tales of various horses, from the early triumph of Ten Broeck over Mollie McCarthy to the Derby victory of the heroic thoroughbred Barbaro. Churchill Downs: America's Most Historic Racetrack recounts the various financial hardships, the introduction of parimutuel betting, the construction of the famed twin spire grandstand, and how the age of television transformed Churchill Downs into the majestic track we recognize today.