I face a conundrum. In a few minutes, David and I are scheduled to meet Teagan R. Geneviene here at the bar. She has recently released A Peril in the Bayou, and she’s coming to talk about that book. She has published a companion post at her place, and if you want to see what, if any, meat is in the stuffed mushrooms she’ll be ordering later, you’ll need to head over to her place. You can go now and return or wait until later—I’ll repeat the link. But you better go. No telling what kind of peril the spirits will mete out upon you if you don’t.
Yes! Bonus points. As usual, I am trying to wrap up Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt here in the opening to this post. The post itself required too much planning to qualify. If you want to join in the fun, pop over to Linda’s. The prompt is:
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ‘meat/meet/mete.’ Use one or use ’em all for bonus points. Have fun!”
But return here, and visit Teagan’s place—remember, you’ve been warned. Sorry, but Linda said to have fun.
Now, if we were having a beer, you would be impatiently waiting.
“Teagan is coming, right, Dan?”
“Yes, David. But she’s probably going to be on time. Unlike you. Did you sleep here?”
“No. I was running some errands and I…Oh my goodness, what is that?”
“I think that’s Teagan, now. It looks like Daphne’s car.”
“Hi Dan. David, I see you’re gawking at my ride. Since it’s the only automobile from the first book that also appears in this one, I borrowed the old Packard Twin Six Phaeton, that belonged to Daphne Moultrie’s parents.”
“Hi Teagan. It’s good to see you again. Are you alone, or…”
“I’m alone, Skippy. Lulu couldn’t make it. But I’ll send her your kind regards.”
“Thanks. What can I get you to drink?”
“We’re celebrating my new novella, so let me go with some Roaring Twenties things. I’ll have a French 75. That’s champagne with gin, simple syrup, and lemon juice served in sugar-rimmed flutes.”
“I checked your site for the recipe. Should I do a round for everyone? Dan?”
“I think that would be a nice gesture, Skippy. Follow that up with a John Howell’s Special for David. I might stick with Teagan’s drink today. It sounds delightful.”
“Teagan, I really enjoyed A Peril in Ectoplasm last year, but I didn’t get the impression at the time that it was part of a series. Now, a year later, I just finished reading A Peril in the Bayou. Were you planning to create the series A Medium’s Peril?”
“I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the stories, Dan. You’re right. I meant the first novella to be a ‘stand alone’ story. This summer I suddenly wanted to do another story in time for Halloween. A story with only a couple of characters came to me. Usually, characters pop up at the same time as the story. Not this time! Nothing felt right until I revised the concept to allow for this group of characters. Even then, I didn’t plan for a series to keep going. However, when I got to the end, I felt the tickle of another story in New Orleans. So, I did a smidgin of a setup at the end, just in case Maisy gets her way with the story she whispered into my ear as I was writing the end.”
“Do you scare yourself sometimes? I mean, you’ve written some scenes that kept me on edge. I know you know how they end, what’s really going on, but do you ever get caught up in the action before you’ve figured it all out?”
“It’s funny… I’m not always frightened by the same things as other people. At times I’ve been shocked for a reader to say a story scared them (like Atonement, Tennessee). Then there are things that scare me that don’t touch someone else. Although, I did give myself a big case of the heebie-jeebies with a short story I wrote for your 2022 Thursday Doors Writing Challenge called “Born on the Bayou.” Yeah… I was writing that one late at night and I scared the heck out of myself. The setting of that little story and the urge to put another story in New Orleans lingered, as does that same Creedence Clearwater Revival song. Here’s a link to that story.”
“Teagan, Dan knows that I love New Orleans. The city is such a wonderful setting for this story. It puts me in a receptive mood for many of the elements you work with. Did you choose the area for that purpose, or did you decide to work with it as you went along?”
“That came at the onset, David. The story needed a ‘deep nature’ setting.”
“Deep nature? I like that.”
“(Okay, I’m coining that term. Add it to the imaginary Teaganese Dictionary.) It could have been a primeval forest or a desert, but the story was for Halloween, and swamps are inherently creepy to me. These characters were from Florida, so I thought about the Everglades. I did some extra research on 1920s spiritualism before I started actually writing. When I came across Mother Leafy Anderson I was captivated… and that CCR song started up in my head again. So, the story had to go to New Orleans.”
“I know you’ve done a great deal of research about the 1920s—and I think you like working in that period—did you also have to research the area around New Orleans? From the facts you shared at the end of the books, it seems you’ve researched the subject of being a Medium and what all that involves. Did any of your research change the story?”
“Ha! I do like writing in that era, Dan, and I honestly am not sure why. As for research, it’s ongoing for me. Details I found didn’t change the story, but they added to it. Looking up hotels gave me realistic descriptions for those scenes. Street names and historic photos, helped in a big way with a scene with the ‘rival’ character Carlene. (Shhh! Don’t tell, but Carlene and Martin were inspired by a pair of past coworkers.) Here’s a snippet.”
“Oh, pauvre bête — poor thing! Carlene snorted. And his need to please is because the boy is just plain ugly. That boy’s like a puppy following me around. It’s annoying and disgusting. I half expect him to hump my leg, thought Mother Carlene Marks.
A Peril in the Bayou – Teagan R. Geneviene
But he can be useful… Beauty’s only skin deep, but ugly goes clear through to the bone, she added to herself when she spotted him in the window of the working-class apartment building across the street.
Crossing Ursulines Street, she gingerly stepped across first one then another of the tracks for the streetcars. A lamppost stood on the corner beside a two-story apartment building with arched doors and brightly painted window shutters. The second story had a black wrought iron balcony that wrapped all the way around the building.—Eager as ever, Martin rushed outside to meet Carlene before she even reached the front door. She sucked her teeth and shook her head.”
“Here’s you bourbon, your seltzer and ice, David.”
“Thanks Skippy. Cherries when you get a chance.”
“No problem. Do you guys want something to eat?”
“Skippy, I think if you check, the chef was kind enough to add Teagan’s recipe for stuffed mushrooms to the menu. We’d like a few orders of those.”
“I’ll put those in. David, here are your cherries.”
“Thanks Skippy. Teagan Does working with characters you’ve already developed make life easier, or do you find it a challenge to stay ‘in character’ with them?
“I don’t really find it easier or harder, David. It isn’t a challenge to stay in character with existing players. It can be fun to further develop them. The only drawback is that it isn’t as interesting for me as a writer to use existing characters. That and the fact that I don’t get the fun of naming new players! You know I love that part.”
“Speaking of characters and names, I like Albert—and I appreciate that you gave him a portion of my name—he has such a logical view of the world, wanting to find an explanation for everything. So, twisting the previous question a bit, which of these characters was hardest for you to develop?”
“That sort of made you Albert’s godfather, Dan. Giving the character your middle name was a very small way of thanking you for your support.”
“I was honored.”
“Actually, Albert was the most difficult to create. Characters usually come to me at the same time as the story. Albert originally had a very small part as a streetcar driver in A Peril in Ectoplasm. He served as a connecting-point between various characters and situations. I guess that’s why his role (unexpectedly) increased in the first book, and more in the second. Although since he was ‘supposed to be’ a minor character, I wasn’t sure what his personality would be.”
“You certainly fleshed him out nicely in this book.”
“The 1920s setting helped me create him as a person. Service as a medic in WWI gave his stoic nature. Also, he was in a position to ‘check on’ his aunt Maisy after she was widowed. So that, combined with having been a medic, gave his tendency to look after others. A Peril in the Bayou let me give more life to both Albert and Phineas. The first book didn’t let me do that.”
“Teagan, I’m glad you did a second story. I really like these characters, and you’ve done a wonderful job of describing things from their points of view. I especially like the way Clover reacts to all the new things. Do you have a favorite character?”
“Often, David, I have favorites. In this series, I’m not sure. The first story was told by an ensemble cast, although Daphne was central to the plot. I wanted this book to bring out the personalities of the other characters. Hmmm… Though I don’t relate to Daphne’s wealthy background, I think I identify the most with her in other ways. That makes me fonder of her.”
“I have to ask you a question about writing. A good deal of the energy of this story lies in the things your characters are thinking. You draw us into their thoughts—and you do that very well—and we experience the scene as they do. That seems to me to be a different challenge for an author. Do you find it that way, or do you understand your characters that well?”
“No, Dan… As I said with Albert being an exception, I usually come to know the characters as I come to know the story. I guess it’s the oddly wired, twisting way my brain works. I’m going to add to the Teaganese Dictionary again — psychological horror. (If that’s already a sub-genre, I didn’t find it listed.) I wanted the paranormal element to be focused on the bayou. To me, paranormal elements touch (or attack) the intangible, the mind. That put the characters’ needs and dangers on the inside, rather than outside.”
“The campsite along the river is such a foreign setting, how did you decide what elements to include in the description of the various scenes? I won’t give any spoilers, but you chose well.”
“Thanks, Dan. I’m happy you liked that. That setting was simply what I saw. I didn’t sew it together; it came in one piece. To me it was all just part of the haunted bayou in my mind. I always research local flora and fauna, so that gave me the types of trees and animals mentioned. With New Orleans, research into Voodoo (and voodoo — yes, I dive that deep, even with capitalization, LOL) was obligatory. So I had to have a forgotten cemetery and the Baron’s cross. I even included a real voodoo spell earlier in the story.”
“Teagan, when did you decide how this story would end?”
“More often than not, David, I pantser my stories — I write by the seat of my pants, with no more than a vague outline or no planning at all. This series, however, was planned, beginning to end. I saw the climax when I saw the beginning. Research helped with the middle. The scene at the very end… that came unexpectedly when I saw how much fun the characters might have if they stayed in New Orleans awhile longer. No promises, but there might be a third book.”
“Teagan, we always enjoy your visits. Thanks for sharing some insights into your latest achievement.”
Dan, thank you so much. It’s been wonderful to be with everyone here at the bar again. Visiting is always a huge treat. Now… anybody want a joy ride in the old Packard Twin Six Phaeton?
Again, click here if you want to visit Teagan’s companion post.
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Book Blurb
Rich with atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties and New Orleans, A Peril in the Bayou begins when Clover Flanagan, assistant to renowned psychic medium, Daphne Moultrie, travels with her to New Orleans to see a spiritualist leader. Mother Leafy agrees meet Daphne, but on one condition — Daphne must travel a haunted bayou so she will understand those spirits. However, Leafy has a rival who is a dangerous woman.
Despite cryptic warnings from a spirit, they head to New Orleans. In the bayou, Clover’s gifts begin to awaken. So do Voodoo gods in want of a sacrifice, and powerful primeval entities of the swamp, which comes to vicious life.
Also on hand from the first book, A Peril in Ectoplasm, are Albert and Phineas in important roles. Housekeeper, Maisy is not entirely left out either. Don’t miss this thrilling romp through 1920s New Orleans, by inimitable author, Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene.
Universal Purchase Links
Kindle: relinks.me/B0CKGRJS8F
Paperback: relinks.me/B0CKHFYMLJ
Author Info and Links
Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene is a multi-genre author. Most of her stories have at least a little whimsy, whether they are high fantasy, urban fantasy, steampunk, or mysteries with historic settings. In addition to fiction, she has created the “Author Tool Chest” series of non-fiction works as resources for writers and anyone who loves language.
Teagan’s work is colored by the experiences of her early life in the southern states and later in the desert southwest, as well as a decade in Washington, DC. She had a successful career as an editor and writer in the information technology field, working for Federal executives. Now Teagan lives in a high desert town in the Southwest of the USA, and she is devoted fulltime to her own writing. In free time she enjoys being bossed around the feline “Scoobies” — Daphne & Velma, conversations with friends, singing karaoke, and playing her piano.
Social Media Links
You can also visit me at these sites:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Teagan-Riordain-Geneviene/e/B00HHDXHVM
Twitter: https://twitter.com/teagangeneviene
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeagansBooks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/teagangeneviene/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoM-z7_iH5t2_7aNpy3vG-Q
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teagangeneviene/
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All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.
In case you haven’t had enough bayou…
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