The Pearly Gates of Purgatory Series Advance Reviews

Orléans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré

Reviews, published work that is now out-of-print

From the Author: My top-seller gold award-winning timeless post-Hurricane Katrina work with native New Orleanians (now the late) Roy F. Guste, Jr. and Louis Sahuc. A published compendium, non-fiction narrative prose and photography. A meaningful 5.3 lb hardcover 388-page significant book with a purpose, a celebration of triumph over sorrow. Always excited to see it on a bookshelf or coffee table! Before the sad demise of brick-and-mortar independent bookstores, and chain booksellers, it was always fun to see my work(s) on display!

From the Publisher (2006): 100% of publisher profits will be donated to French Quarter preservation groups. Revisit the timeless mystery, magic, and majesty of the French Quarter and its legendary gardens with this lush collection of photographs. An emotional narrative about the heart and soul of New Orleans and the city’s ability to triumph over sorrow accompanies hundreds of pictures taken before and after the life- and landscape-altering Hurricane Katrina; a special section presents the classic work “The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre,” which offers mesmerizing images of the verdant gardens concealed behind brick walls and iron gates in the Quarter. The importance of fundraising for and conscientious rebuilding of New Orleans is stressed throughout the book, making this a gorgeous book—with a purpose.

“Orléans Embrace is a big coffee-table book filled with gorgeous color photographs of New Orleans … Fisher, who divides her time between South Florida and New Orleans, is suitably eccentric and outrageous to represent New Orleans. Fortunately, she is also knowledgeable about the city and a talented writer … The photographs in this book, many taken after the storm … show just why the French Quarter is so special … the French Quarter was and is a beautiful gem, full of colorful and eccentric people. It’s certainly worth preserving. But so is the rest of New Orleans.”
— GREG LANGLEY, THE ADVOCATE

“She [TJ Fisher] writes eloquently.”
— RENE PECK, THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

“A crusade for New Orleans.”
— JAN SJOSTROM, PALM BEACH DAILY NEWS

“Beautiful pictures … the prose is out of this world.”
— BILL BAGWILL, WLAE-TV/PBS, host of A Greater New Orleans: The Road to Recovery

“Amazing … Orléans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré … lushly produced inside look at the mysteries of the French Quarter through the eyes and lenses of local aristocrats TJ Fisher, Roy F. Guste, Jr. and Louis Sahuc … cornucopia of stories, and their collaboration makes for a coffee table that can brew, not just hold, your coffee.”
— ANDREI CODRESCU, THE PENNY POST, GAMBIT WEEKLY and DOWNTOWN EXPRESS, poet, novelist, columnist and essayist, author of Wakefield and New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writing from the City

“Resonating … dedicated to the city and people of New Orleans.”
— KARIE MELTZER, NEW ORLEANS MAGAZINE

“Helping New Orleans to recover … your words [TJ Fisher] in your wonderful book echo the feelings of … tumultuous turmoil … two books in one.”
— ED BELL, NPR’s WLRN South Florida Arts Beat

“Fisher’s book … presents a different perspective on post-Katrina New Orleans.”
— MIAMI NEW TIMES

“Emotional portrayal of the historic French Quarter with descriptions of each area and photographs that display the ways in which New Orleans is unique.”
— FOREWORD MAGAZINE

“No medium alone, or paired with another, could possibly capture the elusive essence of the place author TJ Fisher calls ‘a bewitching oasis of culture and civilization sculpted from a hostile swamp.”
— GINNY SMITH, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

“A compendium … a passionate reflection … each work is a love letter to this seductive place with its distinctive history, character and architectural style … Even though the French Quarter was spared in the Katrina catastrophe, the surrounding devastation inspired a heightened desire to preserve its fragile beauty.”
— REGAN MCMAHON, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

“Beautiful educational and photographic work of art … A love affair that not just people here but all over the world have with this very special place.”
— ERIC PAULSEN, WWL-TV, host of The Morning Show

“Dazzles with heart, soul and lush images … an eloquent case for the restoration of New Orleans … An amalgam of history, botany, design, and architecture, with a dollop of social commentary … will mesmerize the reader … subtle nuances at play between what is seen and what is only perceived in the soul. … the City’s essence calls the reader… What succor for our collectively blighted reality to be given this gem … snapshot in time. The enchanting prose of Fisher captures that elusive quality of New Orleans, indescribable yet immediately recognizable … the author somehow manages to convey the magic, and her words resonate after the book is closed.”
— GEORGE NORTON, GRIS GRIS ROUGE

“Magnificent tribute to a city’s soul … the French Quarter’s glory … a gorgeous new book honoring New Orleans … amazing work … an attitude, and over-the-top character … erudition and passion”
— RON KENNER, THE AMERICAN REPORTER DAILY NEWSPAPER

“Lavishly designed and sumptuously illustrated, Orléans Embrace celebrates what makes New Orleans French Quarter unique and significant … the history of the Quarter and those who live there … beautiful pictures and capsule backstories. Unusual, gorgeous, intriguing.”
— COLLEEN MONDOR, BOOKLIST

“Take a trip through the authors’ eyes … ‘Saving New Orleans,’ looks at life after surviving calamity. Fisher’s text embodies both the city’s freewheeling nature and the painful confusion of grief.”
— MARTHA SHERIDAN, DALLAS MORNING NEWS

“No ordinary coffee-table photography book … personal and compelling … has emerged with universal attraction as a memorial and a motivation to restore a once great American city to its unique and original glory. Enthusiastically recommended … of immense interest.”
— JAMES A. COX, MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

“A long, sentimental journey through the beauty that is New Orleans’ French Quarter, past and present … a coffee table book that can keep you entertained for hours … The bookend sections, written by TJ Fisher with photographs by Louis Sahuc Photo Works, celebrate the spirit and love New Orleanians have for the city and their fortitude in trying to restore it to its pre-Katrina majesty.”
— GAMBIT WEEKLY

“This book is an homage to the French Quarter … It’s a beautiful book in three parts, written with almost poetical prose and magnificent photographs that tells us what we have that we could lose.”
— AMAZON

“Authors offer a hug for stressed-out city … emotionally reassuring … paying pictoral and written homage … heartfelt love of home … Orléans Embrace is a mix of emotions, by turns contemplative, melancholy, joyful, hopeful … solace for the disaster just past and hope for the future … will and passion of the city’s people.”
— RENÉE PECK, THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

“A majestic eyeful … a book within a book … A real treasure that is bound to become a family heirloom.”
— AL CARUBA, BOOKVIEWS

“M.S. Rau Antiques is proud to present Orléans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré … fascinating and inspirational anthology … touching narratives … stunning images … This book pays tribute to the marvelous history, beauty and resiliency that makes New Orleans one of our nation’s great treasures.”
— M.S. RAU ANTIQUES

“The beauty of French Quarter gardens … An out-of-print book, The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré by Roy F. Guste, Jr. is rediscovered and published as a companion to Orleans Embrace by TJ Fisher … featuring photos by Louis Sahuc … It is an emotional and vivid homage to one of the most unique areas in the United States and celebrates the city’s triumphs over adversity.”
— SUE STRACHAN, EDITOR, NEW ORLEANS HOMES & LIFESTYLES

“You won’t be able to keep this gorgeous book under anyone’s coffee mug. Orléans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré by TJ Fisher, Roy F. Guste, Jr. and Louis Sahuc are a resonating collection of photographs and prose that reveals the architectural and natural beauty of the French Quarter. The book … is dedicated to the city and people of New Orleans.”
— KARIE MELTZER, NEW ORLEANS MAGAZINE

“Crescent City, past and present & blends text with beautiful French Quarter photos, often focusing on the tropical plants that give New Orleans its world-apart feel … ‘Saving New Orleans’ … why it’s worthwhile.”
— JUDY WILEY, THE STAR-TELEGRAM

“Orléans Embrace is an exquisite coffee-table book.”
— KARRI WATSON, CURLED UP WITH A GOOD BOOK

“It’s gorgeous … narrative and pictorial homage to New Orleans, primarily the French Quarter … stunning … gorgeous exposé.”
— CHERÉ COEN, THE DAILY ADVERTISER

“Triumph over sorrow … book chronicles life in French Quarter … history and untold stories.”
— TAMMIE BREWER, THE DAILY LEADER

“I’d rather have Morgana Press’ Orléans Embrace by TJ Fisher, Roy F. Guste, Jr., and Louis Sahuc Photo Works, than half-a-dozen other books published on the subject. What the eye can see the heart can remember. Be a New Orleanian wherever you are, sugar. This volume will help you do the trick. Yours Truly in a Swamp.”
— LEONARD EARL JOHNSON, contributor to Louisiana in Words and French Quarter Fiction

“Orléans Embrace is the perfect coffee table centerpiece.”
— STEVE O’KEEFE, AUTHORVIEWS

“The long-awaited reissue of Roy F. Guste Jr.’s The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré: The Historic French Quarter of New Orleans is out in a collector’s edition which contains the lagniappe of some very special bookends, Orléans Embrace, a passionate reflection on the French Quarter in two parts by TJ Fisher.” — LAFETE NEWS

“Beautiful educational and photographic work of art … a love affair that not just people here but all over the world have with this very special place.”
— ERIC PAULSEN, WWL-TV, host of The Morning Show

“Amazing … lushly produced inside look at the mysteries of the French Quarter … cornucopia of stories.”
— ANDREI CODRESCU, THE PENNY POST, GAMBIT WEEKLY and DOWNTOWN EXPRESS

“Emotional portrayal of the historic French Quarter with descriptions of each area and photographs that display the ways in which New Orleans is unique.”
— FOREWORD MAGAZINE

“A simply divine coffee-table book … a must-read and a must-see book. The photography of historic buildings, courtyards and gardens are stunning. Writers Guste and Fisher turn a fine hand of prose.”
— JON KEMP, THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

“TJ Fisher succeeds admirably, in a style reminiscent of Lafcadio Hearn, in helping the reader to push aside those gossamer curtains and to peek inside the marvels of the Vieux Carré if only for a fleeting moment. On the other hand, there is a very modern edge to her writing. Because she was brave enough to bare her soul, her message and the raison d’etre are crystal clear.”
— from one of the nation’s leading librarians

“Morgana Press of New Orleans has taken on a huge undertaking. And it’s gorgeous … narrative and pictorial homage to New Orleans, primarily the French Quarter … stunning … gorgeous exposé.”
— THE DAILY ADVERTISER

“Orléans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré won the Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book-Nonfiction, one of the awards’ highest honors. The coffee-table book … also took Best New Voice-Nonfiction. [Author] TJ Fisher … accepted the award in a flowing dress of purples and magentas. ‘I wanted everyone to remember New Orleans, so I wore something flashy,’ she said. The Bourbon Street resident took every opportunity to encourage people to come back to the Crescent City and help in its recovery. ‘Come back and visit us,’ she implored. ‘Please come back. We need tourists.’”
— CHERÉ COEN, THE DAILY ADVERTISER

“I love the book … it’s very impressive.”
— JENNIFER SANTIAGO, MY 33, Emmy Award-nominated host of Focus on South Florida

“Emotion and passion pour from the pages of this book.”
— Benjamin Franklin Book Awards

“In the great tradition of Irish writer TJ Fisher gives us the soul of the Quarter and puts New Orleans in our arms before and after Katrina. New Orleans is so blessed.”
— DANNY O’FLAHERTY, Celtic balladeer

“The Independent Publishers Association (PMA) presented author TJ Fisher and Morgan Press the coveted Ben Franklin Award for Best New Voice in the nonfiction category, and The Bill Fisher Award for the Best First Book of nonfiction.”
— THE AMERICAN REPORTER DAILY NEWSPAPER

“All profits from the book will be donated to French Quarter preservation efforts.”
— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“Orléans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré focuses on the beauty the city has retained … melancholic photos of balcony silhouettes and church steeples poking into the sky … [Fisher] invokes Lafcadio Hearn’s voice … the gardens serve as windows into the city’s history … New Orleans has recovered from vast destruction before. The close of the book urges readers to preserve New Orleans and to encourage the country to aid in its recovery. TJ Fisher dismisses the question ‘Should New Orleans be rebuilt?’ that residents of the city find so ridiculous. The entire book answers the question with a resounding yes.”
— LAURA HUNT, WHERE Y’AT MAGAZINE

“I love this book. It is the best book of New Orleans I have ever read.”
— BLAINE KERN (MR. MARDI GRAS)

“There’s never been anything like this … An anthology covering the vibrant history of the area, this landmark title … addresses a key question … how and why the city will survive Katrina.”
— CONNIE GROCHMAL, BELLAONLINE: THE VOICE OF WOMEN

“Soulful narrative … post-Katrina homage … With heart upon sleeve, Fisher’s passionate introductory chapter engages the reader with aphoristic-like portraits of the Quarter and the encompassing spectrum of lifetime held within. Her finely crafted outpouring illustrates the plagues, fires and social devastations IF the past and casts a sensuous spell that immediately disarms nonbelievers and the irreverent.”
— JONNE MOLINA, SHELTER

“An enchanting peek inside the elusively secret and mysterious parts of the indomitable French Quarter. This is the real Vieux Carré rarely glimpsed by outsiders.”
— FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA

“Sumptuously photographed, this book presents the esoteric and efflorescent truth of the Vie Carré and why there is no other place like it in the world.”
— NICOLAS CAGE

“The Vieux Carré was my window to the tropics before there ever was a Margaritaville song or restaurant. It was the place for all us children of the coast, who were lucky enough to see the gardens, smell the gumbo and hear the music that spoke of a larger and more interesting world beyond the path of Highway 90. I have been lucky enough to see many views of many places that are called paradise, but my first view was a banana tree in a Vieux Carré garden. I can remember that view nearly 50 years later as if it were yesterday. In a world filled with many storms and much uncertainty, the Vieux Carré was, still is and will hopefully always be a shelter from the storms.” — JIMMY BUFFETT

“What a visual palette. Wow! This is truly the New Orleans I love.”
— EMERIL LAGASSE

“This lovely work is a touching journey; it takes us deep behind closed doors and locked gates into the ancient soul and stillness of the French Quarter.”
— LENNY KRAVITZ

“Few realize the visual excitement hidden behind French Quarter doors. Beyond the traffic and tourists, at the end of narrow brick paths, vines grow and fountains flow, uninterrupted for more than 150 years. These living masterpieces are a unique part of New Orleans and American culture.”
— GEORGE RODRIGUE, Blue Dog artist

“New Orleans has many faces and wears many masks. This seductive book invites you behind the Crescent City’s legendary facades into some of its most beautiful and best-kept secret places. It is a feast for those who prize the city’s timeless charms.”
— TOM PIAZZA, author of My Cold War and Why New Orleans Matters

“This magnificently realized work reminds us that the beauty of our great city lies not only in what the eyes capture, but in what the heart feels. New Orleans has a secret soul.”
— HARRY ANDERSON

“This stunning book reveals the beauty and romance of New Orleans and returns me to my childhood. It’s a treasure and makes the perfect gift.”
— PATRICIA CLARKSON

“Living in the Vieux Carré trumps all other neighborhood experiences. The Quarter constantly astonishes, and this book reveals many of its delicious secrets.”
— TAYLOR HACKFORD & HELEN MIRREN

“An intimate look at the city Tennessee Williams called his spiritual home — the nooks and crannies of its heart and the beautiful intricacies of its endearing and enduring soul.”
— KARISSA KARY, Associate Director, Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival

“This book captures the haunting beauty of these Edenic gardens like no other I have read about the Vieux Carré. I am glad that we have this book to remind us of their fragile beauty and to embolden us to do something about their eventual return.”
— JAMES H. MEREDITH, President, Ernest Hemingway Foundation and Society

“Roy F. Guste, Jr., scion of an old Creole family, is among the initiated who know the lush tropical gardens of the French Quarter intimately from a lifetime of invitations for café au lait in the morning or tea laced with mint late afternoons or, perhaps a stronger aperitif after dark. With the familiarity of a lover, he brings to life the secret beauties of this neighborhood to those who have only glimpsed their voluptuous glory through the iron lace of garden gates. A must for those who treasure New Orleans.”
— ROSEMARY JAMES, Co-Founder, The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society

“This is simply the best book that has been written about the enchanted gardens of the Vieux Carré.”
— JOE DESALVO, owner, Faulkner House Books

“An ideal testament to the extraordinary beauty hidden inside the patios and courtyards of the French Quarter…a view that is unique, treasured and desired.”
— E. RALPH LUPIN, M.D., Chairman Vieux Carré Commission

“We who live in the French Quarter enjoy sharing our treasures with the world. This book brings you behind the walls and gates and reveals our most charming secrets.”
— NATHAN CHAPMAN, President, Vieux Carré Property Owner, Residents and Associates

The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor marked the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with a quote from TJ Fisher’s post-Katrina work Orléans Embrace. The Writer’s Almanac: “August 29, 2015: on this day: Hurricane Katrina. … New Orleans writer, T.J. Fisher, wrote of the storm: ‘Katrina changed everything. Life here is different, every face altered. Yet we feel and sense the landscape not only in its hurricane-leveled, sodden depressions but — perhaps even more so now in the strangely comforting depths of our shared history. Even in the worst hit areas, not all is dissipated. Dense intricate attachments burrow too deep to underestimate or overlook. This is no featureless town to be rubbed off the map and cast aside. Here the band plays on.

Hearsay from Heaven and Hades: New Orleans Secrets of Sinners and Saints

Reviews, published work that is now out-of-print

From the Author: Timeless and gold award-winning book “Best Book” published non-fiction (poetry), illustrated by Jennifer Porter. Wonderful BOOK SIGNING PARTY, and honoring Miss Marion Colbert of Treme. Always excited to see it on a bookshelf or coffee table! Before the sad demise of brick-and-mortar independent bookstores, and chain booksellers, it was always fun to see my work(s) on display!

From the Publisher (2008): This collection of dark and enchanted satire, musings, and witticisms exposes a swatch in the psyche deeper than character studies or scenarios of right or wrong, good or bad, politics or peccadilloes. Crafty, uncensored, and contentious, this irreverent commentary serves up the perfect “quipsodic” tonic for overcoming the perpetually positive, goodie-two-shoes, saintly Stepford, happy middlebrow mindset. From the hallowed halls of tycoons to the underbelly of pop culture and flawed people living in the abyss, beyond the revelry and merrymaking, the guises and disguises, herein lies a quirky shadow dance of quips; a dark-jewel slice of life. Taking umbrage at milquetoast platitudes, with sardonic, world-weary wit, the narrative delivers insolent interpretations of how Louisiana’s rebellious, rollicking French Quarter saints and sinners approach life, love, lust, backstabbing, and survival on the brink.

“TJ Fisher has pulled together a delicious concoction of random thoughts which occurred to her over the forty days and forty nights of Katrina and her devastating aftermath, random thoughts which together sum up all that is precious about New Orleans and her people, when they are being very, very good and when they are being very, very bad. With the devotion of a lover and the keen insight and clarity of vision of one who came by choice and stays in spite of all, New Orleans is brought to life in bits and pieces that compose in the end the entirety of this jewel of a city. I plan to buy Hearsay from Heaven and Hades: New Orleans Secrets of Sinners and Saints for all of my friends in other places so that they will understand why, once we come, we do not leave.”
— ROSEMARY JAMES, Co-Founder, Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society and editor of My New Orleans: Ballads to the Big Easy by Her Sons, Daughters, and Lovers

“A totally unique book, filled with what she (TJ Fisher) calls ‘French Quarterisms,’ a large collection of aphorisms that permits the reader to flip open to any page and delight, ranging from ‘The greatest instinct is survival’ to ‘Rarely is one mistake fatal in itself.’ This is the kind of book you give to a young reader to stimulate their mind or a friend, a loved one, because it is a gift of love as well as life. The collection of thoughts that fill every page evokes the special spirit of life in the city where you can find a grand cathedral and a shop selling voodoo charms.”
— AL CARUBA, BOOKVIEWS

“TJ Fisher’s Hearsay from Heaven and Hades: New Orleans Secrets of Sinners and Saints, a book illustrating the emotional unrest felt during the days following Katrina.”
— SUZANNE PFEFFERLE, WHERE Y’AT

“TJ Fisher’s Hearsay from Heaven and Hades is a cogent, sparkling tour de force of wit, wisdom and – most importantly – love. Her sense of what makes the French Quarter such a maddening, but endearing, magnet for creative souls is priceless … very thought-provoking … FANTASTIC!”
— CHRISTIAN ALLMAN is the publisher of GRIS GRIS ROUGE MAGAZINE; he has also served as a contributing writer and editor of THE FACE OF NEW ORLEANS TRIBUNE and THE TREME VOICE

“The Western World has its match for Confucius in TJ Fisher and her new book. Superb literary anecdotes and allusions, bristling with wisdom, surprisingly turned with wit and creativity, beam gems of thought. And who among us doesn’t inwardly admit that we are both saints and sinners at the same time, ‘perfectly imperfect? … TJ Fisher knows that … and she says it well. Fresh and sassy … enlightening words transport me right back to New Orleans again … tremendous vocabulary … and well jumbled!”
— BISHOP JAMES H. BURCH, The Catholic Diocese of One Spirit

“A magnum opus of intriguing ‘truths.’ Thought-provoking … a kick, a caress, a slow burn, felt deep within the belly and heart. Be prepared to want to laugh, cry, dance and think.”
— from one of the nation’s leading librarians

“TJ Fisher magnificently captures the heart and soul of New Orleans in her newest work, Hearsay from Heaven and Hades. It not only draws us in but keeps us captivated through her keen insights that are both funny and heartwarming, enlightening!”
— JEFF RECTOR, award-winning actor/writer/director/producer

“A magnificent journey into the delicious realms of unknown New Orleans. Fisher exposes the secrets of this complex city and lures us into the provocative world … which is New Orleans … Hearsay from Heaven and Hades is a must read for any serious lover of superb writing.”
— DR. ROSARY O’NEILL, acclaimed author of The Actors Checklist and award-winning playwright of internationally celebrated works that often center on the rich and colorful classic cultural ‘characters’ of New Orleans and Louisiana; O’Neill’s works include: The Awakening of Kate Chopin, Blackjack: The Thief of Possession, Degas in New Orleans, A Louisiana Gentleman, Solitaire, Wishing Aces, Uncle Victor, White Suits in Summer, Property, Turtle Soup, The Wing of Madness, Beckett at Greystone Bay, John Singer Sargeant, Madame X, the Vampire Trilogy, etc. An author of six books and 25 plays, she penned New Orleans Voodoo: A Cultural History and New Orleans Carnival Krewes: The History, Spirit and Secrets of Mardi Gras. O’Neill was a Loyola Professor of Drama and Speech and the Founding Artistic Director at NOLA’s Southern Rep Theater

“Wonderful bedside companion.”
— ROY F. GUSTE, JR., author of The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré, Antoine’s Cookbook, nine additional Creole cookbooks and other assorted New Orleans-based works of nonfiction

“Drumroll please! … The … Book Awards nominees are! … Southern book … couldn’t stop talking about … “You have got to read this!’ … recognize great books of Southern origin.”
— SOUTHERN BOOKSELLERS INDEPENDENT ALLIANCE (Hearsay from Heaven and Hades: New Orleans Secrets of Sinners and Saints — nominated for best poetry book)

“Another celebration of the greatest city in America as only Fisher could write it. Hearsay from Heaven and Hades is a grasping for light in lightless New Orleans nights, a voice in a time of frightening silence, clarity in a time of chaos.”
— JOSHUA CLARK, author of Heart Like Water: Surviving Katrina and Life in Its Disaster Zone (National Book Critics Circle Finalist) and editor of Louisiana in Words and French Quarter Fiction

“Hearsay from Heaven and Hades thought-provoking insights for living the human drama are compelling and smack of genius. Kudos to Ms. Fisher for an enormous task that is well written and worthy of her Benjamin Franklin Award for ‘Best New Voice Nonfiction.”
— CATHERINE LANIGAN, author of Romancing the Stone, The Jewel of the Nile, Divine Nudges, Angel Watch, Wings of Destiny and 25 additional fiction and nonfiction books

“Some of these aphorisms are charming, and some may even be profound.”
— ANDREI CODRESCU, poet, novelist, columnist and essayist, author of Wakefield and New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writing from the City

“A poetic examination of 40 days and nights within the Vieux Carré … Fisher’s musings of life in New Orleans, from the juxtaposition of good and evil, decline and revival and the balance of catastrophe and beauty … pieces of wisdom.”
— CHERE COEN, THE DAILY ADVERTISER

“Self life: What’s new at the bookstores? Hearsay from Heaven and Hades: New Orleans Secrets of Sinners and Saints by TJ Fisher.”
— MIMI DIAMOND, ASBURY PARK PRESS

“Since childhood, she has found creative inspiration in all facets of New Orleans and its rich lifestyle. A post-Katrina ‘breakout’ voice of resonance.”
— LA FETE NEWS

“Hearsay from Heaven and Hades … Janus-like two-faced personality of New Orleans.”
— PIRATES ALLEY FAULKNER SOCIETY

“[Fisher] Coloful character … engaging … bizarre … curious … eccentric.”
— CURLED UP WITH A GOOD BOOK

“Poetic … metaphoric … florid … Southern … A writer … related to Lafcadio Hearn … Sylvia Plath.”
— IRENE SINGLETARY, publisher

“I LOVE your book!”
— JEFF KEEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF USA BOOK NEWS

“It reminds me of an old Gaelic song that has 20 verses, each one of them different and significant. Like the song, TJ will keep you spellbound all through the night.”
— DANNY O’FLAHARTY, Celtic Balladeer

“TJ Fisher calls Hearsay from Heaven and Hades, the follow-up to her award-winning Orléans Embrace, a sardonic handbook. But Fisher, whose vocabulary matches her boundless spirit, has put much Joie de vivre into Hearsay as irreverence and derision. The Belle of Bourbon Street has framed her compendium of anecdotes and aphorisms in 40 chapters, titled 40 Days and 40 Nights. As with Orléans Embrace, the author is ever busy resurrecting the spirt and soul of a great city. Neither Rome or New Orleans was built in a day and Hearsay from Heaven and Hades is to be savored in more than one or two sittings. In these “sayings for unquiet minds,” emotions take every shade, but the overreaching theme is Fisher’s post-Katrina mantra. It resonates in such passages as, ‘Life revolving, ebbing and flowing, outlives catastrophe’ and ‘a rotating pendulum of holy and unholy ruin.’ Fisher, last year’s winner of the Ben Franklin Award for Best New Voice, speaks out again as New Orleans mender of broken dreams.”
— GARTH PUCKETT, Starred Amazon Reviewer

Vieux Carré Chic: The Art of Overindulgent Home Décor

Reviews, published work that is now out-of-print

From the Author: My work with photography by Skip Bolen. When Palm Beach meets New Orleans and collides.

From the Publisher (2011): Paying tribute and homage to the French Quarter’s compelling clash-of-culture imagery of past and present, this highly visual collage reveals a mad hatter’s mesmerizing jumble of exquisitely-controlled chaos. Subscribing to the age-old axioms of “excess is best” and “too much is never enough,” the style enchants the mind and the eye with a hypnotic blend of African, Parisian, and equestrian-inspired themes and motifs threaded throughout every room. Ravishing, uncanny, and confounding design applications, never before previewed, spill from every page, coupled with astonishing how-to design philosophy and real-life applications. Packing oodles of countless collectibles and curiosities into even the smallest space, the eye-popping style dismisses and defies all preconceived notions and perceptions or predictable, anemic interior decorating ideas. Through a ceiling-to-floor embellishment of exquisite and peculiar accessories, ornamentation, and colors, a mix of opulently cheap to chichi and colossal furnishings—including artifacts, antiques, accessories, collectibles, curios, and other fine objects d’art—crowds each room.

“Going wild … cozy … historic … ‘hideaway’ … an authentic chapter … A preponderance of African-theme works of art and leopard-print fabrics in the decorating scheme … affinity for the jungle look … which is somewhat toned down by warm furniture and interior treatments … is innate to [TJ Fisher] her personality.”
— ROBERT JANJIGIAN, PALM BEACH DAILY NEWS

“Architectural story … period-style … historic-style … 1920s-style … animal themes primitive yet relaxing.”
— MIAMI HERALD

“Wow! … incredible … different signature style … nothing like it.”
— BERNARD ZYSCOVICH, AIA, internationally acclaimed architect; contributor to South Beach Style and Architecture and Real Urbanism

“This is incredible! … I can’t believe it … the mix of antiques, art, kitsch, modern.”
— ROBERT LUCKY, M.S. Rau Antiques

“Fabulous! … Unbelievable.”
— HOME MAGAZINE

“Outrageous … mind-blowing … Whimsical madness! … storyteller style.”
— AT HOME, VINTAGE HOUSE

“Wow … I love your house! … Nothing like it … I don’t know where to look … This should be in Architectural Digest. I would’ve never thought of that! … It works! … Why didn’t I think of that? … I can’t wait to show my husband!”
— NEW ORLEANS HOME AND GARDEN TOUR

“Gimme Shelter … Beautification Inspiration … Vieux Carré Chic: The Art of Overindulgent Home Décor … a ‘mad-hatter’s mesmerizing jumble of exquisitely controlled chaos.’ Loosely translated, that means interiors stuffed to the gills with everything from priceless antiques to dime-store kitsch.”
— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“A world of whimsical design … Vieux Carré Chic is an unusual and appealing jukebox of artifacts that reflect passion for life … a wonderlust of finds …Is it a flicker of formality or that of fantasy? … Museum artifacts or flea market finds? …At first glance, themed rooms have a sense of formal grandeur. However, using a clever twist of witty artistry and humor, the appealing juxtaposition of artifacts now appears unconventional. Formal portraits in gallery style reveal a tamed wild posing in bonnets and bows … Vieux Carré Chic’s themed pictorial pages are bursting with delicious treasure troves reflecting great opulence, brilliance, humor and grandiosity. So be enamored. Be enchanted.”
— DIANNE HARRIS, noted Australian and French Quarterite style-setter and fashion design maven

“Morgana Press will publish … [TJ Fisher’s third book] Vieux Carré Chic: The Art of Overindulgent Home Décor.” — JAN SJOSTROM, PALM BEACH DAILY NEWS

The Pearly Gates of Purgatory series
Advance reviews of an early draft limited manuscript, non-yet-published work

The Pearly Gates of Purgatory book cover

“Your writing is absolutely terrific.”
— STEVE TROHA, leading literary representative for Jackie Collins and other bestseller celebrity authors and pop-culture icons; former publicity director at St. Martin’s Press

“Outrageous!”
— Stephanie Austin, film and TV producer of breakout hits such as Terminator, Judgement Day and True Lies

“Join Sam on the run, buckle-up and strap yourself in, for you’re in for the most hilarious, unpredictable and sometimes dangerous time of your life. Addictive, it is all I think about, every spare moment I have is spent feverishly reading the next chapter including staying up and reading under the covers with a mini flashlight till the wee hours of the morning. Books you can’t put down. Shrouded in mystery nothing is what it seems. When selling your soul seems the answer to your problems it can signal your further demise. Who can you trust? A wild roller coaster ride smattered with wads of green dough, sugar daddies, convertibles, demons and cheap, sleazy hotels where unexpected triumphs are short lived, gains turn to losses and close calls are around every corner. A tantalizing mix of scintillating sexual tension, danger, wealth, fashion and cliffhangers. Your salvation could be just around the corner or was that your downfall? Say goodnight to your husband as you join in with the twisted trials and tribulations of larger-than-life characters and the intriguing vivid life and times of Samara Viola Schaffer.”
— DIANNE HARRIS, noted Australian and French Quarterite style-setter, fashion design maven and artist

“I love it. The finale is grand … dramatic … over the top … matches the rest of the story … the perfect glittering ending … I cried … the hallmark of a good story is to engage the reader and make them love the hero/heroine readers will certainly have feelings for Sam … it leaves the reader wondering … [Sam is] somewhere in the darkness’ is still alive … all a great note to stop on … get it into the world’s hands.”
— IRENE SINGLETARY, publisher

“I can’t wait until you share this with the world.”
— GREGORY D. MARKS, actor, writer, filmmaker, stylist, film producer

“Okay so call me a romanticist … this is NOT a satisfying ending! I hoped Sam would finally have some long-term happiness!!! I cried … emotionally involved with the characters.”
— JESSICA KEET, “The Proofreaders’ Proofreader”

“Fast paced. Soul searching. Poignant. Devilish. It helps to have an over-the-top hell-on-convertible-pink-Cadillac-wheels saucy redheaded author to develop an over-the-top character caught between heaven and hell. TJ is a great talent! The Pearly Gates of Purgatory … both old-fashioned and modern qualities … fast-paced action story … hard-boiled … romantic … not short on plotting … compare even Agatha Christie, John D. McDonald … a character-driven work … broad market … popular fiction … adult.”
— RON KENNER, award-winning book editor, author, columnist, journalist, former LA Times newsman

“I love how you write. It’s like having a conversation with you.”
— LISSY PEACE, literary and film publicist

“SHIT-FIRE!!! JUST REALLY, TRULY, ABSOLUTELY A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! That is some mighty fine Southern writing, Miss TJ! CHEEEZITS!!! I was up all night and just could not stop reading it – scandalous!!! Deftly composed … highbrow … true fiction real-life ‘diary’ … hinged on scandal and salacity, want and longing … a fictionalized window into madness under the oaks … masquerade under the palms … and most of all, just so much fun to read!!!”
— SKIP BOLEN, Southern photographer / documentriacist of iconic imagery and people

“The Pearly Gates of Purgatory Series … outrageous … Cliffhanger … unpredictable turn of events … epic on life in the fast lane … eerily detailed … curveball … impossible to put down … well woven … total immersion, be entertained … voyage into the world of wealth … controversy … shocks the brain … sucks into the whirlpool. TJ … a flame-haired former American [of Irish descent] Rose of Tralee … demonstrates the bodacious spirit, resolve and temperament of Celtic ‘Iron Age Warrior Queen’ Boudica … a celebrated, controversial and complex figure of unending interest.”
— DANNY O’FLAHERTY, Celtic singer, musician, storyteller and bard

“Oh dear … Wow … outrageous … original voice … colorful … manipulative and dramatic … intense … Southern storyteller … offbeat and quirky … addictive … oddly gripping sprawling tale … seesaw confessional … roman à clef? … pop-culture … dark fairy-tale … film noir material married to a twisted chick-o-meter! … Big questions … the struggle of good and evil … outcast comeback people … Irreverent and idiosyncratic. A keen sense of the power of dark humor, satire and irony. Intelligent writing that is quirky, kicky, funny, edgy, naughty and noir … roulette wheel … with unexpected violence. A narrative saga that only T] Fisher could pen. As with all great writers, she leaves the ending up to us. Enthralling stunner … sweeping epic of passion and revenge … begs to be made into a TV miniseries or film trilogy. Tremendous passion and eloquence … irreverent humor … engaging, seamless spider-web story … poison ping-pong ball juggling … with an intimate core.”
— JANE, literary-cinematic adaptation focus group

“High-concepts novels … Dark and breezy. Hard knuckled and sharp elbowed, hidden in velvet gloves … Shocker. Utterly engaging. Every time the story appears to be gaining narrative momentum; it turns and twists surreal corners. Distinctive voice and style of writing.”
— ROBIN, literary-cinematic adaptation focus group

“OMG! WTF? ROTFLMAO and crying. Shaking my head. Deep and meaningful. To be honest, crying real big tears. It’s more than an all-day party with wild beasts. Too great to be forgotten. For ever and ever. Dang girl, you’re fine. By the way, I think I’m in love with you. Yours in Christ.”
— LADY PRISCILLA

“Big epic, dishy and glamorous work! Upscale immodesty! But a serious thriller, too! Better than scandal sheets or fleet-street! Cliffhanger of extremes … to entertain, intrigue, scandalize … dark emotion and hilarity … a rollicking, disturbing ride! … Humid being and duplicitous worlds … knives in the air and hoodoo-voodoo! TJ Fisher’s distinctive voice and story hinges on controversial, out-of-the-ordinary and provocative psychological conflict. Fascinating fly-on-the-wall look at elite-a-glamorous and ruthless lives where money, vengeance, torment and beauty rule. Big swaths of ‘stream of consciousness’ writing … highly emotional, quirky, cerebral, complex, and sometimes grotesque the dark side… Utterly strange and wonderful Theatre of the Absurd.”
— TOM SMITH

“Sexy, sultry, suspense that’s going to appeal to independent women everywhere.”
— SUZY, literary-cinematic adaptation focus group

The Pearly Gates of Purgatory series

The storyline is juicy and intriguing, with wild plot twists, a profound and deceptive world of dark temptations and dangerous liaisons. Plenty of intoxicating allure. All the threads entwine. Humor, gravitas and pathos merge. The story’s endlessly fascinating female heroine is at the center. Nothing about her is stereotypical. Unpredictable protagonist Samara “Sam” Viola Schaffer finds herself at the crossroads of a very treacherous path, lined with jealousy, riddles, peril, obsession, seduction, violence, deadly suspicion and murder, a tangled web of bloodlines, passion, betrayal, wealth and mystery. It’s a turbulent journey. Rollin’.

The novel series opens and ends in the current time, and the series features a ’59 pink Caddy convertible, Lulabell, however, the bulk of the story is set in the past, 1987-1992. Expect the unexpected. High-stakes dilemmas set the tone.

The powerful, voice-led books are a character-driven story that affects the heart and the head with an emotional bond. The twisted tale bursts out with blockbuster firepower. Good people doing bad things and bad people doing good things. All the layers. Hello. Whoa. Buckle up and get ready.

The storytelling blurs the lines of literary fiction + mashup + upmarket fiction + domestic suspense + bully romance + Southern gothic + romance + fictional memoir + crime + thriller + mystery + philosophical fiction + noir + erotica + a little horror—transcending genre, no rules. Think storybook prose and wicked gritty realism, married to general fabrication. Shocking experiences are portrayed, with the ability to entertain and unsettle simultaneously.

The work is formatted in the mold of a highly creative concept, written with a female centric psychological flair. “TJ’s genre” contains exceptional against-the-grain characters and memorable themes. Such dark and warped recesses. So many layers of gray and cracks in the pavement. Readers will devour the strong hooks and bold narrative. It’s a colossal story to immerse in, obsess over, talk about.

The pages are filled with high-voltage protagonists, antagonists and plot twists. Subjective good and bad people, good and evil. “How on earth could this get any crazier?” some may say. Prepare to be astounded. The high-stakes work is many things at once. Non-formulistic, it busts typical genre tropes and take risks. The special cast of passionate Pearly Gates People don’t play it safe. The characters that nobody would think of do things in unique ways.

The mega-work crisscrosses categories such as fact and fiction, family identity, secrets and the power of memory. It’s the broad and the minute, the vogue of old and new, an unpredictable writing style that loops between literary flowery and in-your-face raw. Fairytale hell. The narrative offers unruly insight into our reckless passions and comforts for life’s unruly miseries, sane and raving places and themes. It’s quicksand. It’s messy. It swamps the senses. It has all the magical X-factor ingredients. Everything haunting and unforgettable. The story lingers…

The storyteller’s inimitable characters are endowed with uniqueness, completely unorthodox and out of the box, nothing according to Hoyle. Everything about them is incredibly engaging and insatiably complex. Sheesh! Oh, dear Lord. Seriously. It’s totally amazing. Off the charts. Could it be be true? Real-life events? Truth told as fiction, like semi-autobiographical, a little bit of a roman à clef…? Yes. Maybe. Life written in chalk. Eyes peeled. Destiny unfolds.

The Pearly Gates of Purgatory series is an absorbing opus, perfect for binge reading. And this is a great time for a sprawling, epic literary saga. Pearly Gates People will create a big stir. A scandal. Very intriguing. It’s NOT linear storytelling. Oh no, God, no. It loops and loops around, like a seemingly harmless voodoo serpent slowly constricting. Who is the prey, who is the predator.

The drop-dead work is deep-rooted in Dallas, New Orleans and Palm Beach, that coupled with NYC, London, Paris, Kenya, Lake Geneva, Miami and LA scenes. Of course, it’s an all-original compulsive read. Surprising and beyond belief. It’s murky dark tale of twisted love, lust, obsession, seduction, romance, taboos, desperation, secrets, money troubles, skeletons, suspense, sex, debauchery, treachery, blackmail, wealth, Mafia, violence, radical evil, all the excesses—and murder. Hobnobbing with the rich. The good stuff that is quite tormenting yet highly satisfying. Dare anyone say, even orgasmic.

It’s a potent mind-boggler set amid grit and glamour. Outrageous. Emotional. Tempest. Explosive subject matter and storyline. Captivating black humor, too. A weighty psychodynamic cliffhanger saga…a character-driven work of darkly disturbing love and interlocking fates…it hits the gut with a sucker punch. Whammo. Poisonous flavor and torrid pulse.

The books are a thrilling masterpiece story, fresh, alive, vibrant, exciting and unique, with great hooks and an engaging concept. Hello. It doesn’t follow any script. Nope. The inside-out writing is alternatively elegant and deep, sharp and biting, soft and hardboiled. The characters are sane and raving, yet strangely believable. They defy norms and conventions weave a black magic spell that cannot be explained.

A fine-tuned cast of characters line the pages of this read. Expect to meet shady personalities, sinners and a few saints. It’s in the bloodline. No jaw-dropper cult favorite would be complete without a wide assortment of muses, men, monsters and lunatics. Fractured people. Yes, Broadway thespians, prep Ivy WASPs, stalkers, fakers, posers, voodoo priestesses, Mafiosos, loan-sharks, millionaires, dirty cops, high rollers, gold diggers, chauffeurs, headshrinkers, Judas, money launderers, oil and cattle barons, bankers, doctors, ancestors, Bible thumpers, murderers, priests, fortunetellers, alcoholics, cowboys, G-men, country clubbers, society matrons, exotic entertainers, Jackie O wannabes and the help. God bless the help. You get the picture. From stately mansions to cheap motels, cowboy boots to Lilly Pulitzer, it all comes together. Gold, baby, gold, we all dream in gold. Riches and treasures beyond the rot and decay. Oh, yes, and lest we not forget the Mardi Gras queens, drama queens and drag queens, the pet doggies and prized horses. Uptown/downtown. Fun, horror and violent behavior. Can you believe it? What a wild thrill ride.

The blow-the-ceiling-off book series gets better as it goes, book to book, each book better than the first, all the way to the end. It will make your head spin in the best possible way. Sequel books are never better than the first one, right? Wrong. The last book in the series remains the ultimate shocker of shockers, wrapping up everything with mind-altering unveils. Bringing it all to light. Readers will be in awe of these books, truly.

Psst! Buzz-buzz. Ooh-lala. Stand back. Many will hope, dream and fear that he or she is a roman à clef character in The Pearly Gates of Purgatory series. Yep. Like vivid real-life secrets exposed. Hidden behind a deep spiderwebby façade of “memoir” fiction. Indeed, in dealing with the devil, demons are laid bare, and all the landscape of healing balms, hot pleasures and ashes.

The work covers the emotional aftermath and wreckage of catastrophe and intimate torment, going to the brink and last goodbyes, stars that refuse to be dimmed. Nothing hard and fast, all “rules” and “expectations” are unlearned. This is not just a sex, sun, sand, shopping, spaghetti and champagne book series, oh no, but more of the dark white-hot elements of a domestic suspense thriller, interpersonal relationships and their outcomes. Such strange entanglements and penalties.

The first-person narrator and dialogue-rich story is told in a distinctive voice of originality. Paired with wry wit. But you already know that. Once Sam slams into your life and takes command of your world, you will never forget her, neither her story nor her triumphs and sorrows, ever. She’s an enthralling and damaged mix of good and bad, as are all the characters. And we empathize with them. We identify. We rationalize and fantasize. We’re able to justify their actions and behaviors. They complicate our concept of who is blameless and who is guilty. They disintegrate all borderlines. Our gray matter whirls. Who to believe…who to trust…

Blonde bombshell (alternately flame-haired) Sam drives a big pink 1959 Caddy convertible named Lulabell throughout the decades, beginning to end, which sets the tone and says everything you need to know.

With murder, the mob, secret societies and heartbreak trailing her in the smudgy rearview mirror, her lifetime ride to fame and multiple fortunes is more twisty than any soap opera, mystery or thriller. God writes such strange one-way tickets. You can’t make this stuff up. She travels such a long road to the horizon. It’s true, fate forced her to silence her foes but blood avengers who murder are destined to never forget. God remembers that we are dust…wealth is deceitful…

The stunning Cinderella-highflier-road-to-hell-and-back-and-oh-so-shocking-roller-coaster-ride of gripping consequences features unforgettable scenes, characters and a deep emotional appeal. It resonates. A stunning spiel, it’s a serious literary endeavor for mass entertainment, a depiction of people capable of most anything. Who knows what comes next. Nobody. It all unfolds. Their loves and hatreds, pardons and revenges manifest in such harrowing escapades, noir, riches, crime, sex, sorrow, tragedy, happiness, glee, religion, madness and wanton acts of cruelty. A nested story within a story, call it a frame narrative. It’s the deepest kind of truth — the kind of truth that only fiction can tell. VERY INTENSE. And we are gutted. There is no safe passage. Holy hell.

Marriage plots, faith and philosophy matter.

Yep, Sam’s fucked-up family hails from the Great Southern Babylon. New Orleans. It’s the bone marrow and epicenter of debauchery, a very special place of sinners and saints. Amen. For he’s a jolly good fellow. The word count of the series is not entirely unprecedented but close. It’s a throwback to Marcel Proust’s stream-of-consciousness-style “world’s longest novel.”

The Pearly Gates of Purgatory series’ premise is deeply compelling. The novel sequence, with truth in fiction, pushes past category boundaries with upscale flair. Entertaining and perturbing escapism. Nonstop climaxes. The exceptionally strong female voice begins at the end, which is current-time, and then coils back to begin again in 1987-1988, when she was 25 years old. Then there is the astounding end-end. You won’t want to miss it. There’s never been anything quite like this brand of storytelling, and there never will be again.

“I never wanted to be a millionaire, just live like one,” said Samara Viola Schaffer. Such a crazy premise. Not for the faint of heart. Cravings. “It’s my DNA. Daddy was a N’Awlins Jew, a drunk and a mob killer. We lived a crooked life of prestige and opulence, spells of poverty, too, bubbles and bullets, confetti and blood, the enamel of grief, and heavens where the stars all burn down. Punch me in the heart. What destroys me makes me live. The broken halves of all ourselves. To whom we return. How to catch the ear of God? Or Marie Laveau? Or the Black Madonna? All Southerners love illusion. Beautiful dreams built on lies. I tell you the truth.”

Main character Sam’s Daddy Zach worked for New Orleans Godfather Carlos Marcello, both involved in JFK’s assassination, in the story, with newfangled reveals about that. The art of deceptive lying to tell the truth, the truth in lies. Prepare yourself for this one, someone always lurking in the shadows. You will have questions that need answering, and no idea where things are going. Catch your breath every few pages. Cliffhangers will have readers and cinephiles on the floor, demolished, destroyed, devastated. It’s so good, SO GOOD. Heartachingly heavy and esoteric, light and breezy, bone-chilling and sad, self-deprecating and gruesome, satirical and funny.

Hold onto your seat. Stay tuned. Stand by. Watch out. Author alert. Whoo-hoo! Hold breath. Mark time. It’s time for the world to keep watching. Keep listening. Where the rubber hits the road. Big shockers. Bolts from the blue. Unreal but real. Hang onto your hat. This spellbinding story is unleashing, soon.

From page one, the narrator grabs hold of your hand and squeezes. Snared, you’re deep inside her head, behind her eyes, underneath her skin. She yanks you into her steamy escapades, her bizarre, tangled web. There’s no escape from the madness, mayhem, mystery, misery, mirth and more, that rains down on you. But who could not want more? Hooked, there’s no turning back. The suffocating, beautiful layers of anguish and joy that pair together as twin faces in the mirror that keeps peeling away yet there’s always more, teasing and tantalizing. We reach for the evasive yet highly addictive sunken treasure of love, money, safety and happiness; all so close, so far, just heartache, a fingertip, a million miles away. Often, it chases after us, nipping at our heels.

As Sam finds out the hard way, deep, dark, mysterious secrets and lies, shimmering in the sun, lurking in the shadows, camouflage the rot that hides behind the gloss, revealing that nothing is as it seems, ever.

There is evil in the world. Deadly. Relentless. Silent. Provocative. Alluring. Irresistible. Indeed, evil has many masks, many charms, many poisons. Lust, love, lies, hate and greed help the world spin on its axis. Though there is no evil without some good in it, there is also no good without evil in it, beware! Never trust your heart to a carnivore. Once you climb aboard a runaway roller coaster madly careening through a house of smoke and mirrors, you can’t just stop the ride and get off. Absolutely not. There is nothing you can do but keep riding, and screaming, and screaming. Until it crashes. And all you can hope is that you’ll live to tell about it.

Remember, the characters are not well-rounded. No. They are people with jagged, broken edges, and those edges cut things and leave an imprint, a design. Touché. The story gets underneath all the sham, all the excuses, all the lies that you’ve been told. It’s stripped down naked, to hide nothing, to look away from nothing, to look at it… To not blink, to not be embarrassed by it or ashamed of it. It gets to where the blood is, where the bone is. Yes.

The series is far more engrossing than an “average” page-turner. There are no vampires, werewolves or Marvel superheroes in the books, mainly alluring wild and crazy Byronic heroes/antiheroes. We’re drawn to morally ambiguous characters who act badly.

The iconic characters understand riches to rags — and rags to riches — fabled tales that have a mythic quality that echo Greek tragedy. Their lives are a classic Tennessee William play, a continuum, set in umpteen acts. They live over-the-top lives that no novelist would ever dare to pen, high-flier crashes, tragedy, devastation, financial ruin, miracles, loss, betrayal and heartbreak. Resiliency.

The characters are irreparably complex, flawed and charismatic. Likewise, the narrator possesses a love of “twisted” dark absurdity, comedy, satire, skeletons, scandal and swashbucklers. She’s a colorful storyteller, a complex character of dichotomy, with seeming contradictions, whereas all her virtues collide and coexist with her faults. It’s complicated but never boring. There are no coincidences. Her prose is florid, lyrical, lurid, detailed, complex, verbose and philosophical, filled with interiority.

Good people do bad things and bad people do good things.

Something BIG is coming soon… Don’t go away. More to come. Watch this space.