—Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
Southern reformist George Washington Cable (1844-1925) has been called the most important Southern artist of the late-nineteenth century as well as the first modern Southern writer. He was the first fiction writer in the South to outwardly challenge the accepted literary tradition of the old South and its aristocracy. In his writings, he faithfully campaigned to reform the racial caste system and eradicate political corruption. Cable also touched on many other realities of the time, including violence, interracial marriage, and a vanishing Creole culture. Through his pioneering use of dialect and skill with the short-story form, Cable helped lead the local color movement of the late 1800s.
Cable was born and raised in New Orleans. He dropped out of school at the age of fifteen following the death of his father and was forced to help support his family as a clerk. At nineteen, he volunteered for the Confederate army, joining the Fourth Mississippi Cavalry. Two years later, he returned home, where he found work as a columnist and reporter for the New Orleans Picayune. There he penned the popular “Drop Shot” column, featuring criticisms, humorous essays, and poetry.
In 1872, Cable was given access to the city’s archives, located at the Cabildo and St. Louis Cathedral, to conduct research for a series of articles. He turned his discoveries into vibrant stories, dramatizing New Orleans’ records and highlighting the city’s cultural and racial diversity. His 1879 publication of Old Creole Days, a collection of seven short stories, established the genre of Southern local-color fiction.
Cable’s widely acclaimed novel The Grandissimes, published in 1880, was met with numerous negative reviews, particularly in New Orleans, for its portrayal of forbidden love and the clash of cultures during post-Civil War Reconstruction. Some powerful voices, however, came to the defense of the work, including local writer Lafcadio Hearn. Today the novel is considered a masterful critique of racial and social inequality that continues to resonate with readers.
In following her keen interest in American history, Mrs. Calcutt has completed extensive studies in colonial and Revolutionary-era history. She has a bachelor of arts, with honors in history, from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in antebellum southern history from the University of Charleston. She has served as a docent for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and has also given tours of Washington, D.C., Arlington Cemetery, and Mount Vernon.
As a result of being unable to find an “adequate guidebook” on South Carolina's battlefields, and since Mrs. Calcutt believes that “history is best learned in a ‘hands-on’ environment,” she decided to write her own easy-to-use tour guide for South Carolina, the state that saw the most battles during the Revolutionary War. South Carolina's Revolutionary War Battlefields: A Tour Guide is her realization of a battlefield tour guide specifically designed for South Carolina. Mrs. Calcutt chose to include each battle site based on three criteria: accessibility, something to see, and an interesting story. Her book is compact enough to fit in a glove compartment and lightweight enough for the reader to carry around the battlefield.
Richmond's Wartime Hospitals also covers military history, but from behind the front lines of battle. While medical science enjoyed several advances during the Civil War, the doctors and hospitals in the southern states faced overwhelming casualties with few supplies and inadequate personnel. By focusing on facilities in Virginia's capitol, Mrs. Calcutt, who is also a registered nurse, illustrates how exhausted resources rapidly defeated southern doctors' heroic efforts.
Ruth Calif is a writer and designer currently living in Missouri. She operated her own commission business at the St. Louis stockyards for several years, then raised dogs commercially and operated a ranch with her husband. Upon retirement she took up writing, and has written four novels, a history of the bicycle, and numerous articles. The Over-the-Hill Ghost is her first book for children. She has also achieved success designing garments and stuffed toys.
The Over-the-Hill Ghost is the story of Jamie Boyd, a streetwise kid from New York who moves to a country farmhouse with his parents. In the old house he meets Elmer, a ghost on the verge of retiring. Together, the boy and the ghost solve a murder which had occurred on the farm years ago, and find a hidden treasure. During his adventures, Jamie learns to think for himself.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Richard Campanella studied at Utah State University and earned his B.S. in economics in 1988. After several summers as a wilderness ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, he joined the U.S. Peace Corps and served in Honduras for the next two years.
Upon completing his service, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as both an economic analyst and an English teacher. He completed his graduate studies in geography and mapping sciences at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and, upon receipt of his master's degree, began working at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
In 1993, Mr. Campanella married his wife, Marina Lopez de Campanella. Born in the village of San Juan Trujano in Oaxaca, Mexico, she studied to be a schoolteacher in Mexico City until 1989, when she came to the United States. When she and her husband moved to Mississippi, she worked in childcare, studying special education at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Biloxi. Together, the couple moved to New Orleans and wrote New Orleans Then and Now, which was selected by the New Orleans Times-Picayune as one of the best local books of 1999.
Mr. Campanella's solo venture, Time and Place in New Orleans: Past Geographies in the Present Day, explores the influence of New Orleans' unique geography on the city's growth and development. Named the best local book of 2002 by the New Orleans Gulf-South Booksellers Association, this illustrated large-format history book proves that the city is defined by its location.
Currently the assistant director of environmental analysis at the Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities, Mr. Campanella resides in New Orleans, Louisiana, with his wife.
Growing up on the beautiful Brahan Estate in Ross-Shire, Aileen Campbell was surrounded by the history, mystique, and folklore of her native Scotland. With her father being the manager of the castle's gardens, she roamed free among the vast acres of the manor. These memories of growing up in such a romantic setting have remained with her and inspired her to write and illustrate The Wee Scot Book and produce its accompanying audiocassette.
Her childhood provided the source of her stories, but it was her friendship with Dr. James Pittenberg Macgillivray that helped her capture the artistic countryside and lively characters in her illustrations. As a teenager she was introduced to "the Sculptor Royal to the King," who in turn took a liking to the Scottish Highland lass and became her mentor in writing and art.
Her study of the arts was also matched with her study of medicine and training as a nurse. As World War II ravaged the country, she served as a nurse in Edinburgh at the the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. Her husband's service in the Royal Air Force required several moves throughout the United Kingdom with the family relocating to the United States in 1947.
In the U.S., she continued her work as an registered nurse at private hospitals and before her retirement in 1985, had served with the Howard County Health Department. Prior to this, she became a certified nurse-midwife at the Johns Hopkins School for Hygiene. She has since left Maryland and relocated in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. There she has returned to her artistic pursuits with writing, painting, and storytelling, reflecting back on the Scottish homeland she left long ago. With an interest in preserving the stories of her childhood, she wrote The Wee Scot Book for her grandson.
The Coffee Book began with a trip Campbell took with coauthor Janet Smith across their home country of Canada. Just after their graduation from high school in the early 1970s, the two friends traveled from Alberta to Quebec, settling in Ottawa to work for the winter and save up for a trip abroad. In their travels, they sampled coffee in Europe, the Middle East, and eastern Asia. This was the beginning of their international coffee experience, and it was then, twenty years ago, that they first entertained the idea of writing a coffee book.
Since then, Campbell has settled in British Columbia, working as a social services coordinator. She enjoys writing about her home province of Victoria and has written two books of Canadian interest in addition to The Tea Book, also published by Pelican.
Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr. is a seventh generation Tennessean. His ancestor, Devereaux Gilliam, settled in the Tennessee country in 1785. It comes as no surprise, then, that he has had an avid interest in history since his early childhood. As a child, his interest led him to be an active member of Children of the American Revolution and Children of the Confederacy.
As an adult, his fascination with history has led to an interest in politics as well. Cannon, a lawyer, has been an alternate delegate to a Republican National Convention, a candidate for the Tennessee General Assembly, and a member of the Planning Committee for Nashville Jefferson Meeting on the Constitution. His interest has also manifested itself in his books.
His books, in turn, have earned this avid flag collector much respect as a historian and vexillologist. The Wall Street Journal called The Flags of the Confederacy "the last word on the flags of the lost cause."
Cannon is currently a member of the Sons of the Revolution, the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, and the Company of the Confederacy. He has also held numerous local, state, and national level offices in the Sons of Confederate Veterans. An active Civil War reenactor, he resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mr. Cantrell has contributed essays and book reviews to several magazines and scholarly journals including Eire-Ireland, The Irish Worldwide, and online at www.lewrockwell.com. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University. Mr. Cantrell earned his Ph.D. in American literature with an emphasis on Southern literature from the University of Arkansas, where he received the Blair Rouse Scholarship and James J. Hudson Dissertation Fellowship. This book, his first, has its roots in his doctoral studies; the field has been greatly expanded over the years.
Mr. Cantrell is a native of Warren County who currently lives in Germantown, Tennessee, with his wife of twenty years and their two sons.
Jon Sutherland and Diane Canwell have written extensively on military history and warfare. Their previous works have focused on both World War I and World War II. Other books by these authors include The History of the RAF Air Sea Rescue, Marine Craft Section, The Battle of Jutland, and The German Gotha Bomber Raids of the First World War.
Jon Sutherland was born in Halesworth, Suffolk, England. He graduated with honors from Guildhall University with a B.S. in politics and sociology. He works as a full-time author in Europe. He has worked as an educator for the College of North-East London in London, England, and as a lecturer for Great Yarmouth College in Norfolk, England. He has also worked as an editor for Games Workshop in London.
Lifelong artist and illustrator Peyton Hamilton Carmichael works in watercolor and oil, specializing in realistic, highly detailed paintings. An Alabama native, she creates her award-winning portraits and elaborate floral scenes in her studio, housed in a historic Greenville, Alabama, home. Named “Hamilton,” the house was founded by Carmichael's great-grandfather, who was a surgeon in the Civil War. Carmichael's strong identification with her family history has been a source of inspiration since childhood.
A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Alabama. She has been the recipient of the Silver Bowl Award for Literature at the Birmingham Festival of the Arts and has displayed her work at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Birmingham Museum of Art. Her work has also been shown at the Artexpo at the Javits Convention Center in New York, and in galleries throughout the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States. She was also a guest artist at the Swan Ball in Lexington, Kentucky. She is working on a series of graphic adventure novels for children.
Carmichael is qualified by the School of Theology at Sewanee as a mentor in the Education for Ministry program and is also a Stephen minister. She is the mother of three adult children and has two grandchildren. She divides her time between painting at her cherished family home in Greenville, Alabama, and living in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband.
Charlette Carollo, the mother of seven, has been making her own version of popular store-brand items for years. One day she realized the chili packet she bought at the store costs mere cents to make compared to the amount she had paid for it. From then on, she challenged herself to make and package her own products. With a large family and a tight budget, Carollo learned how to save money by creating everyday essentials from items found in her kitchen.
Carollo wrote a weekly column of money-saving tips entitled Putting It Together for the Slidell Sentry-News. She gives seminars to small groups about canning and food storage. She also enjoys community service activities in her spare time, such as making rosaries for churches and missions and crocheting hats and blankets for those in need. Carollo serves on the school board of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School.
Her seven children, who are all now fully grown, lived on a large farm with Carollo and her husband, Norman Ladner. She lives in Picayune, Mississippi.
Author of the Bluebonnet Series, Mary Brooke Casad created the friendly and charismatic Bluebonnet, a traveling armadillo who explores landmarks and teaches children about Texas geography and history. Casad is a member of the Writers’ League of Texas, the Texas State Historical Association, and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. In 1997 and 2000, she was invited by First Lady Laura Bush to be a featured Texas writer at the Texas Book Festival in Austin.
A native of Louisiana, Casad received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University. In addition to writing children’s books, she served as the first full-time executive secretary of the Connectional Table of the United Methodist Church, served on the committee that produced The United Methodist Hymnal, was elected six times as a delegate to the United Methodist General and Jurisdictional Conferences, was the first woman and layperson to serve as director of connectional ministries for the United Methodist Church in the Dallas area, and was chairperson of the board of trustees of the Foundation for Evangelism. Currently, she is a member the Texas Methodist Foundation Board of Directors.
Casad visits schools and libraries with her Bluebonnet puppet, teaching children about the process of writing Texas’ favorite armadillo book series. She resides in Sulphur Springs, Texas, with her husband. They have two sons, a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.
Henry C. Castellanos was a prominent New Orleans citizen whose avocation was writing about the New Orleans he had known and loved for seventy years. He was a distinguished attorney and judge, a teacher, and a journalist, serving for several years on the editorial staff of the Louisiana Courier. At the time of his death in 1896, Castellanos was planning on writing a series of books on the unwritten history of Louisiana. Because of ill health, he was only able to complete one book, which endures today as a testament to his genius. His romantic description of the uniqueness of the French Quarter was influential in the creation of a society to preserve ancient city landmarks in the late nineteenth century.
First published in 1895, New Orleans As It Was vividly records episodes of antebellum Louisiana life. Due to the political and social upheaval of the time, Castellanos recognized he was living in a time of important transition. He believed he could serve as a “connecting link between the present and a generation long extinct.” Written during a period of recuperation, his book offers accounts of events he witnessed, as well those unwritten tales he remembered hearing in his childhood from his mother and grandmother. His sole ambition with this book was to “revive and to perpetuate these recollections, which may be termed the ‘Unwritten History’ of New Orleans.” Thus, facts, events, and personalities of Castellanos' tales were drawn not only from old records and archives, but also from oral recitals and traditions.
Susan Causin was born and raised in England. Although she received little formal education, she learned several languages and history by traveling throughout her youth. During her childhood, she lived in France and Italy and mastered both languages. She even cooked for fishermen in Iceland for a time.
Causin worked eleven years for the British Tourist Authority in London. During these years, she traveled extensively and toured South America, Asia, the Middle East, and several European countries.
After ending her tourism career in London, she moved to Vienna where she lived for two years. Here, she worked at the United Nations and studied German.
In 1984, Causin moved to Seattle, Washington, which she loves because of its diversity, entertainment, and the nearby mountains and water. Causin loves all activities related to the outdoors. She continues to travel and works in real estate.
Gloria Chadwick is a prolific author of books covering a range of themes, from culinary to self-help to New Age. She regularly conducts writing workshops for adults at local libraries and bookstores, where she provides advice on how to publish and promote cookbooks.
After a recent move to San Antonio, Chadwick was inspired by the multitude of sights and foods the city has to offer. A Texas native and full-time writer for twenty-three years, she provides a richly personal armchair tour of local attractions interspersed with Tex-Mex recipes in Food and Flavors of San Antonio. This cookbook-cum-travel guide includes a taste of culture as well as recipes from local restaurants, celebrities, and residents.
Chadwick is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. She, of course, enjoys cooking and lives in San Antonio, Texas.
foodsandflavorsofsanantonio.blogspot.comThe son of a Denver weatherman and a Broadway-musical actress, Michael Chandler was raised in Colorado. After graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1971, he married his wife, Jackie, and the couple moved to Aspen. An avid outdoorsman, Chandler has a particular fondness for camping, snowmobiling, and boating, and he worked for the Colorado State Forest Service before joining the Aspen Police Department in 1972. Before leaving law enforcement to pursue a career in marketing, Chandler had become the assistant chief of police in Aspen and had worked with the University of Louisville’s National Crime Prevention Institute, giving lectures around the country on crime prevention.
As president of the Chandler Marketing Company, he has won more than forty Silver Microphone awards for outstanding advertising and has seen his strategies and tactics advertised on ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. His first book with Pelican, Dreamweaving: The Secret to Overwhelming Your Business Competition, stresses the importance of not only knowing the customers’ dreams but also being their dreams. Chandler has lectured nationally for the past thirty-five years before universities, colleges, corporate retreats, and state and national banking conventions. His marketing strategies have been published within the East Coast Internet think tank The Globe.
The results of Chandler’s work have also been featured on NBC Nightly News and by Independent Banker, Bank Marketing, Michigan Banker, Ag Lender, the American Bankers Association, and American Banker. He is a member of the Small Business Advocate website’s “Brain Trust” and a frequent guest on Jim Blasingame’s talk shows. He is an active member of the Western Writers of America.
A professional Old West stunt gunfighter, Chandler has performed with the Great American Wild West Show at the National Western Stockshow in Denver. In his third Pelican title, Kincade’s Blood, Chandler ventures into the lawless Old West to tell the story of Kincade and his struggle to uncover his past. Chandler and his wife live in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
Praise for Leah Chase
“The perfect person to epitomize the Louisiana Gallery . . .
not only has she cooked all her life, she has also represented New Orleans.”
—Liz Williams, founder of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum
”Leah Chase . . . The Queen of Creole Cuisine . . . is one of
the hottest chefs in town.”
—National Culinary Review
“Leah Chase is a superlative chef who knows her trade, and a wonderful human being.”
—Libby Clark, food editor, Los Angeles Sentinel
“While reading the cookbook, I could not only 'hear' Leah
talking to me about her food, heritage and family, but I could smell and taste
the flavor from the great recipes and the great food that has made Dooky Chase my favorite restaurant.”
—Joe Cahn, executive director, New Orleans School of Cooking
“I went to Dooky Chase/To get me something to eat
The waitress looked at me and said/Ray you sure look beat,
Now its early in the morning/And I ain't got nothing but the blues.”
—Ray Charles, “Early in the Morning Blues”
As the owner and chef extraordinaire of the popular Dooky Chase restaurant in New Orleans, Leah Chase has distinguished herself as a community and civic leader through her dedicated involvement with numerous charities and organizations. The preeminent chef in the Dooky Chase kitchen, Chase has established a reputation as one of the best masters of Creole cuisine in the nation.
Leah Chase was born in rural Madisonville, Louisiana, and moved to New Orleans at the age of eighteen. After working briefly in a laundry in the French Quarter, she found a job at Colonial Restaurant on Chartres Street. It was the first time she had ever seen the inside of a restaurant.
In 1946, she married Edgar “Dooky” Chase II and shortly after entered his family’s restaurant business, which would grow into the present-day Dooky Chase. Her husband’s mother was running the restaurant, and, as Chase says, “Black people had no other place to go, so she had a captive audience.”
Over the years, as Chase’s expertise and popularity grew, she was able to exert more influence upon the cuisine and atmosphere at Dooky Chase. She successfully grafted her country roots, both in ethics and food, to the black Creole tradition of the city, and the restaurant soon became a reflection of Chase herself and of the black community as a whole.
Leah Chase is a recipient of the Southern Foodways Alliance’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009, the Southern Food and Beverage Museum created the Leah Chase Louisiana Gallery in her honor. A portrait of her at work in the kitchen by Gustave Blache III titled Cutting Squash hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.
Personal Awards and Honors
Louisiana Restaurant Association Restaurateur of the Year Award (2009)
Weiss Award from the National Council of Christians and Jews
Torch of Liberty Award from the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith
University of New Orleans’ Entrepreneurship Award
Outstanding Woman Award from the National Council of Negro Women
Lafcadio Hearn Award (2000)
Chef John Folse Culinary Institute Hall of Honor Inductee (2000)
New Orleans Times-Picayune Loving Cup Award (1997)
Louisiana NAACP A. P. Tureaud Award (1990)
Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans Hall of Fame Honor (1990)
Included in I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America, a book by Brian Lanker
and a traveling exhibition of photographs of seventy-five women (1989)
National Candace Award for one of ten outstanding black women in America (1984)
"John Chase has taken what in lesser hands would have been a dull recounting of fact and made a delightfully accurate yet breezy book."
—New Orleans Times-Picayune
A New Orleans native, John Churchill Chase attended art school at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In addition to being a cartoonist, he was also an author, an illustrator for books and national periodicals, and a public speaker.
He first received national attention as a cartoonist for the New Orleans States-Item, which is no longer under operation. He continued his work in the city with the formation of the first regular cartoon on television, which premiered in 1967 on WDSU.
Born and educated in Southeastern Louisiana, the illustrator's works deal primarily with the city he knew and loved. From Terpsichore to Gravier, from Tchopitoulas to Bourbon, he chronicles the development of the Crescent City in Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children . . . and Other Streets of New Orleans!. This book serves as a humorous and informative reference about the author's hometown, providing intriguing stories about New Orleans' most infamous people, places, and events, and how they influenced the city's names and character.
Chase turns to American history with The Louisiana Purchase: An American Story, a comic book celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of America's best acquisition. This visual documentation of our country's development teaches the facts in an amusing manner, all the while remaining historically accurate. The book appeals to both children and adults with the author's fresh take on history and the colorful wit displayed throughout the comic's text and illustrations.
Former president of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, Chase is the author of five books. He aptly proves that a story can be accurate, informative, and hilarious—all at the same time.
Since moving to the United States from Communist China in 1983, Ju Hong Chen has become an established illustrator. His first picture book, The Magic Leaf, was named a Parents Choice Honor Book for illustration. The first book he illustrated for Pelican, The Jade Stone, received a starred review from Kirkus.
Chens art has been featured in such museums and galleries as the Maryhill Museum of Art in Washington, Tweed Museum of Art in Minnesota, and the Ron Segal Gallery in Seattle. He is also known for his murals in and around Washington State.
Growing up in Shanghai, China, Chen was always excited to learn about art. Before the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, he was able to gain some exposure to various prints, books, and paintings from traveling exhibits. This inspired him to experiment with new styles in his own creations. However, as the revolution arrived and art was considered a political tool of social control, Chen lacked the opportunity to practice his individualistic approach.
Combining his appreciation of design with his desire to create, Chen learned about his craft on his own terms, avoiding the official training available within the Communist government. His own unfettered approach gave him the dynamic to express himself as an individual. For half a century in China, he created numerous paintings with various subject matters and unique styles, which are collected by people around the world. His works are influenced by the many marvels, both classic and modern, that are available in todays art world.
Chen lives with his wife and daughter in Beaverton, Oregon.
Perhaps because she is a direct descendant of the real Phoebe Clappsaddle, Melanie Chrismer views writing as “an adventure.” She is a fifth-generation Houstonian and has also lived in Tennessee, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, and Georgia.
Just as “reading and writing go together like ice cream and chocolate sauce,” according to Chrismer, writing captured her interest in the third grade when she wrote her first story. She continued writing throughout her high-school years, and then she married her high-school sweetheart and raised two children.
In 1991, Chrismer resumed her writing career as a newspaper stringer, library aid, and bookstore manager, while her work appeared in periodicals and children’s curricula. With the publication of Phoebe Clappsaddle and the Tumbleweed Gang, Chrismer achieved published-author status. In Phoebe Clappsaddle for Sheriff, Phoebe once again proves that combining Southern manners with no-nonsense Western spirit exacts justice while maintaining dignity and composure.
In addition to her writing career, Melanie Chrismer frequently speaks at schools and libraries, where she presents hints for developing writing strategies and techniques. She also discusses the history of her native state and gives demonstrations with her practice bull, Medium-Rare. She is also an active member of the Houston chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Women Writing the West, the Texas Coalition of Authors, and the International Reading Association. Chrismer lives in the Clear Lake area near Houston, where she continues to write.
Marcus Bruce Christian was born in 1900 in Mechanicsville, now part of Houma, a small town south of New Orleans, Louisiana. Although from agricultural roots, Christian was among those who moved to urban centers after World War I in search of a better life. Orphaned by the age of thirteen, Christian moved with his sibling to New Orleans, where he worked odd jobs to support them while attending night school to complete his high-school training. Despite receiving little formal education, Christian was already highly literate due to his father's love of reading to his children. He never received a college degree but went on to teach poetry and history at the University of New Orleans for the ten years preceding his death.
A prolific writer, Christian published numerous poems and essays, many in Crisis and Opportunity magazines. Through the assistance of his friend, Lyle Saxon, Christian was able to obtain a position with the Negro Unit of the Federal Writers Project at Dillard University, a Depression-era, federally funded project that hired blacks to write the African American history of Louisiana. Christian greatly enjoyed collecting folktales and was soon an authority on folklore. He spent many years working on his History of the Negro in Louisiana. Despite his exhaustive research and dedication, it remained unfinished at his death. In addition to gathering folktales, Christian also enjoyed sharing them with others and would often recite them to his friends.
Christian's knowledge of the African American history of Louisiana is apparent in Negro Ironworkers of Louisiana, 1718-1900. Conducting the first in-depth study of the sophisticated blacksmith skills possessed by black ironworkers, Christian sheds light on an often under-appreciated metalsmithing tradition. He examines the development of metallurgical technology in Africa, the ironworkers' journey to the New World, and their role in New Orleans's development.
Considered the unofficial poet laureate of the New Orleans African American community, Christian received the Crisis Outstanding Book Award for his The Common People Manifesto. He also received the Sesquicentennial Commission of the Battle of New Orleans bronze medal and was the writer-in-residence at the University of New Orleans. His collection of work is housed in New Orleans University's Earl K. Long library.
Founded in 1881 to help women in need, the Christian Woman's Exchange has been a vital part of New Orleans throughout its history. Its raison d'etre, then and now, has been to serve the community. Later, the women changed their mission to reflect education and historic preservation. In the 1960s they transformed the Hermann-Grima House from a boarding house into a museum dedicated to illustrating life in the “Golden Age” of New Orleans. In 1996, the organization acquired the home of famed architect James Gallier, Jr.
The driving force in organizing the Christian Woman's Exchange was founder and first president Margaret W. Bartlett, who placed several notices in the New Orleans Times-Picayune in the spring of 1881, noting “a great desire among many of our ‘best people’ to have an efficient organization of ladies, ready and willing to do whatever their hearts and hands may find to do for the encouragement, improvement, and reclamation of their own sex.” About forty ladies answered the call on April 1, 1881, and adopted the organization's platform, which, according to Mrs. Bartlett, could be “indicated by the words ‘encouragement, improvement, and reclamation,’” and set annual dues of five dollars.
In 1885, they published Creole Cookery, whose object was “to provide funds for the purchase or erection of a building to meet the demands of their constantly increasing business.” Today, the organization is still active, and several current members are descendants of the original founders.
Founders of the Christian Woman's Exchange |
|
Loraine W. Allen (Mrs. J. H. Allen) |
Sarah Kells (Mrs. Charles E. Kells) |
“I knew that this cookbook was something I had to do. Our customers were begging for it, and I knew that I'd love putting it together.”
Monique Boutté Christina
Monique Boutté Christina has been committed to the success of her family's restaurant ever since her first job as hostess at Mulate's of Baton Rouge. After two years of working in nearly every position in the restaurants—from hostess and cashier to prep cook and fry cook—Ms. Boutté decided to leave college (LSU-Baton Rouge) to work at Mulate's full-time and soon became the office manager. That same year, she married Metairie, Louisiana, native Murphy Christina and the following year decided to return to school to attain her accounting degree, working part-time and attending school full-time.
In 1997, while still in school, Mrs. Boutté Christina began commuting from Baton Rouge to Mulate's in New Orleans. With just nine credit hours left until her graduation, she quit school again and dove into her new role as general manager, moving permanently to New Orleans. Her husband joined the business in 2000 and became co-general manager.
Because of the strong support from her staff, husband, and father, she was able to go back to school and earn her degree in accounting in 2001. Upon her graduation, she began work on Mulate's cookbook, which includes recipes from the restaurant as well recipes collected from her father, mother, and other family members.
Mrs. Boutté Christina was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and graduated from the Episcopal School of Acadiana in 1990. She now lives in New Orleans with her husband and their two daughters.
Walter Brian Cisco is a lifelong student of the War Between the States. During the past two decades, he has been doing research and writing on topics related to this violent time period in United States history. His articles on this topic have appeared in magazines and journals such as Confederate Veteran, Civil War, and Southern Partisan.
His first book, States Rights Gist: A South Carolina General of the Civil War, a biography of the little-known general, was a 1992 selection of the History Book Club. He is also the author of Taking a Stand: Portraits from the Southern Secession Movement, Henry Timrod: A Biography, and Wade Hampton: Confederate Warrior, Conservative Statesman. His book Wade Hampton was also a selection of the History Book Club and is considered the definitive biography of this military and political leader.
Mr. Cisco is no stranger to the horrors of war himself; he served in the U.S. Army for three years and saw action in Vietnam. He is the recipient of the Army Commendation Medal and was a captain in the South Carolina State Guard. He lives in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and has two children and two grandchildren.
Eugene D. Cizek, PhD, FAIA, received a BA in architecture from Louisiana State University and MA in city and regional planning and urban design from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cizek also holds a PhD in city building from Delft Institute of Technology, where he was a Fulbright Scholar, and a PhD in environmental social psychology from Tulane University. On the Tulane School of Architecture faculty since 1970, Cizek founded the master in preservation studies program and was director of the program from 1997 to 2011. He served as the Richard Koch Chair of Architecture from 1997 to 2011 and is a full-time professor of architecture and preservation.
Jim Clark is a freelance writer who has served as the editor of “The Bullet” newsletter and associate editor for “Card Collectors Digest.” He was the recipient of the 1987 IABC Gold Quill Award for Excellence in the News Releases category. Clark has written and cowritten nearly thirty books and trading card series, and he has authored 250 promotional pieces airing on the TV Land cable channel.
Clark earned a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and has experience working in public relations and promotions for Opryland USA, Holder Kennedy and Co., and as the vice president of Schnitzer Communications Marketing Group. Clark lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Mary.
Together, Ken Beck and Jim Clark have written dozens of books and have sold two million copies of their titles, with Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook having sold more than 900,000 copies. Walking On: A Daughter's Journey with Legendary Sheriff Buford Pusser is their first collaboration with Dwana Pusser.
Joshua Clark's travel pieces, fiction, and photographs appear in various national publications from the Los Angeles Times to the Miami Herald, and he has covered New Orleans for Salon.com and NPR. An oyster-eating champion, certified personal trainer, and retired bartender, Mr. Clark was raised in Washington, D.C. He earned what he calls a 'somewhat irrelevant' degree in economics from Yale University. After living in Spain, Australia, and Argentina, he settled in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mr. Clark is the founder and president of the Light of New Orleans Publishing Company, publisher of French Quarter Fiction: The Newest Stories of America's Oldest Bohemia, awarded the regional Book of the Year award. He also edited Judy Conner's book Southern Fried Divorce, which Publishers Weekly praised as combining “memoir, cookbook, and self-help book into one funny-as-hell package.”
Millie Clarkson's inspiration for writing a book on artist Edna Hibel came from her purchase of a box of Mother and Child note cards. During her twenties, an incredibly rough period of her life, Clarkson pasted note cards on the wall of her dingy apartment and said looking at them gave her peace of mind, solitude, and a sense of composure. Forty years later, when she met Hibel in person at a gift shop in Naples, Florida, a deep friendship between the two women began. In Clarkson's own words she says of Hibel, “I had to know more about this amazing person. . . . I wanted to share with others my discovery of Edna Hibel.”
Clarkson's artistry began in 1969 when she worked as Santa's artist at Santa's Village Amusement Park in Dendee, Illinois. The next decade, her “creative years,” was simultaneously fueled by her drive for physical fitness. She decided that she wanted to do something unique and then write about it. After participating in numerous triathlons, including the Ironman Triathlon, she wrote Low-Stress Fitness, published in 1985.
An avid presenter and speaker, Clarkson has been interviewed numerous times on radio and television talk shows. She was dubbed “the Unsinkable Millie Brown” by the media because of her tireless promotional activities. Clarkson engages in her personal and professional activities with high energy as she continues to write, enjoy gardening, teach tai chi and yoga, decorate, and delight in being a grandmother to her fifteen grandchildren. She lives in Naples, Florida, from November to May and in Ontario, Canada, from June to October.
Her love of children is evident in her work. She is a provider consultant for center-based childcare and offers technical assistance and training to sites serving children from infancy through elementary school for before- and after-school care. She also assesses programs for quality assurance and offers training and presentations at the local, regional, and state levels for early childhood educators. Her Jewish roots are reflected in her work as the early childhood director at Temple Ahavat Shalom in Palm Harbor, Florida, and as the program director of senior and adult programming at Kent Jewish Community Center in Clearwater, Florida.
Family is paramount to Clement, who enjoys scrapbooking and researching her family tree. Lucky family and friends sometime receive hand-made greeting cards personally designed by Clement. Born in Washington, D.C., Clement has lived in the Bronx, Miami, and the Los Angeles area. She now resides in Clearwater, Florida.
Albert G. Rodriguez's schooling at the High School of Art and Design and City College of New York, both in New York, New York, gave him the background his talent needed to flourish. Although he has dabbled in the insurance business, his design talent was first expressed as a contractor. Like Clement, Rodriguez has also worked at Temple Ahavat Shalom in Palm Harbor, Florida, and has worked at Pinellas Country Jewish Day School as their facility operations manger since 1997.
In her first children's book, Mary Louise Clifford took on an unusual challenge. While completing her master's in education at the College of William and Mary, an anthropologist asked her how she would explain the events surrounding the settlement of Jamestown if she were in one of the tribes affected by the English intrusion. Not being a Virginian Indian, she initially thought this would be an overwhelming task.
Of course this was not as big a challenge as one would think. Clifford was used to working on the other side of the cultural fence. After graduating from Cornell, she joined the U.S. Foreign Service and was assigned to a post in Beirut. After marrying, she followed her husband, who worked for the United Nations. During their service, she and her family had been posted among many cultures in which they did not actively participate. Their travels took them to Pakistan, Malaysia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Burundi, and Western Samoa. Each station usually resulted in her writing a children's social studies book about the region.
With this broad experience in understanding and relating to other cultures, Clifford began writing a fictionalized, though historically accurate, account of the early English exploration. At first, she found writing the book very intimidating, until she got a little help from her task master.
"I laughed, believing that we didn't know that much about the Virginia Indians. He insisted that adequate information was available if one read between the lines in the early Spanish and English records. In fact, he provided me with much of the research material, which fascinated me once I got into it."
The book went through eight revisions as she tried to find the appropriate vehicle in which to present the information. Her choice of Cockacoeske, a figure from early Virginian history, adds to the believability of her characters and credibility to her historical narrative.
Clifford now lives in retirement, just an eye-shot away from the Jamestown settlement. She spends her time visiting schools and is active in local Indian heritage festivals.
Dr. Issac Monroe Cline has been called the father of modern meteorology. The benchmark of his career was as the section director for the Weather Bureau in Galveston, Texas, during the devastating hurricane in 1900. It was Cline who raised the hurricane warning flags over the bureau, sensing that the storm was more dangerous than predicted and headed straight for the small island town.
Cline devoted his life to understanding weather and its effects. After completing both a B.F.A. and M.F.A from Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tennessee, he earned his medical doctorate from the University of Arkansas. Cline worked his way through school as a weather observer, trained by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and later served at weather stations in both Fort Concho and Abilene, Texas.
The focus of his career changed, however, after Cline lost his wife and his home in the Galveston hurricane. He realized that his priority should be in understanding these mammoths of nature, and learning how to chart and predict them. This knowledge could lead to better warning systems and prevent further loss of life. Cline compiled all of his findings into a 1926 landmark textbook, Characteristics of Tropical Cyclones, which quickly became the authority on meteorology throughout the world.
Dr. Cline ended his career in New Orleans, where he spent thirty-five years as forecaster-in-charge of the Gulf District. After his retirement, he stayed in the Crescent City, where he gathered and restored early American portraits as a hobby. His collection helped form the nucleus of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. An icon in New Orleans, Dr. Cline often walked to the weather office, and the citizens watched him closely every day to see if he carried an umbrella.
For Kathy Coates, technique is not the most important part of the illustrating process. She considers art above all a unique emotional expression and hopes that each child (or adult) will be blessed by her illustrations. Coates enjoys painting portraits as well as still lifes and plein-air landscapes, using her favorite mediums (oils, pastels, watercolors, and graphite drawings). Coates adopts Hippocrates's famous words, “Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting.” Her work is permanently on display in gallery collections throughout the Southeast.
Coates has always loved art, and she started drawing at a very early age. Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, she is a “Child of the South,” proud of her deep Southern roots and with a profound love of her Southern homeland. She expresses her sensibility in her illustrations, as well as in her hobbies, which include playing the piano and dressage riding. Her love of nature and animals deeply inspire her art. Illustrating Batty About Texas was a natural way for her to conciliate her love of art, the South, and the natural world.
Coates was selected to attend the North Carolina Governor's School for the Gifted and Talented at Salem College, Winston Salem. She graduated with an associate degree in applied science in commercial art and advertising design from Central Piedmont College, where she worked for five years as an illustrator. She then began intensive study of fine art, developing the skills required to produce quality work. While raising her daughter, she worked as a freelance illustrator. Coates is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, which purchased several of her illustrations for use in their bulletin. She lives and works in her hometown, sharing her studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her best friend, a King Charles spaniel named Hopper.
Interested in many subjects, Robert Myron Coates was a writer of fiction, nonfiction, history, art criticism, and short stories. He was born in 1897 in New Haven, Connecticut. Although he moved a lot as a child, he returned to his hometown to attend Yale University after serving as a Royal Canadian Navy pilot during World War I. Starting in 1929, he became a longtime columnist for the New Yorker, reviewing art until 1967.
Mr. Coates wrote his first novel, The Eater of Darkness, in 1926 and went on to create six more during his lifetime: The Farther Shore, The Night Before Dying, Yesterday's Burdens, Wisteria Cottage, and The Bitter Season. He also wrote three collections of short stories, an autobiography, and three other non-fiction books, including The Outlaw Years, a vividly-told story that restores the outlaw to his prominent place in the American frontier history, without making him into a hero.
Mr. Coates' short stories were selected to appear in The Best American Short Stories in 1939, 1953, 1956, and 1959. He died of cancer in New York City in 1973.
From working as a sportswriter to teaching English and creative writing, Thomas Cochran has always found ways to turns his passions for sports and the written word into lucrative careers. He has contributed essays to such notable publications as Oxford American, Modern Drummer, and Gray’s Sporting Journal, while his poetry has appeared in Rattle, Mudlark, and Louisiana Literature.
Cochran received a Bachelor’s of Arts from the University of Arkansas, and has authored two previous sports novels, including the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature nominee Roughnecks.
Raised in Haynesville, Louisiana, Cochran lives with his wife in rural northwest Arkansas.
When Katie Cocquyt was a child in Orange County, California, she would gaze up into the night sky and recite "Star light, star bright . . ." and wish for a horse. Years later, during her second year of marriage, her husband surprised her with the gift she had always wished for. Katie named the horse Mardi Gras, and says of it, "She is still one of the closest friends that I have."
After completing her studies for a bachelor's degree in English literature from Cal State Long Beach, Cocquyt worked as an editor at MI Publishing. However, her passion for horses soon led her to Silver Fox Racing Stables in Santa Anita, California, where she could work with horses full-time. There she says she developed many special friendships, "both human and equine." Today, she divides her time between writing and researching her literary projects, working at the track, and touring the country speaking to schoolchildren about her books.
In Little Freddie at the Kentucky Derby and Little Freddie's Legacy, Cocquyt combines her love of literature and of horses to create a stories about horses that inspire children to face their own challenges in life. Although the real Little Freddie never won the Kentucky Derby, the author's fond memories of raising him helped her write this inspirational story about having the courage to make your dreams come true. Through Freddie and his daughter Baroness, she shows that with strong desire, hard work, and friendship even the loftiest dreams can be attained. The fictional Little Freddie is a horse that wins not because he is necessarily better than the others, but because he is motivated by great confidence and inner strength.
Cocquyt resides in Simi Valley, California, where she works with race and show horses. She and her husband began breeding Thoroughbred horses in 1986, with the birth of Rue Royale (the real Little Freddie) who passed away in 1993. She is a member of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association, and is licensed by the California and Arizona state racing commissions. She is also a free-lance writer and journalist.
Many of the characters in the Little Freddie series, including Little Freddie and Romantic Myth, lived on her farm, where her love for horses prevails. She still considers it "a tremendously fulfilling experience to be involved with these majestic creatures."
An alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania and Emory University's School of Law, Richard G. Cohn is a seasoned communications executive with more than twenty years of experience creating innovative communications and public affairs solutions. He has held senior communications positions at Sun Microsystems and Charles Schawb, and managed international communications campaigns on issues such as energy, health care, labor management, technology, and the environment. Cohn pioneered the use of streaming video and audio at Sun Microsystems in the early days of the internet and served as a senior attorney for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Cohn's work in communication has been honored by the Public Relations Society of America and the International Association of Business Communicators. He lives in San Rafael, California, with his wife and two children, where he serves on the board of directors for both the San Francisco Giants Community Fund and Leadership Public Schools.
Children’s author Jennifer Coleman has lived much of her life in Texas working as an educator and librarian. She takes a great deal of interest in collaborating with other educators and teaching children of all ages. It is those interests that led to her choosing to write her first children’s book. One of the areas that most interests her is performance art. She loves talking to children about the art form, particularly about how it is used to share stories in ballet.
Coleman received a BS in elementary education from Angelo State University. After deciding to become a librarian like her mother, she received her MLS in library science from the University of North Texas. Coleman is a certified teacher and librarian with twenty years of experience. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. She is also a member of the Texas Library Association.
Coleman lives in Pflugerville, Texas, with her husband and three children. She enjoys cooking, baking, and her two dogs, Skipper and Chief.
"Children are curious, their minds open and flexible. A child is eager to enjoy new adventures. Anyone choosing to write for young readers faces an exciting challenge and a great responsibility. He must remember that his words and ideas may have a lasting effect on his readers imagination, personality, even his entire character. Young readers deserve the best in reading."
The writing philosophy of the late David R. Collins (1940-2001) is reflected in his contributions to childrens literature. Since 1967, his stories, articles, books, and poems have appeared across the country.
"When I write for young readers I attempt to apply a double E standard to my work," said Collins. "I hope to entertain and educate. I want my young readers to enjoy the experience of reading and take something away from it too, even if its just one new word or one different idea. To read is to grow, to appreciate life. A writer for children should open new roads of understanding for his readers."
Collins' writing reflected a wide variety of interests and styles. Collins wrote over sixty books for young readers and was an admired and respected educator. Believing that children can never have enough role models, Collins was dedicated to writing biographies for young readers to educate and entertain.
"Why did I decide to write for children? Probably because some of my best childhood adventures were discovered in books," Collins explained. "I owe a tremendous debt to the realm of childrens literature." The wealth of Collins work supplied generations of children with many adventures, and will continue to do so even though he is gone.
Robert Collins, a resident of Kansas, is passionate about his region. He has authored several books on the history and sightseeing possibilities of Kansan railroads, including A Railfan's Guide to Kansas Attractions and Ghost Railroads of Kansas and continues to write articles on history and science fiction for several magazines.
Collins' biography, General James G. Blunt, thoroughly examines the life of General Blunt, the only Kansan to achieve the rank of major general during the Civil War. From General Blunt's success and infamy during the Civil War, when he was “accused of corruption, womanizing, and egotistical tirades,” to his subsequent place in history books, Collins provides the details with commentary.
In his latest book, Jim Lane: Scoundrel, Statesman, Kansan, Collins explores the life of another influential figure during Kansas's Territorial period. This book addresses Lane's military and political career and his controversial representation as a “wild man” and fanatic who was responsible for turning the Territory into “Bleeding Kansas.”
Birmingham, Alabama, native Adele Bibb Colvin graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt with a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy. She is an active member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Birmingham where she has taught Sunday school and been elected to the vestry. She has also served on the board of a state youth offender facility and tutored there through a local literacy program.
In addition to writing children's books, Colvin is an inspired songwriter and lyricist, and her work has been published in songbooks, recorded commercially, and used in the worship services of churches of many different denominations. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in the Southern Breeze regional division and is a member of the Alabama Writers' Forum. When she is not writing books and music or spending time with her seven grandchildren, she enjoys reading and oil painting. She lives with her husband in Birmingham, Alabama.
Marshall Conyers is a devoted enthusiast of all things related to the War Between the States and is a veritable jack-of-all-trades. He has worked in education, carpentry, public health, and surveying, and he has served in the United States military. His military experience leads him to speak with deep admiration for Civil War-era soldiers.
Conyers' first book, How Many Feathers Does It Take to Make an Eagle Fly?, was heard through the Iron Curtain in the spring of 1988, when it was read aloud on a Voice of America radio broadcast in the Soviet Union. The children's story about how a blind boy finds freedom through reading was also locally acclaimed in his native North Carolina.
Born on Christmas Day 1946 in Wilson County, North Carolina, Conyers earned a bachelor's degree in history with a minor in political science from Atlantic Christian College, now known as Barton College. He taught high-school history and science before enlisting in the North Carolina National Guard.
Conyers lives in Wilson, North Carolina, where he is a member of First Christian Church and a former member of the Wilson County Republican Party. He enjoys bicycling, collecting local artifacts, and taking long walks with his two dogs, Pal and Spot.
Richard David Coss's resumé reads a little differently from that of most authors. He was arrested 32 times. He assaulted police officers. His FBI file number was 33476-115 SW. He was labeled "dangerous and incorrigible."
He was saved.
His sixteen-year odyssey of crime and anger that began when he was only nine ended simply—miraculously—on March 16, 1969. Counselors, psychologists, and correction officers had all failed to deter him from his chosen path. Yet on that day, Coss met a group of Christian businessmen and fellow inmates at the prison chapel. His anger and hate vanished, and Coss gave his life to Jesus Christ. He was paroled soon after.
In 1971, Coss began his prison ministry and was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister. In 1975, he received a pardon from President Gerald R. Ford.
In the years following his incarceration, Coss experienced his share of gains and losses, yet no loss was as severe as that suffered on April 19, 1995—the day of the Oklahoma City bombing. A grandfather at the time, he described that day as “the worst day of my life.” Yet he and his remaining family survived with the support of each other and the strength of their faith.
Together with his wife, Phyllis, Coss today operates Christ bars None, Inc. Prison Ministries. He wrote Wanted to share the story of his redemption with others, but, more importantly, to show those in similar circumstances that anything is possible with God.
Coss has appeared on many Christian television shows, including Trinity Broadcasting Network and The 700 Club with Pat Robertson. He spreads the Good News by lecturing at schools, colleges, and civic clubs across America. In his presentations, he speaks not only about his personal journey, but also of prison reform, the death penalty, victims' rights, gun control, and the drug problem. Recently, he spoke to more than 50,000 high-school students in a single year.
A native of California, Olga Cossi is a graduate of the Palmer School of Authorship in Los Angeles. She has been a staff correspondent for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, a columnist for the Mendocino Beacon in Mendocino, California, as well as a free-lance contributor for The Christian Science Monitor. Other publications to her credit include The Young American, Teenage Magazine, Golden Years, and Southwest Art. Cossi is included in the International Authors and Writers Who's Who, and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers.
Cossi lives a very active life, and is a travel and sports enthusiast. She spent eleven years traveling with her husband throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico in a motor home. On the way, she spoke at numerous elementary schools—an activity she continues to enjoy. No matter where she travels, Cossi finds that she is drawn to children, and that they are drawn to her. These days, most of her traveling is done abroad. She loves the outdoors, and considers a trip down the Colorado River in a small raft one of her most memorable achievements. Besides rafting, she also enjoys backpacking, bicycling, and tennis. Cossi has been very active in civic and community affairs, including the local schools. She is married and is the mother of three children.
Cossi's book The Magic Box has received much acclaim as a sensitive and frank insight into the present state of women's athletics as well as the growing problem of teenage tobacco use. Adventure on the Graveyard of the Wrecks deals honestly with the importance of trust among friends, and what can happen if a person betrays that trust. Orlanda and the Contest of Thieves is an entertaining and value-teaching story about a crafty pickpocket caught in an improbable and hilarious competition among the townsfolk of Naples, Italy. Her latest book, Think Pink incorporates a valuable lesson for young children in following instructions with a fun-loving look at the Royal Duck March of the famed Peabody Hotels in Orlando and Memphis.
Olga Cossi is currently available for school appearances. She resides in Coronado, California, and travels to San Francisco regularly. If you are interested in having Olga at your school, please contact the Pelican promotion department.
Dr. Joe H. Cothen was born in Poplarville, Mississippi. He received his B.A. from Mississippi College, then went on to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned both his B.D. and his Th.D. Fifteen years later, he achieved his M.A. at the University of Southern Mississippi.
He served his country in the United States Navy during World War II, on the destroyer USS Charles S. Sperry. On the home front, he was a teacher for over thirty years, functioning in various capacities at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, including vice-president for academic affairs. He was also an adjunct professor at William Carey College Coast Campus and a distinguished lecturer in biblical studies.
In addition to teaching, Cothen also served three pastorates, starting at Thomasville Baptist Church in Thomasville, Alabama. He then served as pastor of Alta Woods Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, for ten years and of Oak Park Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, for six years before retiring.
The Preacher's Notebook on Isaiah is a resource for preachers to plan sermons based on the words of Isaiah, who is regarded as the prince of prophets. Come to Bethlehem: The Christmas Story contains a series of vignettes recounting the story of Christmas through the eyes of observers and bystanders. In The Pulpit Is Waiting, the author teaches how to preach, offering outlines of sample sermons. Equipped for Good Work: A Guide for Pastors, recently reprinted in a second edition, addresses the problems and issues involved in building and maintaining a church, from budgets to relating to the parishioners. Finally, The Old, Old Story: A Guide for Narrative Preaching provides encouragement, guidance, and instruction on one of the most interesting forms of proclamation.
Cothen resides in Covington, Louisiana.
Former high-school teacher Steve Cottrell is actively involved in battlefield preservation and monument projects. As a descendant of a Sixth Kansas Calvary member who served in the Indian Territory during the Civil War, he was inspired to write several books on the subject.
A member of the Missouri Civil War Reenactors Association, Cottrell has participated as an extra in battle scenes for such films as the Academy Award-winning epic motion picture Glory and the Emmy Award-winning television miniseries North and South. He also participated in the action scenes for the acclaimed National Park Service film Thunder in the Ozark, which is shown to visitors at Pea Ridge National Military Park in Arkansas.
A graduate of Missouri Southern State College and Pittsburg State University, Cottrell resides in Springdale, Arkansas.
Bridging the generation gap, these stories convey the warmth and feeling associated with the best grandmothers. This collection brings together seventy-nine Southern stories from two Tennessee sisters. As they look back on their lives, they share the lessons they learned from childhood to grandmotherhood.
"I always thought a writer had to have degree," Ibbie Ledford says of her early fears of writing. Despite the fact she had written for several years, her memoirs remained secret until her son found one of her pieces and offered to assist with spelling and editing. Ibbie says, "I was elated as I began to gather the bits and pieces of my stories and recipes. I found stories that I had forgotten, one. . . in my Bible I could not even remember writing." These were collected to produce Ledford's first book, Hill Country Cookin’ and Memoirs.
Her second book, Y'All Come Back Now: Recipes and Memories, is a collection of not just her favorite food, but also anecdotes about how people in the Hill Country have adapted to changing times and modern progress.
Mrs. Ledford has teamed up with her sister, Johnnie Countess to write Stories from the Hearts of Two Grandmas. Mrs. Countess is a columnist and feature writer for the Dyersburg News. The two sisters are best friends and live near one another in Dyersburg, Tennessee. These self-avowed members of the S.O.G. (Silly Old Grandmas) Club enjoy spending what little spare time they have spoiling their grandchildren.
"One realizes soon enough that the authors know exactly what they are doing: telling the truth about the archeology and the traditions of Louisiana Indians."
—Walker Percy on Louisiana Indian TalesAlice Couvillon brings her rich Southern heritage to her children's books, sharing the events, traditions, and cultural history that continue to impact her life. A Louisiana native, Couvillon draws from her own experiences as both a child and a mother in the unique New Orleans culture.
Couvillon experienced her first Mardi Gras years ago, yet she perceived the celebration in a new light after participating in it with her children for the first time. This prompted her to write Mimi's First Mardi Gras and, later, Mimi and Jean-Paul's Cajun Mardi Gras. Couvillon continues to write about her native culture, both in Louisiana Indian Tales and in her latest book, Evangeline for Children . She connects a well-known Acadian tragedy with South Louisiana history.
Couvillon attended school in Louisiana, graduating from Newcomb College in New Orleans. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in history, she moved on to graduate school, earning her M.A.T. from Tulane University in New Orleans.
For the past twenty-two years, Couvillon has taught high-school students while working on her writing. She currently serves as chair of the social-studies department at Mandeville High School in Louisiana, where she has been teaching for thirteen years. The mother of four children, she now resides in Covington, Louisiana.
Mildred L. Covert and Sylvia P. Gerson decided to collaborate on Kosher Creole Cookbook when friends repeatedly requested recipes from their Kosher Creole repertoire. Since then, they have written three additional cookbooks, Kosher Cajun Cookbook, Kosher Southern-Style Cookbook, and A Kid's Kosher Cooking Cruise.
Homemaker Mildred Covert was born, raised, and educated in New Orleans. She learned the arts of homemaking and cooking at her grandmother's knee and soon became a devoted cook and baker. Because of her own strong ethnic background and her love of her native New Orleans, with its world-renowned cuisine, she began to experiment early in life with the best of both worlds.
Mrs. Covert is actively involved in her community. She has served as President of Beth Israel Sisterhood, as Board Member of the Congregation Beth Israel Sisterhood and of the New Orleans Chapter of Hadassah, and as Vice-President of Education at the Beth Israel Hebrew School. A former member of the Jewish Community Center, she is currently an active member of the Tulane/Newcomb Alumni Association and of the Louisiana Arts and Crafts Council.
Laura Crawford (1966-2013) gained inspiration for writing children’s books from her experience as a teacher. She worked as a librarian and second- and third-grade teacher in Illinois for more than eighteen years. In the classroom, she struggled to find books that accurately explained American history to elementary children in a simple and enjoyable way. While attending a master’s in reading class with longtime Pelican author Steven L. Layne, Crawford became inspired to fill the void in children’s history books.
AIn addition to teaching, Crawford served as the language arts team leader at Sleepy Hollow School in Sleepy Hollow, Illinois. She also tutored, mentored, and served on the curriculum design team. A LEAD union representative and a member of the Peacebuilder Committee, she belonged to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Illinois Reading Association, and the Illinois Reading Council.
Crawford graduated from Northern Illinois University with both a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in reading. She wrote fiction and nonfiction passages for educational testing for first through fifth grades, and she created multiple-choice and open-ended questions used in standardized testing. Crawford lived in Geneva, Illinois.
David E. Crosby, pastor of First Baptist Church of New Orleans, has often encountered inquiries of faith throughout his long career in ministry. Serving as a dedicated pastor in more than four churches, he soon felt the need to document a concise summary of the first principles of religious belief. A prolific writer, Crosby has penned many articles for respected newspapers, including the Baptist Standard, New Orleans Times-Picayune, and Houston Chronicle. He has also published numerous devotional guides and instructional booklets.
Crosby lives by a unique doctrine—the communication of gospel through deed is just as, if not more, important as its proclamation through word. He established both the Baptist Crossroads Project, a low-income housing initiative in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans, and the First Baptist Home Recovery Ministry, which assists homeowners in the rebuilding of property damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the homeless of New Orleans, launching and implementing a plan to develop emergency housing for those most in need of it.
In 2007, the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Greater New Orleans rewarded Crosby with the Board of Directors Philanthropy Award. In 2005, the Young Leadership Council of New Orleans presented him with the Role Model Award.
Crosby graduated magna cum laude from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, with a B.A. in religion and journalism. From there, he earned a master of divinity degree from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Baylor University, concentrating in ethics. He has three children and lives with his wife in Metairie, Louisiana.
A native of Louisiana, Manie Culbertson has spent twenty-seven years teaching in public middle schools. She began at Vinton in Calcasieu Parish and has since taught at many other schools, including Blanchard, Northwood, Linear, and Ridgewood in Caddo Parish. For much of her career she was an eighth-grade social-studies teacher. Culbertson was named one of ten teachers of distinction by the P.T.A. of Louisiana in 1973, the first year this award was given.
Culbertson graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree in home economics. She began teaching in this area but soon discovered that she preferred junior-high social studies and language arts. She received her M.Ed. in elementary education with thirty-plus hours in social studies and reading. She also spent time working toward a doctorate in school administration at Northwestern State University.
As a coordinator of teachers, Culbertson has helped many other educators improve their performance. Even as a retired teacher, she has spent her time continuing to contribute to the world of education. Culbertson wrote Louisiana: The Land and Its People because she recognized the need for a high-quality social-studies textbook suitable for eighth graders. She also created a Teachers' Resource Book and a Student Skillbuilder to accompany the textbook. In May I Speak , Culbertson records her experience as a white educator who was arbitrarily transferred to a black school to meet a court-ordered integration ratio. It has a surprise ending!
Richard Cummins is a talented writer who has explored a variety of jobs. He was an employee of Strand Bookstore in New York City for ten years. Hit Parader and several other music magazines have published his articles.
Cummins received a bachelor of arts from Mount St. Mary College. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, where he enjoys music and puppetry.
Dr. Robert Curran is a prolific writer and expert on Celtic culture and folklore. He has penned more than 50 books in 11 languages on topics of mythology and history. Curran also teaches in Ireland and gives speeches throughout Northern Europe and the United States on folklore and education. Born in Northern Ireland, he held a series of odd jobs in the United Kingdom and the Americas before returning to his native land, including gravedigger, journalist, script writer, mortuary attendant and radio programmer. Curran has also worked on underground publications, including Oz, a counterculture magazine in London, and as an educational and cultural adviser for the government of Ireland.
He attended the New University of Ulster and the University of Ulster, earning his BA, MA and two Ph.D's in history and child psychology. When not busy writing and teaching, he enjoys reading, walking, watching English soccer, listening to music and eating good food. Curran lives with his wife and family in Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
Dale Curry has been a staple of the New Orleans culinary scene for over twenty years. She retired in 2004 after over two decades as the food editor for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The food columnist for New Orleans Magazine, she is an active member and former president of the Association of Food Journalists. While she has spent most of her life writing about food, New Orleans Home Cooking is Curry's first book. She uses her years of experience in the culinary arts to create an authoritative source of some of Louisiana's best personal and professional recipes.
Curry hails from Memphis, Tennessee, but called New Orleans home for more than forty-one years. She graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism and in political science. She was a news reporter for the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Atlanta Constitution, and the New Orleans States-Item. She serves as a New Orleans correspondent for the Baton-Rouge Advocate and the State-Times. Curry has two daughters and one grandson; she lives with her husband in River Ridge, Louisiana.
David Cuthbert cowrote the play Cinderella Battistella with Bob Bruce. First produced at Le Petit Theatre in New Orleans in 1989, the show reopened at Rivertown Theatres for the Performing Arts in Kenner, Louisiana, in 2014. Cuthbert has entertained audiences all over New Orleans with his musical comedies. His plays have won numerous Big Easy Awards, including Best Original Play (Caracas Maracas Murders and Silver Scream) and Best Original Work Created for Theatre (Daryl’s Perils: Demon Dominatrix of the Moon Meets the Amazon Queen of the Lost Lagoon and Thoroughly Modern Millennium).
A retired journalist, Cuthbert wrote for the New Orleans Times-Picayune for forty-three years and was the editor of the newspaper’s television magazine, TV Focus, for sixteen years. He also appeared on “Steppin’ Out” as a theater critic.
Cuthbert lives in New Orleans with his wife, Linda. He boasts an incredible knowledge of movie and entertainment trivia.
Kimbra Cutlip, a native of the East Coast, was born in New Jersey. For five years, she lived aboard her sailboat off the coast of Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay. Cutlip is a world traveler who loves exploring and experiencing new places and activities. She has, among other adventures, gone backpacking through the former Soviet Union and Mongolia, desert camping, cold-weather camping, and ice fishing, and she completed a Trans-Siberian crossing in 1988. In 1985 she graduated from Syracuse University with a dual bachelor’s degree in journalism and anthropology. She continued her education by completing master’s degree coursework in marine ecology at George Washington University.
Cutlip has worked as a freelance writer, contributing to such publications as the Washington Post, Alert Diver, Calypso Log, and Successful Retirement, among others. Her previous jobs range from manager at the Smithsonian to program director for the United States Department of State, Republic of Niger, and West Africa to an eight-year member of the Peace Corps. Each of these positions has given her a unique insight into the many differences of the world, which she uses in the creation of her books.
Sailor’s Night Before Christmas, Cutlip’s first book, is a seaworthy twist on a classic Christmas tale. The idea came to her while she was living on her boat. Young children would come to her and ask, “How does Santa get in?” She began to weave a Christmas tale for these children to explain how it would be possible for Santa to deliver gifts to the boat. The children showed so much interest that she decided to write this unique story down so she could share it with others.
Cutlip presently lives in Galesville, Maryland, with her husband, Michael Broglie, and daughter, Sienna Michelle. She is a contributing author for Weatherwise magazine.
Timothy Daiss is a columnist, journalist, and author based in Savannah, Georgia, where he grew up and has spent most of his adult life. His weekly column is featured in five Georgia newspapers, and his articles have appeared in local, regional, and national publications.
In Rebels, Saints, and Sinners, Daiss shares his love for Savannah and, by extension, Georgia, one of the original thirteen colonies. The book’s essays give a sense of the settling of Savannah as well as the spirit of this culturally rich and complex city, from its founding to the end of the twentieth century.
Savannah was on the political hit list for such historical notables as George Washington and Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, and it was a stop along the way for pop-culture icons like Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth. Upon deeper inspection, the often-overlooked relevance of Savannah to history, politics, and culture comes quickly to the fore.
Lashon Daley has been writing since her father’s death when she was young. After earning her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, Daley lived in New Orleans for several years, working for the nonprofit Phoenix of New Orleans as an AmeriCorps member. During that time, Daley discovered the joys of performing as a storyteller, sparking her interest in folklore and the stories we tell. After her mother’s subsequent death, Daley found that the spoken word evoked the part of her mother that lived on in her: her voice, her face, the movements of her hands.
Daley’s passion has continued to fuel her work as a writer, especially of children’s literature and poetry. She is a 2014 Callaloo Fellow and a UC Berkeley Distinguished Graduate Fellow, where she is working towards her MA in folklore. Daley’s work has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine; Country Roads magazine; and Underwater New York. An active performer, Daley makes her home in Berkeley, California.
Martha “Marty” Daniels lives on Mulberry Plantation in a cottage she built at the edge of a rustic Carolina millpond. She and her family are devoted to the plantation’s preservation. Founded in the 1750s, Mulberry is a National Historic Landmark designated for its contribution to American history as the home of James and Mary Boykin Chesnut.
In 2012, Daniels received the Allan D. Charles Award for Nonfiction from the University of South Carolina for Mary Chesnut’s Illustrated Diary. A guest on C-Span2 Book TV and Walter Edgar’s Journal on National Public Radio, she was a featured speaker on Mary Chesnut at the South Carolina Humanities Council and the University of South Carolina’s literary festival. She has also been a popular speaker at the Atlanta History Center, the Charleston Library Society, and the Twin Cities Civil War Roundtable.
Daniels graduated from Garrison Forest School and attended Sarah Lawrence College and Harvard Extension School. She has devoted some forty years of her life to philanthropy in the United States and Canada and established her own consulting firm for natural history and wildlife preservation organizations, museums, colleges, and arts organizations.
An amateur naturalist, she spent many years doing fieldwork and migratory banding with the Falcon Research Group and was a member of the team for Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s research on the ivory-billed woodpecker in the bayous of Arkansas. She served on the boards of the Avian Conservation Center near Charleston, South Carolina, and the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation.
Daniels is the president of the Martha W. Daniels Foundation, which supports research, historical, and educational activities at Mulberry Plantation’s archives. She and her family donated Mary Chesnut’s collection of Civil War photographs to the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina, where the photographs were reunited with Chesnut’s original manuscripts. In her position as a historian, she is guiding the transcription of Revolutionary War-era documents at Mulberry.
Velma Seawell Daniels has dedicated her life to spreading joy. She is active in the Christian community and is often quoted in sermons. She has also made a successful career of writing books that attempt to inspire happiness.
Daniels currently lives in Florida. She is the book editor for the News-Chief Publishing Group. She is also a popular speaker, attending both national and international conferences.
Daniels wrote Patches of Joy about people, both famous and quite ordinary, whose lives have been inspired through acts of faith, hope, and love. Her many other titles includes To Brighten Your Day, also published by Pelican.
A freelance artist and student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Colleen D’Antoni is rapidly rising in the art world. She has painted several murals in Henderson, Texas, commissioned by Rusk County, and has earned first place in numerous regional and local art competitions, including the Congressional Art Competition.
Though she was born in Birmingham, Alabama, D’Antoni was raised in Old Metairie, Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans. She took special pleasure in visiting New Orleans’s fantastic museums. When D’Antoni’s family moved from Louisiana to Longview, Texas, she struggled to transition to her new home. Art gave her a sense of security, and as she became more confident in her art, she became more confident in herself as a person. By the time she graduated high school, she had become the president of the National Honor Society chapter, earned a position as head drum major, and was elected homecoming queen. After her father suffered a massive stroke, she became determined to live a healthier lifestyle and lost more than fifty pounds.
She spends most of the year in Savannah, Georgia, and remains an active volunteer in her communities, working with mentally handicapped children through Circle of Friends.
Gene R. Dark is a managing partner of Port City Construction Company and chief operations officer of Graywood, a master planned community, and Gray Plantation Golf Course in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He proudly served in the United States Marine Corps from 1968 to 1970, in the Second Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, First Marine Division. For his courageous efforts during combat in Vietnam, Dark received several honors, including the Purple Heart.
Dark holds a business degree from McNeese State University and an SEC license with Merrill Lynch. He is the son of legendary professional shortstop Alvin Dark. When not busy with his successful construction business, Dark, a private pilot, enjoys flying and playing golf. He lives with his wife, Nettie, in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Cecilia Casrill Dartez holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University in New Orleans and is a certified elementary school teacher in the state of Louisiana. Ms. Dartez is also a certified teacher of the educable mentally retarded and has done graduate work in reading instruction at Tulane University and graduate work in psychology at Princeton University.
A former elementary-school teacher, Ms. Dartez is now a talented writer and gifted speaker, often entertaining and educating local schoolchildren with her colorful lectures on the history and culture of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans. She is a popular storyteller for schools, libraries, and other organizations. She is also a guide for children's historical tours with the Hermann-Grima House, an original 1830s house-museum in the French Quarter.
Aside from her book-writing, Mrs. Dartez is the author of a children's "Louisiana Lore" column in the monthly New Orleans and You, Kid magazine, published by the Good Fairies of Hullen Ridge. She also writes a newsletter for the Association for Gifted and Talented Students, and since 1987 she has acted as president of the Gifted and Talented Association of New Orleans, a program for gifted students in the New Orleans area.
In addition to her five children's books, she is also the editor of A Marmac Guide to New Orleans.
Shekar Dattatri has always been fascinated by wildlife, and at just thirteen years of age he began volunteer work at Madras's famous Snake Park. An initial interest in wildlife photography evolved into wildlife filmmaking and, after gaining a degree in zoology, he began working with a documentary filmmaker. In 1989, he began a two-year project filming in the rainforests of southern India. The resulting documentary won critical acclaim, including a special jury award at the Jackson Hole Film Festival, a major prize at the Sondrio International Festival, and Best Nature Film Award at Tokyo's Earthvision Festival. Subsequently, he has worked with many of the world's leading producers of wildlife documentaries.
Martin Davey is freelance illustrator and artist based in the United Kingdom. At a young age, Davey developed a deep interest in the art of design and filmmaking. After graduating in 1989, he pursued his dreams of working in the animation industry, choosing to enter the business through commercial art and TV animation. The zeal and passion he developed for the arts in these positions is reflected in the bright, humorous, and colorful style he employs with his illustrations. When he is not working on digitally-rendered illustrations, he enjoys painting local landscapes with oils and acrylics.
Davey attended Bournemouth College of Art and Design in England, where he studied graphic design with a concentration in animation. He has more than twenty years of experience in the animation and TV industry, working primarily on commercials for the American market as well as developing short films. Davey also serves as the webmaster of the Southampton Art Society.
Born in the coastal town of Christchurch in the United Kingdom, Davey lives in Southhampton, where he enjoys painting, collecting cine films, and gardening.
A humorist, cartoonist, speaker, and writer, David Davis is a Texas native with a gift for storytelling. Davis's colorful characters come to life in his lively and timeless stories. Though most of his picture books are set in the South, they transcend the regional label.
After time in the banking industry, he began a career as a political cartoonist. In the mid 1980s, he started working as a freelance humorist. Davis's satirical poem “Redneck Night Before Christmas” attracted the attention of Pelican and led to the publication of his first book. His subsequent books, filled with humor, flair, and catchy language, are a tremendous success. Ten Redneck Babies: A Southern Counting Book and Jazz Cats were both named to the Children's Choice Top 100 List. Jazz Cats was a finalist for the Texas Golden Spur Award and is an Accelerated Reader Program selection. Texas Mother Goose and Texas Aesop's Fables were named to syndicated columnist Glenn Dromgoole's yearly Top Ten Texas Books, and Librarian's Night Before Christmas struck a chord with hard-working librarians everywhere.
In addition to his books, Davis's artwork, cartoons, poems, and short stories are featured in various publications across the country. His political cartoons won an award from the Mississippi Press Association. He is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and is in demand as a speaker and presenter at educational conferences, libraries, and schools. Davis lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
Charles C. Davis is a local, division, society, and national officer in the Sons of Confederate Veterans camp. Currently, he works in the engineering field and is a designer for Spectrasite Telecommunications Company in North Carolina. History is a passion that he indulged for many years before deciding to put to use the information and knowledge he had gathered. The culmination of all that time invested is Clark's Regiments: An Extended Index .
With this work, Davis has provided the "missing chapter" to the classic reference Clark's Regiments. The extended index is thoroughly researched and provides information on every person, place, thing, and event involving North Carolina's soldiers during the Civil War. Whenever possible, soldiers and sailors are identified by name, rank and company, battalion, or regiment. Davis also designates battles by date and notes each vessel's duties and allegiance.
This index will become an invaluable tool for students, history buffs, and genealogists alike. This book can also function as a cross-index for those interested in Confederate history. More specifically, Clark's Regiments: An Extended Index will be invaluable to anyone researching North Carolina's contribution to the Confederate war effort.
A retired professor, Barbara Sheklin Davis is a Jewish educator with more than fifty years of experience. She served as the headmaster of the Syracuse Hebrew Day School for twenty-seven years and is the Hebrew executive editor of the journal HiYidion. Some of her achievements include the New York State College Teaching Fellowship, the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Temple Adath Yeshurun Citizen of the Year Award, the Syracuse Jewish Federation Roth Award for Community Service, and the National Council of Jewish Women Hannah Solomon Award. She has authored Syracuse African-Americans, The Syracuse Jewish Community, and numerous articles.
Davis attended Barnard College, where she received her BS, and Columbia University, where she earned both her MA and PhD. She spent twenty-five years at Onondaga Community College as a professor of Spanish and director of educational development.
Davis was born and raised in New York and lives in Syracuse with her husband, Leslie, where she continues to be an active member of the Jewish community.
Before returning to school at age forty-two to earn both a bachelor of arts and a master of arts degree in history, Eddy W. Davison worked as a karate instructor, detention officer, and crisis interventionist with juvenile offenders. From 1985 to 1991 he was a senior officer specialist with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, where he worked with high security witnesses in the Federal Witness Protection Program. A rappelling accident in 1987 forced Davison to retire from hazardous duty with the highly trained prison S.W.A.T. team, referred to as the Special Operations and Response Team (S.O.R.T.). After two years of convalescence, Davison was hired as an instructor in the criminal justice program at the International Institute of the Americas in Phoenix. In 1997, he received his undergraduate degree from Ottawa University in Phoenix, where he studied history with Daniel Foxx.
In 1999, Davison and Foxx published an article in The Confederate Veteran entitled “In Search of Forrest at Shiloh.” In 2001, they published “A Journey to the Most Controversial Battlefield in America,” an article about Fort Pillow. For the next several years Davison and Foxx traveled to Tennessee and Georgia, interviewing historians and writers such as Shelby Foote and Lawrence Wells and visiting notable Forrest landmarks like Chickamauga National Battlefield and Fort Pillow.
During the writing of Nathan Bedford Forrest: In Search of the Enigma, Mr. Davison joined the Arizona Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Scottsdale Civil War Roundtable. At the roundtable, he developed a relationship with chief historian of the National Park Service, Edwin C. Bearss, who reviewed the manuscript and later offered to write the foreword.
The father of two daughters, Mr. Davison lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where he is an adjunct professor of history at Ottawa University. This is his first book.
Frank Davis is a notable New Orleans character whose effervescent personality and love for this city is contagious.
At this point, Davis considers himself blessed that he has been able to combine his three loves—fishing, cooking, and people—and get paid for it. “I have a lot of fun doing what I do,” said the resident chef and outdoors director for WWL-TV in New Orleans (CBS). “I like to express that fun to everybody else as well.”
Make no mistake, others pick up on Davis's attitude loud and clear. Co-workers speak with amazement of conversations Davis has had with passersby on the interstate. It is not uncommon for drivers to pull alongside Davis, roll down their windows, and hold conversations about fishing or cooking or the latest happenings in the area—and all at 55 miles per hour!
The oldest of three children, Davis was first assigned kitchen duty when he was seven. “I was the first one home from school in the afternoon, and my dad asked me to help fix supper one evening,” Davis said.
The first week, he said, he cooked red beans and rice. “At the end of the week, Dad said America didn't need that much gas.” The second week he prepared eggs. “Then Dad said he didn't need that much cholesterol.” That was when Davis's experimentation in the kitchen began.
“I thoroughly enjoy everything I do,” Davis said, “and I have been able to parlay my two loves, fishing and cooking, into a career.”
A naturalist at heart, Davis has always been a writer, ceaseless promoter of Louisiana wildlife, and a nonstop talker. In addition to his WWL-TV spots, Davis currently hosts a weekly award-winning two-hour cooking show and does daily programs on outdoors, fishing, and other recreation attractions of the Crescent City.
In the kitchen, Davis has worked with some of New Orleans' most respected chefs—Paul Prudhomme, John Levy, Louis Evans, Frank Sclafani, Alex Patout, Goffredo Fraccaro, Chris Kerageorgious, Tommy Wong, and Justin Wilson—and now instructs in his own cooking school, The Frank Davis School of Cooking. His company, Frank Davis Foods, produces a complete line of spices and seasonings.
Currently a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and president of Frank Davis Productions, Inc., Frank is a past president of the Louisiana Outdoors Writers Association of America and the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association. He has worked as a consultant to National Geographic, as Louisiana editor of Outdoor Life, outdoors editor-in-chief of Louisiana Woods and Water Magazine, and has contributed to dozens of local and national publications. He was also public relations coordinator for the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Department and associate editor of Louisiana Conservationist.
It was not until Davis moved from print journalism to radio that he truly discovered his expertise in cooking. “I had been fishing since I was five and always cooked whatever I caught,” he explained. “In discussing where and how to catch a certain fish, I would sprinkle in cooking tips about how to prepare that type of fish and got great listener response.”
Davis's cookbooks are unlike any other, he contends, in that they deal with realities. “I despise your typical cookbook from the word ‘go,’” he said. “Typical cookbooks assume everyone is a bumbling idiot that cannot read complete sentences.” In his colorful conversational N'Awlins accent, Davis explicitly narrates each recipe. “Everybody can follow what to do with descriptions like this,” he said. “It is like having a cooking class in writing.”
Frank Davis Cooks Cajun, Creole, and Crescent City, his latest book, contains all-new seafood recipes plus variations on the traditional Cajun-Creole canon of cooking. Davis has also written (at the request of his many fans) Frank Davis Cooks Naturally N'Awlins, a best-selling cookbook, The Frank Davis Seafood Notebook, and an authoritative fishing guide, The Frank Davis Fishing Guide to Lake Ponchartrain and Lake Borgne, all published by Pelican.
“New Orleans is the country's capital of cuisine,” Davis said. “I found that out firsthand when I toured the country for Proctor & Gamble for three years demonstrating the city's cooking. Whether I was in Little Rock, Arkansas; Cincinnati, Ohio; New York, or Los Angeles, California,” he continued, “they just about ate the Teflon off of my pots. People love what this city cooks.”
Irene F. Day's knowledge and love of Moroccan cuisine and culture was the result of a “weekend” trip to the country that lasted three years. Fluent in Italian, Spanish, and French, Day greatly enjoyed traveling. She worked abroad as a general assignment reporter, as an English teacher in both Morocco and Rome, and as a United Nations public information officer in European refugee camps. A preoccupation with South America led her to Buenos Aires, where she worked for the Buenos Aires Herald and the United Press. She also became a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and McGraw-Hill, writing travel articles for magazines.
In addition to being a seasoned traveler, Day was a skilled cook and an accomplished artist; she had paintings sold to collectors in both the United States and Mexico. A Pennsylvania native, she currently resided in Ojai Valley in southern California.
Originally published in 1975, The Moroccan Cookbook serves up Moroccan cuisine for people with inquisitive palates, for adventurous cooks who want to expand their culinary repertoires, and for the thousands of tourists who visit Morocco and return with delicious memories. No special pots or utensils are necessary for the creation of any of these fine dishes, which include couscous (semolina with meat), frackh (baked beans), hareera (a rich, creamy soup), and ulk'tban (shish kebob).
In addition, Day included two charming portraits—one of the land and people of Morocco, the other of a master Moroccan cook—to create just the right inspiration for sampling this fine, accurate collection of Moroccan cooking. Irene F. Day passed away in 2000.
In addition to children's stories, Jan Day is the author of published short fiction and poetry. She was a co-winner for an original teleplay at the Hawaii International Film Festival, was awarded first place for her children's play A Piece of Cherry Pie, which was produced in New Orleans. Her short fiction has been published in Tropic, the Miami Herald's literary magazine, and her poetry was most recently published in The Bamboo Ridge Anthology. Ms. Day's first children's book, The Pirate, Pink was an International Reading Association/Children's Book Council “Children's Choices” selection.
Ms. Day has participated in children's publishing panels at the Miami Book Fair, Martin County Library's Book Mania, Naples Book Fair, and the Amelia Island Book Festival, as well as the Arizona and Florida chapters of the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. A founding member of the Arizona Book Publishers Association and a current board member of the Publishers Association of South, Ms. Day speaks on children's book publishing and has also done author presentations in schools and for associations such as the Florida Reading Association and the Florida Association of Media Educators.
Jan Day grew up in Cuba, Illinois, an island in the middle of cornfields, but always dreamed of adventures at sea, just like Pink. She has since lived in many places, including New York, Arizona, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Florida, where she now lives with her husband and daughter.