Let me tell you about my story, The Amulet, which takes place in 1902 New Orleans, about four women.  All four characters are personally connected with Madame Camelia Arceneaux who gives each of them an amulet. She helps the protagonists to believe in themselves and succeed in love.

First, meet Rosalia. She feels unworthy to marry Elmo, the man she is betrothed to, because she was violated by her father. Rosalia takes another path in life to re-evaluate what she is meant to do. Only when she is separated from Elmo does she realize she truly loves him. She is unable to consummate their marriage until she asks Camelia for an amulet and places it in their marriage bed.

La Fonda wants nothing more than health and happiness for her children and husband. She does not put the amulet under her pillow, because her husband does not believe in amulets. La Fonda becomes very ill and is separated from her family in a tuberculosis sanitarium. Camelia convinces her to put the amulet under her pillow and believe she will get well. La Fonda gets well enough to return to her children and the man she loves.

Collette sees her husband enter the St. Louis Hotel and wonders who he is seeing there. When his ex-wife comes to their flat that evening and tells her husband that she is sorry she missed him, Collette thinks they are having a liaison. In her misery, she loses the child she is carrying. Only when she decides to trust her husband, who has been faithful to her, will she be reunited with him. She keeps the amulet in their marriage bed and conceives another child.

Katia was disowned by her father, because he thought she had performed an illicit act. She went to live in New Orleans and ended up renting rooms to prostitutes in a bordello. She lived in the underworld for seven years and didn't think she would ever find a man, who would love her and want to marry her until she met Justice. When Katia saw the love and care he gave his cousin when she had yellow fever, Katia fell in love with Justice. She put the amulet under the cushion where he sat. He asked her to marry him.

For those of you writing with settings in Louisiana, click onto Williams Research Center in the French Quarter of New Orleans. They will tell you everything you need to know about Louisiana.

Also, link onto The New Orleans Public Library. I started researching here in 1986. They gave me the best advice. One male librarian said to me, "Just write everything you could possibly imagine that could happen in New Orleans because it probably did." I always remembered what he said. I tried to write everything I could possibly imagine that could happen in New Orleans in 1900.

Click onto Bloody Mary. You won't be disappointed. She will tell you the history of New Orleans and all the interesting things to do. She will give you a real feel for New Orleans.

For those writers looking for agents and publishers, Jenna Petersen's famous Passionate Pen website is invaluable. Check it out for other interesting resources.

Don't miss my multi-talented friend Sylvia Rochester's oil paintings, books, and poetry. I have one of her giclees of a New Orleans courtyard in my dining room, reminding me of our lunch at a French Quarter restaurant where she got the inspiration for the courtyard scene. If you don't know what a giclee is, ask Sylvia.

Click onto these special authors listed at left. They all have very interesting websites and books. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.