The novel interweaves the history of Civil War New Orleans with voodoo (the real thing, not Hollywood B-movie stuff). Major historical characters include the legendary voodoo queen Marie Laveau; Delphine Lalaurie, the century's most notorious murderess; General P.G.T. Beauregard; and Major Fred N. Ogden.
I am posting here because I'm particularly interested in having some readers steeped in Louisiana Civil War history have a look at it. I've done extensive research into this topic, but you never know when you've missed something that would have a Civil War buff sadly shaking his head. I'd also be interested in anyone who has insight into the history and persona of General Beauregard. Aside from that, the novel is after all a thriller, so I'd like to know if the page-turning factor is there, or whether any parts lag. Above all, it's supposed to thrill.
I'm not interested in rants from "The South Shall Rise Again" types who think that slavery was actually a pretty good deal for all concerned. Nor am I interested in ultra liberals who think that any novel that doesn't portray every Southern soldier who marched off to war as a rabid racist is insensitive to the feelings of blacks. I've worked for more than two years to give a balanced portrayal of both sides of the picture.
The novel contains considerable violence, often of a somewhat macabre sort, which is one of the hallmarks of my writing. The squeamish need not apply. There are no sex scenes, although there are some minor sexual references. It's a full-length novel, coming in at about 115,000 words, more or less 8 hours of reading full speed.
I'll be sending the novel off to my agent and publisher about a month and a half from now, so I need to complete this process within the next month. Sorry, you won't receive any money for your troubles (trust me, most fiction authors, even those who get rave reviews make next to nothing at it). But if your comments help to finalize the book, I'll be happy to include you in the acknowledgments. I know, that and a buck won't even get you a Starbucks.
You can contact me on the thread or else you can email me directly at dantem42 @ yahoo.com. If you're interested in doing a read, I will email you a manuscript copy in Microsoft Word about two weeks from now. Thanks for your interest.
Thomas White