CRESCENT CITY is now on Audible, by Jack Caldwell
Greetings, everyone. Jack Caldwell here.
I am pleased and honored to announce the release of the audio book versions of my epic, Austen-inspired, New Orleans trilogy, CRESCENT CITY, narrated by the wonderful Melissa Kay Benson.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. What do books entitled BOURBON STREET NIGHTS, ELYSIAN DREAMS, and RUIN AND RENEWAL have to do with Austenesque fiction? Plenty, as you will see!
I wanted to present the story of Hurricane Katrina. This is something VERY important to me. To be honest, unless you lived in Louisiana or Mississippi, you don’t know what actually happened. It’s not your fault. Once the floodwaters receded, the national media did as well. CRESCENT CITY is the unvarnished truth. To relate what New Orleans was and is, I used the plots of three of Jane Austen’s most popular novels—Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility—to tell the story of three young ladies at the turn of the last century.
Elizabeth Boudreaux is a Cajun from the swamps of Louisiana. Emma Weinberg is a Jewish girl from Uptown New Orleans. And Marianne Dashwood is from central Mississippi. The story is about their trials and tribulations, the men who loved them, and the men who broke their hearts.
The series is also about a fourth lady, one known by many names. Isle d’Orleans. The Paris of the Americas. Queen City of the South. The City that Care Forgot. Birthplace of Jazz. The Big Easy. Crescent City. New Orleans. What she was and what she may be again.
Our story begins in 1998 with Volume One—BOURBON STREET NIGHTS. Our ladies are in college, Elizabeth is studying Journalism, her roommate Marianne is a Vocal Music major, and Emma is taking Fine Arts. There, they meet Chuck Bingley, Chris Breaux, Tommy Bertram, George Katz, John Waguespack, Gregory Wickham, and William Darcy.
The sample below is occurs in 1999. William, a graduate student, is enchanted by the fiery sophomore Elizabeth.
We jump to 2004 with Volume Two—ELYSIAN DREAMS. Our friends are now out of college, trying to make their way through life. Emma is a housewife, Marianne is a part-time blues singer, and Elizabeth works at a large non-profit.
The second sample is from a Christmas party, William Darcy’s firm is holding the event for the non-profit’s employees. Elizabeth is attending with her friend, Charlotte “Char” Lucas. At the party, certain misunderstandings are cleared up:
Volume Three—RUIN AND RENEWAL—begins at 5:00 pm CDT, August 26, 2005. The National Hurricane Center has announced that Hurricane Katrina’s expected track unexpected shifted three hundred miles to the west, and now the storm threatens New Orleans. Our friends must put aside life as they struggle to simple survive.
The third sample is set in the New Orleans neighborhood of Gentilly. Kaywanda Johnson, a co-worker with Elizabeth at the non-profit, had decided not to evacuate with her boyfriend, Scott Davis, and instead stayed with her mother at home:
If you’ve read CRESCENT CITY, thank you. I am honored that you have. But, you haven’t experienced CRESCENT CITY until you’ve heard it.
Melissa Kay Benson is a Slidell, Louisiana resident and her performance is magnificent. She knows the unique accents and rhythms of New Orleans, South Louisiana, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. You will feel the joy, terror, and heartache of this epic work.
CRESCENT CITY is available in print, ebook, and audio book at Amazon, Audible, Apple Books, and other retailers.
Comment below for a chance at a CRESCENT CITY bundle!
(Unfortunately, Audible limits this to customers of Amazon-US and Amazon-UK. Sorry.)
Until next time, this has been the Cajun Cheesehead Chronicles.
It takes a real man to write historical romance, so let me tell you a story…
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I have listened to all three audiobooks with only half an hour left to listen to in Ruin and Renewal. It is an amazing series and I feel like I was there with the characters. The narration is definitely worth listening to, even if one has read the series. And the story of Katrina as well as the aftermath was eye opening. Thank you for such a well written series with an excellent narrator.
The books are wonderful; I look forward to listening to them.
It has been lovely to revisit Crescent City in audio! I can only repeat my praise for it and agree that the narrator is wonderful (of course she had a great text to work with as well). No need to include me in the giveaway, I already own and treasure this trilogy. All aspects are very meaningful and I learned a great deal from each: Jane Ausnte’s characters and stories in a modern (20/21st century) setting; New Orleans as a background; and Hurricane Katrina – the devastation was one of the few natural disasters overseas that made a major media impact even here in Hungary, but the details, the background, the heroic efforts of the first responders and the people who showed their strength and loyalty – it was all a wonderful mixture. Since you chose it as a smaple, I’ll add that I loved the story of Scott and Kaywanda in particular, it is a lovely miniature in the grand scheme of fabulous heroes and heroines’ storyline, but his loyalty is no less heroic.
Congrats on the release of Crescent City on audible! I love listening to audible books on my commute so happy this will be available.
Having these in audio form is such great news. Loved this series. I owe your trilogy to my finally dragging me reluctantly into reading modern JAFF. These were a fantastic place to start reading modern, and also a fantastic read in any genre.
Congratulations on this release Jack. It’s great to see Austen Variations authors releasing their books in audio. It’s gives such a different experience to print. I haven’t read the Crescent City series yet but definitely have it on my to read list!
Congratulations Jack! Listening is a wonderful way to revisit this series!
Congratulations Jack, I enjoyed reading this series when it was released. Learning more about a city I only know in regards to Marti Gras, and some of the details around Katrina that got left out of the news. All with many beloved Austin characters. It is a wonderful story!