Chere Dastugue Coen is a journalist who has worked for many newspapers and magazines in her 20-plus years in the business. Publications have included Variety magazine, Gambit New Orleans, The Advocate in Baton Rouge, the Glendale News-Press and The Bakersfield Californian. She currently freelances for a variety of publications including TravelAge West magazine, Country Roads and several online sites, plus is the "Lafayette Insider" to TravelSouth.com. In addition, she teaches novel writing, works in hurricane recovery and is a multi-published author. Her book column, Louisiana Book News, is published on Sundays in The Daily Advertiser of Lafayette.
Attention Authors:
If you have a book you would like reviewed or written about in my weekly Louisiana Book News column, send an email to Chere@LouisianaBookNews.com and please include title of book, your background, date of publication and publishing house.
To read some of Chere Coen's freelance articles, click here.
To read samples of her travel writing, click here.
Magic's in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris and Sachets will be published by Dec. 1, 2010. Here's the publisher's blub: What if you could carry a prayer or spell with you all the time? With
a specially crafted gris-gris bag at hand, you hold the power to
attract love, protection, good fortune, and anything you wish. Magic's
in the Bag is the only book that teaches you everything you need
to know about creating and using gris-gris bags in the context of a
cross-cultural history of their use, that spans from early Native
American and African spiritual practices to modern voodoo in New
Orleans. Alphabetical lists of plants and herbs, crystals and
stones, metals, shells, and their correspondences make it easy to select
your bag's color, the best moon phase and weekday in which to begin
crafting your spell sachet, and the optimal ingredients for making
your wishes come true. Get even more hands-on with tips on growing a
gris-gris garden.
Cooking Cajun Country (Gibbs-Smith Publisher) was published in the summer of 2009, with Lafayette TV personality "Cajun" Karl Breaux.
Writing under the pseudonym of Cherie Claire, my historical
romance novels have included A Cajun Dream,
Snow Angels anthology and The
Acadians series of Emilie, Rose, Gabriel
and Delphine.
I've also ghost-written home and garden books, contributed
to a writing anthology and produced two original plays at the inaugural Hub
City Theatre Festival in Lafayette, ZeZe's
Waltz and The Exile of Joe Gagliano.
Reviews
"Cooking in Cajun Country": "The format engages the reader with facts and folklore, providing a more sophisticated structure for the cookbook than the usual appetizers- soups-entrees. Unpretentious as the culture they reflect, the dishes provide a good basis for reproducing the region's cooking at home...Sturdy, basic, and salt of- the-earth, 'Cooking in Cajun Country' is much like the people it represents -- a good time." -- Patricia Gannon, Acadiana Gazette
"Cooking in Cajun
Country": "'Cooking in Cajun Country' deserves praise for explaining in simple language what Cajun cooking is -- and isn't. It explains the nuances of the cuisine and how it has developed and evolved over the 244 years since the first Acadian settlers arrived in Louisiana 10 years after being deported from Nova Scotia by the English. The 160-page book discusses the difference between Creole and Cajun, and points out that real Cajun cuisine is flavorful, not overly seasoned with hot sauce or cayenne pepper." -- Cheramie Sonnier, Baton Rouge Advocate
"Cooking in Cajun Country": "Karl Breaux has drawn out a road map to regional cuisine. His new cookbook, written with Times of Acadiana food columnist Chere Coen, is split into parochial chapters that include The Wetlands, The Bayou Region and Upper Prairie -- each with its own signature recipes. From "Cottonport Jambalaya" and "Opelousas Catfish Gravy" to "Cypremort Point Speckled Trout" and "Marsh Island Crab, Shrimp and Okra Gumbo," Breaux takes you across Acadiana from the prairie to the coast. True to form, the Breaux's Mart owner, host of Cajun Karl's Cook'n Adventures TV show and stalwart French-language preservationist, provides ample context on Cajun history and culture, making these recipes all the richer. -- Nathan Stubbs. The Independent
"The Acadians: "Author Cherie Claire masterfully blends the challenges of history, love and loyalty in Delphine. From the grand mansions of the aristocrats of France to the marauding dangers of the high seas, this rich plot combines intrigue, treachery, and traitorous love in a riveting novel readers will not be able to put down." -- Cindy Penn, Wordweaving.com
"Ms. Claire shows you a love of family that will touch your hearts." -- Carol Carter, Under the Covers
"A Cajun Dream": "A Cajun Dream will bring a smile to readers' faces. Ms. Claire has captured the sweetness of falling in love the first time with the gentleness of Dorothy Garlock and the tenderness of Pamela Morsi." -- Maria C. Ferrer for Romantic Times magazine
"What a marvelous debut! Cherie Claire is sure to earn a bevy of fans with this charming and heartwarming tale." -- Rexanne Becnel, author of Blink of An Eye
"The Letter" novella ("Snow Angels" anthology) "Cherie Claire is a new voice in romance from the heartland of Louisiana. I found The Letter enchanting, original and lyrical from beginning to end. Catch this star rising - her talent is a gift of the Goddess!" -- Eileen Charbonneau, author of Rachel LeMoyne
"This is a well written and enjoyable story that will appeal to all fans of good fiction, not just romance readers." -- Greg Langley, The Advocate newspaper, Baton Rouge
Services
For authors, Chere can help you with:
Organizing
thoughts and getting ideas down on paper
Formatting
your work to send to agents and editors
Editing
copy
Explaining
the publishing business, from magazines to manuscripts
Marketing your product
For editors, Chere's expertise includes:
20
years as a features writer and editor
Extensive
experience as a travel writer
Knowledge
of the entertainment industry
Speciality
articles in Home & Garden, Parenting, Food, Books
For publishers/producers: Chere has published five historical novels and one anthology
and has plenty more to share.Looking for a great family screenplay involving Cajun
culture and music? My spec script, ZeZe's Waltz, won first place in a
screenwriting contest and was partially adapted for the stage for the inaugural
Hub City Theatre Festival in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Family Genealogy
The Dastugues came from the south of France, near the
Pryrenees, to New Orleans where my great-grandfather became a butcher and owned
the Dastugue Meat Market on Esplanade where the old Whole Foods used to be.
Pierre Firmin Dastugue married Delphine Brezina Perez, whose father was from
the same region in France and whose mother escaped the Irish Famine. Their son,
Paul, married Regina Morano, whose family hails all the way back to the
beginning of the Louisiana colony. Ancestors of my grandmother fought in the
American Revolution battles at Baton Rouge and Manchac and in the War of 1812
at the Battle of New Orleans. My mother was raised in New Orleans but her
family traveled the Southern migration route of Georgia to Alabama to
Mississippi and then the Crescent City. Her family names include Taylor, Smith,
Powell, Drummond, Knight, Hilderbrand and Staehling. If you're wondering why
I'm explaining all this, I'm always looking for answers to puzzling genealogy
questions. If you think we might be related, let me know.
I wrote a book on my family titled The Dastugue-Morano Family of Louisiana. Each chapter is a PDF
available for download. Please respect copyright if used in your genealogy. Thanks!
Chere and Danon Dastugue and Jill Tschirn on Central Avenue in New Orleans.
I get asked a lot how to pronounce my name (it's Cher-EE) and
why it's not spelled Cherie. There is actually an accent aigu over the last e
but I can't seem to get the accents to work on my web site. So imagine my name
with a bug on the end.
