It’s February. That means Mardi Gras isn’t far off. In fact, Fat Tuesday, the last day of celebrating Mardi Gras is two weeks from now. We have Valentine’s Day in between. As much as I love New Orleans, I’ve never eally wanted to celebrate Mardi Gras there. Too many people. And most of them drunk and/or stupid. All respect to the cops who work the streets during Mardi Gras. Still, the pagentry and parades must be something to behold.

FYI, there’s no recipe today though I am talking about some awesome treats. Beignets. *happy sigh* No trip to NOLA would not be complete without snagging one of the sivler metal tables on the open air (but covered patio) of Cafe du Monde–the one that’s catty-corner from Jackso Square. Add a cup of cafe au lait and I’m in heaven. Local lore says if you sit there long enough, you’ll eventually see the whole world walk by. I can believe it. I’ve spent many the hour camped out at a table there, drinking coffee and stuffing my face with beignets until it looked like my clothes were covered in snow. All that powdered sugar don’cha know. And yes, that picture up there is an actual order of cafe au lait and beneights sitting at the very table that is my (and Sade’s) favorite table. Just for reference. 😉

I first went there back in the 90s. LG’s law firm represented a big insurance company headquartered in New Orleans. The big boss flew us down for some meetings. While LG was stuck in those, I wandered the Quarter and sat at Cafe du Monde to watch the world go by. And in my head, I wrote a story. Eventually, I put that story down on paper. It’s never been published. Maybe I;ll pull out SHADOW DANCE and spruce it up so it’s good enough to be published. Maybe. One of these days. There’s a second book, too, though it isn’t finished. At this point, the’d almost be considered historical. LOL

Anyway, I’ve made several trips down, with the family, with a friend, and alone. I do have two books set there, both in the Penumbra Papers Urban Fantasy series. And eventually, there will be another one or two, starring my Cajun Wolves. As a result of those two Penumbra books, I’m not the only one who loves New Orleans. Our favorite FBI agent Sade Marquis was assigned there early on. And because New Orleans is neutral territory for all the Magicks, she’s been called back there on cases. In fact, I introduce Sade in THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC. Actually, pretty much the whole “Scoobie Gang” is introduced is this book, though–**spoiler alert**–Sade and Sinjen don’t exactly cross paths.

I have to admit that my favorite opening to any book I’ve written (and many I’ve read) is the one from THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC:

This was only Day One of what was shaping up to a bloody weird week and the gods had been drinking again. Too bad Sade Marquis didn’t have the option. She was on duty. Dammit. Not to mention it was only ten in the morning. However, if things got any stranger, she might change her mind.

>Sade agrees with me. “What the effing hell, woman. It’s like you were sitting there reading my effing mind. And yeah, I know you’re editing this as I’m saying it so your effing readers don’t get scolding at work for prolific reading of the F word. But let’s get this straight, if you ever put a damn star symbol in that word, we’re done. I’ll make sure you never chronical another case of mine. We clear on that, sunshine?”

Yeah, gotta love Sade. And I’ll write f*ck if I want to. I am  soooo the boss of you, Agent Marquis. 😝

So yeah, I’m going to use my beignet mix and make some treats to go with my cafe au lait, since I have a stash of Cafe du Monday chicory coffee in my pantry. Then I’m going to open up a copy of THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC and pretned that I’m in New Orleans for awhile. Want to join me? You can order the mix and coffee straight from Cafe du Monde by CLICKING HERE. And you can grab a copy of my book in digital or paperback by clicking on the title or either picture that shows the cover. Sound like a plan? What about y’all? Do you love New Orleans? Have you been there? Do you want to go?