Love Song of the Chinaberry Man and The Mama Tree, by Trisha O’Keefe are available for the 2016 Christmas rush!
Love Song of the Chinaberry Man — It is said that in the Thicket right outside of Julia Springs, Georgia lives a creature of myth and legend, the Chinaberry Man. Rightly so named due to the sweet, pungent scent those who have remotely come across him remember smelling. I say remotely because very few have lived to tell of a close encounter, except one… Gina McFarland has always been special, predicting plane crashes, having visions and dreams that come true; mostly the kind that don’t have happy endings. Now she sees the dead and, of all people, the creature has chosen to save her.
In a matter of days, several horrid things seemed to develop in this quiet hamlet, all of which culminate with hatred, ignorance and revenge, Mother Nature’s wrath, pure serendipity… and the love song of the Chinaberry Man.
“By the way, the incidence with Chinaberry Man that Tanner has on the way to Root Woman’s place in Love Song of the Chinaberry Man happened to my cousin while he was night-stalking deer at Rood Creek in Lumpkin County. He is now an avid believer in Chinaberry Man. I think climate change and loss of habitat has a lot to do with increased sightings of these legendary creatures, although I heard about them when I was a kid from these guys who work on oil rigs stuck out in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The world is still full of wonders, thank God.” — Trisha O’Keefe
The Mama Tree lives in the Thicket, a place so wild it hides all kinds of creatures who don’t want to be seen. Prayer bundles and gris-gris bags dangle from its matronly branches like ornaments on a mother goddess. It has hidden Kenya and her disfigured face until, healed by the loving care of her grandmother, she emerges again, morphed into Chantal West, the sexy R&B Princess of Memphis.
Her triumph is shattered when the body of her childhood friend, Holly Simpson, is found in a dumpster. Could the fresh tattoo on the body possibly lead them to her killer?
Kenya has hit many bumps on the road of life, and even some ditches, but there are no air bags for this ride.
Detective Grover Moss knows in one millisecond that this crazy, beautiful woman is the love he’s been looking for, and that she will be the next victim unless he finds first.
The first of the series, Hanahatchee (Argus Publishing), will be republished in 2017.
As an anthropology student, many years ago, Trisha O’Keefe became aware of the past’s potential for mystery. While living and studying in Egypt, she began writing with that connection in mind. O’Keefe now lives in Georgia where she teaches and, of course, writes mysteries. Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com Published by Black Opal Books www.blackopalbooks.com