Pushed Times, Chewing Pepper (the first 13 pp)

In Pushed Times, Chewing Pepper, family therapist, Sarah Doucette Jean-Louis spends a year counseling a stalker, surviving her married fiancé’s plot to kill her and embracing her psychic gift of visions.

Sarah has Louisiana Creole roots. She can hold her liquor and make a mean gumbo. She also has an aunt who talks to the dead and a mother who wants her married.

Sarah’s life changes in Louisiana during a four-day reunion with her judgmental family, including her nemesis Cousin Stacy. It was the last place she expected to meet a man, but Michael’s perfect teeth and Armani-wearing buff-ness were irresistible. The true drama begins after they meet and become involved. Deception, heartbreak and murder invade Sarah’s life and she learns that her burdensome Creole culture is the foundation for her survival.