Three authors to talk about their New Orleans-set books | Entertainment/Life

A triple header of author talks will take place Jan. 13 with three local writers, Chip LoCoco, Vicki Salloum and Elisa Speraza, gather to discuss their new books at 7 p.m. Jan. 13 at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie.

LoCoco’s “The Devil’s Jazz: The Haunted Chronicles of the Axman of New Orleans” takes place as WWI comes to a close. In the haunted heart of New Orleans, a sinister presence stalks the streets. A brutal serial killer known as the Axman emerges from the shadows, targeting the city’s Sicilian immigrant community. Inspired by true events, “The Devil’s Jazz” resurrects one of America’s most disturbing unsolved murder cases in a city steeped in music, mystery, and myth.

In “A Gathering Place” by Vicki Salloum, 81-year-old Blue Hamieh — a devout Lebanese Catholic — hears the voice of the Virgin Mary telling her to create a “gathering place” in New Orleans. She walks away from everything — her Mississippi home, her family’s pleas, and all common sense.

Blue spends her life savings on a collapsing building in one of the Big Easy’s most desolate neighborhoods, determined to turn it into a cafe that will unite three fractured communities. But crime, poverty, and underlying racial tensions close in fast. And her own family — convinced she’s lost her mind — plots to take her back home by force.

“The Italian Prisoner,” by Elisa Speranza, is set in 1943 New Orleans. Rose Marino lives with her Sicilian immigrant parents and helps in the family grocery store. Her older brother and sister both joined the Army, and Rose prays for their safety as World War II rages overseas.

Her parents expect Rose to marry a local boy and start a family. But she secretly dreams of being more like her fiercely independent widowed godmother. Behind her parents’ back, Rose lands a job at the shipyard, where she feels free and important for the first time in her life.

EYE OPENERS: Joshua M. Groetsch, M.D., a New Orleans area ophthalmologist, will discuss common ocular conditions that can develop over time, including cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and floaters, at 7 p.m. Jan. 7 at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie.

He will explain how to prevent them, and what management and treatment options are available should they arise.

Dr. Groetsch is also an avid wide-field astrophotographer. He will discuss and share photos of auroras, comets and the Milky Way taken locally and around the world.

WWII GROUP: Cyril Lagvanec, Ph.D., will talk about the intense rivalries between the British Empire and the government of Vichy France (technically neutral) when the two became adversaries after France’s 1940 collapse.

The talk takes place at 7 p.m. Jan. 8, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie. 

Both sides vied for control of French colonial territories and resources. While it was afraid of Axis expansion,  Britain acted decisively to neutralize French assets (fleet, colonies) that could aid Germany. Ideologically, Vichy France, led by Marshal Pétain, embraced authoritarianism and collaboration, while Free French forces under Gen. Charles de Gaulle fought alongside the British, creating internal French conflict.

LEARN ABOUT DUELING: Local author and historian Derby Gisclair will discuss dueling in a talk titled “An Affair of Honor” at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie.

According to Gisclair, dueling was once a popular means of settling disputes, and New Orleans was the dueling capital of the United States, with the deadly practice becoming deeply embedded in the city’s social fabric from its colonial days through the 19th century.

“Dueling fits into the concept of identity and spectacle,” Gisclair says. “The concept of mortal combat — whether it is Robert Taylor as ‘Ivanhoe jousting five of Prince John’s knights one by one, or Gary Cooper as Marshall Kane facing off against the outlaw Frank Miller in ‘High Noon,’ or Mel Gibson’s Mad Max fighting Master Blaster in the dystopian futuristic Thunderdome — what ties these scenes together is the mythic quality of the duel. It’s not just about violence — it’s about identity, spectacle, and the illusion of control in a chaotic world.”

UNDERSTANDING COUNSELING: J. Alexander Wieriman, Ph.D., will discuss “The Truth About Counseling” at 7 p.m. Jan. 14, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie. Among the issues he will discuss are who makes the best counselors, what’s new in counseling and what is missing in counseling.

BONNIE AND CLYDE: Author Brad Dison will discuss his new book, “The Trap: The Untold Story of Sheriff Henderson Jordan and the Final Pursuit of Bonnie and Clyde,” at 11 a.m. Jan. 17 at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie.

“Sheriff Henderson Jordan’s role in ending the crime spree of Bonnie and Clyde has been overlooked or ignored,” he said. “On the rare occasion that he is portrayed in films or documentaries, he is depicted as an insignificant character. Since 1934, we have accepted the notion that Frank Hamer located the outlaws and led the ambush against them.”