TOUR, EXCERPT, GUEST POST & #GIVEAWAY - Gumbeaux Love (The Gumbeaux Sistahs #2) by Jax Frey
@Archaeolibrary, @GoddessFish,
The adventures of the Gumbeaux Sistahs continues. Five, fiery southern women wage wars against their unique problems using their improbable friendships, hilarious evil-genius schemes, strategy sessions with oh-so-many cocktails, and a shared passion for good gumbo. Single, Southern artist, Judith Lafferty, casually confesses to her Gumbeaux Sistahs that she is occasionally lonely and would like to fall in love again. Seriously - you'd think she would know to keep her mouth shut around these women by now. The sistahs tackle her problem along with their own with their usual unreasonable, extreme plots and schemes, including a kidnapping, a cupid costume, trying out pick-up lines at the cheese counter, and blind dates from hell. In helping out their friend, the sistahs help each other out as well and bring to light the many flavors of love in all of our lives. Be ready for twists, turns, laugh-out-loud times, and heart-wrenching moments. You'll be sure to recognize yourself and your best friends in the unstoppable sistahs.
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Dawn opened her eyes and saw daylight streaming into the high den windows. “Is it morning already?” she thought. She realized that she had never slept all night on the couch before, but then Dan was not there to call her upstairs to bed. She glanced at a clock and saw that it was late, almost nine o’clock. The world was well and truly awake and starting the day without her.
She started to get up and head for the kitchen and coffee, when her eyes flew wide open. Her computer was still open. A feeling of pure dread covered her from head to toe, and she whispered, “Oh no, no, no, please no! Please let me have deleted that post before I fell asleep.”
Her eyes searched the screen and found it still on her Facebook page with fifty-two likes underneath, and a comment from one Rocky Breaux that simply read, “Challenge accepted.”
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I’m painting. I’ve made my living as an artist for about 15 years now.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Still painting, lol, but with 10 GumbeauxSistahs novels in the series!
Where do you get your inspiration?
About nine years ago I started painting a series called The GumbeauxSistahs. They were images of strong, supportive, fierce women friends who were having a fabulous time together. I painted many versions of the women in this series. One day about two years ago I realized that the women had a story —not just a visual story, but a written-down-on-paper one. It haunted me for a while until one day I threw up my hands and said, “Alright, already! I’ll write the book!”
Have you written a book that you love that you have not published?
Yes, about five years ago I wrote a kids book with one of my daughters. It’s hilarious. I’ll probably set it free in the world next year.
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
Every single character in the book is based on a real-life person I know. All of the Sistahs are for sure. Even the villainess. Even the pug!
How did you come up with the title?
The Sistahs love to eat gumbo. And they are very competitive with each other about who makes it best. They are sisters in their love for this dish. I spelled ‘gumbo’ as gumbeaux’ in homage to some of the Cajun characters in this book set in Louisiana setting. I jazzed up the word ‘sisters’ to ‘sistahs’ just for pure fun of it.
Do you have any strange writing habits?
I wrote the first book in the series during almost daily visits to my favorite coffee shop. The second book was written during pandemic so now I ride around till I find a shady tree to park under, preferably near the river, and write in my car. It works just fine.
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaption – who would you choose for which character?
I never thought about that. I’m completely lying. I think about it all the time! Here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
Judith – Diane Keaton
Bea – Kathy Bates
Dawn – Jean Smart
Lola – Holly Hunter
Helen – Sissy Spacek
I would pay to see my own movie if they were in it! Lol
Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Yes, just this: I wrote The GumbeauxSistahs with the idea of offering a respite for my readers. I want them to feel as if they are visiting with their best friends in a place where there is joy, friendship, and laughter. I’m not afraid to introduce the muddy problems that life throws at us in the books, but they are always tackled with grace and love. I wanted readers to miss the sistahs when they finished a book, and to allow the books to bring some inspiration into their own lives.
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Born in New Orleans, Jax came into this world with a sense of celebration of southern culture, food, family and fun. Translating that celebration into her writing and onto canvas is her true calling. Her colorful art depicts everything from her dancing Gumbeaux Sistahs paintings to her popular line of original Mini paintings of southern icons. Because over 25,000 of the mini paintings have been created and sold into art collections worldwide, Jax holds a world’s record for The Most Original Acrylic Paintings on Canvas by One Artist from the World's Record Academy. Jax art and gifts can be seen at www.artbyjax.com.
Jax is also the co-founder of the Women of Infinite Possibilities, an empowering women’s organization started in Covington, LA, where Jax lives today with her loveable, tornado-of-a-pug named Lucy.
The Gumbeaux Sistahs' series of novels is a work of love for Jax After painting the Sistahs for many years, she finally gives voice to these women characters who have something to say and constantly make Jax laugh when she writes about them. http://www.gumbeauxsistahs.com/
Tour hosted by: Goddess Fish Promotions
