JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
LaTonya Jones, author of Southern Discomfort
(Plenary Publishing)

Nine months after Hurricane Katrina, the stress of living in east New Orleans (dubbed “FEMA Wonderland” by its residents) has taken its toll on school teacher Janae St. John. Her marriage is in the toilet, and her flood-damaged house is uninhabitable.

Just as she is about to abandon her rebuilding efforts and leave the city for good, she is reunited with Lucien Roque, a childhood friend who promises to make all her dreams come true. But the price of Lucien’s friendship may be much more than she is willing to pay.

Aeneas “Neo” Henry, a local musician, has simple goals in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Widowed by the storm, he plans to rebuild his home and reclaim his two sons, who now live hundreds of miles away in St. Louis with the in-laws who blame him for their daughter’s drowning in the flood waters that swept New Orleans. But Neo’s drinking problem threatens his plans and fight for survival in the city that’s not only his home, but the core of who he is.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Southern Discomfort?

LaTonya Jones: I got the idea/inspiration for this book back in 2006, when I visited East New Orleans exactly one year after the storm (Katrina). The first thing that Continue reading 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… LaTonya Jones, author of Southern Discomfort →