The book I want to share today really hits home for me. It’s a true crime story, which I absolutely love. I spent four years working in criminal court, so courtroom drama and legal mysteries always pull me in. Plus, it’s set about an hour from my home in South Louisiana, and the author does a great job depicting Cajun culture. It’s her home too.
Home of the Happy: A Murder on the Cajun Prairie by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot mixes memoir and investigative journalism. It takes place not far from where I grew up in South Louisiana, so the setting and culture feel deeply familiar. The cover alone brings back lots of memories.
Fontenot investigates her great-grandfather’s 1983 kidnapping and murder, a case that led to “the biggest manhunt in the history of Evangeline Parish.”
Though John Brady Balfa was convicted and is still serving time in Louisiana’s infamous Angola State Prison, Fontenot sensed there was more to the story.
As a journalism student at LSU, she began her research by interviewing family, police, and even the convicted man’s relatives.
The book guides readers through her investigative process, and it’s a good example for anyone wanting to research his or her own stories. I couldn’t put Home of the Happy down.
As an aside, John Brady Balfa is the nephew of Dewey Balfa, a great Cajun fiddler who formed a band with his four brothers. Here’s a taste of the Balfa Brothers’ music, “Two step de lanse a paille.” It’s not everyone’s taste in music, but it sets my heart aflutter and gets my feet moving.
Wherever your story takes you, always remember, the only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all!
Until next time, happy writing!
I have and will continue to use research. I have interviewed police, detectives, and others who knew the facts and were brave enough to talk. “Ruth” was fine and alive, begging me to help her, but upper-ups warned me not to listen to her if I knew what was good for me. And that same afternoon, I got word saying she was dead. And I’m sure of who did it.
I use research a lot to confirm my memories from so many different towns. I love to learn more about these special places.
I use research all the time for my memoirs. I find it fascinating especially when I talk about historical political events that I or my parents lived through.
I have to do research every time I write a story. I don’t trust my memory. I’ve asked my sister to confirm names, dates, and times. She’s pointed out errors in names where my version wasn’t even close to accurate. I’ve searched the internet for newspaper articles and photos. I especially need help with dates. I’ve used Google Maps to look into towns and neighborhoods, especially places I lived as a kid. Kids have problems with distances. A park a million miles away may only really be a quarter mile, for example. I highly recommend doing some research and inserting… Read more »
What? Research? That’s why I write fiction … Just joking, of course. I just finished a short story that takes place on Snowdon, and I’ve never been to Wales nor climbed a mountain. Fortunately, the internet is ready whenever I am. Fantasy and legend are my genres, but I strongly believe in grounding those and all stories in believable settings, which means either firsthand knowledge or a lot of research.
You make me eager to read this book. And one other thing I’d like to say…I find myself using your words, one bite at a time, in many places, not just writing. And it has come in very handy and helpful!!!! Thank you.