Love Song of the Chinaberry Man and its sequel, The Mama Tree have been acquired by Black Opal Books!

Love Song of the Chinaberry Man and its sequel, The Mama Tree have been acquired by Black Opal Books!

Trisha O’Keefe’s southern fiction, Love Song of the Chinaberry Man is a story that makes you turn the cell phone off and forget the rest of the world exists.

It is said that in the Thicket right outside of Julia Springs, Georgia lives a creature of myth and legend, the Chinaberry Man. Rightly so named due to the sweet, pungent scent those who have remotely come across him remember smelling. I say remotely because very few have lived to tell of a close encounter, except one… Gina McFarland has always been special: predicting plane crashes, having visions and dreams that come true— mostly the kind that don’t have happy endings. Now she sees the dead, and, of all people, the creature has chosen to save her. 

In a matter of days, several horrid things seemed to develop in this quiet hamlet, all of which culminate with hatred, ignorance and revenge, Mother Nature’s wrath, pure serendipity… and the love song of the Chinaberry Man.

The Mama Tree, the third in the series, (the first is Hanahatchee, Deer Hawk Publications, 2012), involves hoo-doo practice Root Woman style. “By the way, the incidence with Chinaberry Man that Tanner has on the way to Root Woman's place in Love Song of the Chinaberry Man happened to my cousin while he was night-stalking deer at Rood Creek in Lumpkin County.  He is now an avid believer in Chinaberry Man. I think climate change and loss of habitat has a lot to do with increased sightings of these legendary creatures, although I heard about them when I was a kid from these guys who work on oil rigs stuck out in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The world is still full of wonders, thank God.”

O’Keefe has two novels yet to be released, Poseidon’s Eye (Jabari & Jaser, 2014) and Magi’s Well (Jabari & Jaser, 2015). As an anthropology student many years ago, Trisha O’Keefe became aware of the past’s potential for mystery. While living and studying in Egypt, she began writing with that connection in mind. O’Keefe lives in Georgia where she teaches and, of course, writes mysteries. Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com Published by Black Opal Books www.blackopalbooks.com