Author Event! Girls Night Out

Four local romance/paranormal writers – Dawn Chartier, Alys Arden, Gillian Zane, and D.M. Bourgeois – will discuss their new books at7 p.m., Monday, May 12, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.

This event is free of charge and open to the public. Registration is not required.

The Fallen Guardian, Dawn Chartier

Gracyn James has made vengeance her life's mission. Haunted by the brutal murder of her family, she survives on the streets with The Inciters, a vigilante group that delivers justice to society's worst. But her ultimate goal remains elusive: finding her father and uncovering why he destroyed her world. When a deadly encounter with the seductive and powerful Angel of Death leaves her faction annihilated, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance.

Dawn Chartier is a contemporary and paranormal romance author known for crafting emotionally resonant stories with compelling characters and vivid worlds. She has published several romance novels, earning praise for her ability to blend romance with suspense and supernatural elements. Chartier lives near New Orleans with her family, where she finds inspiration in the lush landscapes and unique culture of her surroundings.

The Gates of Guinee (The Casquette Girls series, book 4), Alys Arden

Hailed as “the Anne Rice of the text message generation,” Alys Arden’s debut, The Casquette Girls, entranced over a million readers online, and the series has since garnered a cult following around the world. The fourth volume, The Gates of Guinée, picks up where the third book left off with Macalister LeMoyne held hostage by the Ghost Drinkers’ coven and Adele willing to risk it all to save her father. Even if it means opening a portal to the Voodoo Afterworld to hunt down the spirit of one of the greatest witches who ever lived. A trip to the Afterworld might be the end of the supernatural world. As the Ghost Drinkers seep into the crevices of the Crescent City, leeching the French Quarter of magic, the local witches are consumed with a new fight for survival. Adele has one chance to save everyone she loves, but it will mean breaking away from her coven and trusting a vampire.

Alys Arden was raised by the street performers, tea leaf-readers, and glittering drag queens of the New Orleans French Quarter. She cut her teeth on the streets of New York and has worked all around the world since. She either talks too much or not at all. She obsessively documents things. Her hair ranges from eggplant to cotton-candy colored. One dreary day in London, she missed home and started writing The Casquette Girls series. Her debut novel garnered more than one million reads online before it was acquired by Skyscape.

SHTF (NOLA Zombie series), Gillian Zane

It's Friday night in New Orleans and Tim "Romeo" Voiter has the night off. A night of rest and relaxation is something new for the former Marine, and he's looking forward to enjoying a fun night out with his buddy, Lucas Martinez. The two men try to ignore the emergency broadcasts and news about the spreading iKPV virus and just enjoy the evening. Romeo, true to his name, even hooks up with a hot redhead and plans on ending the evening at her place. Plans come crashing down, though, as he comes face to face with what the iKPV infected really looks like–and it is not like any infection he's encountered before.

Gillian Zane is an Amazon bestselling author that specializes in dark genre fiction for adults. She defines herself by the city where she grew up, New Orleans. At the age of ten, she decided she would be a writer. Between that decision and when she actually finished a book that she believed was good enough to publish, she’s served in the military, worked as a bartender, became a cog in the corporate marketing wheel as a person “that makes things pretty” and has been laid off many times. She currently writes full-time, but still continues to “make things pretty” by designing book covers and websites for her fellow authors and bloggers.

Edge of Reality, D.M. Bourgeois

When Carsyn Trahan, still grieving the death of her sister, is carjacked, abducted, shot and left for dead, she receives help from an unlikely source and together they go on a journey to not only keep Carsyn alive but to discover the truth about what her assailants want from her. Before long, she learns that her attackers believe she has something of value and will stop at nothing to get it back. She meets Levi at a local tattoo parlor, and he becomes an important player in finding answers. Carsyn, injured and on the run, is unsure who she could trust but puts her faith in Levi and together they fight to stay alive and expose a shocking revelation that has the potential to alter the course of humanity.

Born in New Orleans, D. M. Bourgeois resides in Crown Point, Louisiana, with her husband. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Nicholls State University in Thibodeaux, where she graduated Cum Laude in Interdisciplinary Studies with a minor in English and Humanities. Bourgeois loves to read and is a member of several book clubs. She enjoys listening to music and spending time with family and friends. She is writing her second novel.