Hello Everyone.

It’s been a difficult journey getting my bearings to rewrite this book, but I can finally say that I’m off to a good start. I hope my momentum will propel me to the finish line with a clean draft by the end of December. I most certainly hope I’ll be ready to hit the publish button by June of 2027. We’ll see.

Here is a synopsis of White Castle:

SYNOPSIS

Along Highway 1, between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, lies three hundred and fifty acres commonly known as The Hammond Plantation. Splattered in the center of it is a decrepit forty-eight-room house in dire need of a family. Beyond its dilapidated wrought-iron gate, unhinged doors and broken windows, peeling and crumbling wallpaper, is a mysterious power that has carefully curated and preserved the mansion as it waits to be loved.

Love is not something Melba Chaveaux has encountered lately, and the sudden death of her husband heightens her yearning. Desperate for a distraction, she follows her best friend’s advice to return to a place that has been a source of contention since childhood. Not once did Melba give credence to her mother’s implausible assertions: that the white plantation owner was her father who, given the era in which he lived (1940s and 50s), uncharacteristically bequeathed all that he owned to her.

Although it’s safe to remain within her cenobitic existence, the town’s secrets prompt questions almost everyone is reluctant to answer, and the deeper she digs the more acutely personal they become. Fueled by a reignited hatred for Louisiana, her only means of retaliation is to own the town, work the land, and renovate the mansion. For a time, she will do so out of spite but will later be confronted with a difficult choice as her hatred makes a pivotal transformation. Where is her real home? Is it her Ditter’s Hill estate in New Hope, Pennsylvania or is it the deserted mansion among the swampy bayous of Louisiana?

White Castle is a work of literary fiction that shines a light on all who are tempted to neglect what our forefathers fought so hard to preserve and pass on to us. White Castle, Louisiana is a real place and is the one and only truth about this novel. This story is a dazzling fictional portrait of a fierce and determined woman who overcomes life’s pitfalls to redefine herself, forgive the unforgivable, and experience an immeasurable love for all that matters—family and the earth beneath her feet.

If you are interested in White Castle and would like to follow my writing escapades throughout the completion of this novel, consider signing up for my newsletter. This link connects to a sample newsletter so you can see what you’ll be receiving. To sign-up, simply send me your email in a private message. You will be added to my subscriber’s list and automatically receive the next month’s issue.

Once I’ve completed White Castle, you will be among the first to know the publication date.

Donna B. Comeaux

Author