Blue Bayou [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Eileen Goudge (Author), Joann Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2002

In this remarkable follow-up to Stranger in Paradise, Eileen Goudge returns to sun-drenched Carson Springs, an idyllic community where the only thing juicier than the oranges is the local gossip...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An uncanny prescience must have inspired the plot of Goudge's current novel, which seems ripped from recent headlines. The protagonist is Gerry Fitzgerald, a feisty, divorced woman with an intriguing past who played a supporting role in Stranger in Paradise, set in Carson Springs, Calif. Nearly 30 years ago, Gerry was about to take her vows as a nun, but literally fled the altar, pregnant by her parish priest. Now, divorced with two teenage children and an ongoing liaison with symphony conductor Aubrey Roellinger, Gerry is still involved with the church as a beekeeper at the local convent. A deep-seated sadness and curiosity lead her to search for the daughter she gave up for adoption. She and Claire connect, and their reunion is an emotional one. When Claire decides to confront her father, Goudge gingerly explores the Church's response as exemplified in Father Jim's power to ruin Gerry's life once more. Goudge also tackles the issue of adoption and gives a refreshingly unsentimental take on how an adopted child adjusts to newfound family and vice versa. But her forte is portraying how relationships tick, as she explores the connections made by Gerry, Claire and other couples developed in previous novels. Along the way to a traditional happy ending, Goudge packs in plenty of drama and suspense as she continues to flesh out the much-beloved residents of Carson Springs.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Stranger in Paradise's Samantha Kiley here plays second fiddle to friend Gerry, who finally confronts the child she gave up at birth at the same time she renounced plans to become a nun.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 455 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587242532
• ISBN-13: 978-1587242533
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,621,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born on the Fourth of July, and it's been fireworks ever since. I began writing at age eight, with short stories and poems, and I haven't looked back since. From the early days of mostly collecting rejection slips, I went on to publish thirty-two novels for young adults, thirteen (and still counting) of women's fiction, as well as numerous short stories and magazine articles, and one cookbook.

Often I'm asked where I get my ideas. Fortunately, I have a wealth of life experiences to draw from. Starting when I dropped out of college to get married, at age eighteen. Two years later I was divorced, with a baby son and no means of support. I ended up briefly on welfare, and stood in line for government surplus food. But every cloud has its silver lining, and this one led to my determination to make it as a professional writer. I borrowed a typewriter, and lacking a desk, plunked it down on the living room floor. The rest, as they say, is history.

Following a string of young adult novels, I published my first adult novel, GARDEN OF LIES, in 1986. The saga of baby girls switched at birth---one rich, the other poor---went on to enjoy a combined total of 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, in hardcover and paperback. Though there's no such thing as an overnight success, I felt like one, having gone in a matter of months from not knowing how I was going to pay the rent to wondering what I was going to do with all that money. The first thing I did was fulfill a fantasy born of years of wearing hand-me-downs: I walked into Saks Fifth Avenue and bought a dress...without even looking at the price tag!

I've since gone on to write many more novels. My most recent, which came out in June of '07, is WOMAN IN RED, a very special story about a woman just out of prison and a man struggling to get back on his feet after losing his wife on 9/11. Look for it in trade paperback in May of this year. I also have another hardcover coming out,in June, titled DOMESTIC AFFAIRS ---a Cinderalla story in reverse: Riches to rags but with a happy ending. I'll be posting sample chapters on my website at www.eileengoudge.com, so stay tuned. I would love to hear your comments once you've read the book! And, remember, there's always more where that came from...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strong language, be warned, June 4, 2003

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taste of Honey (Mass Market Paperback)

Gerry Fitzgerald is moved to revisit her past when her best friend, Samantha Kiley becomes pregnant. Suddenly, she needs to find the child she gave up for adoption thirty years ago, when she was a postulant nun and could not keep the child. This has been a haunting secret from her family, and learning it shocks and angers her two nearly grown children, each of whom are dealing with their own painful situations. Gerry's firstborn is not all that thrilled with meeting her either, but does so anyway, defying her own family.

The road ahead of each player in this excellent drama is rocky, to say the least. Matters of the heart, both romantic and otherwise plauge them as the newly found families learn to love one another and deal with romances. New love and new life await, but so do pain and danger.

**** Not classified an inspirational romance, this novel still has profoundness that will appeal to the Christian audience, despite occassionally strong language and sexual tensions. However, like Andrew Greeley or Nelson DeMille, Ms. Goudge has succsessfully realized in her writing that Christians do not live in a whitewashed world and have flaws and issues just the same as secular people. ****

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love Carson Springs, December 13, 2002

By 

TJ's Mommy (El Dorado Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taste of Honey (Carson Springs Novel) (Hardcover)

Eileen Goudge has captured me with this trilogy. Carson Springs is a place that I would want to live. In this second installment, the story focuses on Gerry Fitzgerald and her family. It is a wonderful story of a mother meeting her daughter that was given up for adoption, the struggle to help her children understand, and of a woman wrestling with the idea of falling in love again. The characters from the first book are all present. The story picks up right where Stranger in Paradise left off. I can't wait for the third book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Taste of Honey, June 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Taste of Honey (Carson Springs Novel) (Hardcover)

Just what we need some pleasant and enjoyable summer
reading. Relax whether it be at home, on the train, bus or plane and make sure you pack a Taste of Honey. Once you finish it you'll want to read the other books. If possible start with Stranger in Paradise and then read Taste of Honey.

If you liked these books check out Garden of Lies (won't be able to put it down) and move on to Thorns of Truth. Excellent and exciting summer reading.