Diary of a Blues Goddess (Red Dress Ink, No 21) [Paperback]

Erica Orloff (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Georgia Ray sings in a successful New Orleans wedding band, but her real desire is to be a blues singer like her great-aunt Irene. Georgia lives in her grandmother's brothel-turned-hotel, which is haunted by the ghost of a murdered prostitute who slams doors when the hotel's denizens make poor choices in love. Georgia knows a thing or two about this. After several failed relationships, she makes the mistake of sleeping with the bandmate her best friend Maggie is interested in. Then she runs into handsome Rick "Casanova" Jones, her high-school crush, at a wedding, and suddenly she's head-over-heels in love. But as she reads her aunt Irene's diary, it draws her closer to achieving her dream of becoming a bona fide blues goddess. Imbued with a luscious atmosphere and a lively, playful tone, Orloff's novel is a perfect read for a hot summer night. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Erica Orloff lives in south Florida. She loves jazz music and the blues and is a huge fan of Django Reinhardt and Etta James. She can't sing worth a damn, much to the chagrin of those she lives with, but keeps late hours and believes early mornings should be banned, as all true Blues Goddesses do.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Red Dress Ink; First Edition. pb original edition (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373250320
• ISBN-13: 978-0373250325
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,451,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Erica Orloff is the author of over 20 novels for adults, young adults, and (as Erica Kirov) middle-grade readers. She is a native New Yorker, but currently resides in Virginia with her family and menagerie of pets. Despite venturing South, she still roots for the Yankees. In her nonexistent free time, she enjoys knitting, playing poker, and hunting for Buddha statues for her collection.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Steam Heat, August 11, 2003

By 

"druck9105" (Delray Beach, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diary of a Blues Goddess (Red Dress Ink, No 21) (Paperback)

Without a doubt Orloff's best book yet! You can smell the jasmine and New Orleans heat on every page; hear the music in every word. Her writing is crisp and evocative, and the characters are alive and real. I loved it!!!! Any night you feel like singin' the blues, this book more than fits the bill.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Will Never Forget This Wonderful Book, October 28, 2003

By 

Diane Lesniewski (Greenlawn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diary of a Blues Goddess (Red Dress Ink, No 21) (Paperback)

Whenever I cry at the end of a book, I know I will remember it forever. Diary of A Blues Goddess is one of those books. The end is so wonderful and so right that I cried with happiness for Georgia Ray. But I also cried because I didn't want to leave the Heartbreak Hotel and its wonderful residents, especially Nan and Red, Dominique and sweet, sweet Tony. We all should be lucky enough to have a place like the Heartbreak Hotel in our lives, where we could be surrounded by loving friends as our broken hearts mend.

I want to buy a copy of Diary of a Blues Goddess to lend to my family and friends. This story is too good not to be shared.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Try the "edgier" side of Red Dress Ink, May 31, 2004

By 

Kristen (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diary of a Blues Goddess (Red Dress Ink, No 21) (Paperback)

If you found Erica Orloff's last book, Spanish Disco, to be a fun addition to the Red Dress Ink series, then her latest book, Diary of a Blues Goddess, will certainly not dissapoint.

Georgia Ray is a singer in a wedding band who lives with drag queen roommates, her grandmother, and many other broken hearted wanderers, in a former brothel in New Orleans. The characters and plot are as colorful as the city itself. We see Georgia blossom not only as a blues singer but also as a woman in love. The subplots are interesting, and though the ending is somewhat predictable, the action and dialogue will keep you reading and wanting more. I found this to be a nice change from the NYC set, girls in publishing routine. Orloff's writing, style, and characters definitely have an edge and make for fun summer reading, as well as a fabulous addition to the RDI series. Read and enjoy!