Laura Venita Green – Sister Creatures

As soon as our Zoom connection is made, Laura Venita Green fills the screen with a dazzling smile as she eagerly shares a tantalizing overview of her debut novel, Sister Creatures. “Don’t give too much away”, we ask because the deft way Ms. Green unfolds her story is a requisite for enjoying Sister Creatures.

In the muggy, insect-ridden town of Pinecreek, Louisiana, college dropout Tess Lavigne is watching two bickering siblings while their parents are away. Her listless day drinking is interrupted when someone emerges from the woods behind the house. Filthy and feral, the daughter of religious fundamentalists, the girl known in town as Sister Gail convinces Tess to take her in for the night. The strange events of that evening will set the course for Tess’s future, and Sister Gail’s ultimate fate. Meanwhile, other residents of Pinecreek try to cobble together a future from what little they have, their lives intersecting in small and not-so-small ways. Sisters fight to define independence for themselves (and from each other), while two young women on a bicycling trip wonder what their relationship promises, or threatens. Throughout, a deeply unsettling presence connects the characters to the buried secrets of Pinecreek: the ominous Thea, a malevolent shape-shifting entity whose rage and despair stems from a tragic history of misogyny, maternal loss, and stolen ambitions. As time marches forward, so does Tess, creating a new path for herself while accepting what can never be entirely left behind. At times atmospheric and eerie, and at others all too real, Sister Creatures is about manufacturing resilience from nothing but the bonds that tie us together. Laura Venita Green says, “I wrote Sister Creatures for anyone who’s been under or wrongly estimated, for anyone who’s f***ed up in the past but continues to push forward , and for anyone who’s found solace and escape in making art”.

Amanda Jayatissa – My Sweet Girl

Amanda Jayatissa’s delightful and charming demeanor underplays her deliciously dark and compelling, psychological whodunit, My Sweet Girl. The new novel by the Sri Lanka-based author is centered on the meaning of identity and all the layers it can have. This is the story of Paloma who thought her perfect life would begin once she was adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage and made it to America. But, she finds out no matter how far you run, your past catches up with you. At thirty years old and recently cut off from her parents’ funds, she decides to sublet the second bedroom of her overpriced San Francisco apartment to Arun, who recently moved from India. Paloma has to admit, it feels good helping someone find their way in America – that is until Arun discovers Paloma’s darkest secret, one that could jeopardize her own fragile place in this country. Before Paloma can pay Arun off, she finds him face down in a pool of blood. She flees the apartment but by the time the police arrive, there’s no body – and no evidence that Arun ever even existed in the first place. Paloma is terrified this is all somehow tangled up in the desperate actions she took to escape Sri Lanka so many years ago. Did Paloma’s secret die with Arun or is she now in greater danger than ever before? 

Kate Baxter – My Bed

Discovering and championing new artists has always been an essential ingredient of the Life Elsewhere shows. Recently, singer-songwriter Kate Baxter caught our attention with a collection of demo songs. The New Orleans-based artist, perhaps modestly, shared very little information, allowing her exceptional music to illustrate her talent. Emotive, provocative, compelling, are just a few of the descriptors we began jotting down as Kate’s distinctive voice sang of what have to be personal scenarios. Yes, there maybe hard fought and lost battles of love in her lyrics yet as you listen carefully to My Bed, Ms. Baxter suggests she could lash out if provoked. Kate’s music has the pure essence of rock ’n’ roll with a tantalizing patina of mystery. Kate says she is working on a new collection of songs. We are going to keep a watchful eye on her.