“I’m ready when you are, Luc. Actually, I’m a little anxious for us to try out my gifts to you, as well.” She’d given him licorice whips and a Luther Vandross CD.
Shortly after that, as the groom whisked the bride off to their honeymoon, someone overheard Luc let loose a wild, whooping rebel yell and the famous Cajun expression “Laissez les bon temps rouler.”
And his bride was said to have agreed, “Let the good times roll.”
Author’s Letter
You gotta love a Cajun man.
I know, I know, I said the same thing about Vikings. But, really, in many ways they are similar.
The Acadians (from which the shortened mispronunciation of Cajuns stems) are a proud people who always manage to land on their feet and thrive, despite being exiled out of one country after another…first France, then Canada. The Vikings were always looking for a new homeland, too, but in their case they blended in to the countries they conquered. Fortunately, the Cajuns have managed to maintain their unique culture in Southern Louisiana.
The Acadians were natives of Nova Scotia, originally of French descent. They left Canada rather than live under English rule. In 1755 they were disbanded by the British, with women and children being separated from their men and sent in all directions. One distinct group finally settled in Southern Louisiana, where they called themselves Cajuns. Longfellow’s epic poem Evangeline tells their story so well.
If the Vikings were handsome devils with impressive height and long blond hair, you ought to see these Cajun men with their dark hair and dancing eyes. Ooh-la-la!
They have colorful first names like Valcour, Ambrose, and Remy, and surnames like Arcenaux, Doucet, Breaux, Fortier, and Guidry. Their lifestyle is based on good food, love of God and family, and a marvelous appreciation for joie de vivre or joy of life. Nowhere is their sense of humor more evident than in the titles they gave their beloved bayous: Bayou Go to Hell, Bayou Funny Louis, and Bayou Mouchoir de l’Ourse (handkerchief of a she-bear); or in the lyrics of their unique music; or in their most colorful language, which is a little bit Southern drawl, a dash of Cajun French, and a lot of unique, deliberate mispronunciations of words.
The Cajuns managed to flourish in the presumably unlivable swamplands of Louisiana, and not only survive but prosper. They built their homes on stilts and found ways to prepare dishes from the bayou’s plentiful game and fish…some of which the more uppity Creoles wouldn’t have touched till the Cajuns taught them how. There’s a Cajun saying. “If it moves, we cook it.” And cook it they do—crawfish, gumbo, blackened redfish, jambalaya. The spicier the better. No wonder they call Tabasco “Cajun Lightning.”
The Cajuns love festivals and don’t need an excuse to have one. One of the most colorful occurs at the Morgan City Shrimp and Petroleum Festival, where two big boats meet in a bow-to-bow kiss as the king and queen lean forward from their respective decks for a traditional champagne toast. But there are also frog derbies, crawfish boils, and, of course, their own outrageous interpretations of Mardi Gras.
I hope you come to love the Cajuns as much as I do. And, in reading this book, as they say in Southern Louisiana, and as my hero and heroine said at the end of their story: “Laissez les bon temps rouler,” or “Let the good times roll.”
Sandra Hill
P.O. Box 604
State College, PA 16804
email:
[email protected] website: http://www.sff.net/people/shill
Praise
Sandra Hill writes “an engaging,
hilarious and entirely winsome read.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
ROMANTIC TIMES ALSO RAVES FOR CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER SANDRA HILL!
THE LOVE POTION
“The very talented Sandra Hill adds to her already impressive list of reading gems with this delightfully funny and sexy tale.”
LOVE ME TENDER
“Leave it to Sandra Hill to take this fractured modern fairy tale and make it a wildly sexy and hilarious romp. Her fans will be delighted.”
THE LAST VIKING
“A fun, fast-paced page turner. The reader feels Sandra Hill’s real joy in creating her story and the wordplay between the characters enhances the story.”
SWEETER SAVAGE LOVE
“A fast-paced, sensual yet tongue-in-cheek story peppered with plenty of dynamite dumb-men jokes and riddles. This funny and uplifting read will brighten any day!”
DESPERADO
“Humorous repartee and a high degree of sensuality mix well in Hill’s tale of a wisecracking poor boy and the aristocratic woman he loves.”
MORE PRAISE FOR SANDRA HILL FROM ROMANTIC TIMES!
THE OUTLAW VIKING
“Sandra Hill has written an entertaining battle-of-the-sexes romance that will keep readers laughing to the very end.”
THE TARNISHED LADY
“Sandra Hill has written a sensual, vibrant, fast-paced tale of two proud lovers, their entertaining battle of wills and the steamy passion that overcomes them.”
THE BLUE VIKING
“Trademark Sandra Hill, The Blue Viking is filled with lots of humor, some of it laugh-out-loud fun.”
TRULY, MADLY VIKING
“Once again the ingenious Ms. Hill brings a megadose of humor to her captivating and fun-filled time travels. Another winner!”
THE BEWITCHED VIKING
“A humorous, adventurous, sensual tale!”
Other Love Spell and Leisure books by Sandra Hill:
THE VERY VIRILE VIKING
MY FAIR VIKING
THE BLUE VIKING
TRULY, MADLY VIKING
THE LAST VIKING
FRANKLY, MY DEAR…
THE TARNISHED LADY
THE BEWITCHED VIKING
THE RELUCTANT VIKING
LOVE ME TENDER
THE OUTLAW VIKING
SWEETER SAVAGE LOVE
DESPERADO
Credits
Cover art by John Ennis.
About the Author
SANDRA HILL is a graduate of Penn State and worked for more than 10 years as a features writer and education editor for publications in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Writing about serious issues taught her the merits of seeking the lighter side of even the darkest stories. She is the wife of a stockbroker and the mother of four sons.
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Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE LOVE POTION. Copyright © 1999 by Sandra Hill. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub Edition © June 2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-202494-7
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Sandra Hill, The Love Potion
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