After Hurricane Katrina destroys her city, an unlikely heroine turns to art and revenge to survive. A failed hooker, magician’s assistant, hotel maid and ice cream truck driver, Katrina Lalande comes barreling back in her old red Cadillac to haunt the abusive husband who thought he’d finished her off during the storm. Bent on revenge but determined to find hope in the wreckage, she remembers her past life as Vincent van Gogh as she paints murals on flood-damaged homes, trying to plug the leaks in her city and her heart.

Kelly has been a lifelong friend, without whom I would have surely gone (far more) insane long before now. She is also, hands down, the best writer I’ve ever read. Her tales are deliciously entertaining and provide an example of the top-notch quality I strive for when writing songs, with 25,000 books sold independently to prove it.

Her stories feature the desperate, the accomplished, the vengeful, the artistic, the mysterious and the erotic, and readers should be warned: Kelly’s literary voice is as singular as her DNA.

I still remember the time at CB West High School, where a very misguided teacher thought that Kelly’s writing was TOO good – that it must have been plagiarized. But, to his chagrin, she was – and is – that good.

You can choose to either be threatened by such talent, or you can lay back, curl up under a warm blanket, and enjoy what she has on offer. My personal favorite: What Remained of Katrina (yes, that is the book’s summary at the top of this post). Queen Latifah, are you reading this one? Because I could swear this has your name written all over it…

[This is a post dedicated to my Friends doing great creative work. Life would be nothing without them! Enjoy, Alison]