Diary of a Blues Goddess

Very quick and easy read, but, oh, so much fun! In how many other novels is the main character a mixed-race wedding singer with 6'2 drag queen as her best friend?? This and many other characteristics make this novel stand out in the world of cookie cutter chick lit where all of the women seem to either work in television or publishing. The story is both hilarious and serious and allows the characters to grow as individuals throughout the story (even the secondary characters). It leaves you with a very satisfied feeling in the end and you know that everyone will be okay with the way that their lives have changed. Very worthwhile read and wonderful Red Dress Ink book!!

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.

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.

Spanish Disco is one my favorite Red Dress Ink books to date. I think Erica Orloff is a wonderful and creative writer. Her work isn't formulaic like most chick novels. Hers is a voice filled with wit, insight and humanity. And she's outdone herself with Diary of a Blues Goddess.Set in New Orleans, Georgia Ray Miller, a multi-racial exotica, dreams of becoming the best blues singer of her time. However, she is stuck in a rut working as a wedding singer. But with the help of her grandmother and friends - an eccentric assortment of drag queens, protective band members, an old mentor and, believe it or not, ghosts that reside in Georgia's grandmother's old brothel - Georgia could well make her dream come true. But will heartbreak get in the way of her dream, or will it help convert her into the proverbial Blues Goddess? There are quite a few surprises throughout the novel.I love the colorful characters in the story - especially Dominique, Tony, Red and Nan. The story development is excellent. New Orleans, with its quirks and unique history, makes a great backdrop. Diary of a Blues Goddess is far more creative and profound than RDI's previous installments. I marvel at the aforementioned publishing house's collection of impressive authors. Their books, with the exception of a few disappointments, too little to mention, give a whole new meaning to "Chick Lit." I for one shall continue to purchase RDI books - especially if they're from Ms. Orloff.

The Heartbreak Hotel in New Orleans has a colorful past and an even brighter present. It used to be a bordello until one of the working girls was murdered there and the madam closed it down. Now it is a refuge for the drag queens and the broken hearted who have no place else to go or need a haven. The ghost of a woman who was murdered there haunts the jaunt, but to Georgia Ray Miller it is simply home.She was brought up there by her grandmother Nan and Georgia makes her living singing at weddings and other events but whose dream is to be a blues singer. The only thing holding Georgia Ray back is herself because she is afraid she doesn't have what it takes to make it in this world and she doesn't want to leave the security of friends and family. It will take a very special man to enable her to leave her nest.Erica Orloff captures the essence of New Orleans from fun craziness of the French Quarter to the racism of other sections. There is a lot of racy, bawdy humor in DIARY OF A BLUES GODDESS but it is done in good taste, especially the scenes with the drag queens. The heroine grows and changes as the book progresses so that the reader sees her metamorphosis from a scared girl to a bold woman. Her Prince Charming is a man who loves her praying in the background that she will recognize him.Harriet Klausner