Bevill, C.L.

(Caren L. Bevill)

PERSONAL: Born in Baltimore, MD; married, husband's name Woody (a career serviceman). Education: Holds an M.A.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, St. Martin's Press, 175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010.

CAREER: Worked variously as an army illustrator, typesetter, and hospital psychotherapist. Military service: Served in U.S. Army.

MEMBER: Sisters in Crime.

WRITINGS:

Bayou Moon (novel), St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Before becoming an author, C.L. Bevill held a variety of jobs and served in the U.S. Army. Bevill, who was inspired by such writers as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jack Chalker, and C.S. Lewis, began riting at age fourteen and completed a novelette.

Her debut novel, Bayou Moon, tells the story of Mignon Thibeaux, a well-known New York artist who investigates the disappearance of her mother many years before. As a child, Mignon lived in La Valle, but when her mother, Garlande, ran off with wealthy plantation owner, Luc St. Michel, Mignon and her father were chased out of town. Now, twenty-five years later, Mignon, who startles the town's residents with her close resemblance to Garlande, feels that her mother may have been murdered, and she returns to La Valle to follow up on her suspicions. When she arrives, she learns that Luc's wife, Eleanor, and her son and daughter claim to be seeing ghosts and smelling Luc's cigars. Mignon befriends Eleanor, but only to gain access to the plantation and learn what really happened to her mother. She participates in seances held to clear up the mystery of the ghosts and is attracted to John Henry Roque, the handsome sheriff. Library Journal contributor Rex E. Klett found that Bayou Moon contains "entrancing subject matter, realistic characterization, and [a] riveting plot."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2002, review of Bayou Moon, p. 1352.

Library Journal, October 1, 2002, Rex E. Klett, review of Bayou Moon, p. 130.

Publishers Weekly, October 14, 2002, review of Bayou Moon, p. 67.

ONLINE

Books 'n' Bytes, http://www.booksnbytes.com/ (August 12, 2004), Harriet Klausner, review of Bayou Moon.