Louisiana Stories

Bolivar Bishop, Beauregard Parish Sheriff 1971-2008 My Sheriff I’ve lived in Beauregard Parish for fifty-two years And he was my sheriff for all but sixteen of those years. There have only been three parish sheriffs in my lifetime. I was born under the administration of Sheriff Paul Stark (1948-1972). When he retired, a banker, Bolivar Bishop, was elected. For the …

The Evening Holler This group of Zulu (South African) boys are giving the “Dry Creek Hoot Owl Call.” I’d been in their village the week before and shared “The Evening Holler.” They greeted me with it when we returned. It was a neat experience. To read this story– the first one in my first book (Stories from the Creekbank) click …

The Sixth Word to live by In the past week we’ve blogged about the six words I strive to live by. Here are the previous ones: compassion/passion, integrity, resolve, gratitude, , and relationships. My final word, and today’s subject is Legacy. Legacy is all about where you end up at. Legacy is about how you’ll be remembered. Anyone can start …

A Love Affair with Longleaf Pines… and a life lesson from them.   (Above) A “Landmark” Longleaf Pine. Longville Gravel Pit Road. When the Longleaf Pines of western Louisiana were cut early in the 20th Century, some trees were left as “landmark trees” or “testimony trees.” This is my favorite about five miles southwest of Dry Creek. “The best time …

Research Question A rose by any other name is still a . . . I’m starting a new manuscript tentatively titled, A Spent Bullet. It takes place in SW Louisiana during the large La. Army Maneuvers of August 1941, and involves the evolving relationship between a young La. schoolteacher and a soldier from Wisconsin. I’d appreciate reader input about what …

A Good Place Chapter by Chapter Commentary Chapter 1 A Good Place begins with a hurricane. Author Notes: My experience with riding out Hurricane Rita in September 2005 led to the writing of this chapter. I was in charge of a camp full of 300 evacuees on the night Rita moved in from the Gulf. Even though Dry Creek is …

A Good Place Readers: How you can help. Part of the joy of writing is working with friends and readers to improve our stories. I need your help on the name of one character. Curt Iles’ new novel, A Good Place, follows the story of Joe and Eliza Moore. Moving ahead ten years from their story in The Wayfaring Stranger, …

Burned, yet Blessed, by the Fire… “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The next best time is today.” We’re just finishing burning season in Southwestern Louisiana. Five days of rain and the greening of the grass ended one of the driest winters we’ve had in years. The following story is from my 2004 book, Wind …

A brick of peat in County Mayo, Ireland. See below or click here on the sweet smell of burning peat. The “Smell of Home”   Recently I published a blog on the wonderful smell of honeysuckle. (Click here to read it if you missed it. Also read below for a treatise from my friend horticulturist Charles Chaumont on the two …

  A Pat on the Head A short story containing an old dog, a famous horse, an eulogy at a country funeral, and ending with a tragic plane crash, will be one of two things: It will either be a forgettable tangle of tales that leave a reader frustrated. Or it may be a wonderfully woven story imparting lessons that …

Ivory “guarding” the office.   “Sugar and Ivory” From the Curt Iles book,Hearts across the Water It’s odd but I will always think of two dogs when I think of the long night that Hurricane Rita struck Dry Creek Camp.   We had 350 people on our grounds. They had been moved and bedded down in our most solid dorms …

Spring dogwood in bloom Crooked Bayou Swamp Dogwoods under the Pines The following story is from my novel, The Wayfaring Stranger. This passage takes place in March of 1850 western Louisiana. This dogwood story details the growing love affair between the Irishman Joe Moore and the Redbone girl, Eliza Clark. It was over a week before Joe’s next visit. Mid-March …

“Branding Dogs” A case study on a misunderstanding Eddie Anyone who knows me is aware of how much I love dogs. One of my older friends always said, “Don’t trust anyone who doesn’t like dogs.” One of my writing priorities is to include a good dog in every book I write. I don’t just like dogs. I love dogs, especially …

Curt cooking supper at The Old House What I Value Most You can also view this story at www.whativaluemost.com. Simply type in “Curt Iles” to read my story. I make my living as a storyteller. Some stories are written, others I tell. Most of the stories I tell are true. Others, although fictional, are taken from real life. As a …