Big Easy Escapade (34 page)
Authors: Joan Rylen
Tags: #new orleans, #kidnapping, #vacation, #stripper, #girls trips
Blue Ball shots at Tropical Isle – yum!
“Bleeeehhhhhh!” Johnell fake puking on
Decatur Street in New Orleans.
Foam Hat guy, he really did exist and he
really tried to kiss every girl in sight!
Watch out for those syringe Jell-O shots!
The original Girlz and Joan Rylen’s namesake,
though we’re not in order – Johnell, Angela, Robbyn and Lea.
This pretty much sums us up. Johnell’s always
doing something crazy and Robbyn’s always wondering what it is!
We’d like to thank our favorite Getaway
Girlz, Lea Bass Rogers (cover design, story input, fellow
traveler), whose uncanny ability to make us look fantastic (front
and back) continues to keep us in awe. And Angela Wenk (story input
and personal stylist!), without whom Lucy would be a bore. You
girlz mean the world to us! Now let’s go on vacation!
And special thanks to our NOLA crew, Laura
Trujillo (Lala Lollipop), Christine Moreno, Ellen Rink and Vikki
Shelton (Trikki Vikki). Without y’all we wouldn’t have little-dick
whistles, Jell-O shot syringes, Blue Balls and oh, sooooo much
more! We love ya, girlz!
Thank you to Beth Zimmerman, our forever fan
club prez, launch party assistant, Barnes and Noble setter-upper
and all-around GREAT friend. We truly appreciate you helping our
dreams come true! One day we’ll be on that red carpet! Promise!
We couldn’t do this without the best editor
in the world, John Dycus. We love to throw you off with crazy words
like Shazammapuss and make you laugh with commandeered carriages.
We’ll always try to live up to your eloquently worded image - Bruce
Willis with breasts!
Thank you to Janet Neff, PR helper and
promoter, beta-reader, pool supplier and friend extraordinaire.
You’ve been an amazing support from day one and we can’t thank you
enough! Plus, you’ve got that fantastic Mr. Bill who keeps us fed!
Woohoo!
Thanks to Edwin Leffall for being “Eddie” and
for showing up Denzel in our book trailer. If that voice could be
bottled…just sayin’!
Can’t forget our New Orleans-based
photographer, Renee Bienevue who trodded with us through the French
Quarter to get the perfect shots and video. We succeeded!
Our beta-readers rock! Thank you to Jackie
Meeks, who made our story stronger, Janet Neff for the keen eye,
Stephanie Surendran for her meticulous moments and Tom Hill for his
big brain and detailed eyes.
We have to thank our numerous experts who
helped make our story authentic – Brian Simons for his law
enforcement input and gun knowledge, Eric MacKenzie for his pilot
brain, Justin Tidwell for his vast knowledge of strippers,
stripclubs and all things hooker, Blake Borgstede and Dara Browning
for their bayou info, Larry and Sonya Buccola for their New Orleans
information and suggestions – dinner was awesome!, Sarah Simons for
her drug knowledge (ha ha), Sonny Surendran (Sonofabitch!) for his
Middle East input, Steven Hill for the oil and gas info, Louis
Begin for his big balls – oh, we mean bowling balls and all things
bowling and last, David Foster for suggesting the bowling balls in
the first place.
We wouldn’t have such great launch parties
without our favorite Girlz, Laura Trujillo, Vikki Shelton,
Stephanie Surendran, Alicia Jenkins, Christina Judge and April
Ciccarello. Y’all wear our GG gear to perfection and make our
parties run smoothly and rock!
Our favorite restaurants around Fort Worth
continue to hook us up with great happy hours, fantastic service,
yummy food, free electricity for our laptops and most of all,
friendly faces. Special thanks to Bayou Jacks, Chuy’s, Brownstone
and Shaw’s. Y’all make our hours and hours of writing not only
tasty, but fun.
We love music and we love these musicians:
Justin Pacy and 12 Stones – Justin, you helped us create a
wonderful Jason. Josh Weathers – you keep us wanting more with
every song.
We have
to thank the New Orleans folks who are helping with the launch –
Sue Garrett, press kit deliverer and all-around great gal, Maple
Street Book Shop (official launch location!), Forever New Orleans
and A Tisket A Tasket, book signing locations and believers in the
Getaway Girlz, the Marriott on Canal for the great block of rooms,
Harrah’s (Johnell just wanted to throw them in because she loves to
gamble there), and all the fantastic bars, restaurants and other
places we LOVE in New Orleans! You all helped to make
Big
Easy X-capade
better and
the “research” was fun!
Johnell wants to thank her kids
(again) for putting up with the chaotic schedule and always being
good Barnes and Noble guests. Just remember...college fund!
Robbyn would like to thank her husband,
David. I love you and thanks for supporting me in my dreams! I’m so
excited about the next chapter in our lives and glad I’m sharing it
with you.
The women behind Joan Rylen are Johnell
Kelley and Robbyn Foster, friends since kindergarten. They grew up
in Pasa“Get Down”dena, Texas, a suburb southeast of Houston. From
Brownies to high school band, these girlz have stuck together
through thick and thin…marriages, divorces, births, deaths and of
course, destruction.
Their
annual girls’ trips with two other good friends were the original
inspiration for
Getaway Girlz
. Johnell and Robbyn are the authors of three
books in the Getaway Girlz series and have plans for many more.
They can be seen around Fort Worth, Texas, writing in bars and
having an all-around good time.
Johnell and Robbyn hope to inspire women,
whether they’re 21 or 91, to stay in touch with old friends and
take getaways of their own. There’s nothing like a good friend who
knows all your stories-the ones so crazy you can’t make them up,
and loves you anyway.
Watch for the next book in the Getaway Girlz
series:
Available 2014