BOOK DESCRIPTION:
What will a mother do to save a daughter hell-bent
on self-destruction? That's the challenge for Dolly Devereaux,
a thirty-something divorced mother from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Dolly has spent twenty years fighting tooth and nail to break free from
the grasping tentacles of her poor, rural origins and work her way into
the middle class. But can Dolly save April, her rebellious 18-year-old
daughter, from the neglect of her indulgent, absentee father, seduction
by a Skinhead drug dealer, and assimilation by the seedy local sex-and-drugs
underground? Dolly's dilemma: she'll have to do a lot better than her
own mother did when Dolly was April's age. This powerful, emotional story
weaves its way through the secret worlds of teenagers and the lives of
the parents and grandparents who try to guide and nurture them. It explores
the unbreakable bonds of love that bind together three generations of
Southern women struggling to escape the chains of their troubled family
history. The tale is set against the backdrop of tourist-crazy Myrtle
Beach, the epicenter of The Redneck Riviera. There, three women clash
and ultimately forge the intensely loving, supportive family none of them
were born into.
The Redneck Riviera explores the challenges of three generations
of mothers and daughters as they cope not only with with classic inter-generational
issues, but with the additional challenges of the Baby Boomer generation's
experiments with recreational sex and drugs and the nightmares triggered
by the descent of the youngest family member, April, into the world of
racist gangs and drug addiction.
STORY ANGLES:
The Redneck Riviera explores the challenges faced by three generations
of contemporary mothers and daughters. A family crisis is triggered --
and old family wounds are reopened -- when Dolly Devereaux discovers that
her teenage daughter, April, has been seduced into the underworld of racist
gangs and drug addiction. Story angles include:
- Dolly Devereaux's pursuit of The American Dream: upward mobility.
But is it coming at the expense of attention to her daughter?
- The classic inter-generational challenge: the alienation of the generations.
- The secret lives of children: how often it is that parents don't really
know what their children are doing, where they're doing it, or with
whom?
- Trouble signs: how can parents detect a child's involvement with drugs
or gangs?
- The bonds and trials of the mother-daughter relationship.
- The special challenges of single-parent families. Can one parent successfully
do the work of two?
- The Baby Boomer generation's unique challenge: how to teach their
children to "Just say no" to drugs when many of the the parents themselves
used recreational drugs.
- How gang leaders and drug dealers actively recruit teenagers based
on their innate vulnerability.
BACKGROUNDER
MYRTLE BEACH AND NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA
GOLF IN MYRTLE BEACH
MYRTLE BEACH MOTORCYCLE WEEKS (Spring & Fall)
MYRTLE BEACH STRIP CLUBS AND TOPLESS GOLF.
Warning: these sites are sexually explicit and should
not be viewed by those under 18.
DRUG ABUSE
- Crystal methamphetamine:
- Ecstasy
TALK SHOW QUESTIONS
- What inspired you to write The Redneck Riviera?
- What is the main theme of The Redneck Riviera?
- Why is The Redneck Riviera set in seamy parts of Myrtle Beach
and not someplace else?
- Is the story in The Redneck Riviera true, or did you make it
all up?
- Where did the main characters, Dolly Devereaux, her daughter, April,
and her mother, Anne, come from?
- What challenges do the three women face?
PHOTOGRAPHS AND IMAGES
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Born in Connecticut in 1945, Richard N. Côté studied political science
and journalism at Butler University. He spent six years in the U.S. Air
Force and eight years conducting local history research and writing in
Wisconsin. In 1979 he moved to the South Carolina Lowcountry, and served
for several years on the staff of the South Carolina Historical Society.
He spent the 1980s and early 1990s conducting research and writing in
the fields of South Carolina biography, social history, plantation life
and culture, and architecture. This culminated in the writing of Mary's
World: Love, Warm and Family Ties in Nineteenth-century
Charleston. In 1995, the publication of Safe House,
the memoirs of accused spy, Edward Lee Howard, marked his transition from
scholarly books to writing for the trade. His contemporary novel, The
Redneck Riviera appeared to strong early reviews in the fall of
2001. Dick resides in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, where he now writes
contemporary novels and non-fiction books. His next is a biography titled
Theodosia Burr Alston:
Portrait of a Prodigy, which will be published by Corinthian
Books in September 2002.
MEDIA COVERAGE:
- The Redneck Riviera was released for sale in coastal and central
South Carolina on October 6, 2001. The national release will start February
1, 2002.
- October 3, 2001: Feature story with 2 photos in The Moultrie News,
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. (no online version)
- October 13, 2001: S. C. Educational Television's weekly show, "The
Writer's Circle," films a half-hour program devoted to author Richard
Côté's two recent books, Mary's World and The
Redneck Riviera. The program will repeat six times in 2001-2002.
- October 19, 2001: "A must-read novel." -- Annie Rourke, WCIV-TV Morning
News, Charleston, S.C.
- October 21, 2001: Feature story with one photo: "The book's ultimate
message is one of familial love that triumphs over seedy adversity."
-- Becky Billingsley, The Sun News, (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
- November 4, 2001: Feature story with one photo: "Talk about versatile!
What links [Mary's World and The Redneck Riviera] is a
sympathy for women in crisis." -- Ben Steelman, The Star-News (Wilmington,
N.C.)
- November 23, 2001: Feature story with one photo: "Redemption amid
the sleaze... that's the territory author Richard N. Côté
cleverly mines in his fast-paced novel." -- William W. Starr, Book Review
Editor, The State, Columbia, S.C.
- November 24, 2001: Feature story with one photo: "A great novel....
If emotional reading full of feeling and heart is what your loved one
will like, buy The Redneck Riviera." -- Holly Fisher, News Editor,
The Gazette, Goose Creek, S.C.
- November 27, 2001: "Intensely researched.... Powerful and emotional."
-- Kimberly Duncan, The Lowcountry Companion, Pawley's Island,
S.C.
- January 28, 2002: Feature interview by Boo Sheppard on "Orangeburg
Inside Out," WCCO-TV, Channel 38 (Time-Warner cable), Orangeburg, S.C.
- February 24, 2002: Featured lecturer, South Carolina Book Fair, Columbia,
S.C.
PUBLISHING FACTS:
- Genre: fiction / mothers and daughters; fiction / Myrtle Beach, S.C.
- Author: Richard N. Côté, 1945-.
- Official publication date: February 1, 2002.
- Trade hardcover edition: ISBN 1-929175-17-5. 6" x 9", 288 pp., $24.95.
- Trade paperback edition: ISBN 1-929175-34-5. 6" x 9", 288 pp., $19.95.
- LCCN: 2001091644
- Publisher: Corinthian Books, P.O. Box 1898, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29465-1898
USA.
- Trade distributors: Ingram Book Company, Baker & Taylor, Koen Book
Co., and Parnassus Book Distributors, Columbia, S.C.
- Bookstore availability: The Redneck Riviera may be ordered
through any independent or chain bookstore in the U.S. or direct from
the publisher.
- Internet booksellers: The Redneck Riviera may be ordered online
by clicking on this direct link to Amazon.com
- Publisher's contact: editor@corinthianbooks.com / (800) 876-6202 or
(843) 881-6080 / Fax: (843) 278-8456 .
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER, CORINTHIAN BOOKS:
Corinthian Books publishes cutting-edge fiction and non-fiction books
in a wide variety of genres. Corinthian is one of several imprints of
The Côté Literary Group, based in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, USA. Telephone:
+1 (843) 881-6080; facsimile: +1 (843) 881-1899; e-mail editor@corinthianbooks.com.
The Côté Literary Group is a professional member of the Small Press Association
of North America
and the Publishers Marketing Association
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