The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival

My first novel, The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival, will officially be released on Dec. 29, 2009. If you want to keep up with events, progress until then, join the Facebook Group. Booksellers, book-store owners, feel free to contact me at ken.wheaton@gmail.com

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY SAYS: Wheaton writes with an infectious energy, and his affection for the characters and culture is authentic without being overbearing or cheesy. Do the bon temps rouler? In Wheaton’s hands, they sure do.

Preorder now from Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Welcome to Grand Prairie, Louisiana–land of confounding accents, hard-drinking senior citizens, and charming sinners–brought to hilarious life in a bracing, heartfelt debut novel simmering with Cajun spice …

Father Steve Sibille has come home to the bayou to take charge of St. Pete’s church. Among his challenges are teenybopper altar girls, insomnia-curing confessions, and alarmingly alluring congregant Vicky Carrier. Then there’s Miss Rita, an irrepressible centenarian with a taste for whiskey, cracklins, and sticking her nose in other people’s business.

When an outsider threatens to poach Father Steve’s flock, Miss Rita suggests he fight back by staging an event that will keep St. Pete’s parishioners loyal forever. As The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival draws near, help comes from the strangest places. And while the road to the festival may be paved with good intentions–not to mention bake sales, an elephant, and the most bizarre cook-out ever–where it will lead is anyone’s guess . . .

ADVANCE PRAISE:
“You have to watch these Louisiana boys. They can drink you under the table, and some of them can write you under the table. Ken Wheaton can do both. He’s a wild one, and this is a sparkling debut.” –Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Into the Beautiful North and The Hummingbird’s Daughter

“Warmed my chest faster than a double shot of Wild Turkey and kept me laughing through the night. This is a rollicking, wonderfully irreverent debut. It’s also a charming love story with a heart as big as Louisiana. I am a huge Ken Wheaton fan.” –Matthew Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook

“Ken Wheaton’s fictitious story of a real small community in Grand Prairie, Louisiana, will keep you entertained and laughing out loud! Wheaton thoroughly describes the tradition and passion for the Cajun French way of life. Strap on your waders and get ready to trudge through some of the most colorful characters in the South.” –Helen Pursell, Queen of the Fifth Annual Festival Du Lapin

“A frustrated priest who smokes, drinks, and curses like a sailor, a loveable centenarian matriarch whose appetite for Crown Royal is matched only by her busy-body compulsion to counsel on any and all matters, a feisty flock of Cajun gals and gents who know how to get any ball rolling–all are unforgettable characters on a mission that’s not so holy and that gives new meaning to the notion of Southern Gothic. Add a carnival, the aroma of gumbo and fried turkey, and a little Zydeco dancing, and it’s easy to see why Ken Wheaton has produced a highly original yarn that is hilarious, beguiling, and, at times, warmly moving.” –James Villas, author of Dancing in the Lowcountry