About the Author

Alice Wilson-Fried grew up in the Magnolia Housing Project in New Orleans, Louisiana. After attending Grambling College and Tulane University, she worked as an administrator in public relations at the Delta Queen Steamboat Company. Alice now lives in Alameda, California, with her husband, Frank. She is a mother of two, stepmother of three, and grandmother of eight.

After suffering through menopause for five years, Alice took up tennis, and finally found relief. By extending herself physically and mentally on the courts, she was able to regain control of her life from the inside out. She wrote her debut nonfiction book, Menopause, Sisterhood, and Tennis, to share this experience with other women, and help them recognize and prepare for menopause.

For her first fiction novel, Outside Child, Alice returned to her Louisiana roots to craft a murder mystery set in the corrupt business world of pre-Katrina New Orleans. Alice’s childhood in the Magnolia Housing Project and her life thereafter in New Orleans enabled her to open up the world of native-born New Orleans blacks, their communities and their abilities to succeed in their city. Alice is currently working on a sequel to Outside Child, focusing that novel on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

About the Book

Ladonis Washington thinks that success means discarding her past in the Magnolia Housing Project and making it in the New Orleans business world. But after her mentor, Tim Ganen, dies a grisly death in the paddlewheel of the company's prize steamboat, Ladonis is caught in the churning of family relationships, her own objectives, and the depths of corporate corruption. Lucky for her, her brother HeartTrouble understands the underbelly of New Orleans business. But he doesn't understand his sister's ambitions. So it's up to Ladonis to meet her bosses' demands and determine what happened to Tim without getting herself or HeartTrouble killed.