Whatnot Wednesday: #CFFC View from the Water

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Pontoon boat on Bayou gravestone hat by Teagan via Night Cafe
Image by Teagan via Night Cafe

Hello, everyone. 

The Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge (CFFC) prompt that Dan Antion issued on Monday was for “View from Something on (not over) Water.”  So, today I’m visiting another of my books because I featured a watery setting — A Peril in the Bayou.   While it is the second book in my 1920s paranormal series, “A Medium’s Peril,” it’s an episodic series, so you don’t truly need to read it in order.

Let’s begin with a modern-day boat ride on a Louisiana bayou via the YouTube video below.

Excerpt: A View from the Bayou (Water)

Following is a quick snippet from A Peril on the Bayou.  From that point, things just keep getting stranger… It’s not a book for the faint of heart, but this tidbit only sets the stage.  It’s set in the 1920s and narrated by Clover Flanagan, the assistant to a famous psychic medium.

Bayou Corne, Assumption Parish, Louisiana USA, Wikemedia Commons
Bayou Corne, Assumption Parish, Louisiana USA, Wikimedia Commons

They came upon a place where the bayou made multiple wide lanes.  A noise came from the water.  Looking to one side Clover saw the current was making small whirlpools.  The swamp eddied and foamed, tearing at the mossy banks.  It carried away masses of shore, along with leaves and debris.  There was even a dead tree stump.

The guide’s expression betrayed his unease.  However, he quickly changed his countenance to one that suggested there was nothing unusual or even interesting.

“Does it do that often?” Albert asked.

“The bayou is usually lazy, but it can be pretty quick if there’s been a bad storm.  We had a lot of rain during the week before you came,” he remarked though the effort he made to keep his voice casual was apparent.

“But sometimes, well, the bayou gets… unpredictable when we’ve been having rain.  Not just things like you see over there, but on the land too.  Sinkholes and quicksand.  Next time we stop, have a care where you step,” the guide cautioned them.

Bald cypress knees in Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge IL Ned Trovillon USFWS 2012 Wikimedia
Bald cypress knees in Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge IL Ned Trovillon USFWS 2012 Wikimedia

“The flow’s a good deal faster here,” Albert commented sounding unconcerned, but Mr. Rey didn’t reply.

The boat glided at a much faster pace than before.  The current carried it around a sharp right turn.  Their boat plunged onward into a wilderness of little islands, sandbanks, and swampy land on either side.  Branches heavy with hanging moss seemed to bend protectively over clans of cypress knees that were like small children.  Clover thought it was like an entire country of them.  She imagined them swearing fealty to some malevolent creature who was the king of the bayou.

She shivered.  Civilization was long since out of sight.  There wasn’t the slightest sign of human habitation.  The feeling of remoteness was overwhelming.  It was as if they were utterly separated from the world of humanity.

End of Excerpt

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Thanks for spending part of your day here.  Friendly comments are welcome.  Hugs!

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Of course, I have to include the obligatory shameless self-promotion.

A Peril in the Bayou

A Mediums Peril 3 books

Universal Purchase Links

Kindle:  relinks.me/B0CKGRJS8F

Paperback: relinks.me/B0CKHFYMLJ 

A Medium’s Peril full series link: relinks.me/B0CG2SXX24

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Copyright © 2026 and 2023 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

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45 thoughts on “Whatnot Wednesday: #CFFC View from the Water”

  1. I love New Orleans, but the bayou contains critters I’m not a fan of – especially snakes. I think I read the first and third books in this series, and then realized I’d missed the second. I’ll be correcting that soon.

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    1. That’s kind of you, Teri. I don’t want anything to do with those kinds of critters either. The admittedly light/psychological horror element in this story is… hard to describe, but it’s not animal or reptile. 🐊🐍 LOL, I don’t want that in my head, especially not for the length of time it takes to write a book. 🤗 Hugs!

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  3. Teagan, I love these books!!! I hope you continue with the series because each story is unique and compelling. There is something about the bayou as you’ve written it. Not just as a setting, but as a living presence that lingers. That quiet shift from “lazy” water to something unpredictable felt almost like a change in mood, as though the land itself were thinking, watching. I was especially taken by Clover’s vision of the cypress knees — “like small children,” gathered in a kind of shadowed allegiance. What I enjoyed most was the sense of entering a place where the familiar rules no longer quite apply. Where the boundary between the seen and the felt begins to blur. Sending hugs on speedy wings to you and the Scoobies!

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    1. Heartfelt thanks for your comment, Rebecca — those things are precisely what I wanted to evoke. As you’ve seen, each of these books (3 so far) is a different kind of paranormal, with different moods, and different characters in the ensemble get featured. (Though it may not be too apparent, in my mind Clover is central in this one.)

      In answer, yes — I finished a little novelette in January — not in time for the holidays as I was hoping. So I’m holding it until the right time of year, as it’s a Christmas story. It’s less paranormal than the rest, because the central character is young Phineas (who has no such gifts). I’d like to be able to publish another in the series before then. I have several false starts… but guilt over not finishing other already nearly finished books gets in my way… and I end up not being able to work on any of them. But on a more positive “note” I’ve been practicing with my steel tongue drum (which sat untouched for months after I invested in it). Thanks for spending time here. Hugs on the wing.

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  4. Wonderful, Teagan. I’ve visited Louisiana a few times, and the houses on the rivers and lakes are always fascinating. New Orleans, though… I get a headache every time I walk the streets with everyone smoking stuff.

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    1. Thanks very much, Edward. Yes, for me it’s much more fun to imagine New Orleans in the 1920s. Granted, as much research as I put into writing even paranormal and fantasy stories, it can be difficult to find details (like street names, maps that name surrounding towns, whether there was train service from city to city, etc.) Even though I usually make up fictional towns, I base many of the characteristics on real places. But I’m absolutely a research geek, and love doing it. Thanks for spending part of your day here. Hugs.

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    1. I thought I had already replied, but my Internet has been up and down lately… Anyhow, thank you for taking time to offer encouraging words Robbie. You’ve been a wonderful support of this series. Yes, I’m doing okay enough. Thanks for checking on me. Wishing you a wonderful weekend. Big hugs

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  12. A beautiful excerpt, Teagan, that made my heart race with anxiety. I do not like swamps and it’s so easy to get lost. I kept wondering how on earth will they find their way back. I’ll have to read your book to find out!

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    1. Many thanks, Noelle. LOL, getting lost is the least of their problems in that particular swamp. I’m calling it “light psychological horror.” Although there’s voodoo and paranormal activity too. Have a lovely rest of the week. Hugs.

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  13. Excellent choice, Teagan! I love the whole series, and, having visited New Orleans, I was very intrigued by A Peril in the Bayou. And it is quite the story! Thanks for reminding me of this wonderful series, Teagan. I hope there might be more in the future?

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    1. Dear Olga — thanks for recommending the book. Yes, I have a little Christmas novelette for the series and it’s waiting in the wings for editing and book cover. I didn’t finish it in time to publish it for the holidays. Hopefully maybe something else for these characters too.

      Take good care of you. Big hugs.

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  14. Thanks for joining us, Teagan and thanks for that excerpt. I’d almost forgotten how much I enjoyed that book. The time they spent in the bayou was so well written (it made me nervous).

    I hope you’re having a wonderful week.

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    1. Hi, Brian. Eerrrmm… kind of… This scene is from a paranormal story that I’d describe as (making up my own subgenre name) “light psychological horror.” Think of this particular bit of bayou as every weird phenomenon that could possibly happen in a bayou all happening at once and on steroids. I hinted at alligators, but didn’t feature them because they would be expected.

      LOL, personally, I don’t like swamps. I went into the Florida Everglades once and was immediately overwhelmed with clouds of gnats and bugs. I probably didn’t go far enough (outside the car) to meet a gator. I’d be too afraid of alligators and snakes to go near a bayou. Haha, no wonder I chose it for a “horror-ish” setting. Ghosts, not so scary — swamps scary. 😱 🙄

      Thanks for reading and commenting. Hugs. 🤗

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