Good morning and welcome to my little world! Just give me a second to finish this second cup of coffee—would you like one? No? You stopped at Starbucks on the way here, I see. Smart. I’m never much good in the mornings before I finish my second cup.

Sorry if I’m a little bleary-eyed; I was up late last night at drag school. What’s that, you ask? It’s kind of a long story, but I am taking a training course on how to do drag—which means that yes, when I finish the class next week, I will have all the skills necessary to get up on stage and be a Queen. I still haven’t come up with a drag name, though. I’ve been using “Joan Crawfish” as a stopgap—and while there is a bit of a southeastern Louisiana flavor to it, I just don’t see myself as Joan Crawfish. The name has to fit, you see, and have longevity. Have any drag queens ever changed their names and rebooted their careers once they’ve started? I don’t know, but I need to come up with a name quick or else risk being branded as Joan forever.

This all started when I was hired to style a fashion show a few weeks ago at the House of Marigny. Marigny Mercereau is New Orleans’ only couture fashion house, but I hate her clothes. They aren’t cut right, the fit is off, and the silhouettes are always unflattering. Somehow Marigny has built a career and a business off her ugly clothes—but I digress. I’d already sworn once I would never work for her again when her check for the last time bounced, but a mutual friend guaranteed my pay before the event, so off I went. Imagine my shock to discover she was using drag queens for her models! Naturally, this drew an anti-drag protest and got on the local news. The usual chaos backstage was made even worse when one of the queens—Trailer Swift—broke an ankle and couldn’t make. I could fit into the dress…and so voila! Joan Crawfish made her first trip down the runway. I overcame my stage fright and actually had fun! I even got my picture in the local paper. Everyone said I was a natural and should pursue a career in drag.

Why not? It could be a fun side-hustle, and turning myself into someone else is fun! I’m already a licensed cosmetologist and have worked in salons—which I don’t want to do again—so it kind of ties into what I am already doing, and extra income for a freelance glam artist is always welcome.

Marigny also was murdered later that same night of the fashion show, and that’s another story—Death Drop, which will be released on October 10th! I hope you’ll be interested enough to take a look at my origin story.

And if you have any name suggestions for a drag queen, drop me a note.

Death Drop, A Killer Queen Mystery Book #1
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: October 2023
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Glam artist Jem Richard loved making New Orleans’ society mavens feel beautiful—but doesn’t like being stiffed. He reluctantly agrees to help with the make-up for the fall fashion show for the House of Mercereau, but demand payment up front after what happened the last time—when designer Marigny Mercereau’s check bounced. But no one warned him before he arrives, brushes and make-up palettes in hand, that the models he’ll be working on are drag queens! Pressed into service when one of the queens doesn’t show Jim wows the crowds and slays his fellow queens with his style and presentation on the runway. But between trips down the runway (and tequila shots for courage), Jim starts noticing bits and pieces of conversations and arguments showing all is not well behind the scenes of the House of Mercereau, and everyone seems to want Marigny dead. When her body is discovered the next morning, Jim finds himself in the sites of a killer! Jim puts on his best Shirley Holmes deerstalker cap and starts tracing the clues to help that handsome police detective—who may or may not be flirting with him—catch the killer before the killer catches Jem.

About the author
Greg Herren is the award-winning author of over forty novels and fifty short stories. He is also an award-winning anthology editor. His next two titles, Death Drop and Mississippi River Mischief, will be released on October 31 and November 14 this fall.