Sweet Success! Jo-Ann Costa

Compiled by DeAnna Knippling


Jo-Ann Costa's historical fiction novel The Bequest of Big Daddy (ISBN: 9781938467271, 84K, ebook and softcover [the latter available in April 2013])), which took second place in the 2008 Paul Gillette contest, was published February 1 by Koehler Books. The book is available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million, with pre-orders for the paper edition available. The author's website is at jo-anncosta.com.

From Reconstruction to the decaying ruins of a doomed plantation with its dying social system but a memory, The Bequest of Big Daddy is evocative of all that’s wrong in the post-Civil War South. This is the story of a man born to Southern aristocracy, who spawns an empire of outcasts, heroes and heroines—among them a great-granddaughter who is determined to learn the truth about her kin’s painful past. A tale of family betrayals, separations and reunions, at the deathbed of Big Daddy, a crusty patriarch with an infamous background and a hair-trigger temper, eight year-old Jo-Dee begins her journey to plumb the murky past, as the protective skin of her great-grandfather’s story falls away.

Novelist Jo-Ann Costa is retired Director of Public Affairs for a California-based Fortune 500 company founded by the late Howard Hughes. A Southerner by birth, Ms. Costa’s historical fiction and short stories are woven from the fabric of her people and the landscape of her youth, while inspiration for her mysteries arise from her experiences living and working in Southern California. She is a graduate of California State University, the University of Southern California’s Managerial Policy Institute, Leadership Southern California and the Public Affairs Institute.

We love to hear of fellow Pikes Peak Writers' Sweet Successes, including story acceptances, winning contests, getting published and book signings. Please email DeAnna Knippling at dknippling [at] gmail [dot] com if you've got a Sweet Success you'd like to share.