Contemporary fiction · Book One
Call Me Cal: Second Line Chef
New Orleans was supposed to be his fresh start. Nobody mentioned the dinner rush.
Calvin M. Bennett arrives with a trumpet he hasn't played in ten years, a barely used knife roll, and a nervous system that still thinks every phone call is an emergency. He's done being the man who wins every argument and enjoys none of his life. From now on, it's just Cal.
Miss Jo puts him to work in her neighborhood kitchen. June, the sharp-witted woman he meets on a streetcar, takes considerably less time to dismantle his carefully rehearsed charm. Between cooking shifts, jazz gigs, and a romance he can't talk his way through, Cal begins to build a life he actually wants.
Then New Orleans starts calling him the Second Line Chef. Someone auctions off a dinner cooked by him without asking. Mardi Gras brings bigger crowds, bigger expectations, and powerful people who think his new life is theirs to arrange. Meanwhile, the old one keeps calling.
With June beside him and Miss Jo's kitchen on the line, Cal may need the very talents he came here to escape. Keeping this life will take more than knowing how to win.
Food, jazz, romance, and a city full of opinions: start the Call Me Cal series with Second Line Chef.
The complete first chapter. No signup required.
Start with Second Line Chef.
Food, jazz, a sharp sense of humor and an unexpected romance. This is where Cal’s New Orleans story begins.
The Call Me Cal series
Begin with Second Line Chef. Continue in the published reading order.
- 01Second Line Chef
Cal arrives with a neglected trumpet and a barely used knife roll. Between Miss Jo’s kitchen, jazz gigs, and June—who sees through his charm—he starts building a life he actually wants. Then someone auctions off his cooking without asking.
- 02Jazz Fest
As Jazz Fest approaches, Cal’s new life grows louder and more public. June, Marisol and an offer from his old world force him to decide where he belongs.
- 03The Hotel
Cal, June and Marisol take on a worn-out French Quarter hotel. Renovation is only the beginning when the city starts bringing its problems to their door.
- 04The Prequel
A return to California brings Cal’s carefully controlled former life into view—and reveals the man he was before New Orleans.
Coming next: The Krewe. Join reader updates for release news.