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2022 Louisiana Writer Award Winner, NYT Best-selling Author Laud Tenured Cynic’s Hopeful Book

David Armand, Susan Mustafa among those praising The Little Girl

Baton Rouge, LA — May 18, 2023 — Accomplished South Louisiana writers are among a growing list of award-winning authors singing the praises for Jeremy White’s upcoming debut book from White Lines Press. The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery is a memoir about White’s wife, Edie, discovering her biological family in 2018, and the insanely beautiful, transformational journey that ensued.

David Armand, winner of the 2022 Louisiana Writer Award, says The Little Girl “reads like a great literary mystery and love story combined in one—only this tale is true.” Armand holds the Leola R. Purcell Endowed Professorship in English at Southeastern Louisiana University and has authored award-winning novels, poetry collections and a memoir. “Jeremy White’s amazing story,” Armand continues, “is at once inspiring, humorous and an overall testament to the indomitable will of the human spirit: the will to love, the will to persevere and the will to discover the truth, a truth which ultimately serves to heal and help grow—not only for the people in White’s story, but for any readers who find themselves lucky enough to read this book.”

David Armand, winner of the 2022 Louisiana Writer Award, says The Little Girl “reads like a great literary mystery and love story combined in one—only this tale is true.”

White’s work is “a must-read for anyone who enjoys a true-to-life love story,” according to New York Times bestselling author Susan Mustafa. “This heartwarming rendering shows that a balance can be achieved between adopted and biological families, and that we truly have enough love within us to embrace the old and the new with equal fervor,” the true crime writer explains. “Edie’s story is about understanding, forgiveness and compassion, spiced with humor and adventure.” Mustafa has authored several books about serial killers, including The Most Dangerous Animal of All, as featured in an FX series by the same title, about the Zodiac Killer.

The Louisiana Writer Award, which is presented annually by the Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana, recognizes outstanding contributions to Louisiana’s literary and intellectual life exemplified by a contemporary Louisiana writer’s body of work. Recipients before Armand include James Lee Burke, John M. Barry and Ernest J. Gaines, who was the first writer to be honored with the award in 2000.

Others lauding The Little Girl include Robert Mann, author and professor of mass communication at LSU, and Julie Ryan McGue, author of the award-winning memoir Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging. Their glowing remarks are available at LittleGirlBook.com, alongside praise from some of White Lines Press’s indie partners, which include The Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago.

White Lines Press is publishing the 468-page hardcover edition of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, but readers can pre-order signed copies at LittleGirlBook.com, where 1 in 20 customers will win a signed “lagniappe” copy. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to [email protected].

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Tenured Cynic Opens Up About Hopeful Book With Radio Host Jim Engster

Jeremy and Edie White atop Rattlesnake Ridge with the Cascades in the background

Author Jeremy White gives first live interview about his debut work

Baton Rouge, LA — May 1, 2023 — Talk Louisiana host Jim Engster recently chatted with author Jeremy White about his upcoming nonfiction book, The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery. The nearly ten-minute radio segment represents White’s first live interview about his hopeful memoir detailing how his wife, Edie, who was adopted at birth and raised by a loving family, discovered her biological family after altruistically submitting her DNA in early 2018.

White opens by explaining how the longtime satirist and former football official shed much of his identity—represented by his social media handle, comicref—just before the pandemic to focus on this deeply personal literary project about his wife of over 30 years. “It’s nothing short of a miracle,” White tells Engster and his audience, “that someone as private as Edie has come to see that her story is one that the world is begging to be added to the human narrative right now.” Edie’s husband goes on to describe her as “the last person to ever bust into somebody’s life like the Kool-Aid Man.”

“It’s nothing short of a miracle,” White tells Engster and his audience, “that someone as private as Edie has come to see that her story is one that the world is begging to be added to the human narrative right now.”

Engster then brings up the bombshell that propelled the two college sweethearts into this beautifully insane, life-altering adventure. White describes to listeners how AncestryDNA’s iPhone app sucker-punched Edie at work with news that John Hart—a beautiful, complicated man—is her biological father. The former teenage missionary was fragged in Vietnam before becoming a grad student at LSU, where the devout pacifist crossed paths with David Duke at Free Speech Alley in 1969. The headline-making incident is cited in two books about the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard.

Talk Louisiana connects listeners with Louisiana newsmakers through live interviews. Hosted by award-winning journalist and broadcast veteran Jim Engster, Talk Louisiana airs live every weekday at 9 a.m. on WRKF-FM, where it is later rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Listeners can hear White’s interview on the show’s podcast episode from April 17.

Jeremy White is a tenured cynic who penned this hopeful book. He founded South Louisiana’s premier satirical publication in 2004, eight years before relaunching the award-winning Red Shtick Magazine as its all-digital progeny, The Red Shtick. The passionate Cajun can often be heard on various popular radio shows as either a guest or a guest host. A longtime football official and Mardi Gras krewe captain, Jeremy earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at LSU, where he and Edie met. They’ve been happily married since 1992 and live in Baton Rouge with their cat, Waffles.

White Lines Press (an imprint of Red Stick Comedy, LLC) is publishing the 468-page hardcover edition of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, but readers can pre-order signed copies at LittleGirlBook.com, where 1 in 20 customers will win a signed “lagniappe” copy. Signed hardcover editions are also available through partnered indie bookstores across the country, including The Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago. For more information and resources, visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to [email protected].

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White Lines Press Launches “Lagniappe” Copies Pre-order Campaign for Tenured Cynic’s Hopeful Book

Promo video stars author’s niece he didn’t know existed five years ago

Baton Rouge, LA — March 23, 2023 — A Renton, WA, 10-year-old is melting hearts in a video announcing “the lagniappe copies pre-order giveaway for my Weird Uncle Jeremy’s book, The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture.” With an adorable voice and expert delivery, Hadley Hart explains how, “for every twenty signed hardcover pre-orders from White Lines Press, someone from the story will roll a 20-sided die to determine who gets a signed lagniappe copy.”

“Because when you’re done reading,” author Jeremy White says, “you’re going to want to talk to someone about it.” He and his wife, Edie, first learned about their adorable niece five years ago. “Like I tell readers, I never imagined a 5-year-old flat-out stealing my heart, but that’s exactly what Hadley did shortly after first meeting her in 2018.”

A few moments into the video, Hart loudly whispers the correct pronunciation of “lagniappe” (Cajun for “a little something extra”) before explaining how readers can opt to reserve their signed hardcover copies from one of White Lines Press’ growing number of indie bookstore partners, like Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs. Owners John and Michelle Cavalier describe the Kennydale Elementary fourth-grader’s pitch as “hilarious.”

The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery immersively reveals how Edie’s altruistic decision to submit her DNA results in a bombshell, propelling the college sweethearts into this beautifully epic, transformational adventure. Literally overnight, the baby of Edie’s adopted family becomes the eldest sibling in a new, amazing family, fathered by a pacifist cited in two books for challenging David Duke at LSU with a bloody knife. Jeremy and Edie travel on COVID’s eve to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country to meet her far-flung new folks, some of whom see her as a wonderful expansion of their incredibly loving families. Others see her as a bona fide miracle. And at least one person considers Edie the answer to a long-secret prayer that she didn’t expect to receive until the afterlife. With a smattering of bittersweet moments, The Little Girl is heavy on happy reunions, including a mind-blowing, poetic parental reunion of sorts, one involving a Baton Rouge bookstore, no less. Transcending issues of genealogy, The Little Girl appeals to readers seeking empathy in a divided land, and authentic beauty in an increasingly ugly world.

Jeremy White is a tenured cynic who penned this hopeful book. He founded South Louisiana’s premier satirical publication in 2004, eight years before relaunching the award-winning Red Shtick Magazine as its all-digital progeny, The Red Shtick. The passionate Cajun can often be heard on various popular radio shows as either a guest or a guest host. A longtime football official and Mardi Gras krewe captain, Jeremy earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at LSU, where he and Edie met. They’ve been happily married since 1992 and live in Baton Rouge with their cat, Waffles.

Viewers can see Hart’s video at LittleGirlBook.com on the Get Your Copy page. That’s where readers can pre-order from White Lines Press (with a 1 in 20 chance of winning a signed lagniappe copy), or they can reserve their signed hardcover edition from one of several partnered indie bookstores around the country, including The Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago. White Lines Press (an imprint of Red Stick Comedy, LLC) is publishing the 468-page hardcover edition of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1. For more information and resources, please visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to [email protected].

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Hopeful Book by Tenured Cynic Reveals How Adoptee’s DNA Search Solved Chicagoland Ukrainian Family’s 65-year Mystery

Pacifist father cited in two books for challenging David Duke at LSU with bloody knife

Baton Rouge, LA — March 16, 2023 — “John Hart is your father” is seared in Edie White’s brain when AncestryDNA sucker-punches her at work in early 2018. Author Jeremy White’s wife, who was raised by a loving adopted family, had altruistically submitted a sample in hopes of healing an unknown woman’s nearly fifty-year-old wound. The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery immersively reveals how the resulting bombshell propels the college sweethearts into this beautifully epic, transformational adventure that resolves a trio of daunting mysteries, including one plaguing an enthusiastic horde of gangster-adjacent Ukrainian Americans in Northwest Indiana for two-thirds of a century.

“Edie’s selfless agenda is the heart of this powerful story of healing, and sets it apart from other works about similar searches,” Jeremy White notes. “Our reluctant hero successfully dodges all the traps that could have turned this unicorn of a real-life family saga into a darker version of the insane yet heartwarming tale that it is.”

Literally overnight, the baby of Edie’s adopted family becomes the eldest sibling in a new, amazing family, fathered by a pacifist cited in two books for challenging David Duke at LSU with a bloody knife. Jeremy and Edie travel on COVID’s eve to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country to meet her far-flung new folks, some of whom see her as a wonderful expansion of their incredibly loving families. Others see her as a bona fide miracle. And at least one person considers Edie the answer to a long-secret prayer that she didn’t expect to receive until the afterlife. With a smattering of bittersweet moments, The Little Girl is heavy on happy reunions, including a mind-blowing, poetic parental reunion of sorts, one involving a Baton Rouge bookstore, no less. Transcending issues of genealogy, The Little Girl appeals to readers seeking empathy in a divided land, and authentic beauty in an increasingly ugly world.

“The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture is a compelling narrative of family and love,” according to New York Times best-selling author Susan D. Mustafa. “This heartwarming rendering shows that a balance can be achieved between adopted and biological families, and that we truly have enough love within us to embrace the old and the new with equal fervor. Edie’s story is about understanding, forgiveness and compassion, spiced with humor and adventure. A must read for anyone who enjoys a true-to-life love story.”

Jeremy White is a tenured cynic who penned this hopeful book. He founded South Louisiana’s premier satirical publication in 2004, eight years before relaunching the award-winning Red Shtick Magazine as its all-digital progeny, The Red Shtick. The passionate Cajun can often be heard on various popular radio shows as either a guest or a guest host. A longtime football official and Mardi Gras krewe captain, Jeremy earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at LSU, where he met his wife, Edie. They’ve been happily married since 1992 and live in Baton Rouge with their cat, Waffles.

White Lines Press (an imprint of Red Stick Comedy, LLC) is publishing the 468-page hardcover edition of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, but readers can pre-order signed copies at LittleGirlBook.com, where 1 in 20 customers will win a signed “lagniappe” copy. (Lagniappe is Cajun for “a little something extra.”) Signed hardcover editions are also available through partnered indie bookstores, including The Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago. For more information and resources, please visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to [email protected].

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