Popular New Southern Novel, "The Replacement Son," Lands on Amazon.com's Top Five List for "Best Family Saga"

This is the second appearance on an Amazon "Top Five" listing for W. S. Culpepper's debut novel

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Oct 30, 2013, 08:45 ET

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Replacement Son hits home again with Amazon readers and makes another "Top Five" listing, this one for "Best Family Saga" (http://www.amazon.com/lm/R369FZEYJ5ZPVF/ref=cm_lm_pthnk_view?ie=UTF8&lm_bb).

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131030/PH06719-a)

front cover image. (PRNewsFoto/W. S. Culpepper) (PRNewsFoto/W. S. CULPEPPER)

WS Culpepper, author. (PRNewsFoto/W. S. Culpepper) (PRNewsFoto/W. S. CULPEPPER)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131030/PH06719-b)

New Orleans native and author of this hot Southern novel, W.S. Culpepper, happily noted, "Shortly after release this summer, I was overwhelmed by the early support from readers which got us a 'Top Five' listing of 'Best Books for Father's Day' on Amazon.com." (http://www.amazon.com/lm/R2XGFPYNE28LYN/ref=cm_lm_pthnk_view?ie=UTF8&lm_bb=).

"This second listing in only a few months is truly amazing. We've just finished up two exciting days signing books and thanking folks at the 18th Annual Texas Book Festival here in Austin. We met so many fans of historical fiction, epic adventures, and New Orleans writing who told me how much they loved Harry's story."

The Book:

Based on actual events and members of the author's family, The Replacement Son is a tense psychological drama framed within the turbulent recent history of New Orleans. The novel tracks a reluctant hero, Harry McChesney, through Depression-Era New Orleans, WWII, and the devastation following Hurricane Katrina. Harry struggles to define himself, rescue his family from the emotional aftermath of his brother's death, and undertake a lifetime of labors as the next head of the McChesney clan.

Harry McChesney is seven when he first learns of Buddy, his only brother who'd died young and left his family in misery. Harry soon learns that becoming The Replacement Son is no simple chore. Plagued by disappointments growing up, Harry is finally taken in hand by an uncle, the stern patriarch of the clan, who also ups the stakes for his future success. As the only surviving heir, Harry must heal the wounds and earn the right to lead his proud, stricken family.

Along his journey, Harry gets help from a trusted family servant, a Vodou talisman, and a bizarre set of twins. Throughout, Buddy's dark spirit lurks in the shadows. The brothers' shared legacy seems only threatening and harmful. In the chaos of war Harry discovers a shocking secret that might offer resolution and release for both brothers. But their conflict doesn't end there, and Harry faces failure and defeat much later in life—trapped in the floods of Hurricane Katrina—when time is running out on everything. A desperate young woman seeking shelter and food seems eerily to resemble someone from Harry's distant past. There is unfinished business that she and Harry must tackle together.

The Replacement Son brings a charming but most unlikely hero and an exotic range of supporting characters to life in a compelling, uniquely New Orleans story of sacrifice and discovery.

"An epic adventure story . . . this novel has the feel of a classic!" ----Alan Caruba, Bookviews: June 2013

The Author:

W. S. Culpepper currently resides in Austin, TX. He was raised in New Orleans, where he lived prior to Hurricane Katrina. His English haiku has appeared in the Tokyo Edition of the Mainichi Daily News, the International Newspaper of Japan, since 2001. He has produced a collection of less traditional Zen verse, Haiku Lite: Poems for the New Millennium. His prose works include a travel memoir, France 2007: A Journal, and a collection of essays on growing up in post-WWII New Orleans, Tales of Yute. The Replacement Son is his first novel (http://www.TheReplacementSon.com).