Author of 15 novels says 'stories never stopped'

By VANA PLAISANCE
Special to the Review
The creative challenge of crafting a large novel is embraced often by Dr. Christopher J. Fontenot. This prolific Louisiana writer can complete the first draft of a novel, 400-500 pages, in a few weeks.
He serves as vice president of the Writers Guild of Acadiana that meets monthly at South Regional Library in Lafayette. The accomplished author creates historical fiction and science fiction.
Although Fontenot has written 15 novels, he has not yet exhausted his ideas for creating more books and trying other genres.
Fontenot holds a Bachelor of Science degree, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Education, a Master’s in Education, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership. He has taught students at the university level, high school and junior high school.
His own love for creative writing and a keen sense of observation began as a child.
“After I retired,” Fontenot said, “I found that the stories never stopped piling up in my head. And the stories continue to come.”
Acadian Prairie Series
The Acadian Prairie Series has five installments: "Theodule," "Maius," "Amelie," "Octave” and "Joel."
"'Theodule' covers the tumultuous period of the Vigilante and Anti-Vigilante war and the Civil War in the Acadian Prairie (1835-1867)," Fontenot explained. “The second novel, ‘Maius’, takes the story to the next generation and covers the time between 1877, the end of Reconstruction, and the Gilded Age in 1894."
The third installment, "Amelie," explores conflict raging between families on the prairie. In the fourth novel, “Octave,” Amelie’s brother struggles against the same rivals seeking revenge, after they return from prison.
"The story concludes with the aftermath of the actual disaster that struck Ville Platte in 1919 when a dance hall burned, killing 28 people," Fontenot said. "This event garnered national attention and spurred the development of a local fire department and led to many national laws to help prevent a similar disaster."
Pointe aux Pain Series
The Pointe aux Pain Series has three books: "The Class of ’69," "Life Lessons" and "Past Imperfect."
"This series follows many of the same families from The Acadian Prairie Series," Fontenot said. "Four close friends grow up attending a parochial school through the watershed years of the late 1960s and into the 1970s. Subsequent stories will follow the same characters through their years in university and their marriages."
Haven Series
The Haven Series has seven novels: "The Purpose," "Planning Heaven," "Building Heaven," "Heaven’s Children," "Saving Paradise," "Haven Unleashed" and "Haven Unleashed, Part II." This series describes life in a dystopian future.
"Radical extremist religious groups all but destroy civilization in their drive to convert everyone on the plant," Fontenot explained. "This series follows the desperate efforts to save civilization from that extremist religion before it plunges the world into a new Dark Age."
Giving life to a story and bringing a published novel into the world for a reading audience can be an arduous undertaking, even for an experienced author.
"Like starting a child, the spark of an idea many take very little time," Fontenot said. "Getting a book to print is more like the nine-month ordeal of a pregnancy through the heat of a Louisiana summer!"
Fontenot is scheduled to be among 22 authors featured at an Author Signing Event at Vermilion Parish Library, in Abbeville, on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. The public is encouraged to attend, to meet the authors, to browse through their books, to purchase a copy (or more), and to invite the author to sign it.
The Writers Guild of Acadiana meets on the last Tuesday of each month, except in December, 6-7:30 p.m., at the South Regional Library, 6101 Johnston St., Lafayette. The public is invited to attend the meetings for free.
The WGA hosts guest speakers and free workshops on self-publishing and marketing. In addition, every other month, the WGA has a writing prompt competition, open to its members.
Each winner receives a $10 gift card. The WGA annual membership fee is $25. For more information, refer to the WGA website at writersguildacadiana.org.
Ed Gauthier initiated a free writing critique group that meets online through Google Groups and Google Meet on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. Participants are not required to be WGA members.
For more information, contact Gauthier at eggchess@gmail.com.
The guild's Writer's Day will be 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Main Branch of Lafayette Public Library, 301 W. Congress St., on the second floor. The public is invited.