Kristin Fouquet is a photographer and writer from lovely New Orleans. Her photography appears in online journals and magazines, on chapbook and book covers, album artwork, and occasionally in galleries. She enjoys the spontaneity of street photography and street portraits as well as the planning of conceptual photography.
My Year of Caturdays features fifty-two beautiful black-and-white photographs of cats in a hardbound book.
Above Ground is an online photo essay which delves into the unique burial customs and cemeteries of New Orleans.
Transitory Treasure is an online photo essay which explores the fascinating phenomenon of Mardi Gras throws and other customs of Carnival in New Orleans.
When not behind the camera, Kristin Fouquet writes short literary fiction. She is the author of Twenty Stories (Rank Stranger Press, 2009), a collection of flash fiction and longer short stories, Rampart & Toulouse (Rank Stranger Press, 2011), a novella and short stories, The Olive Stain (Le Salon Press, 2013), a chapbook of flash fiction, short stories, a novelette, and Parisian Graveyard Postcards, Surreptitiously Yours (Le Salon Press, 2016), a novella, and Surrendered Stories, a collection of four short stories with twenty-four companion photographs (Le Salon Press, 2019).
A piece of writing is never finished. You just surrender. -Carter Monroe
These four surrendered stories are accompanied by twenty-four b&w photographs. In "Cocteau’s Ransom," two dognappers believe they’ve found the solution to their financial troubles until unexpected complications arise. A lonely young woman with employment issues finds her escapism in vintage films at "The Vestige." When the Roussels "Return to Camp Bon Temps," their annual summer fishing camp, it’s not all good times as their daughter cannot forget the previous summer. In "Margaux’s Understudy," an inexperienced home healthcare worker uses the past in creative ways to engage her wards.
Click on the cover for more information.
Twenty Stories is a collection of literary short stories and flash fiction, many set in New Orleans, with four previously unpublished stories, including "The Depreciation of The Darbonnes." This is Kristin Fouquet's first collection.
Click on the cover for more information.
Rampart & Toulouse consists of three short stories and a novella. "Becoming Obsolete" is a story of a young apprentice who signs on with Lucky's Refrigeration Repair, a move which has him pondering the past and future of his chosen profession. A lonely single mother with a full wine cellar must make a decision when a stranger appears at her courtyard gate in the story "Varietals." The relationship between sisters can be intimate as well as rivalrous. In "Paris is the Pretty One," one sister takes a trip to Paris while the other stays behind, an event which rapidly changes perspectives in this psychological drama. When a young artist rents a studio apartment in an ancient building, she hopes for a fresh start. A formidable event causes a major unwanted shift in lifestyle, but with some unexpected rewards in the novella "Rampart & Toulouse."
Click on the cover for more information.
The Olive Stain and other stories, initially published as an e-chapbook by Hammer & Anvil Books, is now available in print by Le Salon Press. This literary fiction chapbook is comprised of short stories and companion photographs with the addition of a lagniappe photo series, Parisian Graveyard Postcards.
Click on the cover for more information.
In the novella Surreptitiously Yours, Claudette Laurence, a student of documentary film, believes surreptitious recordings are the only way to capture the truth. When she realizes she is being filmed without consent, her theory becomes obscured. As the concepts of privacy and ethics torment her, Claudette can only find the truth by confronting her fears.
Click on the cover for more information.
The Painters
from Twenty Stories
Crimson blended with yellow produces a brilliant orange. Michel added a small amount of white to soften the hue to a pale peach. With this, he finished her kimono and his mural was realized.
Stepping back, he lit an unfiltered cigarette. The long wall of his one room apartment drew him into a lush Japanese garden. He was pleased.
*
“What is that?” Joyce screeched.
Michel leaned in the doorway. Waving a hand to the wall, he said, “It’s a mural, of course.”
“Oh, my Gawd. That doesn’t come off?” She threw her
arms up. “Why’d you do this to my property?”
He ran a hand through his chin length gray hair. He shrugged unapologetically. “It is art.”
“Art? You’re lucky I don’t evict you.” She scoffed. “I gotta go call the painter.”
*
He heard the painter’s steps before the rapping on the shutters. He opened the pair of French doors then extended his hand. “I am Michel Laurent.”
The man dressed in a white jumpsuit and canvas slip-on sneakers put down a five gallon bucket of gray paint and shook the hand before him. “Frank Babineaux.”
“Nice to meet you. Would you like a cup of espresso?
"Sure."
As Michel poured two demitasse cups from the nickel plated maker, Frank took in the mural. Motioning to a wooden straight back chair, he said, "Please sit down, Frank."
"Thanks." He sipped the black brew as he stared at the scene. "This is really some work of art."
Michel sat on the other chair. He offered Frank a cigarette. They drank and smoked in silence as they soaked in the landscape.
"It's really great." Frank pointed to a portion of the wall. "That little pagoda over there keeps catching my eye."
"Yes." Michel smiled proudly.
"Those little birds are fantastic, but the woman is amazing. The way she looks like she is seeing it all for the first time."
"She is. The gardeners have just finished it exactly to her husband's specifications. She is overwhelmed that it is as she has always dreamed."
"Yeah, I can see that now. She's touched. It's like she knows she's loved."
Michel exhaled. "Yes. She knows it was a labor of love."
"I've never seen anything like it." Frank shook his head before finishing the cup in one gulp. "How long did it take you?"
"Five weeks." Michel stubbed out his cigarette. "Are you a good painter?"
"The best in the Quarter. Hell, probably the best in New Orleans."
"Good. How many coats will you need to cover it?"
"Probably four or five." Frank glanced at the five gallon bucket.
"Okay. I'm going out for a long walk."
He nodded. "You're a hell of a painter."
"Thank you. I'm sure I'll appreciate your work when I return." Michel pulled a cigarette from the pack and put it on the table. He left the apartment without looking back.
***
"The Night Gardener"
from The Olive Stain and other stories
"Baptism"
from Twenty Stories
Kristin Fouquet enjoys creating photo essays, music videos, short documentaries, literary readings, and other entertaining projects. She has collaborated with photographers, musicians, and poets.
P.O. Box 750369
New Orleans, LA
U.S.A. 70175-0369
