Local James Madison University professor, artist and author Judith Townsend Rocchiccioli has released her first novel, Chaos at Crescent Medical Center, a medical thriller.
The novel is set in post Katrina New Orleans where Dr. Rocchiccioli lived and taught for a number of years. An author of many medical documents, clinical and administrative articles as well as a leadership textbook, Chaos is her first work of fiction. Dr. Rocchiccioli is a native Virginian and holds graduate and doctoral degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Virginia.
She has been a practicing clinical nurse for over 25 years.
Synopsis:
“It’s Mardi Gras season in post-Katrina New Orleans. With only one week until the big day, thousands of tourists have flocked to the city, paralyzing traffic and jamming the French Quarter with drunken crowds and garbage. City officials are hoping for record crowds and revenues to generate the biggest boost to the Crescent City since the “big storm”.
Alexander Lee Destephano, legal counsel for Crescent City Medical Center, a prestigious, world-class hospital, is excitedly anticipating her third Mardi Gras Season and most of all, her date with dashing art historian Mitch Landry. The couple has tickets to the Endymion Extravaganza, the biggest Mardi Gras Ball in New Orleans at the Super Dome on Saturday evening. After many months, life is finally good again and Alex is determined to experience and appreciate everything it has to offer. She can hardly wait until Saturday evening.But, things change.
Alex is stat-paged to the Medical Center at 6:00 am on Monday morning only to learn from her boss, Don Montgomery and her former husband, Dr. Robert Bonnet that Grace Raccine, a cancer patient at CCMC and the first lady of Louisiana has been found unconscious in her room covered with blood with no apparent injury. To compound matters, patients are leaving CCMC against medical advice and staff are refusing to work creating crisis and chaos in the Obamacare hospital environment. By the end of the day, the night with Mitch at the Endymion Ball is the last things on Alex’s mind!”
Availability: The novel is available from Amazon.com, via the author’s website at www.judithrocchiccioli.com and the Gallery Shop at the Smith Center in Downtown Staunton.
What: Local author Judith Rocchiccioli will be signing her newly released novel Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center. Sponsored by the Gallery Shop at the Smith Center.
When: Saturday, March 23, 1-3p.m.
Where: Smith Center History Gallery, (R.R. Smith Center for History and Art) 20 S. New St., Downtown Staunton, across from the Visitor’s Center.
Fee: Free to the public
For more information: Contact Rachel Salatin, manager of the Gallery Shop at the Smith Center, at [email protected] or 540-886-8755.
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