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Full text reviews of Rose Anne St. Romain's book are available below:
 Kirkus Reviews
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Rose Anne St. Romain
Author of Moon's Cloud Blanket
 An author and award-winning storyteller since 1982, Rose Anne St. Romain radiates the gusto of her Louisiana French culture and the grace of the Old South. Now a regular feature on Jimmy Buffett's Internet radio station, Rose Anne grew up steeped in family tales of rural life and strife, Cajun stories and jokes, and lots of singing, poetry and books.
A "master storyteller," according to Kirkus Reviews, Rose Anne recently won a Louisiana Pioneer Storytelling Award for 20 years of performing with her characteristic gusto and grace. Her elegant style of playfulness won a Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award for her audio CD collection of stories, Once Upon a Shoe.
Rose Anne's first book, Moon's Cloud Blanket, is a Louisiana Native American tale and was recently published by Pelican Publishing Company. Rose Anne studied theater in undergraduate school and was introduced to the art of the spoken word while earning her Masters degree in Oral Interpretation and Creative Drama.
"I was intrigued by the way storytelling blends conversation and drama into a powerful art form," Rose Anne says. "Since I'd grown in a highly talkative family of ten people and had always been drawn to the performing arts, for me storytelling was bridge between the two."
After earning a second Masters degree in Library and Information Science, Rose Anne often told stories while working as a public children's librarian.
Rose Anne lives in Mansura, Louisiana, her little hometown, "population 2000, with cows," she adds.
Why did you want to be a storyteller?
I have always been interested in performing arts, when I was little I put on plays with my siblings and the neighborhood kids. I wanted to be an actress but that really wasn't possible coming from a little town. I went to college to study creative dramatics, but they weren't offering that course of study at the time. They did offer storytelling an as alternate. I liked it more than theatre because you get to be yourself talking to people plus you get to dramatize all of the characters as well. It's really a unique performance art form because you are yourself and the characters.
What was your favorite play to perform when you were little?
The Wizard of Oz. I had to play the witch because I was the only one who could ride my big brother's bike. I also got to play the director in addition to my role as witch. Each week during the summer we would put on the play in a different family's backyard.
How did you come to write the story of Moon's Cloud Blanket?
MCB is a story I had been telling for about twelve years when I had been invited to send a manuscript for a book. I was on the board for the Louisiana Center for the Book, as was the owner of Pelican Publishing. Each member of the Board went around and explained how they support reading in their everyday lives. My answer was "I give 225 storytelling performances a year for 50,000 people." The owner of Pelican asked if I had a manuscript, of course the manuscript I had at the time was in my head, not on paper.
I also reach people through Jimmy Buffet's internet radio program (www.margaritavile.com) , The Stories We Could Tell.
How did you get involved with that?
1998 turned out to be a turning point year for me, that was the year I was asked to submit a manuscript for MCB and that year I had also performed at New Orleans Heritage Jazz Fest. Jimmy was having a hot dog with his son while they watched me perform. He asked me to tour with him telling stories before concerts. Then he started his radio station and asked me to perform there as well as at his Margaritaville Café in Orlando. The results of all the changes were not seen immediately, things happened very slowly for me prior to that year, I had to be very very patient and just persevere, gently, kind of like gardening.
Why did you want to tell the story of MCB?
I come from a very small town, population 2000 with cows. It's very rural, consisting of woods and a wildlife management area. Our family had a camp out in those woods, my brothers and sisters and I would roam free in those woods. We grew up surrounded by Spanish Moss, we would pretend it was hair or use it as a soft place to lay. Our dad would take us for rides in his Jeep to collect the moss to use on duck blinds. I found the legend of MCB in a book called the Folktales of Louisiana, I was captivated by the imagery of the story because it came from the place I grew up. I loved the role of nature in the story, even as nature threatened to take the Indian Woman's life, it still gave back to her. My ancestors grew up living in the balance of nature and I grew up hearing stories about the balance of nature. I like how folktales explain how things come to be, it's a demonstration of the relationship people have with nature. It was basically expected of me to tell a story representing my Louisiana background and culture, not that of a Native American. That is considered bad form in the storytelling world, telling stories that aren't part of your own particular culture. That's why I had Houma Choctaw, my Native American friend, verify the story for cultural accuracy.
When I first started telling the story in 1989 it was as boring as could be. I couldn't figure out why. The story always had two forces opposing each other, but I wasn't amplifying the images of nature's character. So I sat out in the next thunderstorm that came through so I could absorb the sounds, feel, and look of the storm so I could better tell my readers and listeners how the woman felt. That helped me to improve the storytelling.
How did you end up with an MLS?
The smartest thing I ever did was get my MLS. Storytelling gave me my first job in a public library where I did storytime, which planted the seeds for a love of the library environment. Then I went back to school to get my PhD in oral interpretation. Then I realized that after working on my PhD for 3 years, the result would be teaching college. I was okay with that, but not as much as I liked the idea of being a public children's librarian. I continue to do storytelling for special events because when I perform I feel that I am part of something timeless, the art of the story. Being able to work in a library and still be able to perform is more than I could have even imagined. It's so affirming because for the longest time I felt that I was standing on the mountain shouting in the dark.
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