Raised in South Louisiana, DeLaune Michel has turned her professional focus from the stage to the pages of her critically-acclaimed novels. With her poetic prose and gift for storytelling, Michel’s latest work, The Safety of Secrets, provides an evocatively nostalgic look at the Deep South, insights into the bonds of friendship and the costs of keeping and revealing secrets. The novel, set in Lake Charles, Louisiana, follows two girls who are the products of abusive and neglectful mothers. Their friendship is strengthened by their troubles at home, leading to a sister-like relationship. The book is simultaneously poignant and humorous, exploring what happens when your most treasured friendship suddenly seems broken beyond repair.

As Michel herself puts it, “There is such stark and deep knowledge of one another in an ages old friendship that I wanted to explore how secrets can be used as a mask to hide behind and protect ourselves, or to be the person that we think our best friend needs, or even to try not to be that person anymore, especially when we still are.”