couillon KOO-YOn] origin: Cajun-French, from Old French couillon noun: a person who lacks sense or judgment, a fool adjective: crazy, funny, moronic, simple-minded, silly note: can be used as a term of ribald affection or as an invective, as an insult Janice is a naive, sheltered 30-something from one of New Orleans' old money families. Her mother wants her to marry within her station, but Janice is obsessed with Brad, a young player well below Janice and her mother's social status. When Janice makes a voodoo doll, Brad becomes the obsessed, and Janice has to grow up fast. She learns that wishes should be well thought out and that dolls ain't for play. "They sneak glances at me, a local, as they pass. I smile and wave, just a lift of my hand to acknowledge them, and then close my eyes again. If they only knew how the dead can linger, long after their bodies have decomposed. But they'd only pass it off as another New Orleans masquerade, one that only adds to their fascination with the place. Despite their macabre imaginations, they don't believe the things they say, all those things about magic and fantomes. But I do. I know he lingers. I've heard his voice, soft as a lover's whisper. So I visit as often as possible, to keep him company. It's only right. " A women's literary fiction novella, Couillon advises the reader to watch what you wish for because the scariest monsters in this world are always human."