RAY MOUTON
Born Francis Ray Mouton Jr. on April 1, 1947, Mouton is descended from French Acadian exiles expelled by the British from Acadie in the province now known as Novia Scotia in the 1700’s in what is known historically as Le Grand Dérangement. His ancestor, Jean Mouton, founded the original village that would later be named Lafayette in Attakapas Indian Territory in 1821.
After attending Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette for twelve years where Mouton was the quarterback for an undefeated football team ranked number one in the state, he enrolled in the local university now known as The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and in his sophomore year eloped to Matamoros, Mexico and married his first wife, Janis. His law school studies at Louisiana State University were interrupted by service in the United States Army in Frankfurt, Germany from 1969 – 1971.
Settling in Lafayette after graduation from Louisiana State University Law School, Mouton practiced law from 1973 -1988, being involved is some controversial, high profile cases. He and Janis had three children – Todd, Chad, and Jeanne’. After his first marriage ended and he left his law practice, he began to devote all of his time to writing, living in the French Quarter of New Orleans for ten years before marrying Melony Barrios. Today, Melony and Ray have a home in Europe and divide their time between Europe, Mexico and Louisiana.
Mouton’s first published work, PAMPLONA, Running the Bulls, Bars and Barrios in Fiesta De San Fermin was released by Quinn Publishing in 2002. The book was praised by three Pulitzer Prize winners and proclaimed as the definitive work on the subject by every authority in the field.
The author spent twelve years writing In God’s House while also working on three New Orleans crime novels, a Louisiana love story, a collection of short stories and other writing projects.