Baton Rouge native’s novel has ties to Simmesport

Rick Bahlinger, a Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate, has released his first novel, Mother Nature Hates To Lose, a fictional disaster story that draws on real locations in south Louisiana — including several references to Simmesport in Avoyelles Parish.

Bahlinger, who earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Louisiana State University in 1975, now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His novel was published in July 2025.

The story centers on a manmade disaster that begins at the Old River Control Structure (ORCS) in the Mississippi River basin in neighboring Concordia Parish. In the novel, drug cartels and corrupt politicians conspire to create a catastrophic event that devastates much of south Louisiana and ultimately impacts the entire country and the world.

“I grew up in Louisiana and have conducted a great deal of research on this subject,” Bahlinger said. “My engineering education and experience help in understanding and describing technical aspects of the story.”

Bahlinger said the idea for the book developed over many years. About 50 years ago, his father-in-law, who worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, took him and his wife to visit the Old River Control Structure.

That visit sparked a lifelong interest in the area, and he has spent decades researching the region, its infrastructure and the potential consequences if the structure were to fail.

The novel’s main characters include Beau Bonnet, chief engineer at the Old River Control Structure; his wife, Rachelle Bonnet, a Louisiana state senator; and Rene “Buster” Champagne, Beau’s best friend since high school, who is now a DEA agent.

While the story is fiction, Bahlinger said it is based on extensive research, including information from his father-in-law, professional studies, and his own knowledge of south Louisiana, where he grew up fishing near Krotz Springs and visiting many of the area’s towns.

“The more I researched, the more I realized just how big this disaster could be, not just environmentally, but economically, and, most importantly, enormously destructive to real people,” Bahlinger said.

The chapters are short, making it an easy read, and the story also provides an inside look at a potential danger not just to Louisiana, but to the entire country and the world.

Bahlinger said the book highlights how vulnerable the region’s massive petroleum infrastructure can be and explores how natural and manmade forces can combine with harmful intent.

Mother Nature Hates To Lose is available on Amazon.com and other book retailers.