Hidden In France

One giveaway ends and another one begins

Chez Loulou announced the winners of the Hidden in Paris giveaways on her blog. Congratulations to Ashley of Summer in the Garden, Guilia of Bricolage and Aiden of Conjugating Irregular Verbs.  

I think it's kinda surreal that the winners of my novel could all be a characters in the novel: Like my main character, Ashley is devoted to food and gardening , like my main character, Aiden is an American mom bravely making a life in France, and like my main character, Giulia is a passionate, smart woman with a wry sense of humor. 

Okay, so they won and others didn't but no matter because another giveaway has just started this morning (I was waiting for the polls to close over at Chez Loulou to announce it)

The giveaway is taking place at My Love Affair with Books. and is going on until June 17th.  But you have to be in the U.S. or Canada.  Just leave your email address.  You don't have to be a member. Okay, go win this!  

The prettiest necklace is MINE!

There is something about Vermont I think.  It's a State that seems to attract talented women.  Tamar of Nest Decorating is one of them.  I'm crazy about her style, her blog and all the pretties she creates. To refresh your memory this is the lady who does this: 

and this: 

 

Ot this:

 

And yesterday I became the owner of this: !!!!

I love this necklace so much!  It turns out to be very comfortable to wear, light as air and smooth (I can't stand scratchy things around my neck.  I had figured that if it wasn't comfortable that would be okay as long as I could look at it day and night, it would be enough) I bought it on Etsy  (where else?) A small indulgence, after all I did publish A BOOK! (Feeling proud of my bravery rather than scared today.)

You can visit Tamar and Nest Decorating on Flickr, Etsy and on her blog.

Quick reminder:  You can still put your name down on the blog Chez Loulou for a chance to win a free copy of Hidden in Paris. Only 70 entries so far, so the odds are much better than entering to win on goodreads which has 700 requests and is going on until June 6.

Talking of romance outside Valentines Day

It doesn't matter if you're 7 or 77, it doesn't matter if you're in love or not, in a relationship or not, you root for romance, don't you? And it doesn't even matter if it is your own love story.

I'm curious to know if this happens to any of you, but to read about romance, listen to love songs, watch movies about love actually does something to my physical heart. I can personally feel a flutter in my chest.  I think it releases some kind of good-feeling hormone (note the highly scientific explanation.)  

It was when I was writing Hidden in Paris that I began to pay attention to this physical phenomenon.  I cried when I wrote something sad, and laughed when( I thought) it was funny (seriously you'd be glad not to be in that room as I type, I'm a one woman show, I even talk to myself and call myself names) and when love came on, there it was, that tightening of the chest. Is it weird?  Is it unique of me?

It's interesting how the puzzle of life is constructed and how wonderful it is when two pieces of that puzzle land in your hand and you're able to recognize that they belong together.  Which is exactly what happened when I played matchmaker between a friend of my husband and Katy Allgeyer, who was a friend of a friend at time.  I'm proud to say I saw love there before either of them even knew the other one existed.  Love in fiction is good but love in real life is even better.

Katy has a really fun interview (--of me AGAIN?! :(( --No, but really read it it's great...) posted on her blog today, and some links to her 'matchmade' love story. Check it out. In the next few days I will write a new post about that Kathy does in life, which is very inspiring, you'll see.

Quick, quick, a giveaway.

You can run over to Angie Muresan's wonderful, thoughtful blog for another chance to win a copy of Hidden in Paris.  Going on today until midnight only!

What I've been missing

Here is what I've been missing for the last twenty days as I sat at my desk trying to spread the word about my book: Lo and behold, I practically missed the month of May!  

Today I emerged, puffy-eyed, groggy, and my rear-end molded to an unappealing desk chair-like shape, to see this:

The flowers in front are "Echium fastuosum" or Pride of Madeira, but I call them Proud of my Derièra. (a private joke between me and myself, you really don't have to laugh.)

Once you have lived in an area where Bougainvillea grows like weed it's hard to turn back.

3 waterlilies blooming at once is my record.

My idea in Provence since I can't have the real thing.

Oh, and if you've read this far then you might still have the patience to read some really great reviews for Hidden in Paris.

 

 

Another giveaway for Hidden in Paris

It's a bit of a whirlwind around here as i'm only one girl, two hands and ten fingers (or more like 8 fingers in my case because my pinkies and ring fingers are typing impaired somehow, and basically useless to my writing carreer) to respond to all my emails, write interviews and articles, mail books, and keep up with all the amazing, generous, overwhelming love I'm getting around the blogosphere for my novel.  

To think that Hidden in Paris came out less than two weeks ago!  It seems like a lifetime ago, really. I remember the old days (two weeks ago) when I was terrified that people might actually read my book. What if they didn't like it?  What if I sucked?  What if I was the worst author in the universe? (oh great, this is going to look very good on google searches.)  

Now my self esteem has reached unprecedented heights and I think I only suck a little, and that I was mostly the most insecure writer in the Universe. Although I hear i'm in good company.  

The reviews have been wonderful and people are buying my book.  No, really.  They are spending money.  Actual, hard-earned moulah to buy my book.  I still cannot believe it. 

Right now I want to take a break and be thankful and bellow my undying appreciation to the following bloggers:

Robin Pickens my book designer extraordinaire.

Colorful Senses, where you can discover how to crochet a chair among other rare feats.

The Displaced Nation, who help people become whole wide world citizens.

Happy Simple who helps people heal and do Amazing Things.

Passages Paradis, who loves France, L.A., travel and food so much she might as well be my twin.

Designers Block, for wildly creative  and stylish ways to rethink furniture.

LoveDreamLive for a sustainable way to imagine life.

Chick Lit Club, where chick lit lovers Unite.

Une Petite Folie for lovers of miniature houses and real size travel.

And today, Chez Loulou France, where there a giveaway of Hidden in Paris going on as we speak.

Thank you all!.  I'm really happy right now!!!!

(this too shall pass...)  do you have any idea how long it took to color that thingy above.  Never doing that again.

 

 

I'm in Paradis!

Because of an  interview on Passage Paradis  where I get to talk about myself a lot. I also talk about a hypothetical unlimited decorating budget, and what I'd do with it.  Fun, fun , fun!

If you're not familiar with Passage Paradis you might want to read this post.  It's the website of a woman I'm secretely jealous of (okay, now it's out) because she travels everywhere in the world.  And she comes back with the most jaw dropping images. Soon she will sell her original prints in a shop and lately she has been doing gorgeous print giveaways such as this one:

I want this print.  And I want it BAD.

Hidden in Paris is a a novel set in Paris but filled with American characters. I'm often asked why I write in English instead of French, and if living in the U.S. made a difference in my choices.  Here is a bit of our discussion:

 

Do you think you would have been a writer if you'd stayed in France?

Okay, I think I will have to be harsh on my compatriots here. The answer is "No Way Jose", and for several reasons:

One - I would have felt societal pressure to have a career and would not have taken the time to stay at home to raise my kids. French women do not feel complete if they stay at home, as if this would prove that society can go on without them, or that they are not worthwhile women. Being French I struggled to put my career in Advertising and Marketing on hold to raise my kids. But something great came out of it: It turns out motherhood is as lovely as it can be thankless. I started writing fiction out of absolute housewife boredom. I’m almost not kidding. My second son took 2-hour naps during which I felt trapped and house bound, so I wrote during his naps. One nap at a time and in ten months I had a first draft.

Two - The French language is intimidating and extremely complex. I found freedom in writing in a language that wasn’t mine and through the use of which there was no pretending to be literary, I just told stories in simple ways and focused on the characters. Had I tried to write in French I would have censored myself every step of the way and compared myself to Proust and Flaubert. Writing in English is a challenge in the sense that I can’t trust it to be 100 % grammatically correct (I aim for 92%.)

Three - Americans definitely have a ‘you can do anything you set your mind to’ mindset whereas I find the French much more circumspect. I’m convinced I would have been surrounded with people ready to knock some sense into me, remind me of the realities of a writer’s life and given me a 1000 reasons why I should not even try to write.

Please click here to read the whole interview.

 

And the giveaway winners are...

I hope you were not holding your breath.  I totally forgot about this -- ahem.  Is this an 'acte manqué' or what?  

I asked my 12 year old (as he was running to play his new L.A. Noire video game and had not a minute to spare) to give me 3 numbers from 1 to 48 (that's all the requests I received.) and here are the winners of the Hidden in Paris giveaway:

Shannon!!!! (not a blogger)

Lynne!!!!

Linda!!!!

Congratulations girlfriends!  I'm sending the book over as soon as I get your addresses.

Something tells me Hidden in Paris is a great novel to curl-up with.

 

sexy rooms

Often after visiting decor8 I wonder why I blog at all.  Everything that I find beautiful and irresistible in decor and design is already there.  Here is an example:

My neurons go 'smack, crackle and pop' when I see this room.

ahhhh....

Ohhh...

This is what I love about those spaces: the imperfections, the mismatching, the noble surfaces and the eclectic and colorful objects.  I'm trying to track down where the photos are from.  Maybe I could move there?  Apparently it was found on this website in Swedish I'm unable to navigate, via this other site. 

You can do this!

I'm starting to like this thing of talking about myself! Tomorrow I will be speaking about Hidden in Paris 'live' on Displaced Nation, a website that focuses on issues of expatriates in a global world.  

But today, please hop on over to  Happy Simple for an interview about my novel and the writing process. Barb is passionate about solutions to braving fears.  She's also a Reiki practicionner with a long history of helping people heal.  In the interview I speak about not paying attention to roadblocks as you go on your creative journey.  Everything will conspire to make you stop and doubt yourself. Barb and I try hard not to pay attention.  And by the way, I am a huge believer in those written reminders not to get discouraged. You need a lot of those to balance out the negativity and self negativity of every day life, and here is a fabulous one you can post near your creative space, working space or on your refrigerator door. You can get it here.

The interview is here

High on Paris

I am spinning and loving it. Of course I do not mean spinning on those torture devices called stationary bikes.  In fact the only exercise I'm getting lately is to my fingers as I type and to my jaw as I munch on snacks. I mean my mind is spinning, I'm fully engaged intellectually and emotionally promoting my novel Hidden in Paris (in case you were hiding under a rock, on planet Mars.) I've received tons of emails and comments of encouragement, and I'm starting to get reviews and they are all GOOD! (thank you mom). Many bloggers have accepted to trade advertisement buttons with me, which is also GOOD and you'll start seeing them in the margin.  

I was particularly touched by a certain blogger, who who went out of her way for me, so let me tell you what she does.  The blog is called Une Petite Folie and the author of the blog, Linda Carswell lives in Tasmania but travels A LOT and I'm astounded at the beauty of her photography. But forget telling you. Let me show you.

There other thing that she is passionate about are miniatures, so if you're into the mini lifestyle you really should bookmark her site because it's shock full of the most delicate miniature house she is creating, as well as  mini rooms, mini furnitures, mini objects and even mini food.

On an embarrassing note:  The first edition of the novel has typos in it.  I knew it but I did not know where to find them.  Now I do... ahem.  Sorry guys, I'm fixing this.  If you get a copy of Hidden in Paris riddled with as many as twenty typos you can feel special because you know you are in possession of a first edition, (in case i become famous or something--doubtful, but hey, looking for a silver lining to this.) I know some will crucify me for this but what can they do to my sense of shame that I haven't done to myself already :(

Happy Mother's Day

Is it happy mother's day for the duck or the cat I' m not sure.

How to what? How to crochet a... chair?

You know me by now.  You know that for me to post the following images have nothing to do with the fact that Ljiljana of Colorful Senses promoted my new novel Hidden in Paris on her blog. (note the repeating of the title just in case the googlebots are watching) No, it has everything to do with this CHAIR.  When I saw it I just about fell off mine. When others would have simply used paint, Ljiljana (how to pronounce please?) crochet every inch of her chair.

Her crochet pillows and other goodies are available on Big Cartel, and if the day is grey where you live just hop on over to her Flikr and of course on her blog where you can hear all about this amazing crochet chair.

Hidden in Paris, the novel!

All right girlfriends, this is IT!  The moment you have (not) been waiting for and where this blog turns to shameless self promotion... but it's just that... my novel Hidden in Paris is OUT!!!!!!!  

Notice:  the novel is Hidden in Paris. the blog is Hidden in France.  Yeah I know. I only mean to confuse everyone.

Hidden in Paris is a really fun read where three American women running away from their lives move in together in the hope of starting over in a beautiful house in the heart of Paris.

Of course their pasts and old selves aren’t so easy to overlook, and all three are so different that life together, even in Paris, ends up presenting many unforeseen challenges.  French men not being the least of them.

Hidden in Paris is a contemporary women’s novel with drama, laughter, strolls through Paris, French food, romance and, you now me I could not help it, a house in shamble to decorate :)

The book is already on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and CreateSpace and as an ebook for the kindle, the nook and ibook. I have to rub my eyes every time I see this:

YeeeeHahhh!  Doesn' it look scrumptuous? The book cover was designed by good friend Robin Pickens

THE GIVEAWAY!

If you send an email or leave a comment below you can win one of three authographed Hidden in Paris paperbacks. I will draw the name next week.

There is also a book giveway going on until May 5th on Goodreads

I wish I could offer each and one of you a copy because I sure could use your support, and I especially could use your reviews on Amazon (the book has no review yet) if this novel will stand a chance to ever be read by anyone. So what I’m doing is a promotion on the kindle for $2.99, and although the paperback is $13.99 If you email me I will give you a discount code for $5 off.

In the next few days I will tell you all about Hidden in Paris, how it came about, how it is getting published, my fears, my hopes, and how you blogettes had a whole lot to do with it.

If you are interested in trading advertising buttons, in creating a free book giveaway on your blog, interviews, Q&As or anything your readers might like I'm totally up for it. I need to promote this baby with no budget. If you have any ideas about this please email me.

Oh, and i even have an author's website now, where you can find among other things a first chapter to read and a not so flattering picture of meself. 

I hope this wasn't too much self promotion not because ha-hem... it is only the beginning of it, what other choice do i have.  Oh, and don't forget to comment or email to win a free book and/or to enter the Goodreads giveway here.