Dreaming of France -- Paris Runaway Cover Reveal

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

Since I love France so much, I find myself setting my novels there. At the end of June, my fourth novel will be available in ebook and in paperback -- on Amazon, but other places as well.
As I inch toward publication date, I'm excited to share the cover for my novel.

This photograph was taken by Virginia Kelser Jones who shares her France photography on her blog Paris Through My Lens. 

Her pictures are so inspiring and I'm fortunate that she agreed to share this beautiful one with me. 

Here's the blurb from the back cover of the book:

When divorced mom Sadie Ford realizes her 17-year-old daughter Scarlett has run away to Paris all she can imagine are terrorist bombings and sex slaves. After learning her daughter chased a French exchange student home, Sadie hops on the next plane in pursuit. She joins forces with the boy’s father, Auguste, and the two attempt to find the missing teens. The chase takes Sadie and Auguste to the seedier side of Marseille, where their own connection is ignited. Since the divorce, Sadie has devoted herself to raising kids and putting her dreams on hold, but when her daughter needs her most, Sadie finds that concrete barrier to life beginning to crack. In her journey, she learns the difference between watching the hours pass and living.

I'm so happy to share the cover for my new novel with all of you. I hope you love the cover as much as I do.

Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France. I really appreciate your participation and I hope you'll leave a comment plus visit each other's blogs.

I Love France -- Ice Cream Sundaes

This week, I'm participating in the I Love France meme that is sponsored by Words and Peace.
Because I'm hungry, since my friend Sheila convinced me to start keeping track of my calories on an App, I'm sharing with you a picture of me eating an ice cream sundae in France.
Nobody does ice cream sundaes like the French. It's not just a sundae; it's a production.

The glass is a tall parfait glass with carefully placed layers of ice cream and chocolate. No one asks if you'd like whipped cream, they just give it to you. And they include a wedge of wafer sticking out from the top.
I guess that's the thing about the French; they know how to do food. One of the many (main) reasons we love them.
This photo was taken in Aix end Provence about 10 years ago.

I Love France Meme -- Rooftops

This week, I'm starting the I Love France meme that is sponsored by Words and Peace. I know this won't shock many of you who read my blog regularly.
So what to share about France? It's so hard to choose.
I thought I'd go with a simple photo that definitely says France to me.

This photo was taken from our friend's apartment in Nantes. They have a top floor apartment that overlooks both the chateau de Nantes and the cathedral. Everything is perfect, except that 5-floor walk up, but that's probably what keeps them healthy.
Obviously, the other view is of rooftops. Why do these roofs look so French?

Valentine's Day Fantasy Relinquished

In honor of St. Valentine, this seems like the perfect day to give up one of my long-held romantic fantasies.
I will now give up my dream of someday marrying a Frenchman and moving to France.
I know, I know what you're thinking...why give up on your fantasy when you're in the prime of your life? Well, my 20-year marriage looks like it may take, after all.
And, although Earl has said he's willing to make concessions if he can move to France too, maybe as a gardener or cabana boy, I think I should simply put this dream to rest.
Why, you may ask, did I not act on this dream before I married a boy from Ohio?
Well, after my stint in France, I wasn't actually intent on living there. I came home and made plans to go to grad school. I dated the New Zealander. I studied in Washington, DC and visited the French embassy only once. I fought for an internship in United Arab Emirates. The world was my oyster and I could have nestled anywhere. I did not, at that time, have my heart set on France.
Now I've visited France nine times and when I come home, I long for the lifestyle of France -- not just the food.
So, I have informed my daughter that if she wants to live abroad, the easiest way is to fall in love with a man who lives in that country.
I'll find some other path, and take my husband along with me.
I wouldn't enjoy it without him anyway.
Photo from http://www.timoelliott.com/personal/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/heart.jpg