Kirkus Review Mention

 Searching for some news articles I had written, I googled myself and came across a Kirkus Review article that featured my book Paris Runaway. Not the initial review, which was flattering, but an article call "The Last Time They Saw Paris" by David Rapp in March 2018.

Hmmm. What could I have been doing in March 2018 that I didn't notice? Oh, I know. I moved to France and was trying to sort out my new life. 

The article is very flattering. Here's the link in case you want to take a look. 

But I'll let you see the first two paragraphs here: 

The city of Paris has long captivated American writers. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and James Baldwin set key works there, and the City of Light’s rich history, gorgeous structures, and stunning artworks remain sources of fascination for authors in all genres. Here are a few eclectic works that Kirkus Indie has reviewed that take full advantage of the French capital’s many charms:

Beginning with -- moi!

 Paulita Kincer’s Paris Runaway (2016), 50-year-old American Sadie Ford finds out that her 17-year-old daughter has gone to Paris with the intention of losing her virginity to a French foreign-exchange student named Luc Rollande, so she hops on a plane to stop her. Along the way, she meets Luc’s attractive father, with whom sparks soon fly. Kirkus’ reviewer calls this novel an “enjoyable romp,” noting that “through [Sadie’s] wanderings, readers get a first-rate tour of the city, complete with the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes that make it unique.”

Oh la la! I can almost pretend I'm in the same league with Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Baldwin. 

I do think that Paris Runaway is a fun read with a lot of French scenery, wine and foods. If you haven't read it yet, here's the link to Amazon.com and another link to the book on Amazon.co.uk.

Here's the original Kirkus Review of Paris Runaway and the link. 
 

Review of Paris Ever After

Author KSR Burns lured in readers with her novel The Paris Effect and the story continues in this sequel Paris Ever After, which hits the markets on May 1.
The book covers are magical and the story inside the sequel lives up to the magnetism of the cover.
The main character, Amy, left her husband in Arizona months before after he learned she had jetted off to Paris, a surprise trip, totally unlike her. But after her best friend died, she needed something to jump start her life. She thought she'd be home before her husband returned from his business trip but he discovered her secret trip. When he refused to talk with her about reconciling, she returned to Paris where she attempts to start a new life.
Amy is a bit naive and trusts people she truly shouldn't. It puts me on edge throughout the novel. She ends up living with a woman who had previously drugged her to keep her in Paris. She starts working with a guy who put her in danger climbing through the sewers of Paris. She takes risk that are not normal for a cautious woman like herself.
On her 30th birthday, her new Parisian life is set shaking when she spies her estranged husband checking into a Paris hotel, and her landlord's missing daughter shows up, taking over the room that Amy had lived in. Whatever she thought was settled, suddenly is not.
She has to figure out what her husband wants in Paris and where she will live if she chooses to stay.
Throughout the novel, the vivid background of Paris is a character of its own, along with the luscious meals that Amy shares with friends and frenemies.
This is a fast read that immerses the reader in the midst of French life, rooting for Amy to make good choices, whether that means staying in Paris or returning to her husband.

France BookTours -- That Spring in Paris

I can't imagine running to Paris for an emergency instead of for sheer pleasure, but that's what happens in That Spring in Paris by Ciji Ware.
The story is told through the eyes of Juliet, a graphic artist working for her brother's video game business so that she can help preserve the money her father invested in it, and Patrick, who recently left the military to heal from his PTSD even though his father, a lifetime military man, doesn't approve of that decision.
Juliet races to Paris after her best friend is injured during the November 2015 terrorist attacks. She physically runs into Patrick at the door to the hospital. Patrick is there to visit someone injured in the attack, too.
The two begin to build a relationship and to untangle the complications they live with because of family demands. The book changes locations between Paris and San Francisco mostly.
When I previewed this novel a few weeks ago, some people living in France thought it might be too soon to write about the terrorist attacks. I think the entire subject is handled delicately, and it doesn't exploit the devastation at all. The characters are struck with fear and PTSD every time another attack or scare arises and must heal again.
Although the story is set against the backdrop of the terrorist attacks, the real plot focuses on the love story of two people who have given in to the will of their families rather than focusing on what they want in life. They give each other the strength to move forward to reach their own goals.
Here's a quote from the book at 18% on Kindle:

He returned his gaze to the plate glass window just as the Eiffel Tower was suddenly illuminated with blinding brightness in shades of blue, white, and red.
"Oh, look!" Juliet exclaimed, swiveling in her seat on the sofa. "How beautiful! They've turned the lights back on in the colors of the French flag! Isn't that a good sign?"
The enormous structure's colorful outline was reflected in the water below it.
"It'll never look the same to me."
"No... not to you, it probably won't," she agreed. "Just like the space where the Twin towers once stood in Manhattan has never looked the same to New Yorkers...."

I realized after the attacks that the Eiffel Tower sat unlit, but I hadn't ever imagined how oppressive that might feel, to walk through the city at night without the twinkling lights, so when the lights came back on, it felt like a return to hope.
Even though the event that set the travel to Paris in motion was negative, Juliet found herself falling in love with Paris, as most everyone does. I enjoyed the descriptions of her discoveries in the richness of life.
I recommend this novel as a smart read with romance and deep dives into family issues along with the complications of war and violence.

Ciji Ware on Tour August 15-28 with

That Spring in Paris

(women’s fiction / romance) Release date: May 25, 2017 at Lion’s Paw Publishing ISBN: 978-0988940871 ebook: 978-0988940864 468 pages Website Goodreads

SYNOPSIS

Two Americans literally collide at the entrance to a Paris hospital, each desperately searching for friends felled in the same unspeakable tragedy. Patrick Finley Deschanel, an expatriate former U.S. Air Force pilot, quit the military after a career flying helicopter rescue missions in the Middle East. Now resident on a classic barge moored on the Seine, Finn is a man with both physical battle scars and psychic wounds that overshadow his day-to-day encounters at every turn. Juliet Thayer is a fledgling landscape painter who seeks escape from a tyrannical older brother and her job at his violent video war games company in San Francisco. Her emergency trip to Paris also raises doubts as to her impending engagement to a colleague where she serves as packaging design director and “Chief Branding Officer” of GatherGames, a highly speculative enterprise in which her parents are heavily invested. As Finn and Juliet form a tenuous attachment in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks that traumatized the French capital November 13, 2015, they wonder if the “City of Light” can provide a path out of the darkness for two emotional exiles who fear–along with the world at large—that their universe has descended into a permanent state of chaos and that the renewal of spring might never come. New York Times bestselling novelist and Emmy-award winning news producer Ciji Ware displays her formidable skill at weaving fact and fiction–delivering a gripping story about the discovery of love and regained serenity in the wake of horrifying events.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ciji Ware, a graduate of Harvard University in History, is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of historical and contemporary fiction, and two works of nonfiction. An Emmy-award winning former radio and TV broadcaster for 23 years in Los Angeles, her numerous writing accolades include a Dorothy Parker Award of excellence, and being short-listed for the Willa [Cather] Literary Award. Her family circle includes a husband of many decades, a grown son and daughter-in-law, and now two grandsons under four, along with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Cholly Knickerbocker. Ware lives in a cottage by the sea on San Francisco Bay. Visit her website Follow her on Facebook and Twitter Buy the book: Amazon | B&N Nook | iBook | Kobo

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GIVEAWAY

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Visit each blogger on the tour: tweeting about the giveaway everyday of the Tour will give you 5 extra entries each time! [just follow the directions on the entry-form]

Global giveaway open to all 2 winners

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Dreaming of France -- That Spring in Paris

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.

I'm reading another book set in France, and, of course, I always want to share with readers who are Dreaming of France like I am.
That Spring in Paris by Ciji Ware takes place just within the past few years in Paris as Juliet rushes
from San Francisco to Paris after her best friend is injured in the Paris bombings in November of 2015. As she rushes into the hospital, she literally runs into Patrick, a former U.S. Air Force pilot, who is at the hospital to visit someone else mortally wounded in the attacks. The two form a supportive relationship and begin to battle their own demons connected to terrorism. Juliet works for a video game company that creates graphic war games and allows encrypted messaging, much like what the terrorists used to communicate with each other. And Patrick flew planes and then drones during the war, so he is dealing with PTSD.
It's definitely a different look at Paris right after it has been swept by bombs and gunfire, but the strength and beauty of the city shine through, as the two watch to see when the Eiffel Tower will sparkle again, as it does eventually.
I'll be reviewing this book for FranceBookTours on August 17 and there will be a giveaway too, so make sure you check back to have an opportunity to win it.

Hey, I was in Paris during the spring, too. I'd better share a picture from my experience.

Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France. Please leave your link below and visit each other's blogs to share your love for France.
I promise to blog more this week. My daughter and I are taking a mother-daughter trip to Florida. Can't wait.