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. 
 

Publication Day

Today you can get my latest novel Falling for Provence.

This is the continuation of the story of Fia, who traveled to Provence to help her uncle run a bed & breakfast. She found trouble and adventure, and guess what finds her again?
Fia struggles with the loneliness of raising her teenage twins by herself and somehow entwines herself in more art intrigue -- this time at the Louvre in Paris.
There's romance, adventure and family life, along with some folklore that could bring peace to the Middle East. Not too much for one Ohio girl to handle.
Here are the links for Falling for Provence on Amazon.com in the States.
Falling for Provence in the UK
Falling for Provence in France.
Also available on Barnes & Noble Nook at Falling for Provence.
And Kobo at Falling for Provence
Don't worry if you haven't read the first novel, The Summer of France. This one is a stand alone. But go back and read it if you want. It's free on Barnes & Noble Nook and Kobo.

That's a lot of links, but I'm asking you if you think you might someday buy my new book, please consider buying it today or this weekend to help new readers find my book.
As always, I truly appreciate your support and hope that you enjoy reading Falling for Provence.

Selected Feature Review -- Paris Runaway

Yesterday, Kirkus Reviews Magazine notified me that a review for Paris Runaway had been "selected as a feature review."

That  means that way back on page 132, they include their thoughts about Paris Runaway -- which were good overall.
But in addition to the entire review, they included a quote from the review at the top of the page.

I love that they experienced Paris with Sadie and that my use of concrete language stood out.

The placement of the review might be only for the dedicated who thumb through the pages to the end, but I'm grateful to be included.
Here's the link for anyone who wants to visit. It's at the bottom of page 132, but here's how the review looks.

 It starts at the bottom of the page then jumps to the top of the next column

Thanks to Kirkus Review and to everyone who supports my writing. I'm grateful and hope you'll visit the page, as well as consider reading Paris Runaway.
Here's the link on Amazon for paperback or Kindle version. And if you have Amazon Prime with the books, you can probably read it free.

FranceBookTours -- Fa La Llama La

I received this book free of charge from "the author/publisher"

Everyone who knows me is aware of my love affair with France. That's why I jumped at the chance to review a romantic comedy novel by Stephanie Dagg called Fa-La-Llama-La.

I read Dagg's previous book, a memoir called Heads Above Water, during which she describes her family's efforts to begin a holiday farm with fishing and llamas. Here's my review of Heads Above Water.  
When I began reading Fa-La-Llama-La, frankly, I was tired. I didn't know how much I'd get through that night, but I quickly got swept up in the story of poor Noelle, who had been dumped by her fiance and lost her job so she had moved back into her parents' home just in time for Christmas. By the time Noelle had agreed to pet sit some llamas, packed her car and driven across France in a worsening blizzard, I was shivering in sympathy. Dagg's word pictures took me to that darkened house in the French countryside as Noelle's luck got worse -- no power and no furniture. As she settles down to
wait out the storm in a nest of sleeping bags and blankets, she's awakened in the middle of the night by an intruder with keys. A new owner from Australia who isn't too pleased to find Noelle in his empty house and llamas in his fields which were supposed to be empty.

"They assured me they'd sold the llamas." Was I imagining it or did he sound a little less sure of himself. The torch went back to the contract.
"Well then, they're obviously homing llamas since they're out there in the field,"....

The two continue verbal sparring, which can only lead to them respecting each other as they both blunder through a snowy Christmas in France. The fact that they are both new to France helps the reader experience it as though for the first time when they tramp through the snow to take a llama to a manger scene in the church's midnight service.
The traditions of France, the strength of family, the appreciation of good food and good wine all shine through Dagg's descriptions, interwoven with the blossoming romance.
So in the end, Fa-La-Llama-La, didn't leave me shivering in the cold with Noelle; it left me feeling lovely and warm as I ended another trip to France, if only in a book.
I highly recommend Fa-La-Llama-La for a quick, escapist read and a little travel to France.
Make sure you sign up for the global giveaway open internationally.
1 participant will win a $10 gift card.

Stephanie Dagg

on Tour December 5-16 with

Fa-La-Llama-La

(Christmas romantic comedy) Release date: October 21, 2016 Self-published ASIN: B01MF7F813 165 pages

Author’s website Goodreads

SYNOPSIS

It’s very nearly Christmas and, temporarily jobless and homeless, Noelle is back at home with her parents. However, a phone call from her cousin Joe, who runs a house-and-pet-sitting service, saves her from a festive season of Whist, boredom and overindulging. So Noelle is off to France to mind a dozen South American mammals. She arrives amidst a blizzard and quickly discovers that something is definitely wrong at the farm. The animals are there all right, but pretty much nothing else – no power, no furniture and, disastrously, no fee. Add to that a short-tempered intruder in the middle of the night, a premature delivery, long-lost relatives and participation in a living crèche, and this is shaping up to be a noel that Noelle will never forget. Fa-La-Llama-La is a feel-good, festive and fun romcom with a resourceful heroine, a hero who’s a bit of a handful and some right woolly charmers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hi, I’m Stephanie Dagg. I’m an English expat living in France, having moved here with my family in 2006 after fourteen years as an expat in Ireland. I now consider myself a European rather than ‘belonging’ to any particular country. The last ten years have been interesting, to put it mildly. Taking on seventy-five acres with three lakes, two hovels and one cathedral-sized barn, not to mention an ever increasing menagerie, makes for exciting times. The current array of animals includes alpacas, llamas, huarizos (alpaca-llama crossbreds, unintended in our case and all of them thanks to one very determined alpaca male), sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, geese, chickens and turkeys, not forgetting our pets of dogs, cats, zebra finches, budgies and Chinese quail. Before we came to France we had was a dog and two chickens, so it’s been a steep learning curve. I’m married to Chris and we have three bilingual TCKs (third culture kids) who are resilient and resourceful and generally wonderful. I’m a traditionally-published author of many children’s books, and and am now self-publishing too. I have worked part-time as a freelance editor for many years after starting out as a desk editor for Hodder & Stoughton. The rest of the time I’m running carp fishing lakes with Chris and inevitably cleaning up some or other animal’s poop. Visit her website. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter Buy the book: Amazon.com | Amazon.fr | Amazon.co.uk

***

You can enter the global giveaway here or on any other book blogs participating in this tour. Be sure to follow each participant on Twitter/Facebook, they are listed in the entry form below.

Enter here

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 - international: 1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card

***

CLICK ON THE BANNER TO READ REVIEWS AND AN EXCERPT

 

Giveaway -- Amazon Gift Card

I'm trying to take a deep breath on this, the last day of the month.
July has flown by, hasn't it?
I've had some spectacular days, walks with my husband, walks with my friend Sheila, hanging out with my children and talking about everything or nothing.
I'm already missing the early, early morning sunshine. I'm disappointed now that the sun isn't rising at 5:30. I think that if I had the money, I'd follow the summer, maybe spend my winters in New Zealand.
Well, on the last day of the month, I'm trying to sell a few extra copies of Paris Runaway, my latest novel. So, if you were considering a purchase of Paris Runaway, $5.99 for the Kindle edition, go ahead and buy it today and leave a comment here or on my Facebook page or send me an email or tweet, and I'll enter your name to win a $25 Amazon gift card.

The drawing will be Sunday evening, so your odds are very good.
Some readers have said this is their favorite of all my novels. It has a couple of steamy, romantic scenes, but mostly it's women's fiction with the main character dealing with the complications of life and raising teenagers as a single mother, while chasing after her daughter to France.
Don't take my word for it though, go to the link and read the reviews.
I love that different readers can have totally different experiences:

Here's a review from Goodreads: "An interesting, entertaining suspense novel, I loved it.
Could not put it down, I felt I was with her in Paris."

Here's another review from Goodreads: "The highlight of the book would be its narration. Looking at Paris through the writers eyes was sheer blissful. The narration is vivid and the writer has tastefully described Paris even when the story demanded that the setting be dimmed out. That blending and weaving of the setting even when the main character writhed in turmoil was done perfectly without compromising emotions."

And one of my favorite reviews: "This was a fabulous beach read! I picked it up this morning and never sat it down until I was done. The characters were relatable and their adventure was a joy to watch unfold. If only real life teenage drama ended in a trip to Paris and an adventure with a sexy French man then the teenage years would not seem so bad."

Thanks for your support, whether you buy my novel or not, reading my blog helps give me that feeling of community too. If you do buy it, I wish you a lovely, relaxing day or reading and a quick trip to Paris, even if it's only in the book.

12 Days of Appreciation -- Day 11

Even after 25 years of marriage, my husband is still romantic.
Being romantic probably covers a lot of those other categories I've written about, like giving me backrubs and wanting to make me happy.
He loves spending time with me, just the two of us.

A lot of times, we'll walk to the coffee shop. Or we'll go to the grocery store or take a walk to return the library books. It doesn't really matter what we do, just that we're together. 

Tonight, he's prepared to watch The Bachelor with me, not because he enjoys the reality show, but because it's another way to spend time with me. 

Tuesday Intros -- Bluebonnets for Elly

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
Today, I'm featuring a book by a fellow blogger, Bluebonnets for Elly by Sandra Nachlinger. I'm not usually a romance reader, but who can't use a little romance in their lives?
Here's the intro:

If I can just make it to the gate, no one will suspect.Elly pulled the yellow plastic hood over her head and tucked in a stray red curl. Her feet planted on the golf cart's floorboard, she turned the key, shifted the cart into forward, and floored the accelerator. With a look over her shoulder, she sped out of the carport and onto Bluebonnet Lane. 

Sounds like there's more excitement than romance going on here. I'm looking forward to reading it.
The author, Sandra Nachlinger, blogs at Writing With a Texas Twang. This is the first book I've read by her.

I can't wait to see what everyone else is reading.

Book Trailer

I have a new book trailer for my novel I See London I See France.
I hope you'll watch it and maybe click on "like" too to help me promote my book.

Dreaming of France -- I See London I See France

Please join 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.
Finally, my latest novel I See London I See France is available.
It's a fun, women's fiction novel with the exhaustion of mothering and a hint of romance.
Here's the blurb:

When her husband of a dozen years walks out in a huff, Caroline Sommers walks out too – to Europe, with her kids after impulsively selling her minivan for travel money. Tired of being the perfect wife, she escapes to rediscover herself, and possibly rekindle the unrequited love of a Frenchman from her college days.  While shepherding her kids from London to Scotland then Paris to Provence, she finds herself at a crossroads. Does she choose love, or lust, in the arms of a European man, or should she try again with the father of her children and the man she truly loved, once?

I wrote this book originally when the kids were little. It was my first novel, but I put it away. I've revised it a few times and I'm really happy with its latest revision. I added flashbacks throughout as the main character remembers her college crush with an older Frenchman Jean-Marc. Part of Caroline's quest through Europe is to learn whether she settled for the wrong man by marrying her husband.
And where did those ideas and feelings for Frenchman come from? My very own trip to France when I was 22.
I've sworn my kids to secrecy -- because we are still connected to the family in France-- but I had a major crush on one of the brothers.

This snapshot doesn't do justice to my French crush, but imagine learning to sail in the Mediterranean with a handsome French doctor. The character in my book is a little more extreme, but has a lot of the same yummy qualities. 

Here's a link to the paperback version of I see London I See France.

The Amazon link for a Kindle version at $4.99 is here, and the Nook link is here.

I hope  my book helps other to Dream of France too.

Can't wait to see what you post this week.

A Room With a View as Writing Inspiration

I'm busy writing and editing today. I've passed 35,000 words in my Nanowrimo efforts and as I was writing a love scene, I had to return to one of my favorite lines from Room With a View when Cecil asks Lucy if he can kiss her. She says, "Well, of course, you may, Cecil. You might have before. I can't run at you, you know."

Here's the scene from youtube. The kiss comes around 3 minutes.
And, as a comparison, we must revisit the scene of the kiss in an Italian poppy field. This was what she compared -- Cecil's  kiss and George's kiss.

Love the soaring Italian opera music. I might have stuck with the Italian drive myself but Julian Sands is divine in this.
Which would you choose?
Lovely to remember and enjoy as I continue my solitary life as a writer.

Music During Special Moments

Tonight, I was watching the replay of The Daily Show with John Oliver. He and his guest were talking about important moments in their lives and the music that played during those moments.
I didn't expect that I would connect with specific songs and turning point moments, but two immediately jumped to mind.
The first was a huge crush I had on a guy from New Zealand. I met Mike when I went to interview him for a story in the local newspaper. Mike was riding his bike across part of the United States, and Ohio didn't get a lot of people from New Zealand at the time.
The sparks flew as soon as I sat down with him. We went on a few dates before it was time for him to move along. I offered him a ride down to Kentucky where I was going to visit my grandmother. We went boating with my cousin and explored the woods near my grandmother's house and swam in the lake. He asked me if there were alligators in the lake and I laughed at him since we were in Kentucky instead of Louisiana.
But I was leaving for grad school and he needed to continue his journey south. He decided to try to catch a ride down south rather than riding his bike. So the afternoon I was returning to Ohio, I dropped him at a truck stop. As I drove away, Phil Collins' song "Against All Odds" came on the radio. "How can I just let you walk away... How can you just walk away from me when all I can do is watch  you leave." I cried as a I drove away.

So that's the first moment that came to mind when I thought of important moments and music. Then I felt bad that I didn't immediately think of my husband, who, obviously turned out to be much more important than this hot guy from New Zealand.
That's when I remembered a Sunday afternoon the spring of 1988. Earl (who would become my husband), Mike and I decided to take my new Mustang convertible to visit a flea market. Afterward, we drove around in the hot Florida sunshine and heard, for the first time, the Bobby McFerrin song "Don't Worry, Be Happy."

Can you imagine how that felt, riding around with the man I would marry, feeling the sun on our skin, the wind in our hair and singing at the top of our lungs -- "Don't Worry, Be Happy"?
How bout you? Can you remember music playing at special moments in your life?

Number 19 -- Something to Brag About?

One of my new obsessions is checking my sales numbers on Amazon.
Since my book The Summer of France was published last fall, the numbers haven't been amazing, but they've been climbing slowly. After the initial purchases by people I know, the numbers fell off. In February, I decided to get serious about marketing. I started advertising on Goodreads. (Friend me if you want. I'd love to read your reviews.)
I've sent some press releases to the local newspapers and I'm preparing for a tour on Francebooktours.com, which is, of course, about books set in France.
So in February I set a goal to sell at least one book per day and I surpassed that goal. In March, I was shooting for two books per day and surpassed that.
For April, my goal has been four books per day. I'm a little behind that goal, but I've sold more than three books per day, so maybe I'll get an upsurge at the end of the month to meet my goal. (I feel like public radio.)
My ritual for checking my sales numbers is to first look at the Amazon.com numbers to see where I rank. Next, I look at Amazon.co.uk numbers to see where I rank there. My numbers are almost always better in the UK than in the US. It might be my British sense of humor! I've risen to as high as #8 in Kindle books under France.
Today, I hit a low number for the U.S., coming in at #19 for books on France in the Kindle paid category. Top 20. If my book were a song, Ryan Seacrest would be announcing me on the Sunday morning radio. (That's today's Casey Kasem for those of us who are older; and today's Dick Clark for those who are even older.)
So, I'll keep plodding along, hoping that each book I sell will lead to another one, or another two.
After all, it took 18 months for Eat, Pray, Love to hit the bestseller list. (I read that somewhere and I haven't verified it because it gave me hope and I don't want to lose hope.)
Thanks for all your support as I continue to muddle through this writing/publishing thing.

Valentine's Day Fantasy Relinquished -- Reprised

Yes, I'm recycling my posts. Here's a post I wrote on Valentine's Day in 2011. It's still true.

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 (now 23-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

You'll Never Find...

When my boys aren't making me mad about something, they crack me up with their ideas of teenage romance.
This morning I was greeted with rain and 43 degrees. I decided to forego a cold, wet run. Instead, I took Spencer's car to put some gas in it. He told me that he had scraped together $2 in nickels and quarters the night before to put gas in the car. We give him $20 a week for gas so he can drive to school and to basketball practice with occasional forays over to Ohio State or to The Men's Wearhouse to order his tux.
That seemed like plenty of money for gas until prices shot up to $4.19 per gallon.
As I stopped at a stop sign, I heard things clinking. I thought maybe empty bottles were under the car seat. Another stop and another clink made me open the console betweeen the seats.
There, I found an aluminum bottle of Old Spice body spray -- a necessity for teenage boys.
The next item puzzled me. Two votive candles in glass candleholders.
When I got home, as the boys were scrambling to get out the door on time, I asked Spencer why the candles.
"I set them down in the sunken area and light them," he said. "Adds a little ambiance."
"While you're driving?" I ask.
"No, when I'm parked at the turf or the school lot."
I know that the high schoolers hang around their cars on weekend nights and I tried to picture Spencer with his flickering candlelight.
I told him he was definitely in competition with his father who had sculpted shag in his van as a teenager.
Then I suggested that candles and cars don't really mix that well since cars are highly flammable.
"Yeah, I gotta get rid of those," he agreed.
There goes the romantic candlelight when sitting in the middle of the school parking lot surrounded by other teenagers. I guess they'll have to fallback on Plan B -- a portable strobe light that they ordered from Best Buy.
"Are you sure we can't use it while we drive around?" he asked.
"Pretty sure."

Loss of a Good Man

I received the most poignant email forwarded from my mom this morning. It came from some friends in New Zealand.

I am very sorry to tell you that Rex was knocked off his bike and has died.
Of course we are all devastated and find it hard to believe.
We are coping,somehow.
I'll be in contact again later.
Just wanted you to know.
Love,Joy.

Joy and Rex are in their 70s like my parents.
I met them a couple of times when they travelled here to the United States and my parents went to New Zealand to visit them once. If I had to describe Rex, I would say alive is the best word. He was always moving, always had a plan. He played every sport every invented, and if he hadn't yet, he would try it. He was very "fit," I think is the word the New Zealanders would use to describe him.
It seems appropriate that he didn't grow old sitting in a chair and losing his memory, yet no one was ready for him to go so unexpectedly.
My parents' friendship with Rex and Joy came about through me.
I met their son Mike when he was bicyling through the United States. He was staying with a couple in Middletown, Ohio and I was a reporter there. When the editor told me to interview this guy from New Zealand, I didn't know anything about the country.
"Do they speak English?" I asked.
I immediately fell under Mike's spell -- tall, blonde and athletic with the dulcet New Zealand accent. He tried to explain to me the difference between the Australian and the New Zealand accent, moving his tone up into his nose to talk like an Australian. We talked for hours: he was an accountant, he wanted to own race horses, he'd worked in Australia and they always wanted to fight. I returned to the newsroom to write my story and when I went home that night, I told my younger brother Kevin that I had met the man I was going to marry.

I misspelled his last name in the news article.
Still, when I called and asked if he wanted to go out to eat, he did. We shared some meals and time. He planned to continue biking and I asked if he wanted to go to my grandmother's house in Kentucky.
He did. We went boating with my cousin Mike, and Mike from New Zealand worried that we might run into alligators as we swam in the lake. I laughed at him because, obviously to me, no alligators live in Kentucky, and he kissed me that day for the first time.
I took Mike to a truck stop/bus station so he could hitch a ride or continue his bicycle journey. A few weeks later, he called and returned to Ohio on a plane. I met him at the airport. When he flew out again, we looked at the travel posters on the wall and talked about how we would love to visit Greece. I thought, "Who knows." But I was starting grad school that fall and he was off to New Zealand.
We stayed in touch for a long time, writing letters that probably sound overblown now.
A few months before Earl and I got married, I sent him a letter to let him know. Our letters must have crossed in the mail, because I received one from him about his new wife, Leigh. Leigh and Mike visited once with their girls and Leigh was here again a few years ago to stay with us.
Today, I sorted through photo albums to find a picture of Mike. I called Grace down to the basement to look at some old college pictures.
When I finally found the picture of Mike that the newspaper used, I pulled it from the sticky page.
"Who's this?" Grace asked.
"It's Mike. From New Zealand," I said.
"And you didn't follw him?" she asked.
She turned as Earl came down the stairs. "Can you believe she didn't follow him?"
"I don't think he's the one you want to ask that," I told Grace. "Besides, you wouldn't be here if I did."
Plus, life isn't like a romantic comedy movie, well, maybe the comedy part.
Funny, because I was never sure how much I meant to Mike, until his wife visited a few years ago and told me he thought very highly of me and felt strongly. Maybe if I'd known then...
But the reason I wrote about this lovely family today was to mourn a great man and to send sympathy to his family, who will always be looking out the window to see if he's returning from his latest run, his latest bike ride, his latest cricket match. The road will seem so empty without him there.