I’m excited to share a preview of one of the loveliest projects I have ever done.

‘Our World: France’ is my upcoming board book that’ll bring you to the streets of France, my home country! Count the dogs un-deux-trois, take Doudou out for a walk and play until it’s time for bonne nuit.

Thanks to the amazing illustrator Margaux Carpentier, my publisher Barefoot Books, my editor Kate DePalma and everyone at the company! The book officially comes out on October 18th. Meanwhile, you can preorder it now

I am so pleased to share with you the upcoming release of my Board Book OUR WORLD: FRANCE, illustrated by Margaux Carpentier and published by Barefoot Books.  

So happy and proud to be a member of this warm dedicated publishing house! Thanks to my editor, the whole process was like the best ride, fast and fun.  
From our initial conversation to this official announcement, Kate DePalma has been everything a writer dreams for and beyond. Thank you, merci, Kate.  
Illustrations are crucial for Board Books, so merci, Margaux Carpentier for adding so much color and joy to my words.  

Through my writing, I’ve always shared my affection for my native France. Working on this book and collaborating with Barefoot Books on this project could not have been better for me.  Cannot wait for publication in Fall 2022.

A year has passed since my last blog post.

We were at the height of the pandemic, losing thousands of people across the world.
Holiday celebrations, including Thanksgiving here in the United States, were
canceled or limited to very small gatherings.
By then most of us understood that we were in for the long haul.

I don’t know for you, but besides my kids that I missed beyond words, I yearned for
things I had always taken for granted.
Popping in a coffee shop without thinking twice about bumping into too many
people, standing in line and engaging in those random American conversations I
adore, trying clothes on in crowded changing rooms and laughing with women I had
never seen before and would likely never see again, brunching at the local diner and
elbowing other hungry people.
That stuff I missed. A lot.

And yet among so much missing and so much unknown, one way or another, all of
us learned to cope and adjust, and I want to believe to enjoy with much more
appreciation those things we took for granted.
Sharing coffee with a friend at an outdoor café terrace is a treat.
Going to the weekly farmers’ market becomes an event.
And invitations to school visits and book festivals make me feel grateful.

Once again I will participate to the Amelia Book Festival and the Authors in Schools
in February 2022.
A French high school teacher has invited me to meet with her students.
After two years I will see authors I know and I will meet new ones too.

People are still there.
And I hope that despite my long absence you are still there, too.

When we miss so much from the life we knew, we experience a deeper appreciation for particular events.

I never took for granted the Amelia Island Book Festival but even much less now.

I invite you to browse their website, keeping us connected while we can’t meet in person. You can also read my short blog post if you wish.

Until we see each other once again at book festivals and other literary events, I wish you all the very best.

When We Explored the Great Outdoors

Shelter-in-place. Stay at home orders. Quarantine. Confinement.

The term can vary depending on your state or your country, but the meaning remains the same.

The whole world has paused and many of us are living the quietest moments of our lives.

Writers who are used to work alone and often in silence should have an edge. However, most writers I know have a hard time to focus and even a harder time to be creative.

Agents and editors, mostly based in New York City, are working remotely. Submissions are still going on. Rejections and requests too. A mix for me.

My agent has more time available, away from meetings and conferences, and she’s agreed to read my work. I really take advantage of the offer to polish a few manuscripts. She already read one and as much as she liked the premise and even compared it to a really great book she asked for a serious revision. While I waited for her feedback I worked on another one. I’m now ready to forward her a piece I really love. Let’s hope she’ll love it as much 🙂

Like everyone else I bake and I’m on Zoom. A lot. For my writing meetings and critique. For yoga, too.

I also read a lot and for the first time in years I finish 500-page-long books in record time.

Libraries and bookstores are closed and yet we need books more than ever.

The Last Bookshop, Los Angeles

Parents, I’ve heard, are especially begging for book suggestions. Many have told me how challenging it is to homeschool while working. All said that they are still sharing exceptional moments of warmth with their children.

Always around a book.

One of my several home bookshelves

So here is a very short selection of upcoming and newly published books. All are from friends of mine. All have published more than one book, so take a few minutes to browse their website and blog to find more.

From my California friend Claire:

Evie’s Field Day

From my  Florida friend Heather:

I adore everything about Rex the… We-Don’t Know! Very young kids will love the silly situations created by Rex from the second he’s adopted from the pound. Slightly older children will understand that Rex is so much more than a strange creature. Parents will use the story as a tool to talk about animal adoption and difference. As newly appointed teachers they might talk about the importance of humor in writing. In any case, everyone will admire Rex’s talents to earn the affection of his adopted family.

From my New York City friend Robin:

No Peacocks! is a hilarious Picture Book, perfect for read-aloud time. Robin told me that she got the seeds of her book on the real peacocks who live at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

From my New Jersey friend Nancy:

Today Is a Beach Day!

Always Makes Me Smile

Over these exceptional times people show generosity and solidarity. The Amelia Island Book Festival put together a reading list and I am thankful for the gesture. You can find me under Exhibiting Authors.

A member of my book club wrote a very nice group e-mail when we decided to come up with a list of books to help us during the sanitary crisis:

Flowers Still Bloom

And Keep Reading!

Tucked between Halloween and Christmas, at the heart of the fall season and yet pale in comparison to spectacular October, November remains my favorite month of the year.

Whether in my native France or in the US I’ve always felt happy and grateful to be alive in November.

There, the month signals the arrival of the Beaujolais Nouveau and prestigious literary awards. Here, Thanksgiving holds the promise of gatherings around yummy food.

Doesn’t hurt that November is also my birth month:)

This year I feel particularly thankful for November.

On the writing front, things are moving along.

Last week I found out that my latest book Chez Moi in the USA was selected for the annual Amelia Island Book Festival. It will be my fourth year as one of the authors who participate to the Authors in Schools program.

In February I will meet 200 high school students who take French classes. I can hardly wait!

Prestigious authors in all genres attend the Amelia Book Festival, so I was 100% unprepared for the email that popped in my Inbox also last week.

My Young Adult novel All the Mountains We Can Climb had been entered in a contest and won the selection for the Teen/Tween Scene, an afternoon event with students and authors.

More details will come, but I already know that Margot Lee Shetterly, the renowned author of Hidden Figures will be part of this panel, too.

Wow!

This three-day literary event ends with a daylong festival with book talks, signings and more. It’s always so much fun to meet readers and it’s an additional treat to reconnect with authors met at this festival. I’m happy to call some of them my friends.

To make November even sweeter my agent told me last night that several editors responded positively to the recent submission of my second manuscript. Some editors have already requested to read it. With enthusiasm, my agent added.

Manuscript #1 is still under consideration. Fingers crossed here.

And of course there is Thanksgiving, this American celebration that unlike other holidays I immediately embraced. For the food, since I adore pumpkins, sweet potatoes, cranberries, pecans, and pies, but above all for this pause that once a year we share, grateful for our family, our friends, and simply for the chance to be alive.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!