In the novel, Maurice, the French intelligence officer, speaks a few idiomatic French phrases. Some are in argot, or slang, the others are regular everyday speech.This expression literally means “isn’t that so” and is used at the end of a phrase or sentence. In idiomatic English, we would usually say “right.” For example, in French, the expression … Read more
In the novel, Gabriela is driven home by Richard after learning something critical that will affect her life. On her way there, she observes: “… they zoomed by the walled city of Cagnes-sur-Mer, perched on the hill like an eagle’s nest on a telephone pole.”The city of Cagnes-sur-Mer looks like a eagle’s eyrie when traveling … Read more
In Chapter 20 of the novel, Gabriela describes the following: “the forest abruptly ended at a small expanse of pasture. A cone-shaped stone hut emerged incongruously from its center, the rickety, slab door hanging crookedly from decaying hinges.”She is referring to a borie–a dry-stone hut structure familiar to the landscape of the Alpes Maritimes and … Read more
Like I posted yesterday, Richard, one of the characters in my novel, spends a couple of days sightseeing in Nice and its environs. The attached pictures are part of what he saw.Nice has a hill, Castle Hill (or le Montée du Châteaux, or la Colline du Châteaux in French), between the city and the harbor, where one can … Read more
In my novel, Richard spends the first couple of days sight-seeing Nice. I have posted the places he saw so that you can share his experiences. Tomorrow I will be adding more places that Richard visited in Nice.Happy reading. This is the Negresco Hotel- a hotel whose architecture dates back to the Bell Epoque. It … Read more
I lived in the French Riviera for five years, and the houses there have very distinctive architecture, especially when you live in rural areas, or live close to old villages.For the novel, I created Gabriela’s home from a melange of houses I had seen in the region. I copied and pasted architectural designs of many … Read more
The village of Gourdon comes up in the prologue to the novel. So that you can visualize better what’s being discussed, as well as visualize the area, I am attaching two pictures of the village of Gourdon.Gourdon is a beautiful little village, perched on top of a promontory in the middle of the Pre-Maritime Alps. … Read more
For those of you interested in learning a little bit about me, check this page out. It is a new addition on the left hand side of the blog, under “About the Novel…”
In my novel, Gabriela lives near Grasse, and describes it to Richard. Here is some information about that city.
Grasse, FranceThis city, perched on top of a hill overlooking the valley of Le Plan de Grasse, is the hub of the fragrance industry. This is where essences are distilled for perfumes, soaps, candies (yes, there are rose, violet, and other candies made from the flowers’ petals), candles, and everything perfumed. This region still has … Read more
"A suspenseful, sexy romantic thriller ... a page-turner.""
~ Kirkus Reviews