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Dear
Readers & Friends,
AMT
- American Express & Crystal Cruises has
negotiated a fantastic discounted fare on 50 of the best staterooms
on the brand new Crystal Serenity
just for you, my readers & friends! Now I can share with
you personally some of the romantic locations that I write
about in my books.
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My Latest Paperback
in
stores now!
My Latest Hardback,
"Hotel Riviera"
in stores now!
Our
newest kitten,
Sweet Pea
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Dear Readers, Friends,
First let me tell you that INVITATION TO PROVENÇE is finally
finished – and I am ready for a vacation – leaving for France
for a month, where of course, I’ll revisit all the towns and villages,
the cafés and restaurants I write about in my books.
The village of Marten-de-Provençe,
in INVITATION TO PROVENÇE, is an imaginary place, though like
everything I write about, it’s based on many villages I know.
And the wonderful old Chateau des Roses Sauvages is named for the wild
white roses that surround it and is the scene of a grand family reunion,
with tragedy, happiness and love all happening.
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The
Marten family winery, the Domaine de Marten, which is set on a
stony Provençal hillside, the Café des Colombes
that serves the same menu it’s been offering for thirty
years, the lavender fields and the silvery lake with the lacquer-red
little Japense bridge, the island with the white gazebo that is
the setting for the scene of more than one generation of love
affairs…… It’s all out of my head and on its
way to you, this time next year. |
Meanwhile, THE HOTEL RIVIERA
will be published the first week in September, which means it will be
in the stores in late August, and is the perfect late-summer read. I
promise it will make you long for those Mediterranean beaches and a
small perfect hotel just outside of St. Tropez, with delicious food
and quirky guests, and a charming, flustered young patronne who’s
French husband disappeared mysteriously six months ago – and the
adventurous American guy who helps her sort out her past – and
becomes part of her future….. Trust me, you’ll love it.
I do!
As
you probably know, SUMMER IN TUSCANY was released in paperback in July
and is in the stores now — do read it, it will lighten your days.
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And after all that –
I am going to forget about work for a few weeks. I’m going
to try on my bathing suits in the hope that I can still fit into
them after seven months of sitting on my bottom, just writing
and not exercising at all! The gym awaits me! We’ll be staying
with our friends, “the Shoups” who you occasionally
meet in my books – at their wonderful house in the Dordogne,
which is really five houses – all converted from a farm
and old barns. I lie in bed at night staring up at the soaring
old beams, wondering about the men who built this place hundreds
of years ago, and who else lived here – besides ducks and
geese and pigs….. and the ghost of a little girl….. |
Then it’s onto
the Mediterranean, and a place we love in old Cap d’Antibes
– another area I’ve written about (in LAST TIME I
SAW PARIS,). We’ll be lazy and no doubt we’ll eat
too much, and the chilled Provençal rose wine will taste
just wonderful, I know. |
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In
fact I must tell you about a Provençal restaurant in LA, where
we had dinner just last week. It’s called La Bastide, on Melrose
Place, and the chef, Alain Giraud, is a Provençal – and
a man who knows his roots. The restaurant is delightful and the food
exquisite, for instance the seafood soup with the parmesan-rouille crouton,
is some of the best I’ve eaten anywhere, and the daube de veau
– the softest veal stew — is simply to die for. The presentation
is delicately beautiful, the service excellent and unpretentious, and
the food tastes the way it does in Provençe. I forgot to mention
the cheeses- just at the perfect point for eating, delicious every one
– especially with the green olive bread. They even have a Provençal
rosé – what more can you ask for on a warm California night?
The menu offers interesting choices and I’ve mentioned only a
few, but it was a memorable evening. Do try it if you get the chance.
And by the way, no I am not paid to say this and I do not get free dinners
– it’s just that when I find something good that is “in
my field” so to speak – then I want to pass it on to you.
Which brings me to the Mediteranean
cruise I mentioned in my last newsletter. Plans are moving ahead fast
on this. As of now we are looking at a July l3th sailing date for a
12 day cruise on the Crystal Serenity. I’m so excited about this,
as are all my friends – and I want you, my readers, to share this
with me. Do click onto here to
find more details!
So, now, what else can I tell
you about? Ah yes, I’ll be a guest speaker at the Brandeis University
Books & Authors Luncheon on February 17th in Phoenix, Arizona where
they expect a turnout of about eight hundred people. The Brandeis University
National Women’s Committee, a non-profit organization who sponsors
this annual event, supports the University with scholarships, fellowships
and is the largest Friends of the Library organization in the world.
Perhaps if you live in the area, you might want to come along. I’d
love to meet you.
Meanwhile, my dears, I’m
just going to be lazy and enjoy my holiday – and then I’ll
come back and start on the next book – tentatively titled THE
VILLA IN AMALFI ……… More later.
My best to you ,
Elizabeth
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