Guest post by Vanessa Couchman

French Collection by Vanessa Couchman

To celebrate the release of French Collection I am welcoming author Vanessa Couchman to share a guest post with us today. I have followed Vanessa's blog for many years, read some of her short stories published in a couple of anthologies, thoroughly enjoyed her first novel The House at Zaronza and was lucky enough to have met her at the Charroux Literary Festival this summer. You can imagine I was quite excited when I heard she would be publishing French Collection, twelve short stories set in France, and that she was happy to offer me a review copy. Thank you Vanessa, over to you:

Many thanks for inviting me to French Village Diaries today, Jacqui.

Why France Provides Inspiration for Fiction

Twenty years ago, my husband and I bought an 18^th-century farmhouse in southwest France and moved here to live. It’s been a big adventure. Above all, I have learned far more about the history, culture and customs of this entrancing country.

In 1997, I was a freelance management consultant and copywriter. My work involved a lot of writing, but I had no idea that I would move on to writing fiction. Living in France has played a large part in that.

When we moved here, I knew very little about this part of France. We had been here on holiday and enjoyed the climate, the food, the perched hilltop villages and the glorious countryside. I had a vague idea that the Hundred Years War had been fought around here, but beyond that my knowledge of the rich historical heritage was woefully thin.

 

Najac

Moving here was a voyage of discovery. At first, it was an extended holiday and we visited all the touristy places, such as the stunning villages of Najac, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and Bruniquel. They have fascinating and often turbulent histories. Gradually, I learned that le petit patrimoine – wayside crosses, shepherd’s huts, tiny chapels buried in the woods – also harbours stories that are poignant, romantic or tragic.

An isolated cross with intricate carvings was a futile attempt to ward off the phylloxera bug that devastated the French vineyards in the 19^th century. A pigeonnier (dovecot) became a prison for a girl who fell pregnant outside wedlock and brought shame on her family. A stone plaque in a peaceful spot is a memorial to maquisards who were shot by the Germans during World War II.   

However, it’s not just France’s history that makes it such a happy hunting ground for authors. The colour and vibrancy of produce in a market, the taste, texture and scent of bread and patisserie, the fragrant steam rising from a bowl of moules marinières – all these have worked on my writing grey cells as well as my taste buds.

French art and architecture also offer rich seams of inspiration. For example, the Mona Lisa was evacuated from the Louvre to an abbey near us during World War II. That’s a story just begging to be written: it’s on my to-do list. Artists such as Degas and Toulouse Lautrec provide a tantalising glimpse into the Parisian demi-monde, while the soaring cathedrals and opulent châteaux are fitting settings for stories.   

It’s no surprise that authors such as Joanne Harris, Peter May, Kate Mosse and Martin Walker, to name just a few, have chosen to set their stories in France.  

After eight years of writing fiction, I realised that I had used France as the backdrop for many of my short stories. So I have collected a dozen of them into a book. About two-thirds are historical, but they are all inspired by the essence of France. 

  

Vanessa Couchman

Vanessa Couchman is a British novelist and short story writer who has lived in southwest France since 1997. She has written two novels, The House at Zaronza (read my review here) and The Corsican Widow, and is working on a third. Her short stories have been placed in competitions and published in anthologies. French Collection, her collection of short stories set in France, is published today, 9th November.

Website: http://vanessacouchmanwriter.com

French life blog, Life on La Lune: http://vanessafrance.wordpress.com

French Collection: Twelve Short Stories is available in paperback and e-book formats from Amazon.

Join me back here tomorrow to read my review of French Collection and you can also read my France et Moi interview with Vanessa here.

Guest post from author Julia Stagg

Today is an exciting day for anyone who has been virtually taken to the Ariège-Pyrenees through the pages of Julia Stagg’s novels set in the small mountain commune of Fogas as it is publication day for A Fte to Remember (Fogas Chronicles 4) . Although I have not yet read it I remember snippets of the other three books with fond holiday-like memories and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed with this one. It’s been too long since I had a mini break in Fogas. A few years ago Julia wrote a guest post for me about her beloved Ariège-Pyrenees region and I thought today would be a good day to repost it. (The original disappeared into the black hole that opened up when I transferred from iWeb to Blogger).

Julia Stagg at the auberge

The Ariège-Pyrenees is a remote département in the southern corner of France, which snuggles up to Spain and Andorra. Relatively unknown, even by the French (the number of people who called us in haute saison to ask exactly where our auberge was while en route to stay there was staggering), it has retained a lot of its traditions. Time moves slowly. Strangers stand out. And Paris seems a long, long, way away.

When we first moved there in 2004 we felt at home from the first. The locals were welcoming, glad to have the auberge up and running again (my first novel L’Auberge is not based on fact!) and the scenery took our breath away. It still does – those mountains really do make your soul sing. But being newcomers, of course we stood out in a community where genealogy needs no internet access, old Madame Rogalle able to trace the ancestry of every family in the village. And happy to supply a few choice details no web search could ever unearth. What surprised me though was that we weren’t the only ones who were viewed as foreign.

During our first season running the auberge, it was amusing to see the second-home owners, who descended from Paris, Bordeaux, Montpellier, being put in the same bracket. In fact, because we were working those long summer days, we were regarded as honorary insiders and were therefore party to the moans and grumbles about the visitors who had come to our region. Visitors who were French.

It set me thinking about the meaning of ‘outsider’; how we all perceive it to mean something different. And how the label is made redundant over time when that which was unfamiliar becomes everyday. This became the focus of my second book, The Parisian’s Return, where the newcomer to the small commune of Fogas is French and brings with him all the preconceived ideas he has about this little known area. Likewise, he is met with all the prejudice that people living in a rural community can harbour for anyone from the bright lights of a metropolis.

Despite having lived most of my life as an ‘outsider’, I have no magic formula for making a move to another place work out; no secret to the success of becoming accepted. But I like to think that we achieved a level of ‘local’ status during our time running the auberge. And I like to think that when we go back (as often as we can), we are welcomed as returning residents. Of course, that also means we are now part of Madame Rogalle’s news updates. A small price to pay in my book!

Thanks Julia. To read more about her first three novels see my reviews here: L’Auberge, The Parisian’s Return and The French Postmistress.

I have been a BIG fan of Julia’s work since first coming across L’Auberge about four years ago and last month I was lucky enough to meet her in person! Despite busily scribbling away on book five of The Fogas Chronicles, she packed her notebook and pen, hopped on a train for the two hour journey to York where she treated me to lunch and we chatted like old friends for hours. She really is a lovely person as well as a great writer; so do please check out her books – I’m sure you will love them.

If you haven’t come across Julia’s work before you can find her on Facebook, Twitter and on her website, plus read my interview with her here.

Guest Post by Juliette Sobanet

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Juliette Sobanet's first two novels, Sleeping with Paris and Kissed in Paris (read my reviews here and here), and I'm delighted to share a sneak preview of her new novel Midnight Train to Paris released today. Juliette is a true Francophile and I was lucky enough to chat to her recently for my France et Moi interview feature, see here. She earned a B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.A. from New York University in France, living and studying in both Lyon and Paris. She worked as a French professor before turning a new page in her career, penning romantic women’s fiction with a French twist. She has also been busy with her upcoming novels Dancing with Paris and Honeymoon in Paris (A Charlotte Summers Novel, Book 2). Today she lives with her husband and two cats in San Diego, where she devotes her time to writing and dreaming about her next trip to France. You can find her on her website, Twitter, or Facebook.

Thanks so much for having me, Jacqui! Today we’re celebrating the release of my latest France-based novel, Midnight Train to Paris! This book was originally released as a Kindle serial on Amazon US, but it is now available as a full-length novel in print and e-book on Amazon UK, Canada, France, and all other Amazon sites!

Here’s a little more about the story:

When hard-hitting DC reporter Jillian Chambord learns that her twin sister, Isla, has been abducted from a luxury train traveling through the Alps, not even the threat of losing her coveted position at The Washington Daily can stop her from hopping on the next flight to France. Never mind the fact that Samuel Kelly--the sexy former CIA agent who Jillian has sworn off forever--has been assigned as the lead investigator in the case.

When Jillian and Samuel arrive in the Alps, they soon learn that their midnight train isn't leading them to Isla, but has taken them back in time to 1937, to a night when another young woman was abducted from the same Orient Express train. Given a chance to save both women, Jillian and Samuel are unprepared for what they discover on the train that night, for the sparks that fly between them...and for what they'll have to do to keep each other alive.

Midnight Train to Paris is a magical and suspenseful exploration of just how far we will go to save the ones we love. 

If you’d like to board the midnight train to 1930s Paris, here is a sneak peek of the opening scene…

Prologue

December 24, 1937

Lausanne, Switzerland

Rosie Delaney stood on the empty platform, gripping the handle of her cherry-red suitcase with ice-cold fingers. She desperately wished that she’d remembered her gloves.

Thick, heavy snowflakes poured from the black winter sky, dusting the tracks in an eerie white glow. Save for the giant clock ticking overhead, the silence in the Swiss train station that night was deafening to Rosie’s ears, which had never been so alert.

Despite her nerves, Rosie was certain she’d covered her tracks well. She’d put on quite the show with Alexandre before slipping out of the annual Morel Holiday Gala unnoticed. She’d even resisted the overwhelming urge to say good-bye to the one person she would miss.

Her mother.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Rosie thought of the lovely sights of Paris and the even lovelier man who would be waiting for her there, in her favorite city, in only a few short hours.

Jacques Chambord.

She’d made the right choice.

Of course she had.

She’d left behind a closet full of shimmering evening gowns, fur coats, jewels, and high heels. Her meager suitcase contained only a few changes of her most practical, modest clothes and a box of letters.

Those letters meant more to her than any jewel-studded closet ever could.

Running her thumb over the newly bare skin on her ring finger, Rosie remembered how suffocating Alexandre’s elaborate diamond ring had felt on her left hand. And it wasn’t only the ring that had been suffocating.

The memory of him made her forget how to breathe.

If only the train would get here.

A nervous glance at the clock revealed that it was 11:37 p.m.

They would surely be wondering where she had gone by now. She could almost see Alexandre’s dark furrowed eyebrows, his beady brown eyes combing the party, searching for his fiancée, his trésor, his poupée.

Rosie was finished being Alexandre’s treasure, his doll.

She was finished keeping him and his elitist, power-hungry family happy.

A train whistle thundered through the night, and adrenaline shot through Rosie’s veins as she glimpsed the steam locomotive barreling down the snow-covered tracks.

Only one word soared through Rosie’s mind at the sight of the Orient Express on that snowy winter night in the Swiss Alps.

Freedom. 

Thank you Juliette and good luck with the new releases. I can't wait to read the rest of Midnight Train to Paris and I'm really looking forward to your other new books later this year, especially Honeymoon in Paris and catching up with Charlotte.

Money Talk Monday Guest Post

When we moved to France in 2004 we used a currency house to ensure we got a good exchange rate when transferring our funds from the UK. When large sums of money are involved currency fluctuations can make a huge difference and my advice will always be to shop around for the best rate. Today's post is a guest post by Peter Lavelle from foreign exchange specialists Pure FX. Please note I am not being paid to host this post, I have not used Pure FX nor do I endorse them, but for any readers thinking about moving to France this is good information to consider. 

5 Tips to Maximise Your Exchange Rate When You Move to France

As an expat myself, based in Madrid, I can attest to the importance of getting your money transfer right. Given that, what I want to do in this post is outline 5 tips to maximise your exchange rate when you move to France.

1. Research the exchange rates in advance. The biggest mistake people make when transferring money is to leave it to the last minute. This means they’re left with little choice but to accept the rate available, be that what it may. Instead, if you wish to maximise your exchange rate, you need to research the rates in advance.

2. Set a realistic target rate. It’s important to be realistic about what exchange rate you can expect. If you’ll only transfer pounds into euros at 1.50, it may be worth rethinking whether that’s a reasonable goal, given that the pound hasn’t been there in five years. Instead, get a sense of where the market’s been in the last six months, and set your target rate based on that.

3. Accept a good rate while it’s available. A common mistake among people transferring money is to spot a good rate and, instead of making their transfer there and then, decide to wait and see how high it goes. The trouble is, the foreign exchange market is deeply volatile, and a rising exchange rate can become a falling one without warning. Given that, it’s better to accept a good rate when it comes around.

4. Consider a forward contract. A forward contract is a way for you to lock in your exchange rate ahead of time. It can be useful if you like the present exchange rate, but don’t yet wish to have your money in France. What happens is, you “lock in” the exchange rate where it is, pay an initial 10.0% of the total sum, then you can transfer your money at any time you like within the next two years.

5. Think carefully before using a bank. Last of all, think carefully about whether you want to use a bank to transfer your money. This is because, compared to a specialist foreign exchange broker, banks offer exchange rates up to 4.0% worse, which can add up to a difference of thousands of euros, if your intention is to buy a house in France.

These tips will put you in a better position when you come to transfer money to France. Good luck!

About the writer

Peter is an economist at foreign exchange broker Pure FX. He’s worked in foreign exchange since 2010, and is a dedicated follower of global politics and economics. If you have any questions for him about the foreign exchange rates, he’d be delighted to help answer them.

Guest post from Susie Kelly

Having read, enjoyed and reviewed Susie Kelly’s book The Valley Of Heaven And Hell - Cycling In The Shadow Of Marie Antoinette where she cycles from Versailles, east through Paris and along the Marne Valley, following the route taken by Marie Antoinette, see here, I thought it would be nice to ask her to do a Paris related guest post as part of Paris week. I was delighted she agreed, and here it is, over to you Susie.

“Although we have lived in la France profonde for seventeen years, we only visited Paris for the first time three years ago. 
Did it live up to our expectations? No, not really. 
It surpassed them. Every corner offered a new and beautiful view. 
It was something of a whistle-stop tour, as we had less than two days to spend. One place I particularly wanted to see was the Conciergerie, and the entrance ticket included a visit to La Sainte Chapelle just a few metres away. I'll be completely honest, I'm not religious, I'd never heard of it and I imagined a dim and musty little place that would warrant five minutes of my time. The only reason I went there was because I had paid for the ticket.
The little Gothic chapel was commissioned in the 13th century by pious King Louis IX to house what he believed to be Christ's crown of thorns and a relic from the cross, bought for an extortionate price from the Byzantine emperor. 
If "Gothic" conjures up a picture of grim austerity, there is nothing of that in this enchanting church. It’s Aladdin's cave and Blackbeard's treasure chest all in one. La Sainte Chapelle is the most exquisite building I have ever seen. Breathtakingly, heart-achingly, overwhelmingly, tear-jerkingly magnificent. My jaw had never spontaneously fallen open before. Until then I had thought that "open-mouthed wonderment" was an exaggeration. 
On the lower floor the vaulted blue ceilings decorated with golden heavenly bodies resemble the night sky. The supporting pillars are painted in voluptuous colours - rich red adorned with golden Castilian castles and midnight blue with golden fleurs de lys. Standing in this glorious church is a truly sensuous experience. It's so beautiful that you feel you want to break off little pieces and eat them.
When it still served as a royal church, the lesser social classes worshipped in this lower chapel, while the floor above was reserved for royalty. It was worth the momentary panic of claustrophobia to climb the narrow stone spiral staircase, because it leads into a radiant jewel-box of brilliant hues. The high walls of the chapel are formed by intricate stained glass windows separated from each other by the most slender of columns, giving the impression that the entire wall is built of one vast pane of bejewelled glass. Sunlight poured through these windows and projected lakes of coloured lozenges that danced on the floor, creating a living kaleidoscope. I could have happily sat there all day.
Earlier when we had visited Versailles, I was slightly repelled by the opulence of the palace, and yet here I was enchanted by the flamboyance of this church. In trying to rationalise these feelings I arrived at the conclusion that while Versailles is a testament to one man's power and self-glorification, La Sainte Chapelle is the expression of one man's love for his god and that is what, for me, makes all the difference. While I don't share Louis IX's beliefs, I can certainly recognise and appreciation his devotion to them."

Thank you Susie, somewhere I haven’t visited, but will add to the list for next time. Susie forgot her camera, but to see some images just click here. If you would like to read more from Susie and her exploits in and around Paris (by bike) I can recommend The Valley Of Heaven And Hell - Cycling In The Shadow Of Marie Antoinette available online at Amazon.

Guest Post by Vic Heaney, from Vic's Big Walk

Vic Heaney walks, writes and raises money for pancreatic cancer research and today he is guest blogging for me.  Many thanks Vic.

Thanks, Jacqui, for lending me space on your blog.  Vic's Big Walk  from SW France to NW England took 70 days, at the age of 70.  But there was also a training period of two years, during which I walked a further 12,000 kms.  Here are some of my thoughts from one of those walks.

Can You Bear It?

While walking this morning I was hit once again by the strong aroma of silage. Something you wouldn’t notice while in a car. Or is it called haylage? What you get with those huge rolled up whirls of hay which are then enclosed in plastic.

The haylage sits in the sun stewing away inside the plastic. Even though it is completely wrapped you get this very strong very sweet smell of the fermentation that’s going on inside there. Animals, with their sense of smell, must whiff it from much further away. So when the farmers unwrap it for use in winter or in times of drought the critters must go absolutely berserk at this stuff. They probably salivate all summer at the prospect.

And fermentation produces alcohol, does it not? Is it a myth about mad cow disease, then? After all, another name for it is the staggers. Maybe they are just drunk, or, as a good friend of mine would say, "gassed as a carrot". I once read that something like 60% of the road accidents in Sweden are caused by drunken elk, which have picked up fallen fruit, which has then fermented inside them. Speaking of strength of smell of animals, one of the animals we have in this area, although not in great numbers, is the bear. When I first heard this, brown bear, I thought smallish animal, obviously a wild animal and not to be approached but I didn’t realise at the time that we were talking something which stands 9 feet high at the shoulder, can run as fast as a racehorse, and which can smell you from 10 miles away, presumably only when the wind is in the right direction (for him!). Maybe there is some technical difference between this bear and the grizzly but I don’t think that matters to the consumer or the consumed. They had more or less been hunted to extinction in this area. The last natural denizen was shot – accidentally, of course, a few years ago. The powers that be have reintroduced these bears by importing some from Slovenia.

We read a few weeks ago that one of these bears had been seen in Rennes le Chateau which is only 10 miles away or so from us, as the crow flies, well inside the Aude. When they were released they were fitted with radio collars so that their movements could be tracked. This one has been wandering around over a very wide area – it was located in Pamiers – 50 kms in the other direction – only a few days earlier. They think it is, as it would be, looking for a mate. We all need somebody to love.

My books are written to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research. Details here:

http://vicheaneyauthorofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/10/where-to-find-my-books.html

Guest Post by Anne Trager from Le French Book

When Jacqui asked me to write a post for French Village Diaries, I thought it would be fun to share glimpses of France from the books I’ve most recently translated into English. I love mysteries and crime fiction, and all three of these books are in that genre, are by acclaimed French authors, and are set in France. For me, these books are more than just entertaining reading, they are a way to discover France differently.

Take The Paris Lawyer by Sylvie Granotier (http://www.theparislawyer.com).  Our heroine, Catherine Monsigny, is a rookie lawyer in Paris, but a felony case takes her to Creuse.  I’ve lived in France over 25 years and I didn’t even know where that was until now.  Here, she’s talking to her father about her new case.

 “I’d be surprised if you wanted to hang out there. It’s not such a great place.” “Just as well. I’m not a tourist. Isn’t there a slogan, ‘Creuse, where kids run free and happy’?” “Rivers. Where rivers run free and happy.” Yes. An old ad pops out of who-knows-where. 

The author, Sylvie Granotier, splits her time between Paris and Creuse, and has told me about the nineteenth-century painting-like landscapes that inspire her writing.

In Treachery in Bordeaux (The Winemaker Detective Series) by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen (http://www.treacheryinbordeaux.com), you travel to French wine country:

The morning was cool and radiant. A west wind had swept the clouds far inland to the gentle hills beyond the city of Bordeaux…The Médoc was still wild, despite its well-ordered garden veneer, and it would always be that way. In the distance, a few low wisps of fog were finishing their lazy dance along the Gironde Estuary.

This book has a particularly heightened sense of place and you learn a lot about the whole winemaking world. It’s a fun, classic whodunit.

Then there is The 7th Woman (Nico Sirsky, Chief of Police) by Frédérique Molay (“the French Michael Connelly”), which gives a truly different perspective of Paris (http://www.the7thwoman.com).  I lived in Paris for over 20 years and really enjoyed experiencing it the way I did in this book: on the end of my seat.  It’s like the movie Seven meets CSI in the City of Light, with an alpha-male hero and a creepy killer.  Here’s one of my favorite passages, which probably says something about me, but hey:

The Marais was part of the city’s magic, with it narrow streets lined with private townhouses … It was the preserved heart of the capital. It had a long history, and its well-preserved heritage let the mind imagine the unbelievable treasures it once held and the scenes with kings and courtesans that those stones had witnessed. He liked this enigmatic atmosphere. It was, after all, in the tower of the Temple Fortress that King Louis XVI had been imprisoned before being taken to the guillotine. It was also where the young King Louis XVII was killed under lesser-known circumstances. This was a neighborhood predestined for his crime. 

Anne Trager founded Le French Book to bring France's best crime fiction, thrillers, novels, short stories, and non-fiction to new readers across the English-speaking world. The company’s motto is: “If we love it, we’ll translate it.”

Many thanks to Anne for joining us here.

©Sylvie Granotier

Interview with Julia Stagg, part two

Welcome back to my terrace where Julia and I are having a good old natter about all things French, and especially the food.

FVD: Now you are not running an auberge, is food (and cooking) still an important part of your day, or just something to satisfy hunger?

JS: For the first twelve months out of the auberge, things were really hectic. We moved house four times, I was settling in to my writing life which involved lots of trips to London and lots of promotional work which took me away from home, so it was a relief not to be cooking on a regular basis. But I still remember the first meal we cooked when we no longer ran the restaurant. It was amazing. A really simple dish of Toulouse sausages braised in cider and served on sage mash potato. It had been a firm favourite with guests in the auberge but we had never sat down at a table and eaten it ourselves! We really savoured that meal. As for now, food is still important but it is no longer as stressful!

FVD: Ooh, that cider sausage dish sounds lovely, might have to give that a try, thanks.  What would be your favourite French dish?

JS: Ooohhh – I love a good cassoulet, as anyone who has read my books will know! And magret de canard, if it is cooked to perfection, is delicious. But I really don’t think I have a favourite dish. Although I know I like things uncomplicated! The best meal I’ve ever had in France was in a small restaurant in Paris, below the Sacré Coeur. It was a simple civet de porcelet but was delicious. A house red. Crusty bread. That’s what makes me happy.

FVD: Did you try to introduce English ingredients to the menu at the auberge?  Did you ever try to sneak Marmite in?

JS: No Marmite – unless it was for cooking in! Horseradish was probably the only ingredient we had to explain to guests. It doesn’t seem to feature much in French cooking. And we did sneak in the odd English-style dessert. Crumble is very much en vogue so we served a lot of rhubarb crumble (the guests loved the fact they could see the rhubarb growing in the garden!). We also introduced guests to pavlovas and amazingly, although it’s not British, to tiramisu! I still can’t believe one of our neighbours could have lived a proportion of his life in Paris, retire back to the Pyrenees and not know what tiramisu was… He quickly became a convert!

FVD: I love my cakes and am lucky enough to live 2 doors away from our village boulangerie, what do you prefer, the French éclair-au-chocolat with the chocolate crème patissiere filling or the English chocolate eclair with a whipped cream filling?

JS: The French éclair every time! The French win hands down when it comes to patisserie. But if we’re talking about puddings…now that’s a different matter! A good sticky toffee pudding has no equal across the channel. So French cakes for elevenses and British puddings after dinner!

FVD: Yum – couldn’t agree more!  Still on a food theme (no surprise there), coffee – do you prefer yours in a cup, mug or bowl?  

JS: A mug but one wide enough….(see below)…

FVD: What are your views (if any) on dunking bread, croissants or chocolate into your coffee?

JS: …to dunk my pain-au-chocolat! I’m a late convert to this. Spent years clearing up messy breakfast dishes with flakes of croissant stuck to mugs and coffee slopped on plates and never quite saw the attraction. Then we visited a friend of ours in Saint-Nazaire and he’d laid on breakfast for us. No plates. Just a mug of coffee and croissants. He proceeded to dunk his croissant and made such a noise of ecstasy on eating it that I copied him. And I’ve been hooked ever since. Try it. It’s gorgeous.

FVD: Umm, no thanks!  A square of dark chocolate dunked in my espresso coffee is all that is permitted ‘dunkable’ here I’m afraid!  What do you prefer sliced white loaf or a baguette? 

JS: Neither. I find most baguettes pretty tasteless (I share my character Serge Papon’s view on mass produced bread!) and from an auberge owner’s perspective, inedible a couple of hours after buying and so a waste of money. Luckily we had a bakery nearby that made bread the old-fashioned way and so we were able to get delicious crusty loaves that were close to wholemeal. They kept well (important for the business!) and tasted divine.

FVD: I have to say wholemeal is something I miss (a lot).  Moving away from food and back to the writing, how long does it take you to write a book?  And are you disciplined enough to spend a certain number of hours a day at your desk?

JS: I think the only answer to the first question is ‘as long as I have’. The first book for most writers is written without any deadline. Or any hope of publication! So it can take as long as you want. My very first book (which is in a drawer!) took five years to write - because I had a fulltime job, I moved countries three times in that period and I didn’t really believe I would ever get published. My second book, L’Auberge, took two winters to write. I had no time between March and October, the auberge occupying every waking hour, so once the season was over, I would get back to the writing. Then I sent it off to a literary agent and got a contract with a publisher and suddenly, they wanted the next book within 9 months. Gulp! So The Parisian’s Return took a lot less time to write in terms of months but I was writing full time so it probably took the same amount of time in hours. And that is my pattern now. A book a year. Which I guess answers your next question. Yes, I’m disciplined. In today’s market, every writer who is published has to be as there is such a wealth of talent out there, if you don’t get your ideas down on the page and in to the publisher, someone else will take your place.

FVD: Did you write when you were in France, or maybe have the idea of the Fogas books while you were there?

JS: Totally. We actually moved to the Pyrenees to give me a chance to write. It took a few years to sort out the business but once the auberge was running well, I found more and more time to think and create. Amazing what you can do while ironing sheets or hanging out towels to dry! And yes, the Fogas books were inspired by the area we lived in and came into being because I’d had my first book rejected. I was looking out of the window of the auberge and I could see the neighbour’s bull (very like Sarko in the books!) and I started thinking about how he was always misbehaving and suddenly I had loads of ideas. I scrawled them down on paper and saw that I had enough for a series of books. And the rest…was a lot of hard work which has all been worthwhile!

FVD: You have just finished writing the third book in the Fogas chronicles (and I personally can’t wait to read it), can you tell us a little bit about what we can look forward too?

JS: The third instalment is called The French Postmistress which, if you’ve read the first two, you will know is going to be about Véronique Estaque, the postmistress of Fogas. But in true Fogas style, it’s about more than just her struggle to reopen the post office. It’s also about the government programme to reintroduce bears in the Pyrenees and the havoc this causes to the rural way of life; it’s about community and identity and the pull of one’s roots; and it’s about life in a small village where everyone knows everything about you, sometimes before you even know it yourself!

FVD: (Jumps up and down in excitement)  Any idea when we will be lucky enough to get our hands on a copy?

JS: The proposed publication date in the UK is early summer 2013. I’ll keep readers updated on my facebook page (www.facebook.com/staggjulia) and on my website (www.jstagg.com). There’s a new cover design underway too so the books are about to have a radical makeover. I’ll post more information on the sites above as I have it.

FVD: Are there any more tales to tell from Fogas?  (Please say yes).

JS: Ha – thank you! Yes. I’m working on the fourth book and there will be another to follow. After that, I’ve got a few ideas but they are in the formative stage…

FVD: Phew, so glad to hear that!  You have appeared at The France Show, talking about the books and your French life, are you going to be there next January?

JS: I’m not sure about the France Show – I hope so but I’m still waiting for confirmation. I will, however, be appearing at the French Property Exhibition at Olympia in London (5-7 Oct 2012), giving seminars on learning French and also promoting my books. And trying not to be tempted by all of the amazing properties on sale! Hopefully I’ll see some of your readers there!

FVD: Oh how I would love to escape my French village and be in London next weekend, never mind!  Good luck with the books and thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

JS: Mon plaisir! (Do you mind if I just sit here a bit longer – the view is amazing…!)

FVD: Oh you are too kind!  Stay as long as you like, so long as I don’t find you dunking your pain-au-chocolat in the morning!  Don’t forget to say hello to Julia (and please feel free to mention me) if you are lucky enough to be attending the French Property Exhibition in London next weekend.