I have been asked about the pictures introducing the four parts in French Illusions. It was my publisher’s design team that came up with this fantastic idea. I doubt many authors ponder the interior design of their book. I certainly didn’t. My mind was focused on the cover design until Dog Ear Publishing sent me the first interior galley for review.

I’m not sure who or what prompted me to keep a diary during my trip to France in 1979, but I’m sure glad I did. Without it, my book, French Illusions, probably never would have been written.

Choosing an editor for French Illusions wasn’t easy. As a matter of fact, it was downright difficult. I searched the web for many months, pouring through blogs and editors guilds until I found three candidates who looked promising. I asked for references, contacted all  them and received good feedback. Now what, I thought. How will I choose? The answer seemed simple. I would ask each of them to perform an edit on my first chapter. They all agreed, and over the next few weeks, I received their samples. With a critical eye, I spread them out on my office floor and carefully compared their work. Each editor offered something, but none of their edits felt like a perfect fit. Reluctantly, I tossed all of them aside.

When I decided to write a story based on my diary, I knew that I would have to change the names of people and places to protect identities. This was especially true with regard to my host au pair family. Acquiring permission from them was out of the question. Totally out of the question. I mean it. Read my book and you’ll understand. Additionally, over thirty years had passed since I spoke with anyone I’d met in France. I no longer had any contact information.

I searched the internet for weeks, listening to French music, trying to choose a song for my book trailer. When I heard “Imposture” by Danielle Pauly, from the album Café de Paris, my heart lurched. I loved the melody, but what did the title mean in French? Quickly, I looked up the translation for “Imposture.” Hee-hee, it means “fraud.” The song was perfect.

The year is 1979, and twenty-one-year-old Linda Kovic is disenchanted with her current career as a medical assistant. Yearning for more excitement and adventure in her life, she pursues other careers. Her tenacity lands her an interview for a flight attendant position, but her hopes are crushed when she learns they require her to speak a second language. Undaunted, Linda decides to learn French and pursues a position as an au pair in France. In order to secure a position with an aristocratic family in the Loire Valley, she lies and pretends to speak the language. Once she arrives at her destination, Linda soon discovers that her expectations are very different from those of her unforgiving employer.

About four years ago, after my husband and I dropped our youngest daughter off at college, I went through a sort of mid-life crisis. I missed being a mom and I wondered how I would fill the void. Sure I had my part-time bookkeeping business, but it consumed only a few hours a day and it wasn’t interesting any more. Something was missing? But what?

EBook now available at iBookstore, Kobo, Sony, Baker & Taylor, Copia and Barnes & Noble.

Yipee! After weeks of fussing with formatting, my debut memoir is now available in ebook at Amazon. In a few weeks it will be accessible in other formats, such as Barnes & Noble, iBook, Sony, Kobo, Baker and Taylor and Copia. This bargain price won’t last forever, so download your copy today!

Phew, I can’t believe I did it! It’s taken me a little over three years, but my debut memoir is finally complete and available at Amazon and Barnes & Nobel. My eBook is coming soon for a bargain price of 99¢. I’ll be posting to a weekly blog once I catch my breath, so stay tuned!