The French Illusions Box Set

Bargain priced at Amazon for $4.99! Thank you, Laurie, for your fantastic review. My heart is full.

Cover Reveal for French Illusions: From Tours to Paris!

Drum roll please! Here’s my new cover for Book 2 in the French Illusions Series, scheduled for release in April 2015. My head’s in the clouds!!!

 

French Illusions 2 eBook cover

Grand Chateaux Of The Loire Valley – Angers

This will be the third of three posts centering on chateaux from the Loire Valley in France. The final chateau on my list is Château d’Angers.

Grand Chateaux Of The Loire Valley – Chenonceau

This will be the second of three posts centering on chateaux from the Loire Valley in France. Next on my list is the magnificent Château de Chenonceau.

Grand Chateaux Of The Loire Valley

This will be the first of three posts centering on chateaux from the Loire Valley in France. First on my list is the magnificent Chateau de Chambord.

What Defines a Memoir? What Is Narrative Nonfiction?

Merriam-Webster defines a memoir as follows, “a written account in which someone (such as a famous performer or politician) describes past experiences, or a written account of someone or something that is usually based on personal knowledge of the subject.” So, how does that differ from a biography or an autobiography? Once again, turning to our expert above, a biography is the story of a real person’s life written by someone other than that person,” whereas, “an autobiography is the biography of a person narrated by himself or herself.” Obviously the lines can get blurred, but quite often, an autobiography spans a person’s lifetime whereas a memoir tells a story about a certain time period in someone’s life.

Enhanced Ending For French Illusions

I want to thank all of my readers for their reviews of French Illusions at Amazon. Although most of your comments are positive, I’ve received a consistent criticism, gulp, my abrupt ending. I didn’t get it right away. At first, I thought the reader was left with too many unanswered questions. What happens to Adam? Does Linda ever learn French? Does she ever become a flight attendant? These questions are not only understandable, there’re expected. Where to end this memoir was a difficult decision for me. After I outlined my first diary, I realized that I had too much story left in my second diary for only one book. A natural place to break the story occurs after my au pair experience.

A Favorite Love Scene From French Illusions

Adam, the main love interest in my memoir, is one of my favorite characters in the book. He had it all – good looks, intelligence, humor and a sort of je ne sais quoi that was irresistible.  As you can imagine, it wasn’t easy to write romantically about myself. I wrote and then rewrote these scenes, wiping the sweat off of my brow, until I could imagine them in print. Here is a sample of one of my favorites:

Interview With Linda Kovic-Skow

 

What was the turning point when you realized you wanted to write and share your voice with the world?

Fun French Facts

My first French fact is a personal favorite. The bikini was invented by two different French designers in 1946. Jacques Heim invented his suit first, calling it “l’Atome.” At about the same time, his rival, Louis Reard, created a two-piece bathing suit, the “Bikini.” Reard used skywriting over the Riviera to promote his “Bikini,” and the name stuck like glue.