I was approached by Sarah at Publishizer regarding a book contest for inspiring writers with a focus on diversity and I wanted to share this great opportunity with you. Read the guest post below to find out more information about the contest and its $1,000 prize!




  Imagine a YA publishing process without gatekeepers. One where editors and agents read the manuscripts that readers love, not vice versa. One where anyone with a knack for writing, a passion to succeed, and a little flair for self-promotion, has a fair shot at being published.

All too frequently, this isn’t the case. Books often get rejected for reasons beyond authors’ control. One editor turned down an ultimately successful book by saying, “The girl doesn't, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the 'curiosity' level.” The book in question? The Diary of Anne Frank. Furthermore, according to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, only about 10% of all YA books accepted for publication feature “multi-cultural content.” Clearly, there are some blind spots that need addressing in the publishing industry.

It’s with this vision in mind that Publishizer is launching its YA book proposal contest called Plot Without a Cause. Publishizer is a startup seeking to fill a hole in the publishing industry through crowdfunding.

 It works like this: You write the book proposal. You know the book proposal I’m talking about. The one you’ve been daydreaming about for years. The one that just popped into your head last week and you haven’t stopped thinking about since. The one for the manuscript that’s been dearly loved by you but maybe not so much yet by the publishing industry. That one. Then you register (for free!) on Publishizer’s website and post your proposal in the Plot Without a Cause section (again—for free!).

  Now this is when you’ll have to start hustling. Crowdfunding runs on pre-orders, so you had better start promoting that proposal. Reach out over social media, post on your blog, email your old roommates—whatever it takes to start building buzz. If you get the most preorders by the time the contest ends, you’ll win $1000 dollars. And if you don’t have the highest number of preorders, don’t worry—you’ll still be queried to major publishers who fit your proposal.

Previous Publishizer contest participants have gotten interest and landed deals with a variety of traditional publishing companies, including Harvard Square Books, She Writes Press, and Weiser. Publishizer takes a small commission on pre-orders when you choose a publisher at the end.

Every year, thousands of books are rejected by the publishing world for reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the book—they’re too mainstream or not mainstream enough, too similar to books already being published or too different from books already being published. Or the literary agent just doesn’t stand to make much money on the deal so they pass on a perfectly good book! Imagine how many brilliant YA manuscripts go unpublished every year thanks to frustrating rejections. Imagine how many hugely talented authors quietly give up on their dreams, just because the gate to a traditional publishing path isn’t open to them.

  With their new YA book proposal contest, Plot Without a Cause, Publishizer is seeking to level the playing field. Publishing decisions shouldn’t be based solely on a literary agent’s judgement
or how many friends you have in the industry. They should be based on quality of writing and how many readers the book attracts.

   Great books get overlooked all the time, and this is an opportunity to show acquiring editors that yours is worth paying attention to. Not to mention the readership and funds you could gain in the process. Crowdfunding (or crowd-publishing, in this case) is growing in popularity and brings a personal touch back to book sales—for readers and publishers. Are you in?

For more information, visit the contest page or contact Sarah White directly at sarah@publishizer.com.

 Today I have the pleasure in introducing Leyla Kader Dahm to you. Her latestest book, Annabeth Neverending, is a paranormal romance that is set in Ancient Egypt. I thought it would be fun to ask Leyla the top ten things she learned about Ancient Egypt while she wrote her book.

 THE TOP TEN THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT ANCIENT EGYPT WHILE WRITING ANNABETH NEVERENDING by Leyla Kader Dahm
 

In my YA romance novel, Annabeth Neverending, Annabeth Prescott discovers that she’s a reincarnated princess from ancient Egypt. The minute I started writing, it became clear that some serious research on the era would be necessary to anchor the paranormal elements in reality.

I wanted the historical components to be as accurate as possible without sounding text-booky. To me, a blend of fact and fiction always makes for the most interesting of reads. At first it was a daunting task, but the ancient Egyptian factoids not only enriched the story, they fascinated me!


1) Ramses the II, also known as Ramses the Great, is considered to have been the most powerful pharaoh of all time. While many purport that he was the pharaoh of the Exodus, no conclusive evidence supporting that claim has come to light. He was responsible, however, for many of the greatest landmarks still standing in Egypt (the temple at Abu Simbel and the hall at Karnak, to name a few).


2) While Nefertari is thought to have been his principal/most prized wife, that didn’t stop Ramses from playing the field. Ramses had a harem of some 200 wives/concubines and sired well over 100 children. He did not mess around. Wait, I mean that he was always messing around!


3) Boundaries weren’t quite the same for the royals. After all, it recently came out that King Tut was most likely breasted by his sister. It doesn’t get much grosser than that. Or does it? After all, incest in the royal house was fairly routine. It’s said that Ramses married his own daughters from his marriage to Isetnophret (I don’t even go there in Annabeth). I mean…ew.


4) The ancient Egyptians thought that dead mice made for a dandy toothache cure, and held the tiny carcasses to trouble areas in their mouths to treat dental pain. I think I would’ve preferred the discomfort!


5) Stick fighting was a popular form of combat that I talk about rather extensively in my book. While it’s no longer a martial art that’s practiced in that region, you can find a stick dance performed during Ramadan called “tahtib,” in which the stick signifies a phallus. Um, okay...(on a side note, a more removed version of the dance—Egyptian cane dancing—is something that I performed back when I was a professional belly dancer!).


6) Beer was a cornerstone of ancient Egypt, as it was a major part of their diet. Rich and poor, young and old alike imbibed it. For the less affluent, most meals consisted of a thick beer and bread combination. Yum? Beer was so important that wages were even paid in the stuff.


7) There’s a lot of controversy about what role slaves played in ancient Egyptian culture. It’s hard to say just what constituted a slave in their society, but there does seem to be a consensus that there were slaves in the royal houses and that these poor individuals were most likely prisoners of war (as with Sethe in Annabeth Neverending).


8) Blue shabti were tiny glazed clay figures buried with the dead so that they’d have manual labor to assist them in the afterlife. One thing can be said for the ancient Egyptians: they always thought ahead!


9) During the mummification process, the ancient Egyptians pulled the brain out through the nasal cavity with the help of a long hook and disposed of it, even though they carefully embalmed other internal organs (ironically, they thought the brain was useless and served no purpose in the afterlife).


10) The ancient Egyptians used mud and crocodile dung for birth control (you can imagine where this was inserted). I think I would’ve taken my chances with the rhythm method!


I hope you find what I learned about ancient Egypt to be as riveting as I did!



Purchase the book at: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indiebound


  
Wisconsin native Leyla Kader Dahm popped popcorn and dreamt of a career in show business when working in a movie theater while in high school. The small-town Midwestern girl went another route and studied communications at Carroll College and Cornell University, but still found herself drawn to the big screen when a temp agency placed her in a production and development gig at Miramax/Dimension Films.
   Dahm went on to work as a script consultant for numerous production companies. She appeared in the acclaimed spoken word show Sit ‘N Spin and had her comedy feature spec, Due North, optioned by Michael Levy Enterprises. She sold her pitch, Survival Instinct, to Nickelodeon Original Movies.  
Dahm lives with her husband and children in Los Angeles, where she focuses on writing quality material for families and young adults.
 Find Leyla at her website and on Goodreads.

 
In a land where those with magic are esteemed and revered, Janir guards a secret that would send her to the headsman's block at a word. As one of the reviled Argetallams, she has the power to destroy enchantments and steal others' magic—an ability that has caused bloodshed for generations.

Raised as the illegitimate daughter of an influential lord, she was determined to turn her back on her heritage, but when her power manifests, leaving a nobleman dead, she has no choice but to flee her adoptive home. In exile with the help of a fearless young enchanter and an elf sworn to protect her, she finds herself entangled in a quest to hide an ancient artifact from the kingdom’s enemies.

But they are not the only ones after the relic and soon their paths cross with a rival from Janir's distant childhood. With no hope of help or rescue, the fate of nations will depend on a fifteen year old girl and her mastery of powers she doesn't understand.





Elisabeth Wheatley began what would be her first novel at eleven and hasn’t stopped writing since. When she’s not daydreaming of elves, vampires, and/or hot guys in armor, she can be found wasting time on the internet, fangirling over her latest obsession, and pretending to be a functional citizen.

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 Today I am delighted to share an excerpt from Iain Reading's The Dragon Of The Month Club the exciting first installment in a new young adult fantasy book series. This books sounds extremely cute and great for dragon fans. You can find out more information about the author and the book down below.


  It all started on a typical Friday afternoon. Ayana and Tyler had agreed to meet at the library right after school. Tyler had a dentist appointment and would either be a few minutes late or a few minutes early, depending on how long that took. Not surprisingly Tyler was a few minutes late. This could have been expected since Tyler took dentist appointments very seriously. For weeks ahead of time he would be sure to brush his teeth five times every single day—once when waking up, once after breakfast, once after lunch, once after dinner, and once again before bed—which was two more times a day than he usually did. (He normally deemed the wake-up and after dinner steps unnecessary.) All of this was in addition to flossing, rinsing, and otherwise generally trying to keep his teeth in the best possible shape for the check-up.


To Tyler, going to the dentist was like studying for a test in school. Failure was not an option. So it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that once he was actually in the dental chair, he expected the dentist to be every bit as thorough as he was, a process that required a bit more time than it normally would with less fastidious patients.


So Tyler was late.


And so, when he finally arrived, he hurried down the stairs and quickly navigated through the maze of shelves at the back of the library and found Ayana sitting there, crouched on the floor, sobbing her eyes out.


Tyler sighed heavily. He could already guess what must have happened: Heather van der Sloot... again.

He took off his backpack and set it on the floor. Folding his legs under him, he lowered himself down until he was sitting next to Ayana, not too close, of course, but as close as he dared to.


“What happened this time?” Tyler asked.


Ayana sobbed and buried her face even deeper in her hands. After a moment her left arm shot out, pointing an accusing finger toward a stack of soiled and disheveled papers lying in a heap on an empty space on the shelf opposite them.


“That,” Ayana cried, her voice thin and cracking.


Tyler stared at the papers, and it took him a moment to realize what they were.

“Your poems,” he gasped.


Tyler had to take a breath and swallow. Ayana’s poems were a work of art, neatly written in careful flowing script, one to a page. Ayana carried them with her sometimes in a stiff green cardboard folder with trees on it that had little strings that you used to tie it shut.


Ayana nodded, still sobbing.


“She threw them all over the playground,” she said, her voice raspy. “She grabbed my tree folder away from me and threw them everywhere. I... I ....” Ayana stuttered and couldn’t speak for a second.
“I don’t know if I got them all back,” she finally said, finishing her thought. “I think I lost some.”


Tyler nodded and crawled over on one knee to pick up the chaotic stack of papers. He sorted through them, one by one, trying to put them back into some kind of order. They were smeared and scratched and crumpled. One even had a dirty footprint stamped squarely on it.


Normally Ayana wouldn’t even let Tyler glance at one of her poems, so he was surprised that she wasn’t bothered by his looking through all of them now. She clearly wasn’t thinking straight, so he tried to make as neat a stack out of them as possible and set it down on the carpet in the middle of the row of shelves.


“There are a lot there,” he said, sitting close to her again. “Maybe you did get them all.”

Ayana shrugged her shoulders hopelessly.


“It doesn’t matter,” she said, staring blankly at the pile of papers. “I don’t care.”


Tyler felt a sudden squeeze around his heart. He had no idea what he was supposed to do to make Ayana feel better. But as his mind was racing, trying to think of something, the universe intervened.


“I hate her, Tyler,” Ayana said. “I HATE her!”


On this second last syllable, Ayana kicked at the opposite shelves with the heel of her shoe, making the wooden frame shudder and some of the books rattle around. One particular book—a small, thin one high up on the very top shelf—tipped forward as if in slow motion until it was hanging precariously at an impossible angle, almost as if it was levitating, before tumbling end over end to the floor.


Tyler tried to catch it but he was too slow, and instead it crashed into the stack of papers, scattering them slightly, before it fell flat on its back, right side up right in front of them.


...read the front cover of THE BOOK in bright yellow letters against a wavy blue background.

Tyler frowned and Ayana stopped crying for a moment. They both stared at THE BOOK with wide-open eyes, neither of them quite able to believe what they were seeing.


“How to conjure a dragon?” Ayana asked, kneeling forward to grab THE BOOK. Tyler crawled next to her as she opened the front cover.


THE BOOK was very thin—more like a pamphlet, really— with no table of contents, no copyright page, no dedication page. There wasn’t even an indication of who the author might be. It just went straight into the first chapter, which was entitled:



About the Author:

Note:  Unfortunately, I am without internet access this week so some of my posting may be sporadic. 

I wanted to share with you today a guest post from Marie Yates, the author of Reggie and Me, a book about a young adult trying to overcome her label of 'victim' after being sexually abused. If this guest post interests you, please check back tomorrow for my review of Reggie and Me.

Today I’m excited to be part of the blog tour for Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader for Kids Only on the blog tour hosted by Kismet Book Touring. Today I have a mini-chat with Uncle John to share with you all! For more information you can check out the Tour Page.

Thank you for stopping by Books in the Spotlight! For those of us who are new to the Bathroom Reader's Institute, can you give us a little background story to the institute (i.e. how it was formed, what inspired you to create it, how many books are written, etc)?


When Uncle John was growing up, everybody in his family read in the bathroom. One day he had an idea: there are books for every other room in the house—cookbooks for the kitchen, coffee table books for the living room. Why not make a book just for reading in the bathroom. That began Uncle John’s lifelong career of bringing fun bits of unusual information to millions of fans around the world. Together with the team of demented infomaniacs he calls the Bathroom Readers’ Institute (actually, it’s a group of six writers and researchers), he scours the globe looking for the weirdest facts, the strangest stories, the grossest foods, the funniest jokes, the looniest laws, the smelliest farts, and anything else that will make his readers say, “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” Now, 100 books later (with 15 million copies sold), Uncle John and the Bathroom Readers’ Institute are the undisputed kings of the “throne room.”


About Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader For Kids Only!:
 

• Goodreads
• Get a Copy: Amazon | Uncle John’s Online Store
   
  
  

  
  

  

  The life of Gordon “Uncle John” Javna, editor-in-chief and publisher of the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series, reads like one of his books. There’s a lot of fun, intriguing—often odd—information lurking around every corner. He went to art school, and then went on to become a musician, real-estate developer, writer, restaurateur, president of a pre-school, brew pub owner, and editor—not all at once, mind you, but he has been all of these things.

  Eventually, though, he realized that because of his love of fascinating facts (and being a bathroom reader himself), he was naturally suited, perhaps even destined, to bring the joy of trivia to the world in a fun, informative way. He assumed the pseudonym Uncle John for the Bathroom Reader series and since then, Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader has become the longest-running, most popular series of its kind in the publishing industry.  To date, there are more than 15 million Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers in print and his fanatical flock of followers span from Australia to the United Kingdom and beyond.

  Guided by their obsession with unusual trivia, amazing origins, and forgotten history, Gordon “Uncle John” Javna and his staff at the Bathroom Readers’ Institute have made Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers a must-have for book and gift stores worldwide for over two decades.  Gordon continues to expand his porcelain province from his throne room in Ashland, Oregon.

   

  To Find More About Gordon Javna:

  Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Google+

   

  Tour Schedule:

   

  Monday, June 30th –  Candace’s Book Blog
  
  

  Tuesday, July 1st - Cindy’s Love of Books

  Books in the Spotlight

  
  

  Wednesday, July 2nd - Proud Book Nerd

  
  

  Thursday, July 3rd  - Bumbles and Fairy-Tales

  
  

  Friday July 4th - Cassandra M’s Place

  
  

  Monday, July 7th  - Sweet Southern Home

  
  

  Tuesday, July 8th - Confessions of a Book Addict

  
  

  Wednesday, July 9th - Little Red Reads

  
  

  Thursday, July 10th  - Me, My Shelf and I

  
  

  Friday July 11th  - Bewitched Bookworms

  
  

  Monday, July 14th - Kindle and Me

  
  

  Tuesday, July 15th  - Snowdrop Dreams of Books

  
  

  Wednesday, July 16th  - Hott Books

  
  

  Thursday, July 17th  - alwaysjoart

  
  Friday July 18th - Captivated Reading 
   
  
   

Today author, Sherry Soule has some exciting news to share with us! She will be publishing a brand new upper YA / Sci-Fi romance series: the “Starlight Saga” with scorching-hot character chemistry, exciting suspense, and epic romance on June 26, 2014.

  To help promote this interstellar love story, Lost in Starlight, Sherry is doing this fun guest post to share the news with fellow booklovers. Today, Sherry has decided to interview her main character.




If a headstrong, gutsy, and imperfect heroine, with an eccentric fashion sense appeals to you, then you'll love Sloane. If you’ve already read the novel, this interview should be amusing and insightful. And if you haven’t read Lost in Starlight yet, hopefully this fun character interview will pique your interest.

Things that I think make my protagonist unique and not your typical (“perfect” YA heroine):


Please state your name:  Sloane Elizabeth Masterson

Astrological sign: Taurus

Age: 17

Height: 5’4”

Weight: About 140 or so…

Hair /Eye Color: I have longish blond hair dyed a bright purple and hazel eyes.

Job: High School student and reporter for the Haven Gazette with my own horror movie column

Vehicle: VW Jetta

Dog/Cat: I have a fluffy black cat named Jinx.

Favorite food: Cheeseburgers with extra mustard

Describe yourself in three words: Dependable, Independent, Sensitive

Greatest flaw? I guess I can sometimes be somewhat obnoxious at times and I can be extremely opinionated. My BFF says that I’m offensively curious because of my job as a HS reporter.

Best quality? I think I’m very trustworthy, genuine, open-minded, and fiercely independent

Person you admire most?
Abigail “Abby” Sciuto from the TV show NCIS, and writer and director, Andrés Muschietti.

Hobbies? Watching movies, shopping, posting reviews of horror flicks, and reading.

What frightens you most? Fear of the unknown. And the thought of being normal and boring.

Favorite color? Purple—duh!

What do you think would make a perfect first date?
Cuddling with a cute boy while watching a zombie flick with a tub of buttery popcorn!

Thanks for answering all of my questions, Sloane.

Thank you so much for hanging with Sloane and me today. It’s been an honor to reveal a different side regarding one of my favorite characters with all of you. If you haven’t seized your copy of this interstellar love story, Lost in Starlight yet, please do so.


Please mark your calendars to buy your copy of Lost in Starlight on June 26th 2014!
Read the first five chapters for free on wattpad!

High school reporter Sloane Masterson knows she has one helluva story when she witnesses hottie Hayden Lancaster bending forks with his mind.
Like any good journalist, Sloane sets out to uncover the truth, even if it includes a little stalking. When the superhuman feats start to pile up and the undeniable heat rises between them, Hayden has no choice but to reveal his secret: he’s an alien hybrid.
They’re as different as night and day—she’s a curvy, purple-haired, horror junkie and he’s a smoking hot, antisocial, brainiac—yet the intense fascination between them refuses to go away. Even at Hayden’s insistence that dating each other is “off limits” and crazy dangerous, their fiery attraction threatens to go supernova.
Now Sloane’s dealing with creepy government agents, über snobby extraterrestrials, and a psycho alien ex-girlfriend out for revenge. After a crash course on the rules of interstellar dating, Sloane must decide if their star-crossed romance is worth risking her own life....


Places you can find Sherry Soule:

Official Blog
Twitter @SherrySoule:
Please add Lost in Starlight to your TBR on goodreads
The awesome book cover was designed by the talented, Kristen Thompson-Oh of KCT Designs
Eager to read the first five chapters on your Kindle? FREE every Friday from Amazon

 Today I would like you all to meet Kitty Hawk, the heroine of Iain Reading's young adult mysteries. Kitty has been described as a cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking. If you are fond of quirky heroines who are incredibly curious and have a knack in getting into all sorts of trouble, be sure to check out Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold! Below is an excerpt from the book that was kindly given to me to share with you all by Book Publicity Services. Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is now available on Amazon.

Prologue: Back Where The Entire Adventure Began

 
Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the thrilling first installment in a new series of adventure mystery stories that are one part travel, one part history and five parts adventure. This first book of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series introduces Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations.
   After leaving her home in the western Canadian fishing village of Tofino to spend the summer in Alaska studying humpback whales Kitty finds herself caught up in an unforgettable adventure involving stolen gold, devious criminals, ghostly shipwrecks, and bone-chilling curses. Kitty's adventure begins with the lingering mystery of a sunken ship called the Clara Nevada and as the plot continues to unfold this spirited story will have armchair explorers and amateur detectives alike anxiously following every twist and turn as they are swept along through the history of the Klondike Gold Rush to a suspenseful final climatic chase across the rugged terrain of Canada's Yukon, the harsh land made famous in the stories and poems of such writers as Jack London, Robert Service and Pierre Berton. It is a riveting tale that brings to glorious life the landscape and history of Alaska's inside passage and Canada's Yukon, as Kitty is caught up in an epic mystery set against the backdrop of the scenery of the Klondike Gold Rush.

 I'm very happy today to introduce you to debut author, Krissy Bells, who is here to talk about the inspiration for her book A Special Love. Welcome to Books in the Spotlight, Krissy!
 The story of, A Special Love, began to form in my mind when I was lucky enough in life, to stumble upon a job at a school for special needs students. While working there I spent my days laughing, smiling, and crying too. I fell in love with not only the students but their families as well. I recently left my position after having a baby, to be a stay-at-home mom. At that time, a family member began publishing and inspired my decision to actually start writing. I had always wanted to focus on young adult/teen stories, and missing the students I had grown so attached to, I continued to develop the story of a family with an autistic son, and their relationships.

In my time working with special needs students I was often a witness to the struggles they faced and that of their families. Every parent can’t help but have expectations of what their child’s life will be. A parent’s love adapts, grows, and transitions with their child. In this story the family begins to fall apart. When you are the sister, brother, mother, father, or friend to a special needs child or adult, you are often many things; a caretaker, advocate, janitor, nurse. But, those roles always come second to your primary relationship as a sister, brother, mother, father, or friend. I was amazed to see that while the families I encountered faced numerous struggles, they were most often met with smiles, selflessness, and strength.

This novel, is a love letter to any family facing trials and tribulations, with a reminder that while it is easy to focus on the hardships of life, the gift of acceptance and love is what it is really all about. The joy, hard work, and sacrifice that I was able to experience in my career were a true testament to the meaning of family and an illustration that every person is unique, gifted, and one of a kind. As I worked with our special needs and particularly autistic students, it became clear to me that it wasn’t always about their accomplishments, but often their journey to get there. This story is the depiction of one family and I only hope that others will be able to relate.

 I am happy to be part of the Getting a Life, Even if You're Dead Blog Tour! Today author Beth Watson is here to discuss her favorite memories of Paris, France. If you are in the mood for a paranormal romance, check out the book Getting a Life Even if You're Dead and be sure to fill out the rafflecopter below this post!



My love affair with Paris began long before I indulged in my first pain au chocolat at a sidewalk café, or strolled along the Seine at sunset. Growing up, I studied French in high school and college, watched French movies, and lived vicariously through books set in Paris. I never dreamed one day I’d be writing books set there, including, Getting a Life, Even If You’re Dead. I first visited Paris during college when I studied at the Sorbonne University. The following are my top five most memorable moments from my first visit to the City of Love.


1) Climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I climbed the 669 steps to the Eiffel Tower’s second platform, enabling me to enjoy the view along the way. I then took an elevator to the top where I headed straight for a phone rather than admiring the view. I called my mom, so she could share the experience with me. After our conversation, I spent an hour gazing out at all the sites I would visit during my upcoming summer.


2) Saying bonjour to my French pen pal. My high school French teacher hooked me up with my pen friend, Richard. We exchanged numerous letters and carried on a few phone conversations--mostly in English--at Christmas time. My first week in Paris, Richard traveled down from Normandy to meet me. I still remember sitting on the steps of my dorm building, watching him walk over from the metro, marveling at the fact that I had a French friend. My friend Glorianne and I spent a weekend in Normandy visiting his family.


3) Speaking French with the locals. Before meeting Richard, I had my first conversation with a French native. I had completed two years of college French, yet after a shopkeeper assisted me I replied, s’il vous plaît (please), rather than merci (thank you). We both laughed about it. They appreciate you making the effort to speak French, even if you don’t always get the words right.


4) Attending Swan Lake. Having grown up in a small town, I didn’t have access to the performing arts scene. I remember attending Swan Lake at the Opéra Bastille--a modern opera house--and thinking, Wow, I’m at a ballet in Paris. The only thing that could have made the experience even more memorable would have been if the ballet had been performed at the Palais Garnier, which opened in 1875, and was the inspiration for The Phantom of the Opera. That is my favorite building in Paris.


5) Meeting the Mona Lisa. The first time I saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, I was shocked at how small the painting is for being the most famous painting in history. I was fortunate that at the time I could get close enough to view every paint stroke. Now, a wooden railing prevents you from getting within five feet of her. I visited every major and obscure art museum that summer, which started my love affair with art. You will often find art featured in my books.

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