The New York Times posted an interesting article about the Paris Commune last Thursday. Those of you who know that my novel Paris In Ruins is set in that time period – how could you miss that bit of information? – will know that 1871 was a tumultuous time pitting citizen against citizen on the streets of Paris. Apparently, there are Parisians who think that particular revolution should never have been quashed.
A couple of quotes to entice you to read the article.
..as France has been rocked by a series of social movements in recent years, the story of the Paris Commune has made a comeback, with protesters making connections between today’s struggles and those of a century and a half ago.
Paris—a city ingrained in our imaginations. A city that is both grand and lived in, a city of massive cathedrals and quiet neighborhoods, a city full of mystery and romance. The city of love, the city of light. Why have writers flocked to Paris for hundreds of years? A brief dip into history sets the stage. In the middle ages, the Catholic church established schools attached to major monasteries to train scholars not only for the church, but also to serve in government. Read more …
Paris In Ruins is set during the Franco-Prussian War, the Siege of Paris, and the Paris Commune. I arrived at these momentous events not by design but by calculating when two characters from an earlier novel, Lies Told In Silence, would be roughly twenty years old. I had imagined a novel about friendship between these very different women with a dash of romance and perhaps some tangled family dynamics. However, when I discovered a war, a siege, and a bloody insurrection, the plot took on much more drama. For more …
AuthorElizabeth St. John and book blogger Davida Chazan hosted an article about Sarah Bernhardt’s involvement in the Siege of Paris.
In My Double Life, Bernhardt mentions her decision to establish a hospital (ambulance): “The Odéon Theatre had closed its doors, but I moved heaven and earth to get permission to organise an ambulance in that theatre, and, thanks to Emile de Girardin and Duquesnel, my wish was gratified. I went to the War Office and made my declaration and my request, and my offers were accepted for a military ambulance. The next difficulty was that I wanted food. I wrote a line to the Prefect of Police. A military courier arrived very soon, with a note from the Prefect containing the following lines … read more …
Imagine knowing that an army of more than 400,000 soldiers was approaching your city. How would you feel? What preparations would you make? Would you worry about your children, the men you loved who’d enlisted to defend the city, your friends and family? Would you wonder how you would feed your family and whether or not your job was secure? With winter only a few months away, would you be concerned about having enough wood or coal to keep your fires burning? Read more …
The spark of inspiration – or how Paris In Ruins came about – was hosted by authors Elisabeth Storrs and Char Newcomb.
Writers are not always masters of their own stories. There are editors to please, early readers who help tune the story, husbands and friends who offer suggestions—the list goes on. Each new story begins with a glimmer of an idea, that spark that ultimately leads to a finished novel. The challenge is to feed that spark and breathe life into the fire as the writing process unfolds. For that we need inspiration on an almost daily basis. Read more …
I hope you enjoy reading more about turbulent world of 1870 Paris. I’m deeply grateful to these individuals who supported the launch of Paris In Ruins.
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Today’s post is a ‘shout out’ to all those who helped launch Paris In Ruins. These days, it takes a village to launch a new novel and with Paris In Ruins planned for release at the end of March, I began the marketing process last November with a request for endorsements from a small group of author friends. I felt particularly blessed when many agreed to read the manuscript.
In early February, I assembled a long list of authors, book bloggers, bookstagrammers, and others to ask for their support. These were people I’d connected with over the years in different ways: guest posts and interviews on A Writer of History, Facebook friendships, historical fiction groups and conferences, reader surveys, beta reading support, virtual book tours, and so on. Each had offered insights on historical fiction and the craft of writing. I had willingly learned from them and hoped that the feeling was mutual.
To my astonishment and great joy, more than 70 individuals gave their time and effort for tweets, FaceBook posts, guest posts and interviews, giveaways, Instagram posts and other ways to amplify the news. Several took the time to read Paris In Ruins and post their reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and other sites.
This incredibly generous village has launched Paris In Ruins with great style. My heart is full of gratitude.
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