Tag: Paris in Ruins by M.K. Tod

1000 Posts – and a new novel!

M.K. Tod5 Comments

I think it’s fitting that my 1000th post on A Writer of History is on pub day for Paris In Ruins, so I can celebrate both accomplishments at the same time. Had you asked me in 2012 what I imagined for the blog, I would have told you that I hoped to attract readers for my novels by talking about historical fiction. And I did attract readers – the current count is 1435 – and it’s both a joy and a blessing to be able to write for you.

Many of you are writers and I appreciate the time you take to comment on your experiences and to add your perspective to whatever topic is at hand. All of you are readers with a keen interest in historical fiction.

A Writer of History has even won some awards! Topics have varied over the years, and on many occasions, I have worried about how to keep things fresh.

Throughout it all, you’ve joined me on the journey with likes and comments and guest posts and shares. So here’s celebrating A Writer of History and the many friends I’ve made along the way.

And while we’re on the topic of celebrating, here’s to the birth of Paris In Ruins. May this new novel touch the hearts of readers far and wide.

Paris 1870. Raised for a life of parties and servants, Camille and Mariele have much in common, but it takes the horrors of war to bring them together to fight for the city and people they love.

Deeply moving and suspenseful ~~ Margaret George, author of Splendor Before the Dark: A Novel of the Emperor Nero

Tod is not only a good historian, but also an accomplished writer … a gripping, well-limned picture of a time and a place that provide universal lessons ~~ Kirkus Reviews.

A few weeks after the abdication of Napoleon III, the Prussian army lays siege to Paris. Camille Noisette, the daughter of a wealthy family, volunteers to nurse wounded soldiers and agrees to spy on a group of radicals plotting to overthrow the French government. Her future sister-in-law, Mariele de Crécy, is appalled by the gaps between rich and poor. She volunteers to look after destitute children whose families can barely afford to eat.

Somehow, Camille and Mariele must find the courage and strength to endure months of devastating siege, bloody civil war, and great personal risk. Through it all, an unexpected friendship grows between the two women, as they face the destruction of Paris and discover that in war women have as much to fight for as men.

War has a way of teaching lessons—if only Camille and Mariele can survive long enough to learn them.

DON’T MISS OTHER POSTS ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION.  FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, PARIS IN RUINS, is available for pre-order on Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Kobo, and Barnes&Noble. An earlier novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.

The power of paintings & sketches

M.K. Tod2 Comments

While writing Paris In Ruins, I came across numerous paintings and sketches that helped me appreciate the times, the city, and the people. I found a number of them while on a research trip to Paris. Others I found in books and through online sources. Each one added to the descriptions I used or to my imagination of the scenes where my characters enacted the story.

I’ll let the paintings and sketches speak for themselves – after all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

The view from place de la Concorde toward l’Arc de Triomphe
Paris Fortifications – looking out at the countryside
Claude Monet – workers on the Seine unloading coal
Degas – Women ironing
Attack by the French Garde Mobile on a chateau outside Paris
Fighting around Place Pigalle
1870s civil marriage ceremony
Pantheon 1870
Securing the cannons in Montmartre – an act the sparked the Paris Commune
I found so many sketches of gowns
Salon gathering – inspiration for Madame Lambert’s salon
Women on the barricades during the Paris Commune
The bridge at Sevres – inspired a scene with Mariele and her mother
Barricades during the Paris Commune
Conciergerie prison – where one of my characters is imprisoned

These and many more inspired my writing and helped me keep my thoughts in 1870/71 Paris.

Paris In Ruins: 1870 Paris – Raised for a life of parties and servants, Camille and Mariele have much in common, but it takes the horrors of war to bring them together to fight for the city they love. War has a way of teaching lessons – if only they can survive to learn them.

Paris In Ruins is available in many countries on Kindle, on Amazon (paperback), on Kobo, and on Barnes & Noble. 

DON’T MISS OTHER POSTS ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION.  FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, PARIS IN RUINS, is available for pre-order on Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Kobo, and Barnes&Noble. An earlier novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.

19th Century Paris

M.K. Tod16 Comments

As you can imagine, writing a novel set in 1870 Paris requires lots of research. Historical events are critical, fashion is important, issues of the day, culture, social norms and so on. But what about the homes where Parisians lived?

Ian and I had a research trip to Paris that involved 3 weeks in an AirBnb apartment designed to provide an experience that was closer to living in the city, rather than staying in a hotel. Three weeks of walking the streets gave me a different appreciation for how Parisians live.

Of particular interest were the hotel particuliers – grand homes – we visited: Musée Cognacq-Jay, Musée Jacquemart-Andre, Musée Carnavalet, and Musée Nissim de Camondo. I wanted to understand how my two main characters, both from well-to-do Parisian families, might have lived including the layout of such homes, the décor, the furnishings, the paintings and other accoutrements of their lives.

Museee Jacquemart-Andre – Paris

The splendour and luxury of these grand homes were astonishing, and although they inspired relatively brief descriptions, they gave me images to carry in my head as I wrote.

Musee Nissim Camondo
Musee Carnavalet

At one point in the writing process, I became obsessed with understanding the layout of Camille’s and Mariele’s homes. A search brought forth some floor plans which helped me add further details.

Mariele’s home – principal rooms
Mariele’s Home – adjoining suites for her parents

Gardens, kitchens, breakfast rooms, wardrobes, beds, desks, chairs and more created a world in which I and my characters lived quite comfortably together while I wrote their story.

DON’T MISS OTHER POSTS ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION.  FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, PARIS IN RUINS  is available for pre-order on AmazonUS, AmazonCanada, Kobo and Barnes & Noble. An earlier novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.