Audio version of Treasure of Saint-Lazare is now available

April 4, 2013 in Paris with 0 Comments

IT’S FINALLY AVAILABLE – The audio version of Treasure of Saint-Lazare was released today on Audible.com and Amazon.com. You can hear a sample and buy it at http://j.mp/12mxGb2.

This is the full, unabridged version of the novel as narrated by Tim Campbell, a talented operatic baritone who lives in Pasadena, CA. He’s narrated more than two dozen audio books for Audible.com, and I listened carefully to several of his audition samples before choosing him from among 20 candidates. I’m pleased, and hope you will be, too.

The Kindle and paperback versions of my novel are on this page: http://j.mp/UKIVVi

Share and Enjoy

Coming soon: audio book for my World War II mystery thriller Treasure of Saint-Lazare

March 18, 2013 in Paris with 0 Comments

Keep an eye on my Amazon page ( http://j.mp/UKIVVi ) for the release of the Audible.com audio book of Treasure of Saint-Lazare.

My World War II mystery thriller is set in Paris and Sarasota, FL, and tells the story of the search for a valuable painting lost near the end of the war.

It’s a frequent best-seller in Amazon’s historical mysteries category.

Share and Enjoy

Discussion and signing Jan. 25 to benefit the Alliance Française de Sarasota

January 19, 2013 in Paris with 0 Comments

I’ve been a member of the Alliance Française de Sarasota for quite a few years, and used to edit its newsletter and web site. I respect the work it does, mainly its rapidly growing program of French classes (plus quite a few neat parties). So when Barbara Frey, the president, offered to sponsor a reading I jumped at the chance. We’ve decided to hold it next Friday evening, Jan. 25, and it will be a benefit for the Alliance – I will donate all the profits from book sales to support its work.

I will lead a discussion and reading at the Alliance offices, 200 W. Washington Blvd., Suite 2, in downtown Sarasota. That’s where I live most of the year and it was the setting for an important part of Treasure of Saint-Lazare. There’s no charge, wine and snacks will be served. We’ll start at 7 p.m. and be finished by 8:30.

I’ll discuss Treasure of Saint-Lazare and read selected passages from it, take questions, then sign the paperback for anyone who buys it. All profits will go to the Alliance, so I hope a few people will use the opportunity to give a little more to a good cause by paying more than the $14.95 list price.

This is also partially a celebration, because Treasure has sold far better than I expected, or even hoped. As of today its Amazon best-seller rank is around 4,000 — or the top one-quarter of one per cent of all Kindle books — and it is in the Top 20 Kindle historical mysteries.

You can look at the book here.

I hope to see some of you there.

When & Where
Alliance Française
200 S. Washington Blvd. (Towles Court, at Adams Ln, across from Payne Park)
Suite 2
Sarasota

Admission is free.

Parking is available behind the building. There are several restaurants in the area

See a Google map here

Share and Enjoy

See the new trailer for Treasure of Saint-Lazare

December 14, 2012 in Paris with 0 Comments

Thanks to John Weaver of PageOneLit.com for preparing this quick introduction to the story behind Treasure of Saint-Lazare, my historical mystery set in Paris and Florida. Click here to see it on Youtube.

Share and Enjoy

Author interview on Books-and-Authors.net

December 7, 2012 in Paris with 0 Comments

Here’s another author interview about Treasure of Saint-Lazare, just posted on Books-and-Authors.net: http://j.mp/VPtGMO

Share and Enjoy

Author interview on Laurelzuckerman.com – Paris blog

December 7, 2012 in Paris with 0 Comments

Author and blogger Laurel Zuckerman of Paris invited me to be interviewed. You can see it here: http://j.mp/11RUeRU

Share and Enjoy

The Passages of Paris

October 31, 2012 in Paris with 0 Comments

If you’ve made more than one trip to Paris you’ve probably seen some of the famous Passages, the 19th-century indoor shopping centers under glass, which connect one street to another. They were important when they were built because they provided shelter from the rain as well as the mud and mess of pre-pavement Paris.

The City of Paris web site — paris.fr — has an English-language section that features a recent article on the Passages. Go to http://j.mp/X1NdNs for the overview, and from there you can download (PDF) the city’s brochure on the passages.

As an aside, Passage Jouffroy, home to the wax museum, the Hôtel Chopin, a really outstanding teashop and a bunch of antique-book stores, features prominently in the early portion of my novel Treasure of Saint-Lazare. (Amazon: http://j.mp/UKIVVi).

Hotel Chôpin, where my characters escaped from the pursuing Germans

Le Valentin, tea-room extraordinaire, just down the passage from the Hôtel Chopin. There’s a dining room upstairs, as well

Share and Enjoy

Thanks for a successful promotion

October 26, 2012 in Paris with 0 Comments

The two-day promotion for Treasure of Saint-Lazare ended Saturday night, with almost 5,000 free copies downloaded. The success of the promotion gave me a substantial jump in sales the next day — thanks to everyone who participated.

In order to encourage more sales, I’ve reduced the price to $2.99 rather than its original list of $4.99. This special offer will last for at least two weeks.

To read about Treasure of Saint-Lazare or to buy it, go here.

The paperback went to the printer this week and should be available on Amazon.com by mid-December. That’s not a printing delay, just the normal setup time Ingram takes to get a new book into its database. If you know someone (such as a reviewer) who would like to have it earlier than that, I will have a few copies within a couple of weeks.

The Kindle version still has one of the best reviewers’ rankings among mystery/thrillers/suspense fiction. So far I have 14 reviews, of which 13 give it five stars, for a rank of 4.9 stars. Thanks — and if you haven’t yet reviewed it, I’d appreciate your doing so. I’d also appreciate a review on Goodreads.com - http://j.mp/OKdIEX

Thanks again for your support.

Share and Enjoy

Treasure of Saint-Lazare – a quick start

October 19, 2012 in Paris with 0 Comments

Treasure of Saint-Lazare went live in the Kindle store Monday, Oct. 8. As of Oct. 25 it’s received 13 reviews, 12 with five stars and one with four — that’s a lot more reviews than I expected to receive in such a short time. I’m grateful to the friends and strangers who took the time to read the advance versions (some of them several times) and spell out their views on the book. Without their input the final version wouldn’t have nearly the polish it seems to have.

Treasure of Saint-Lazare is a novel centered on a valuable painting (Raphael’s “Portrait of a Young Man”) that’s been missing since the Nazis looted it during World War II, around which I’ve constructed an exciting and dangerous search for it in 2008. It’s set in Sarasota, FL, and Paris (my two homes), and the reviewers tell me it’s a good read, with some action, some violence, some sex, and a big romantic undercurrent. I urge you to look at the book’s page on Amazon and judge for yourself. (The trade paperback edition will be available in November.)

On our recent trip to Paris, one of my most successful promotional events was a “Paris Soirée,” a weekly dinner sponsored by Patricia LaPlante-Collins. This one was a full house at a good Indian restaurant on Boulevard Saint-Germain — three of the attendees have reviewed the book. If you’re planning a trip to Paris don’t miss her site.

Thanks also to Alison Harris, the super-talented Paris photographer who took the new picture that heads this blog. Check out her web site to see the portraits of Sophia Loren if nothing else. She also did the hyper-atmospheric photos that adorn Paris, Paris, her husband David Downie‘s love letter to Paris and one of my favorite Paris books. (Foreword by Diane Johnson, author of Le Divorce and many more Paris-themed books.)

The paperback edition is in production and should be available on Amazon.com in December.

Share and Enjoy

Magical Métro Musique

October 19, 2012 in Paris with 0 Comments

One of the delights of walking around Paris is finding unexpected charms. Whether it’s a pocket park or an first-time view, it’s always a pleasant surprise.Today we enjoyed finding a familiar string orchestra in the busy Châtelet métro station, one of the prime spots for busker groups — soloists tend to stick to the corridors and landings, where the hard walls carry their sounds further than you’d think.

We first saw this group several years ago, performing under one of the arcades of the Place de Vosges. Since then we’ve bought two of their CDs, which they issue under the name “Le Marais Performers.” They are said to be conservatory students, but there’s no program so it’s hard to tell, and the players change frequently.