Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road

Springtime in Essoyes 2024

April 11, 2024 at 7:03 pm Leave a comment

We are experiencing the fullness of spring these days. After a very rainy few weeks that was a bit too much of a good thing for the vignerons, and caused the river to be so full that it threatened to flood the center of Essoyes, finally the sun has come out, which is brightening spirits–and at least so far the river has stayed within its banks, pshew!

After all that rain, a little bit of sun has brought about abundant growth. The colza has shot up seemingly overnight (though not really), from knee-length to now over my head, and the fruit trees are in full bloom. How beautiful it all is!

Earlier this week I had the distinct pleasure–and honor–of meeting with a book group in Washington DC, to take questions about my memoir, A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France, through the wonders of Zoom. The Women’s Biography book group sponsored by Politics and Prose, my favorite indie bookstore in the US, had chosen my book for their April selection, and wanted to know if I would like to visit their meeting.

I was delighted to do so even though for me that meant getting up at 1:00 in the morning so I could be awake enough to be coherent when I joined them at a little after 7:30 pm their time (and 1:30 am mine!). (Not being a night owl at all there was no way I would have been able to stay awake that long before joining them.) I think they had enjoyed the book (pshew again!) and they asked me such interesting questions and made wonderful comments. They even gave me permission to share a picture of our Zoom meeting so that I could encourage other book groups to do the same.

It is always SO NICE for authors to be able to meet directly with the people who read their books. So if you are reading this post, and you are interested in women’s memoirs, and you belong to a book group who might like to read my book, and have me visit your meeting, please do so! I’d love to have such an opportunity, and I think I have now proved my sincerity and willingness to get up at any hour of the day to meet readers. 🙂

Mother’s Day is coming up soon in both the US and France–and I think the UK and Canada also? And I think A Long Way From Iowa–as a three-generations-of-women fulfilling-the-dream story–is appropriate Mother’s Day reading. I hope some of you will agree.

Until the next post, happy reading (whatever you are reading). And happy spring!

Janet Hulstrand is an American writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France; and coauthor of Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home.

Entry filed under: A Long Way from Iowa, About Essoyes. Tags: A Long Way from Iowa, Book Groups, books, France, Janet Hulstrand, memoir, mothers day, spring, women's voices, womens lives, writing life.