Posts filed under ‘A Long Way from Iowa’
Springtime in Essoyes 2024
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.
What Book Groups Are Saying About “A Long Way From Iowa”
Clockwise, starting at left: My sister, one of my first (and most enthusiastic) readers; my sister’s book group in Minneapolis; my friend Noble with her book group in Seattle; more enthusiastic readers outside the Red Wheelbarrow bookstore in Paris, at the book launch.
I’m thrilled that my new memoir, A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France has been selected for discussion by four different book groups. Two in Minnesota (one in Minneapolis, and one in Red Wing); one in Seattle; and one in Washington DC.
March 2023 Minneapolis The first book group to read and discuss A Long Way From Iowa was my sister’s group in my hometown of Minneapolis. And yay! (and pshew!) they liked it! They said the book made them think about their own mothers and grandmothers, and that “it started a discussion of mother-daughter relationships, and demonstrated the strength of ordinary women.”
October 2023 Seattle It was such a pleasure to visit this group! You know how some book groups don’t really talk about books, they mostly drink wine and eat food instead? Well this group does both! I was super impressed with the number of details they remembered from reading the book, and the insightful questions and comments they made. We talked about the book over a wonderful meal; and I answered some of their questions about the book, but also about the publishing process. For example, they wondered why I chose to self-publish. (There is so much to say about this: I need to write a post about it soon. Stay tuned!)
April 2024 Washington DC I will have to get up at 1:00 in the morning in order to join this group, which meets online at 7:30 pm local time in Washington DC. (And no: there is no way I will be able to just stay up that late: ask anyone in my family!) So I will sleep a few hours, and then get up, make myself presentable and coherent, and join the group via Zoom. I am really looking forward to this opportunity to talk about the book with a book group sponsored by Politics and Prose, my favorite bookstore in Washington DC.
One of the things I love most about talking to people who have read the book is learning what kinds of memories/insights/reflections about their own lives, and their own families, were sparked by reading the book.
Will your book group be the next to put A Long Way From Iowa on your list? Please let me know if you are planning to read it, and if so let me know if you’d like me to visit your group. Or just let me know what kinds of conversations were generated in discussing it. I’d love to hear about them!
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.
Home again
My US book tour was a 49-day, whirlwind cross-country trip that offered the opportunity to introduce A Long Way From Iowa (AND Demystifying the French) to readers across the country, from Mystic, Connecticut on the East Coast to Seattle on the West.
Also (and equally important for me) it gave me the chance to reconnect with friends and family I hadn’t seen in some cases for more than five years. That was wonderful!
Now I am back in France, back in my quiet little village in Champagne, and I am beginning to reorient to a totally different pace, and a totally different way of life–but it is going to take a while. I’m not ready yet to write about the still-tumbling thoughts I have about the experiences I had on that cross-country journey, and the things I noticed along the way. One day I will be, and this is where you will find my thoughts and reflections about it when that time comes.
In the meantime I need to focus on building the momentum created during the tour, during which I found that every group of people I met with came up with unique and interesting ways of responding to A Long Way From Iowa, and asked such interesting questions about it. It’s wonderfully rewarding to know that people have read it and had it spark thoughts and memories about their own lives, their own families, their own grandmothers and mothers! And I hope that some of the conversations I had with the people who came to my events will encourage others to write their own stories too. It’s a wonderful thing to do.
Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays, is this week. This year I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my sons in Paris. And giving thanks for so many things, too many to name here. Here’s wishing you and yours a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you are. And all good things in the weeks ahead.
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.
The Long Way From Iowa Book Tour Heads Back to France…
The coast-to-coast book tour for A Long Way From Iowa is now complete. Forty-nine days after the tour began at a library in Mystic, Connecticut, the final event was held last night–with a wonderful book group meeting in the home of a longtime friend, in Seattle.
It’s been a heartwarming, thrilling ride, and I am so grateful for the interest, support, and help I’ve received all along the way from friends, colleagues, family–as well as acquaintances, interested bystanders, and the public.
Stay tuned for the next installment in this adventure–and thanks so much for your interest!
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.
Au Revoir, Portland, Bonjour Seattle!
After a 36-hour trip across the country on the Empire Builder –two nights on the train, and one full day–I arrived in Portland, Oregon.*
I boarded the train in St. Paul (Minnesota) at 11:00 pm on Friday night, and arrived in Portland Sunday morning shortly before noon. I had been warned that Amtrak trains are notoriously unreliable in terms of on-time arrival: nevertheless, this train was not only on time, but a bit early. Therefore I had plenty of time to get cleaned up and rested up enough to be the guest of honor at the book party my friends Ginnie and Rick hosted for me in their lovely home the following evening.
This party was a great success! The guest list was composed of a nice mix of Ginnie’s friends and mine–including one friend from my first neighborhood in St. Paul, a woman I had not seen since before we were even women, still just girls (we figured out that the last time had been when we were about 14 years old!). Another was a dear old friend from my time of living in New York. A third was actually someone I had never met, the friend of a mutual friend. And the fourth was Linda Witt, who served as moderator for a couple of panel discussions I organized about Demystifying the French–with Linda’s help–for the Fédération des Alliances Françaises USA.
I enjoyed meeting with this group so much! The questions they asked, and the comments they made proved to me yet again that there are many ways into the story I tell in A Long Way From Iowa, and each individual reader tends to find the path that is most interesting for him or herself. Therefore, as usual, when there is the opportunity to discuss a book with a group of readers, all kinds of interesting and alternative ways of reading it tend to be discovered.
The next night, Ginnie and some of her friends and I went to a Barbara Kingsolver event sponsored by Literary Arts. Kingsolver was discussing her latest novel, the Pulitzer prizewinning Demon Copperhead. Prior to this event I had had no opportunity to learn anything about the book, but I was very interested to see that it has strong connections with the theme I am exploring with my students in my current online class for Politics and Prose bookstore, “Bootstraps.” That is, poverty in America. I’ve since started reading Kingsolver’s book and it is very compelling.
The next day was spent on some furious catching up on reading and preparing for class. Being three hours behind most of the students in my class meant that this time I had to be ready to teach at 6:45 am. It also meant that once class was over, I had a good deal of daytime ahead of me in which to explore Portland, and happily it worked into my friend Larry Kirkland’s schedule. He invited me to join him and some friends on a trip to Portland’s famous Japanese Garden, which was amazing!
By Friday my friend Ginnie and I were finally caught up enough on our various professional responsibilities that we were able to do a little bit of sightseeing. Ginnie’s husband Rick generously offered to be our chauffeur and tour guide on a drive to, and through, the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. His knowledge of both the geological history of this amazing area of protected natural beauty, and the political history of how it has been preserved made the trip so much more interesting than it would have been without him.
Saturday morning it was time for me to say goodbye to Portland and get back on the train–this time for a short and very pleasant three-hour ride to Seattle, with lovely forest all along the coast. (The train was once again right on time, yay Amtrak!)
I’ll have a few days here in Seattle and environs, staying with dear friends; and one visit to a book club hosted by another friend–then it’s onto a plane and on my way back to France, with a layover in Calgary.
Stay tuned for my report from Seattle. So far it is a very interesting town!
*I’ll comment on the name of that train–(the Empire Builder?!)–in a future post, when I report on my Amtrak experience. Teaser: Mostly it was a good experience. 🙂 )
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.
A Minnesota Welcome for A Long Way From Iowa
So, here are some highlights from the Minnesota part of my book tour:
Top row, left to right: 1. Illinois and Minneapolis contingents of cousins converged in Wisconsin, where we paid a visit to my 98-year-old Aunt Rose Ann (who has a cameo role in A Long Way From Iowa, and was an invaluable source as I worked on writing it.). 2. Dinner at a great pizza place in Excelsior with 10 of my female cousins and one brave man, James; Bottom row, left to right: 1. At the West Side Farmers Market with my brother-in-law and sister; 2. Reading aloud from A Long Way From Iowa with my sister’s help; 3. With more cousins, and my sister and niece, after the book-signing.
The very next day my sister and I were off to western Minnesota, where yet another cousin, along with my best friend from college, Ruthie, had been busy planning an event for me, at the Sunburg Community Center. What a surprise it was to me when I opened my email a few days before the event to see a Google alert informing me that this event, held in a town of 100 inhabitants, was featured in an international publication, French News Today, thanks to my cousin Darlene and her amazing skills at promotion. (Kinda funny to think of readers of French News Today trying to find out where Sunburg is. 🙂 ) She and Ruthie also brought out a good-sized crowd on a 90-degree (in October!) evening to talk about memoirs with me. We had a lively discussion; and afterward the attendees were offered delicious cookies and other tasty treats Ruthie had brought, to make the evening even more special.
I was lucky enough to be able to stay on for a few days in this area, on the shores of Norway Lake, in the cabin Ruthie’s grandfather had built, which is right next door to her home. Those few days of downtime at Norway Lake were a wonderful opportunity for me to unwind a bit after a fairly intense few weeks of traveling; catch up on some of the administrative tasks that pile up even when you’re on the road and that are easy to fall behind on; and just be in a beautiful, beloved, and familiar place, with some of my best friends in the world right next door. Heaven!
Here are a few of the scenes of quiet beauty that restore and sustain me when I find myself by the side of a lake on the edge of the prairie. Especially this lake.
Next it was back to St. Paul for a couple of days, and then on to beautiful Red Wing, Minnesota, on the Mississippi River for a book-signing at Fair Trade Books, a delightful indie bookstore; followed by visits with more cousins on the Wisconsin side of the river. After the book-signing my sister and I were able to finally bury the ashes of our brother next to the graves of our parents in a cemetery on the Wisconsin side of the river, with a few cousins gathered round. It was time to find a final resting place for him, and this is not a bad one. My cousin’s husband had prepared the site for us in advance, and we were all able to take a quiet moment to remember and honor my brother Jake.
A planned meeting with my friend Lorrie’s book club in Red Wing for the following night had to be cancelled due to concerns about Covid but I was able to see Lorrie and her husband, whom I hadn’t seen in a very long time, and spend the night with them before taking the train from Red Wing on to Winona for the next event, further down the river.
Left to right: 1) The waiting room in the Red Wing Amtrak station is a beautiful, well-maintained homage to train travel in this part of the country. 2) Rick and Zoe at Fair Trade Books in Red Wing set up a table for me for signing books for an afternoon. Every first-time visitor to this store is given a free book, chosen by Rick based on the reader’s description of their reading interests. Have you ever heard of such a thing?! (The only requirement is that upon receiving your gift book, you must say aloud, loud and clear, so everyone in the store can hear: “Books make great gifts!” 🙂 (And that is true, by the way…) 3) Here I am in Ellsworth, Wisconsin, my mom’s hometown, after visiting my Aunt Rose Ann. (If you don’t know what cheese curds are, I guess you will have to plan a trip to Wisconsin to find out.) 4) With my friends Larry and Lorrie at their home in Red Wing. Lorrie is a master quilter, and she is working on a beautiful quilt featuring Joan of Arc, one of my heroines (and hers).
Next it was on to Winona, where another very close friend of mine lives. I took the train there from Red Wing, which was a lovely hour-long ride down along the banks of the Mississippi.
The next night I had my final book event in Minnesota, at Paperbacks and Pieces, a book-and-puzzle store in Winona. For the second time in less than a week I was surprised by friends I hadn’t seen in many years who showed up at this event. This time it was my friend Paul, another friend from my college days, and his wife Catherine. They had driven more than an hour to see me; I was so touched, and what a treat it was to see their smiling faces in the crowd as I read from A Long Way From Iowa. (There was a fair amount of interest in Demystifing the French as well at this event.) We had a very lively and fun discussion; another wonderful evening.
Left: Taking questions and comments from the audience at Paperbacks and Pieces. Top right : With my friends Paul and Catherine. Bottom, left to right: Shannon of Paperbacks and Pieces; me; and my dear friend Cherie Hales.
There is no way I can adequately thank all of the many people who in the past few weeks drove long (or short) distances to see me; cooked meals for me; gave me beds to sleep in; bought my books and said nice things about them; and told their friends about these events, and about the book. (Several people have also recommended the book for their book groups to read; I am hoping there will be more of that.)
But there is one person I might all too easily forget to mention just because she is such a constant source of love and support in my life, so always there for me that it would be easy to take her love and support for granted; and I want to be sure to not forget her!
That is my sister Betsey, mi querida hermanita. In the two weeks I was in Minnesota, she picked me up at the airport (twice); drove me around the state for several of these events; and took me to the train station in St. Paul late at night when I left town. Before I had even gotten to Minnesota she had arranged for my book-signing at the West Side Farmers Market. While I was there she cooked meals for me, washed clothes, and did a hundred other kind things I can’t even remember. She even bought a bunch of my books as birthday presents for her friends! Best of all, she arranged for some time off from work while I was there so she could do some of these things, and so we could have more time together.
And that is just a fraction of the nice things she has done for me not only this month, but all my life.
In short: thank God for my sister, and muchissimas gracias TO my sister!
I arrived in Portland, Oregon yesterday, after a 36-hour train ride from St. Paul, Minnesota. An almost entirely pleasant experience, with some great opportunities to enjoy magnificent views of raw, rustic, and beautiful natural landscapes outside the big windows of the lounge (“sightseeing”) car. There’ll be more about that trip to come…stay tuned!
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.
Thank You, New York, Washington, and Mystic, Connecticut!
Photos, left to right: 1. With Bob Attardi, Director of Programs at Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington DC; 2. Colleagues, friends, and former students met me for a wonderful mini book event in Prospect Park, Brooklyn on a beautiful day in September; 3. Greenlight Books kindly invited me to come in and sign copies of A Long Way From Iowa. Stop by this wonderful Brooklyn bookstore and pick one up! 4. Breakfast with my friend Kevin Sisson, at Kitchen Little on Mason’s Island, near Mystic, CT.
I’ve been on the East Coast for a little more than a month now, and what a whirl it has been! In addition to visiting friends in New York, Connecticut, and the Washington DC area, and having book events, with the help of my son Sam I managed to (finally!) pack up the contents of the storage locker in Silver Spring, where my piano and many boxes and trunks full of family treasures–photographs, letters, journals and other documents, and of course a few books–have been trapped for far too long. They are now on their way to our home in France, hooray!
While I was in Brooklyn, I was really lucky to be able to stay in the home of my previous upstairs neighbors–and lifelong friends–in the very same building where I last lived in Brooklyn. It felt so good to be back! I have much more to say about Brooklyn, but most of it will have to wait until I’m working on my next book. For now I will just quote Francie Nolan, the protagonist of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.
“At the end of their street, the great Bridge threw itself like a sigh across the East River and was lost… lost…on the other shore. The dark East River beneath the Bridge and far away the misty-grey skyline of New York, looking like a city cut from cardboard. ‘There’s no other place like it,’ Francie said…”
My trip to Mystic, CT was also a pleasure. I took the Amtrak train from the Moynihan Train Hall in Manhattan, a very comfortable, well-designed, and gleaming new station; and am happy to report that the train was comfortable, the staff was extremely helpful, and the train was on time. The first night I was in Mystic my friend drove us to the elegant Ocean House hotel in Waverly, Rhode Island, where we attended a very bookish event, an enjoyable evening with the authors Ann Hood and Michael Ruhlman. The following night I was given the chance to meet with some aspiring writers–and admiring readers–of memoirs at the Mystic/Noank Library to talk about writing an intergenerational memoir. I owe a big debt of gratitude to my friend Kevin, and to Ery Caswell, for giving me this opportunity.
Next it was on to Washington DC, where last Saturday night I had a very exciting moment in my career as a writer; a celebration of A Long Way From Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France at Politics and Prose, one of the best bookstores in the country–and my favorite, and “home,” bookstore. Despite threatened severe weather that night, the house was packed with a wonderful mix of friends, former neighbors, current and former students, and some members of the P&P community that I knew not at all. Bob Attardi, the store’s Director of Programs led me in conversation about the book, and I read a few excerpts from it. The store sold a lot of books, I signed some more, and they are now there, and available for purchase, in person or online. I’m deeply grateful to this wonderful bookstore, and the community of writers and readers it has built and nourished through the years, for all they have done for me, and for other readers and writers in the Washington DC area–and actually, across the country and around the world–through their excellent programs, trips, and classes.
All along my way there have been wonderful people who have helped me through what could have been a very bumpy landing in my home country after several years away–since I arrived here having broken my glasses, wrenched my back, hurt my foot, and come down with Covid all in the space of a week or so. (Really, you’d think just one of those things would have been enough, wouldn’t you?) These friends have given me beds to sleep in; guided me through the learning curve of using my very first Iphone; picked me up from various bus stops and train stations; fed me delicious and healthy food; encouraged me when it seemed like things were really not going so well; and in one case literally (but gently) half lifted/half pried me out of bed when my back was saying “Uh-uh, no I don’t think she’s going anywhere…”
They have made me think of that Beatles song…you know the one I mean, right?
Strangers have helped too, helping me up or down stairs with my bags when they could see I was struggling, in general just being kind. I am grateful!!! Thanks, Americans! 🙂
I know there will be many other helping hands along the way as I make my way across this country, and I am grateful in advance for it. My first Minnesota event will be in St. Paul; my birthplace, and truly “home country” for me, since this event will be at the Westside Farmer’s Market, which is held in the parking lot of Icy Cup, my sister and brother-in-law’s wonderful little ice cream-and-taco business. There will also be events in West Central Minnesota (in Sunburg); and in indie bookstores in two lovely Mississippi River towns–Red Wing, and Winona. I am so excited about this, after five long years away! Here’s the link for the scheduled events, hope to see some of you along the way!
After that I will be heading to the Pacific Northwest, to two towns I’ve never been to, and have always wanted to go: Portland, Oregon, and Seattle. Stay tuned!
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.
US Book Tour of A Long Way from Iowa Underway!
What a great time to start a book tour, the beginning of September! And the US part of the Long Way from Iowa Book Tour starts this week.
The first event is this Thursday, in Mystic, Connecticut, a place I’ve never been before, and am very much looking forward to visiting.
On September 15 I’ll be stopping by Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, where I used to live (and where I left a big piece of my heart), to sign preordered copies of A Long Way from Iowa. You can order YOUR signed copy of the book here. (Be sure to indicate that you want your copy signed and/or personalized before completing the order, and order SOON so your book has time to get to the store before I do!)
The next event will be at Politics & Prose bookstore, my favorite, and my “home” bookstore in the US, on September 23.
And you can find out about the rest of the tour (thus far!) here.
Hope to see you in one of these places. In the meantime, if you’ve read A Long Way from Iowa and haven’t yet written a review on Amazon or Goodreads, I sure hope you will. You have no idea how much those reviews help writers! And it doesn’t have to take you more than five minutes to write one. 🙂
Thanks for all your enthusiasm and support. It is very much appreciated!
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.
The Long Way from Iowa Book Tour Continues…
I was delighted to once again be invited to speak at the Adrian Leeds Meet-Up in Paris last week. I’ve been lucky to be able to talk about my various books and interests at this fun venue in Paris on a number of occasions over the past few years–on everything from Downsizing the Family Home to the beautiful départment de l’Aube (in the Champagne region) where I live in France, to Writing from the Heart, to Demystifying the French. This time I gave a presentation about my newest book: a memoir titled A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France. If you’d like to see a recording of this event, you can do so right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKsxjc6S8-8&t=1s
The next event on the Long Way from Iowa calendar is in Washington DC, in September. But I’m hoping I will be able to fill in a couple of other locations on the East Coast by the time I arrive there in August.
After a few weeks in New York and Washington, I’ll be heading home to the Midwest, where I’ll be visiting family and friends and adding a few more book events. So far I’ll be signing and/or talking about my book in St. Paul, Winona, and Red Wing, Minnesota. Exact dates still to be determined, but do stay tuned: you can watch for new book tour developments here.
Then, sometime in October I’ll be heading to the Pacific Northwest, a part of the country I’ve never been to: visiting close friends in Portland and Seattle. I’m hoping to have the chance to introduce my book to readers there also, before I head home to France.
I’m grateful for the support I’ve received from people across the US and also in Europe and Australia, and for all the wonderful comments you’ve made about A Long Way from Iowa. I’m hoping if you haven’t already done so you will share what you liked about the book on Amazon or GoodReads. Most readers have no idea how helpful these reviews are! (And you don’t even have to have bought the book from Amazon in order to write one.)
Yesterday was what we call Bastille Day (but the French call it “la fête nationale,” or “le quatorze juillet,” not Bastille Day! 🙂 ). From my home I was able to watch the bursts of color showering the sky above both Essoyes and Loches–our nearest adjacent village–on a lovely summer evening, with my son. I’m grateful for my life here in France–and for the chance to visits friends and family across the United States for the first time in a few years, very soon. I’m really looking forward to that.
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.
A Long Way from Iowa Launches at The Red Wheelbarrow, Paris
With my friend (and bookseller extraordinaire) Penelope Fletcher, at the launch of A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France.
I stated on my Facebook page not too long ago that having my book launch at The Red Wheelbarrow bookstore in Paris was a longtime dream come true, but that is not strictly accurate.
The truth is I never really dreamed of having a book launch at a bookstore in Paris, at least not until fairly recently. Not until I became friends with Penelope Fletcher, the manager of my very favorite English-language bookstore in Paris (and in my opinion the very best one too).
Penelope is what every indie bookstore manager should be: a voracious reader with boundless love and enthusiasm for books and writers, and a passionate interest in putting the right readers together with the right books. (Being possessed of abundant energy and indefatigable persistence and determination is helpful too. 🙂 )
I could go on and on about Penelope’s talents, skills, and excellence as a bookseller, but perhaps I will save that for another post. For now let me just say that she has become a good friend, and a faithful supporter of my work, and I am deeply grateful for that.
Anyway. So it is that I found myself living that dream come true last night, at The Red Wheelbarrow in Paris. Here are a few photos of the event.
And so this book, a labor of love that I worked on off and on over a period of many years, is finally out in the world–and on the shelves at The Red Wheelbarrow as well as other bookstores (for example at my favorite Washington DC bookstore, Politics and Prose), and online as well. You can learn a bit about the book here, and I hope you will be interested enough to buy it. I hope even more that you will like it (and that if you do, you will write an online review of it). These things help authors so much!
The best thing about the event, at least for me, is that it was a wonderful mix of friends, and people I’d never met before. (The best thing for Penelope, I imagine, is that almost everyone who was there for the reading bought the book!) And I think it was fun for everyone that I had brought one of my favorite champagnes from the Côte des Bar (which is where I now live) to celebrate the event.
There is one more best thing about the event for me. And that is that both of my sons were there, with their very nice girlfriends. Nothing could have made the event more special for me.
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the US and 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.
Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road 