Breathe - First, Exhalation, followed by Exaltation
Preparing for the New Year!
JANUARY 2025 NEWSLETTER
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! 2025 may be a real challenge for some of us, but there are also so many marvelous things to be looking forward too. In years past, one of my nieces started a ‘Gratitude’ round each day on Facebook, and people chimed in! Right now, I would love to share that with you through my newsletters. I’ll try not to bombard you often, but maybe I’ll just send a whip of an idea, a notion of something gone well, or even an exaltation of something accomplished. You can join me with your own comments. And your own words of gratitude. We’re starting today!
An exultation of larks!!
Speaking of good news, this popped into my email this week:
Hiya,
My mom's name is Holly Fr_____. She passed away at the beginning of November. A week later your book came in the mail; apparently she won a contest. Today your note to her arrived, with the signed bookplate.
I'm sure she would have loved the book. I am currently reading it. I figured "it's not quite my thing, I'll read a bit." And once in a while I say "one more chapter then I'll stop." But I keep reading. It is so enjoyable. You are a good writer, and it is well edited and full of interesting stories. Mom had been to Provence a few times, and Paris many. I went to Paris once while she was there (she would rent an apartment and stay for three months; the duration of a tourist visa I guess.) I really liked it, and Mom loved France. Thank you for the book, note, and bookplate. Signed, _________
This little note came through my website, and was, to me, a gift of enormous proportions. It thrilled me to no end that this son, who was mourning his mother, picked up my book and began to read - a book he usually would not have given a second thought. It was his way of connecting with the mother he had lost, and in so doing with the memories they had created together. He opened a window to the warmth he had felt with his mother, especially in her jaunts to Paris. I was simply grateful he had made me aware of his story, and that of his mother. Thank you!
And, like most authors, I am grateful to know my stories have made an impact on my readers. You can’t know how precious that is! For me, it helps me ‘know’ that someone “gets me”; that they understand the intentions of my book. And even the humor. (You are probably shocked that wouldn’t be obvious, but for most of us authors we’re blind to our own foibles on the page. “It sounded good at the time,” we might say. “I think I’m funny, but does anyone else?”)
So, in addition to hearing his sweet story, I would love for you to keep this in mind once you’ve read a book. Anyone’s book. Write a review! And/or reach out and tell the author what you’ve liked or appreciated most. Or, even that you bought the book! (I can’t possibly know that you’ve read it, but that’s nice too!)
Many wonderful moments came to me this past couple of months as I continue to share my newest book, Adventures on Land & Sea: Searching for Culinary Pleasures in Provence and along the Cote d’Azur.
Book Events Books, Inc. - Palo Alto; Kepler’s Books, Menlo Park, Bricoleur Winery Holiday Market, Windsor, CA., and California Writers Club - SF Peninsula Branch Holiday Party and Book Sale, Redwood City, CA.
SCHEDULE FOR UPCOMING 2025 BOOK EVENTS:
Saratoga Foothills Club – Saratoga, CA. - January 14th – 11 a.m. – Talk on Women, War, and Food
Book Passage – Corte Madera, CA. – January 18th – 1 p.m. – Intro by Brooke Warner - Book Reading
An Evening in Provençe – Book/Bistro Dinner – Sequoia Yacht Club – February 1st - 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. (Private Yacht Club Event)
Barnes & Noble – Hillsdale Mall – San Mateo, CA. – February 8th – 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Readers Books – Sonoma, CA. – March 5th – 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
And, as a little ‘amuse bouche’, let me share with you what its like to play around with boats during the holidays! Yes, the third section of my newest book is all about sailing with my husband and friends along the Cote d’Azur in France, so this will get you primed for not only the book but for understanding the follies and foibles of my life with a sailor.
Searching for an audio book? Check out the following three books:
Wishing you a very Happy New Year 2025!
What a warm story, Carole, and a lovely way to begin the year. May 2025 bring you and Winston every blessing and success. … Tim
I’m never too busy not to chat with you, dear heart! Let’s make a date!