French Book Tour! Part One
Plus, a literary walking tour of Hemingway's Paris
Hello, lovelies!
One of my absolute favorite parts about this newsletter is getting to peel back the curtains and show you the behind-the-scenes parts of a novelist’s life. Being sent to France on an all-expenses-paid book tour? Yeah… I’m going to have to rank that very, very high on my list of Most Amazing Things I’ve Done In My Career, pretty close to walking the Netflix red carpet.
A lot happened in the week that I was in France! So today’s newsletter is about Lyon and a literary walking tour of Paris. Then Part Two will come later this week and be about the Paris Book Festival.
Allons-y! (I think that’s how you say “Let’s go!” but don’t quote me on it. I’m just starting to learn French!)
Arriving in the Fashion Capital of the World… With No Clothes
For weeks before this trip, I planned what I was going to wear. I don’t normally do this sort of thing, but I got it into my head that I needed to be particularly chic while in France. I ended up packing some really, really great outfits.
But egotistical plans tend to get waylaid—perhaps the universe reminding us to calm down? haha—and a series of unfortunate events happened:
(1) on the way to Texas for the eclipse (before I went to France), someone must’ve thrown my suitcase exactly wrong into the baggage hold, because it arrived in Dallas with massive cracks in the hardshell. I didn’t have time to buy a new suitcase, so I had to patch it up with hideous blue duct tape. Demerit Number One for arriving in Paris in style!
(2) After the eclipse, my first flight to France was delayed. I managed to make my connection by sprinting through the airport, but my suitcase was apparently not as speedy. The kind fellow at the Lost Baggage desk in Paris told me they would deliver to my hotel as soon as possible… probably within 24-ish hours.
The problem was, I was getting on a train to Lyon the next day for a bookstore signing! So I slept in my dirty airplane clothes and didn’t wash the makeup off my face (so I could “save” it for my event the next day). Then I woke up early and power-walked to Zara so I could be there as soon as they opened. I bought the first outfit that sort-of fit me, then power-walked back to my hotel just in time to meet my editor and publicist for the train.
Lyon - No One Cared What I Wore Anyway
My French editor, Dorothy, and my publicist, Myriam, accompanied me to Lyon. By “accompanied,” I mean they took care of every single detail and made sure I was fed and happy and shepherded everywhere I needed to be. I love them!
We took a train for 2 hours to the beautiful city of Lyon and arrived an hour before my signing, so we got to walk through town.
We arrived at Gibert Bookstore to discover that their lovely bookselling team had plastered the windows with announcements about my appearance there, as well as set up multiple displays in-store. They also gave me a box of chocolate confections that are specialties of Lyon!
There was a table on the second floor of the bookstore, ready with a stack of books and some water for me, since I get thirsty when I chat with readers.
Turns out, I totally overthought the whole fashionable French outfit thing, because nobody cared what I wore.
I signed books for a couple hours and had such a wonderful time talking with those who stopped by. One reader traveled an hour to get to the event. Another sprinted from her office as soon as the workday was over. Another bought a copy of the book for his daughter, who had loved the movie.
And one reader brought me gifts! They crocheted an adorable stuffed bee and whale, and also two heart-shaped bookmarks! I will treasure them forever.
After the event and thanking the incredible booksellers one more time, we said Au revoir to Lyon and took the train back to Paris.
And when I got back to my hotel, my suitcase was there!
Literary Walking Tour: Hemingway’s Paris
I had a free day between the Lyon signing and the Paris Book Festival, so I took the opportunity to book a walking tour about Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms was the first “grown-up” book I ever read, and I was really excited to find out that there was an American writer in Paris who gave literary tours of the city.
For two hours,
walked me through the geographical locations in The Moveable Feast, regaled me with stories about Hemingway and his Parisian cohort—F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and more—and read excerpts from those authors’ works at salient points during the tour. I didn’t even take photos of all the landmarks, because I was so immersed in our walk. I don’t want to give too much away, because if you’re ever in Paris, I think you should do this tour yourself! It’s such fun to get inside the true story behind the romantic myth that Hemingway spun about his time in the City of Lights.
Afterward, we had a drink on a beautiful terrace on one of the old, narrow streets of Paris, where Samuél and I talked about writing and publishing and following your heart in art. (Samuél is an author, creative writing teacher at the Sorbonne, and musician, and you can find him on Substack here.)
Damsel: Movie vs Book
I think I already mentioned that the ending of Damsel the book and Damsel the movie are different, right?
Well, I wrote about it in more depth in a guest post over on Author Stack. Check it out! You can read Damsel: Movie vs Book here.
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Thank you so much for all these wonderful details! I can't wait for your next post from the Paris Book Festival. I just have to say, I loved listening to you read and then following along to see the photos. You are such a nice person, and I am definitely living vicariously through you. Also, you may just be learning the language, but you have a lovely accent!
Thanks for the tip about the clothes! I've been pondering what on earth to pack for Paris, now I won't stress over it too much. I won't be doing the Emily in Paris thing, anyway 😂
But I may take your suggestion about the Hemingway tour 👍
Are you going to Shakespeare and Company? That's high on my list.