Bonjour, 2026!
A letter from Janet Skeslien Charles
Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best - good health, happiness, time with cherished friends and family, and quiet moments for yourself. Today, in a letter to a friend, I was describing the pleasure I felt in writing to you through this newsletter. For much of professional writing, we authors dedicate years to projects before sending them to agents or editors, in a process referred to as submission. Oxford Dictionary’s second definition is “the action of presenting a proposal, application, or other document for consideration or judgement.” But the process often feels more like the first definition: “the action of accepting or yielding to a superior force,” or even “the condition of being submissive, humble, or compliant.” With submission, there is endless waiting and rejection. (Agents, editors, and publicists also pitch projects and receive their fair share of rejection.) It is a tough, heartbreaking process - it took years to find an agent for my novel The Paris Library. All this to say, in writing this newsletter, it feels fabulous to share my thoughts, decide on the publication date, and hit send - in hopes of hearing back from you.
From 1998-1999, I lived in Mulhouse, where I was lucky to have great coworkers and students. Each December, Eddy and I return to Alsace and Basel, Switzerland to enjoy the holiday cheer.
Thanks to the generosity of my friend Kate Thompson, Eddy and I had the opportunity to visit Versailles. With thousands of tourists visiting every day, the castle is an obstacle course that leaves you in awe, but also exhausted. It seems unimaginable to take a photo without people in the background, but here we are on Le Parcours du Roi, or the King's Tour. We felt like royalty.
We wended our way through the rooms of Versailles, including the Hall of Mirrors below. As you can see, there weren’t too many people.
We listened to a quintet and watched dancers. Outside the window, fireworks.
In January and February, I’m looking forward to meeting with readers! You can join us online on Saturday, January 17th at noon eastern time, when I will be meeting with @ATFrenchies. Here is the link. For members of WICE, I will be teaching an in-person master class Setting the Tone on Friday, February 6 at 2 pm. On Saturday, February 7th at 4 pm, I’ll be in conversation (in French) with Robin Karvo at the library in Boulogne-Billancourt.
I’ll end with this photo of the Cards from my novel Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade. The volunteers are enjoying a rare moment of respite before they return to the world of war and devastation. Then as now, there is much work to be done, many ways we can and must help others.
Wishing you all the very best in 2026! Thank you for reading my newsletter. If you enjoyed it, I hope that you will consider sharing it with a friend.
My best,
Janet
I love your newsletters. They are like a little oasis of calm and reflection. I am also so happy those tickets didn’t go to waste. Amazing photos xx
Happy 2026!! I do look forward to your newsletter every month!!