Merry Happy Everything!
A letter from Janet Skeslien Charles
Dear friends,
Wishing you the very best for the holiday season - light, warmth, great books, good health, time with loved ones, and some quiet moments for yourself!
These have been busy weeks. I was honored to teach at the Geneva Writers Conference, where my path to publication began almost twenty years ago. This time, Eddy drove me to Geneva! I was nervous about reading from my latest book; thankfully, the audience was very encouraging.
My publisher Navona invited me to Barcelona, where I presented my book at Laie bookshop with my publicist Xènia Bussé and Carme Fenoll and met with lovely readers. (You can see the photos on my Instagram stories.) After the reading, I was interviewed on Catalan public television.
My last event of the year was a book signing at the AAWE holiday bazaar, which has a great atmosphere and delicious food thanks to dozens of volunteers. Penelope Fletcher, proprietor of the Red Wheelbarrow, is always a joy to talk to. Although we writers committed to sign for two hours, we all ended up staying longer. I so enjoyed spending time with fellow authors Robin Davis, Jennifer Steil, and Elaine Sciolino. I also got to catch up with author Sherry Jones over a brownie and a glass of bubbly. This autumn, I was also happy to spend time with fellow writers Emily Monaco and Jade Maître, who came all the way from Australia.
In my December 2024 newsletter, I noted that I’d lived on the same street as a major venue for concerts, but I’d never attended one. Last month, writer Lorie Lichtlen invited me to see Simply Red, and we had a blast! Then, she, Eddy, and I attended a concert thanks to an invitation from clarinetist and fellow writer Anjali Morard.
I got to visit London for a quick trip to see fellow historical fiction writers. It is always wonderful to spend time with so many talented women.
The holidays can be challenging. We may be far from home or filled with thoughts of loved ones who’ve passed away. When I’m feeling down, I do something for others, such as volunteer or make a donation to the Authors Guild Freedom to Read fund, the Institut Curie, or Les Restos du Coeur. I’m inspired by the Cards, the women of le Comité américain pour les régions devastées (CARD), who hailed from France, the US, and the UK, as you can see from the flags in the photo below. During World War I, when the enemy began bombing northern France, the army asked CARD to evacuate civilians. These chauffeuses - or women chauffeurs, as they called themselves - received the war cross medal for their courage under fire. You can read about them in Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade.
Books make great gifts - Huguette is a page-turner set in France during the murky, lawless years after World War II. To survive, young Huguette must navigate between French black marketeers and rogue GIs in her quest for justice. As always, Cara Black’s impeccable research brings the era to life. I devoured this novel!
And of course, you can always give audiobooks as a gift. ; - ) The Parisian Chapter is available on all platforms.
To finish, a few photos from the interactive MC Escher exhibit. It was fun to put ourselves in one of the drawings.
Wishing you the very best of the season! Thank you for reading my newsletter. I appreciate your support!
My best,
Janet
Joyeux Joyeux Tout !! to you too ;-))
It was fun to drive you to Geneva. It was a different drive than usual, kinda more important or happier train to drive.
I'm glad you had a fun time in your too short trip to Barcelona.
It's always impressive the pictures you found about those amazing CARDS and their journey during those hard time in France.
Happy holidays to everyone.
❤️❤️
Merry Christmas dear Janet! Your energy and implication in all these activities are an inspiration!