Ooh La La! Romance and Armchair travel to France with Annie West

Do you love the idea of travel but maybe don't get to do too much of it? One of the things I adored about reading Harlequin Presents stories right from the beginning was the opportunity for some vicarious travelling to gorgeous exotic places, usually far from my home town. Now I write those stories and part of the joy is setting them all over the globe, some near my home on the east coast of Australia and some on other continents! Linked to the joy of writing those stories is the pleasure of researching them. I research using internet, books, documentaries, people who live there or who have visited in person and, yes, sometimes I get to travel for research too. This new release, A VOW TO SECURE HIS LEGACY is about a woman who's led all her life being cautious but who decides, when she faces the possibility of a lethal illness, to travel the globe, crossing items off her bucket list. Her first stop is Paris - which I can totally understand.

The story begins in Paris then moves elsewhere but I thought I'd share some of my research photos of that fabulous city. After all, it's where Imogen and Thierry fall for each other in what they believe will be a short term fling, but ends up being the love affair of a lifetime.

 

As you can see by the photo below, some research just needs to be savoured! I'm enjoying my first Kir Royale on French soil, just a couple of blocks from the River Seine.

 

 

 

Which looks like this:

 

 

 

One of the things Imogen wants to do is take an evening cruise through the centre of Paris. Here's a photo I took on one of those trips. I have far too many shots of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame but the carved faces on this bridge really fascinated me, as they did Imogen.

 

 

She also wanted to drive a sports car around the Arc de Triomphe - a space notorious for its huge roundabout which has no lanes marked! I spent a long time on top of the Arc de Triomphe, not just admiring the distant view, but mesmerised by the traffic which alternated between free flowing and absolutely manic.

 

 

Then there are the shops (so many and so varied) and the sometimes whimsical displays.

 

And since Imogen was on the trip of a lifetime, she splurged on a stay in one of the famous luxury hotels. Here I am, researching, outside the Ritz.

 

 

 

And I'll leave you with one of my favourite views of the city - from the roof level of Notre Dame Cathedral.

 

If you want a closer look at the photos, just click on them. I hope you've enjoyed this sneak peak into a couple of the places that inspired A VOW TO SECURE HIS LEGACY. If you want to grab a copy it's available in all the usual places including:

Book Depository

Amazon

Barnes and Noble and

Harlequin

If you want to find out more about the book or sign up to receive exclusive snippets and giveaways associated with my books, you can do that at my website.

 

What's your favourite way of armchair travelling? Reading fiction? Hearing about friends' travel? Watching TV documentaries? Travel books? Where have you armchair travelled recently? I'd love some recommendations.


Re-entering Reality by Fiona Lowe

I've just got back fro 19 days in France! C'est tres fantastique! You have to hand it to the French; they have style and, man, can they cook! From the top end restaurants in Paris to the small family-run brasseries in the provinces, the food was phenomenal. I have waddled home, sadly to my own cooking!

Re-entering real life post vacation is always a challenge. We travelled light so the bags are unpacked and the laundry is under control but my brain is still in France. Here are a few of the photos so you understand.

The Canal du Midi between Castlenaudary & Carrcassonne

Cookies & Chocolates in Montemarte

Saint Cecile Cathedrral in Albi..the Cathars Crusade

Renaissance buildings in Albi 

Chaud Chocolat in style!

I could go on (my husband took 1300 photos in 19 days) but I'll stop! As you can imagine, my mind keeps wandering back to these adventures rather than the prosaic of real life!  However, I am a person for looking forward, not backwards and November is coming. My eldest son is returning home from university/college next week and November means books are being released!

My next Harlequin medical romance is out on November 1st! This is the third book in the Gold Coast Angel's series and I

had a lot of angst as well as fun writing Bundle of Trouble. Married to his long time girlfriend and dad to baby Amber, Luke Stanley was at the top of his field as a plastic surgeon. Life was good and he never expected it to change in a heartbeat. But life can do that to you and suddenly,  Luke's adrift and it's only his daughter that is keeping him going. 

Writing about grief is emotionally draining but the flip side to it is giving people hope. Not just my characters but perhaps readers who are struggling. I hope you enjoy Luke and Chloe's story as they both learn life can give you second chances at happiness if you're open to taking the risk. Set on the beautiful Gold Coast in Queenland, Australia, it's filled with sun-drenched beaches and glorious, lush rainforests. It's available at Harlequin and all other eBook retailers.

For those of you looking for a short-story, the perfect length before turning out the light, then On The Road Again is just the thing. It's a reunion story. Can two people forgive and move beyond past hurts? Set on a 9 day cycling vacation (yes, I used the ride as inspiration) it also features a hot doc, a high-powered motor cycle and lots of fun.
You can grab it at Smashwords and Amazon and soon all other ebook retailers.

Of course I have a my Wedding Fever trilogy for fun and laughs and the occasional tears in Saved By The Bride and Picture Perfect Wedding. It's the perfect time to grab them in preparation for the final book, Runaway Groom which is out in January!

Meanwhile, anyone been to France? I'd love to hear your favourite French stories to help me ease into real life again!


Fiona Lowe is a RITA^® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at herwebsite, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

To Market, To Market, French Style - Part 2 - Annie West

Approaching the market - this is just the beginning

Last month I had a marvellous time sharing with you some of the photos from my market shopping experiences in France. My current book DEFYING HIS DESERT DUTY is set (despite the title) mainly in France and inspired especially by the wonderful time I spent in the Loire Valley and the Perigord region of SW France. Last time I told you about some of the edible treats I encountered. This time I thought I'd tell you a little about the huge range of other items on sale.

These photos are all taken in the town of Le Bugue in the Perigord. We parked by the river and walked up beside the water to the main street, watching a kingfisher dive and swoop along the way. I thought this square, the first I came too, was the sum total of the market. I was wrong. It went on and on, across both sides of the main square (this is half), into a delightful undercover area and then, to my surprise up a very long street then down to another little stream. A great way to spend a morning!

I was stunned by what I found. I'd thought in terms of food - baguettes, vegetables, cheese and meats. There was all that and far more. There was something for everyone. It seems the locals are quite happy to shop for pots and pans at the market at well as for fresh produce. I got lured in by a guy demonstrating a new kitchen device - not at this stand but at one four deep in passersby. Usually I don't buy those kitsch all-in-one utensils so I gave him a wide berth, but on the way back I paused and got hooked. Now I own a brilliant pair of scissors perfect for chopping parsley, chives and other soft herbs. They look like normal scissors till you open them and see there are 5 blades on each side. Honestly, I can never wait to use them as they make cutting so much fun!

Her'e a stand selling wonderful, wonderful cookware. If I hadn't had the weight restrictions on the flight back to Australia I'd have indulged here, believe me. The colours were terrific in the morning sun and I could see myself using so many of the terrific dishes on display. The fact this was next to a huge stall selling hot food helped too!

There were stalls filled to the brim with clothes. There were shoes, belts and scarves. There was even a stall selling epiphytes - small plants anchored on twisted branches, just perfect for hanging under a pergola. Here's the wonderful stall where I brought my brilliant jacquard tablecloth in summer blues and daffodil yellow. Big enough for our large dining table and cheerful with its lovely pattern to make me feel good whenever I use it. The stall holder had me intrigued with the news my choice was water repellent - demonstrating by tipping water over it before he wrapped it - then tilting it and letting the water slide away. It looked like a simple linen cloth to me!

Here's the last stall we found, tucked away around a corner on the tranquil bank of a stream. I wanted to stay and sift through the pottery, sure I could find a few things that would fit in my bag. They were all so gorgeous and I knew they would work wonderfully in my kitchen. My husband, made of sterner stuff when it comes to markets, just gave me that look and I had to admit he was right. The whole market was one big temptation, but I couldn't take it home with me. Fortunately there was some compensation to be had. On the stroll back to our car we found a lovely little restaurant with a courtyard shaded by a massive plane tree. Perfect on a sunny day. It was just the place to stop and enjoy a restorative coffee before heading off to a lovely spot in the hills for lunch washed down with local wine. Sigh. Is it any wonder this part of France provided inspiration for my latest story?

How about you? Are you a market shopper? Have you ever made a terrific purchase at one that still makes you smile? What do you wish your local market sold that it doesn't? Our local market at home sells mainly food and I wish from time to time it sold the sort of gorgeous handmade crafts that would make gift shopping so much easier.

To celebrate the release of DEFYING HER DESERT DUTY, my French location sheikh story, I'll give away a signed copy of the book to one person who leaves a comment here today.

This month Annie has 3 releases:  DEFYING HER DESERT DUTY in the United Kingdom and an anthology: GREEK AFFAIRS: TEMPTED BY THE TYCOON in Australia/New Zealand. In the UK there's also an anthology available from 19th October: SULTRY NIGHTS. If you're after a copy of GREEK AFFAIRS, here's a link to Mills and Boon. If you want free postage on DEFYING HER DESERT DUTY here's a link to The Book Depository.

You can visit Annie's site to find details of her books or sign up for her newsletter and be in the draw for great prizes and the latest news.

To Market, To Market, French Style - Annie West

 

My upcoming release, DEFYING HER DESERT DUTY, was partly inspired by a recent trip to France. Yes, yes, I know, the title sounds like the story is all about hot desert nights and that certainly features at the end of the book. Plus there's a rather mouthwatering sheikh to enjoy along the way. But most of the story is set in Europe as my heroine tries desperately to put off the day she must return to the man she's promised to marry. And along the way she mades the mistake of falling for the man who's been sent to protect and bring her home. Sigh. I love the tug of war between love and duty in this one.

Anyway...thinking about this story made me think of wonderful places I'd visited while researching, some of which are places Soraya visits too. I thought I'd share a few of them with you. Top of my list was rural France.

One of my favourite experiences was visiting French street markets. This one in Le Bugue in the Dordogne region was typical. Lots and lots of fresh produce as you can see. And what would a french market be without ropes of garlic? This stall was actually the smallest of the garlic stalls I found. Another find was a stall specialising in saffron, those tiny threads each picked by hand from low growing crocus flowers. I'm happy to use it in my cooking but so glad I don't have to harvest it! This was at the beginning of the market and I thought it was only the size of the small town square. Little did I know! It went on and on down a long street filled with everything from home made salamis to olives of every shape, variety and seasoning imaginable to...well, to most things edible.

What a terrific way to spend a few hours.

If garlic seems an obvious ingredient in a French food market, how about cheese? I was stunned by the cheese stalls. Some were refrigerated behind glass, like the deli counters at home, full of small pieces of all sorts of creamy cheeses. This one was rather more down to earth, with enormous wheels of cheese coming straight from the farm by the look of them. This stall seemed unattended but I'm sure someone would have arrived if we'd started helping ourselves. I did wonder though if they'd sell their produce in tiny 100gram lots or whether it had to be by the kilo!

Another fascinating stall, especially after the colour and earthy scent of the stalls laden with fresh veges, was this one that specialised in teas. Not plain old black or green tea but unusual combinations and flavours of tea and tea to help with all sorts of ailments. Tea for health not just tea for enjoyment or to quench thirst and each type apparently hand blended. The stall was much, much larger than this. This was just a small shelf out the front with interesting herbs and dried leaves. They did a roaring trade too, mainly with locals I think. The scents from that stall were fascinating too, and I spent ages investigating what was on offer.

Surprisingly (as we were inland after all) one of the last stalls was a massive seafood tent. They had all sorts of fresh seafood on ice from fish to massive prawns, crabs and shellfish. In addition, and much more appealing to passing tourists, were the massive steaming trays of paella (or so it looked to me) and other hot seafood dishes. That's them at the front of the stall - the round containers.

I visit my local farmers' markets at home from time to time and enjoy getting food direct from the grower, knowing it's fresh and tasty. It's always a fun experience. But I have to say there was something especially enjoyable about sampling a French food market. The sun was shining and some of the items on sale were fascinatingly exotic, to me at least. Add to that the fact that purchases were made in French and I didn't have to stagger home with a week's supplies, just enough to supply a delicious outdoor picnic, and it was a wonderful carefree experience. One I can recommend to anyone!

Do you shop at markets? What are the local specialities you enjoy most? Or are there foods you'd love to find on sale that never appear where you shop?


Next month I'll indulge myself with more market pictures but no food this time. I hope you'll join me then too for a little more marketing in sunny France.

If you want to read more about DEFYING HER DESERT DUTY (out in the UK in October), you can visit my website for an excerpt or order it from The Book Depository now (free postage anywhere in the world and a discount if you order before October).

Oh, and if you're in Australia or New Zealand, my bestselling book THE GREEK TYCOON'S UNEXPECTED WIFE is out this month in a gorgeous anthology called 'GREEK AFFAIRS: TEMPTED BY THE TYCOON'.