I am just back from spending almost two weeks in France ~ yes during their historic rains ~ part of which was spent cruising the rising river Seine with some lovely fellow passengers on the Scenic Gem. But the trip began in Paris, a true inspiration for any writer. To quote James Thurber, “The whole of Paris is a vast university of art, literature and music…it is worth anyone’s while to dally here for years. Paris is a seminar, a post-graduate course in Everything.” 

Although I didn’t have years to dally there, it was thrilling to be walking the very same streets, maybe even sipping wine at the same sidewalk cafés as some of the most masterful storytellers of the ages ~ Ernest Hemingway, Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, Voltaire, Henry Miller, Alexander Dumas, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Burroughs, George Sand, Oscar Wilde, Gustave Flaubert, Honoré de  Balzac, Guy de Maupassant, Emile Zola ~ just a few of the literary lions who either lived or visited the City of Light to find inspiration. 

Having now returned to the real world, I too am inspired. My fingers itch to get moving across the keyboard again, to pick up where they left off on my current work in progress. And as wonderful as it was to drink in the beauty of France, to savor the art and architecture of its countryside chateaus and castles, I’ve still missed spending time with my characters, mes amis marveilleux!