Laura Florand's Blog, page 4

Walking Under Jasmine

I want this to be the door to my house. Imagine walking under that much jasmine every day.

In Volterra, Italy.

A Door into Nowhere

A door into nowhere in Italy.

(It actually has a steep stair on the other side of it that leads down into a courtyard garden a floor below, but when you walk by it casually, it really does look like it’s opening into air on the other side. Maybe it leads into fairyland.

Promenade des Anglais

The Promenade des Anglais in Nice on a normal summer day. The way it’s supposed to be. Happy and beautiful.

Vivent les mariés!

I love this photo. A huge congratulations to my uncles-by-marriage, who were “pacsed” 16 years ago (3 weeks after Sébastien and I started dating!) when that was the only legal option in France and whose wedding we celebrated in Champagne earlier this month.

Something to think about there–that Sébastien and I have been married 15 years, less time than they had to wait to be able to get married themselves.

As you know, I am staying offline and, while traveling in Italy, don’t even usually have a phone data connection to upload a photo or two. But yes, I have now heard about Orlando.

I don’t want to bring too much discussion of that into this beautiful wedding. But I will say that very few of us will ever have the opportunity to prevent a hate crime, and fewer still would ever even think about committing one.

But we’ll all have millions of opportunities in our lives to celebrate and honor another’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

You’ll probably have dozens today. It may not include confetti cannons or dancing all night or cannonballing into pools at the crack of dawn as a climax to festivities like this wedding weekend did, but there will be plenty of chances.

So we can at least take those opportunities, as much as we can.

We’ve been looking forward to this wedding for years. Hundreds of people came to help celebrate, and I think my feet are *still* sore from dancing until the DJ left at 4:30 a.m.

I *love* this photo and the joy it shows. Vivent les mariés!

Glimpses of Provence

A tiny cemetery in a remote, minuscule village in Provence. Places like this always make me stop and think a long time. The air is so clean and dry and quiet except for wind in leaves, the sound of your own footsteps, maybe some bees or some cicadas or a bird chirping. And you ask yourself what the stories are, of the people here. What they lived for, what mattered to them, what they witnessed…

Friday Book Club and Chocolate Time winner

Winner has been drawn for the Chocolate Time giveaway! Mary E (message has been sent).

I wish I could give fancy chocolates and books to all of you! I had a great time with this giveaway and am already cogitating on the chocolatier for May. (If you have any recommendations you haven’t seen me try, let me know below!)

Happy weekend all of you! What are you reading this weekend? Anything you recommend?

 

Chocolate Time! Coco Sala and Donna Kauffman

CHOCOLATE TIME! (That’s right. I do more than just torment you with photos of the chocolates I’m eating. I try to pay it forward a bit. ) As a huge thank you to all of you for the support that helped make CHASE ME‘s release so fun, this month’s chocolate is from luxury chocolate producer COCO SALA in DC.


 


And for the books, this month I wanted to feature Donna Kauffman, one of the very first authors to reach out when THE CHOCOLATE THIEF was published with very generous support and praise. I have a huge soft spot for established authors who take time to try to help new authors reach readers, and Donna Kauffman is a true star. And you will love her books. Her upcoming release STARFISH MOON takes us back to Blueberry Cove, the wonderfully heartwarming small town she has created in Maine. (I re-read them all every time we head to Maine, in fact.)


 


I’m throwing in also one copy of ALL FOR YOU, the first book in the Paris Nights series.


 


Name drawn Thursday! Please comment below to enter (or on Facebook).




 


I hope you enjoy!

Interview and Giveaway

Interview and giveaway over on The Romance Dish today! Hop over and share your idea of the dream Paris treat to enter.

http://www.theromancedish.com/2016/04...

 

A huge thank you to Chase Me reviewers!

Thank you all so, so much for the generous reviews and emails about CHASE ME! I’m so thrilled any of you could enjoy it, and I really appreciate the time you take to let me or other readers know!

Some really wonderful new reviews have been coming in the past few days from bloggers and industry magazines, too, and I just want to take a moment to say a huge thank you to all of them. (If I miss some of you, it’s maybe because I haven’t seen it, so feel free to send it if you want me to see it. If you don’t, that’s okay, too!)

THANK YOU!

“Loved it – in fact, I think it’s one of her best books to date!” – Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (an A review!)

“Florand’s descriptive writing and strong characters make the second addition to the Paris Nights series a winner. Chase and Vi were totally made for each other, and their steamy get-togethers and perfect chemistry will make readers swoon. A few giggles here thanks to their entertaining banter provides comic relief, too. Plus, there’s suspense, thrills and Paris! Foodies and romantics alike will be delighted.” — RT Book Reviews

“A fast paced, funny, suspenseful, sexy romance all rolled into one tidy package. … From the start of this story, Chase and Violette spark off each other, the result being some fantastic dialogue that doesn’t let up for the whole book.” – Straight Shootin’ Book Review

“What an adorable book! If you like great banter, this is a must read….For really cute banter, very sexy love scenes and just a fun romance overall, I highly recommend!”” – Smexy Books

Fast paced, hilarious, full of witty banter, smexy as all get up and SO MUCH FUN! – Bookcrack Book Reviews (a Best Book of 2016)

Laura Florand’s Chase Me is handled with her usual grace and exquisite sensitivity. Chase Me deals with issues of grief, of terrorism, the world we live in and how it shapes us, and the people who stand so bravely between the rest of humanity and the dark. All this and yet this story was filled with humor, with laugh out loud moments, with knowing chuckles even as my heart twinged with shared sorrow. I loved Chase and Vi’s story. Seriously, the only flaw I can see is that the story ended at all.” – Night Owl Reviews (a Top Pick!)

“The banter is FANTASTIC. Think Angeline Jolie and Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. I mean –they just go toe to toe with each other and I loved it! … I highly recommend Chase Me and everything Laura Florand writes. She’s an auto-buy author for me.” – For What It’s Worth

“Chase Me is hilarious, un-put-down-able and just so much fun! It’s going to be a Florand novel I re-read easily.” – Ivy Book Bindings

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you!

Get your copy here!

Amazon  / Barnes and Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Google Play

Chase Me is HERE!

It’s here!

Readers are calling it “hot”, “sexy”, “heartwarming”, and “hilarious”! From international bestselling author Laura Florand comes book 2 in her award-winning series, Paris Nights: CHASE ME.

One cocky, sexy Navy SEAL on a mission.

One top Paris chef not about to let him break into her kitchens.

It’s a sizzling first meeting, and it only gets hotter from there.

“An utterly fun love/hate romance (well, on Violette’s side, anyhow) full of clever banter, and seriously HOT! … No one writes sexual chemistry and hot, lusty scenes like Laura Florand! Chase and Violette’s romance just sizzled and sparked right off the pages!” – The Reader’s Den

“The banter is FANTASTIC. Think Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. I mean –they just go toe to toe with each other and I loved it! … I highly recommend Chase Me and everything Laura Florand writes. She’s an auto-buy author for me.” – For What It’s Worth

“Simply fantastic. Super fun, funny, hot, sweet, cute, everything you could want in a story….I read it with the biggest smile on my face.” – Jen in Bookland

Plus Night Owl Reviews gives it a Top Pick, and Book Riot names it a Best Read of the month!

 

Get your copy here!

Amazon  / Barnes and Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Google Play