Amy Plum's Blog, page 46

Where the hell is Montreuil-les-Vignes? (Or: Why Didn't You Move to Cannes?)

Montreuil-les-Vignes*, our home, is a town of 1246 people, of which 70+ families are wine makers. Which means that basically everyone is involved in some way with making wine. If you drive southwest from Paris, you will reach Montreuil-les-Vignes in 3 hours, passing several famous Loire Valley chateaux along the way.

Montreuil-les-Vignes is on the blue square above "Loire River" just under the big red "France".

There is a 10th century church in our town square. There is also a bakery, a butcher, a charcutiere, a post office and two hair salons. There is a bar, but I'm scared to go in because it's all of these old farmers sitting on stools and drinking, and if you are not an old farmer and dare walk in on their turf, they all turn around and stare at you. Trust me, those old farmers can be intimidating.

There is a farmer's cooperative, open some mornings, but I'm not sure which, since the opening hours seem to be run by some type of mysterious unposted schedule. The last time I happened to arrive at the right time their entire offering was carrots, strawberries and asparagus.

Every July there is a scarecrow festival. Everyone dresses up a scarecrow and puts it in their yard. At the end of the week, the scarecrows are judged and a prize is awarded. The last time I was in Montreuil-les-Vignes during the festival, a drunk scarecrow holding a bottle and propping itself up on a telephone pole won the prize. The children all put flowers on their bicycles (like mini-Rose-Bowl-floats) and these are also judged and given prizes.

So why did we move to this podunk town in the Middle-of-Nowhere, France?

My handsome French husband, Laurent, and I met at a party here. So there is a nostalgia factor. After that historic party, I returned several times with him to stay with his father, who lives in the Hauts Champs (High Fields) overlooking the little town. Each time I visited, I savored the beautiful countryside and slow pace, and, coming from a crazed city lifestyle, swore that it was the only place on earth I could completely relax.

In Montreuil-les-Vignes, entertainment consists of the following: stopping by your neighbor's house for a drink, and then continuing on to another neighbor's house for a drink, or, if you happen to be home, watching several neighbors coming up your drive for a drink.

There are certain times that you can plan on having people stop by for a drink. Usually this is right before lunch or dinner. No one expects you to invite them to stay to eat, luckily, or you would have to have lots of food on hand all of the time in addition to all of the drink. One usually drinks around 3 small glasses per visit (not a rule – just something I noticed). This means that if you are planning to make a few stops, you need to pace yourself.

Or not. One of the neighbors in particular chooses "not". His girlfriend joked with him the other night as he swatted a mosquito away from his arm that he needn't bother because any mosquito that bit him would die of alcohol poisoning.

Anyway, back to the attractions of Montreuil-les-Vignes. There is the relaxation factor. There is the friendliness factor, as evidenced by the neighbor-visiting entertainment program. There is the not-to-be-missed scarecrow festival. The town is only 1 3/4 hours away from Paris if you take the TGV (fast train) from Tours. And you can get a nice, big house for the same price as a tiny apartment in Paris or a shack in the uber-popular South. The cheese, bread and food are to die for. And don't forget the produce of those 70+ wine makers. For wine lovers like ourselves, they might as well add the words "a.k.a. Paradise" to the end of the big sign at the entrance of the town that says "Bienvenue à Montreuil-les-Vignes".

*Fake town name – you won't find it on a map!

Why Trade in the Big Apple for the Big Baguette?

Five and a half years ago, when we told our friends and family that we were moving from New York back to France, the reply was inevitably, "Oh, to Paris"? When we answered, "No, to the French countryside", the responses ranged from "That sounds idyllic" to "Are you kidding? You will go absolutely insane living in the countryside". Bets were placed on how long I could make it without a rural-induced mental breakdown and subsequent return to city life.

We had several reasons for moving to the countryside.

In New York, everyone we knew who had lived there for several years bought or rented a house or flat outside of the city, if only during the summer months. It is commonly acknowledged that one must escape the city from time to time in order to ward off being involuntarily committed to a padded cell at Bellevue. A few friends had even made the leap and moved to the countryside, keeping their jobs in the city. We had been in New York for eight years, and the creeping malaise of city life had infected us. We were renting houses in the woods or escaping to the beach every time we had a couple of days off.

Secondly, I have lived my entire adult life in cities: Chicago, Paris, London, New York. And after a while, I began to get the overwhelming urge to plunge my hands into soil. I actually dreamed about dirt. So as soon as we moved into our top-floor Brooklyn apartment which had (illegal) roof access (via fire escape), I bought a half-whiskey barrel and some planters and started a roof garden. I ran a hose from my kitchen sink through the window and up the side of the building to water my tomatoes, basil and radishes (which grew beautifully), melons (which never grew) and corn (which birds ate before I could). The next, and last, apartment we had in Brooklyn had a dangerously sloped roof. I tossed my planters and hose and my dirt-fetish returned with a vengeance.

My illegal New York roof garden

There was also the property-ownership angle. The price of a studio apartment in Manhattan would buy us a big house in the French countryside, with enough room for a washing machine and dishwasher, both normally inaccessible to New York renters.

And then there's the fact that we have an 80-pound dog who likes to run.

Once we had decided to make the move, other factors sealed the deal for us. We discovered that Child #1 was on his way, and felt that proximity to his grandparents in France, who were gagging for grandchildren, was a positive thing. (And who laughs in the face of free babysitting?)

We already had in mind the perfect destination: my father-in-law's little town in the Loire Valley. And that's how we made our decision to swap the asphalt avenues of New York City for the dirt roads of Montreuil-les-Vignes.*

So how did it work out? Well, for the first few months I loved it here, then the next couple of years I hated it.

I was lonely. I didn't know how to do the Mom thing without a support network, so felt pretty lost most of the time. And I missed the culture-on-tap and around-the-clock-shopping-and-eating-out of big cities.

But the last couple of years have been better. I've gotten used to the isolation and have adapted to the fact that I have to communicate with my friends online instead of face-to-face. I'm involved in our tiny community, volunteering at my kids' preschool – teaching them songs in English. And I have my own office, across the yard from my house, where I can go when I need to think and create.

However, I do not have Starbucks. Or nights out with my friends, like I did in my previous lives. But, Paris is just three hours away and when I feel the deprivation starting to hit, I pack up a bag for a couple of days and run away.

Oh, how I love Paris!

* Don't bother looking Montreuil-les-Vignes up on the map. It doesn't actually exist. It's my fake name for our town of (gulp) 1300 people!

A Writing Life: Intimidation (or "Back to the playground")

So…you've quit your job to write full-time. Your first book is done. A rough draft of the second book is with your editor. What do you do with a couple of months "break"? Take a vacation? Enjoy your free time? Are you freakin' kidding me? This is your new career! You want to do EVERYTHING you can to make it work.

You try to master all of the social networking stuff you're supposed to be doing. You take care of all sorts of boring tax and incorporating issues. You use NaNoWriMo to write 50,000 words of a new story that's been brewing "up top" for a while. You meet the challenge, but after 30-days of intensive writing, you need a break from the manuscript.

So you launch upon a new project on your personal "to do" list. You begin studying your colleagues. You've been stalking a few of them since your editor suggested it. But now you choose a dozen or so and look at their websites, their schedules, their social networking, their touring, their swag, their products, their marketing, and their bios.

And you get TOTALLY INTIMIDATED. How can someone handle 3 series (that's 3 books per year) AND Tweet every fifteen minutes? Not just "I'm brushing my teeth now", but something really witty. How can someone whose first book is due out at the same time as yours already have a thousand Twitter followers? And holy cow, this one not only looks like a beauty queen, but she has a law degree! And next June you're going to be sitting next to her signing books.

Plus, they all know each other and send each other funny personal Tweets all the time. You wonder if you're supposed to be getting in touch with the other writers on your imprint. But if you did, maybe they would think, "Who does she think she is?" Or, on the other hand, and even worse, maybe they think you haven't contacted them because you're stand-offish…that is, if they have actually heard of you.

You Tweet one. She's not only heard of you, but she has your book. "Oh my God," you think. "I am on their radar." It also means your editor has sent advance reader copies of your book to other writers to get blurbs for your book cover. Fear grips your heart as you realize that you're in the most intimidating of situations: being judged by your peers.

And all of a sudden, you don't only feel like you're back in high school. No, this feeling predates high school by at least a decade. We're talking elementary school. On the playground. In a game of double-dutch jump rope. You're on the outside, swaying back and forth and trying to figure out the pace before jumping in and skipping to the beat.

The problem is, you've never had a very good sense of rhythm. You've always felt a bit awkward, especially since you seem to live half the time on another planet, far far away inside your imagination. But, you tell yourself, this is not a time to falter. It's time to pull up your knee-socks and start jumping as if your life depended on it. And you try to convince yourself that—even if you fall—a skinned elbow isn't the end of the world.

The Winner of the 1st Signed ARC of DIE FOR ME is…

Lisa Marie Runfola!! Like my main character, Lisa Marie is an American living in Paris, and she bid an amazing $338 for the book. Lisa Marie wrote me a very touching note after the auction, saying that she wanted the book for her 17-year-old daughter Marie and that she thought it was money well spent because she believes everyone (including Bridget Zinn) deserves a chance at life.

And for those of you who knew me in my previous incarnation as a blogger, Lisa Marie AND the underbidder (a Minnesotan, who bid up to one dollar less than Lisa Marie) were both loyal Chitlins followers and read my posts for years. Lisa Marie told me in her note that she believes in me. Which makes me realize how lucky I am to start my writing career with such a firm base of long-time readers who are all cheering me on.

Thank you Lisa Marie. Thank you to the two other bidders (A.N. and J.C.) who I know participated. And thank you to everyone out there who donated and bid in the auction, helping Bridget's friends to raise over $8700 for her cancer treatments.

And Merry Christmas to Marie Aquelina Runfola in New York, who will be getting a box with these inside in a little over a week. (If the post office gods are feeling benevolent.)

Auction for First Signed ARC of DIE FOR ME

When I woke up this morning and saw that my lot in the "Bridget Kicks Cancer" auction had shot from $15 to $139 in just two days, I was stunned…truly amazed by the goodwill and generosity of those of you out there who are bidding. I'm awed. And flattered. And I want to do something more…something to say "thank you" to whomever the winning bidder turns out to be.

So in addition to dedicating this ARC to whomever the winning bidder specifies, wrapping it in pretty paper and ribbon and mailing it anywhere you want in time for Christmas, (while promising not to send any other signed ARCs out until the recipient receives it, just to ensure that it's not only the very first ARC I sign of DIE FOR ME, but the very first book I've ever signed!!) I would like to add the following items just to make this an extra-special gift:

I am including a signed sample cover of DIE FOR ME that will never be seen by the general reading public. (It was just one stage in the process of making the final cover, and the text and color are slightly different than what the final cover will be.)

Also, I will include a collection of 15 photographs that I took of the different sites around Paris that appear in DIE FOR ME. These photos will be published on my website in the future as part of an "extras" page. But, for the auction, I am having them printed (the photos in the example were printed on my crappy home printer, so the quality will be better) and I will jot down on the back of each a description of the location and the page number on which it first appears in DIE FOR ME.

All of this to say – you guys are truly amazing. Bridget Kicks Cancer is such a worthy cause – I hope you've had a look at Bridget's website as well as the page that tells you what the auction's about (and shows how much it's made so far)! I asked my teenage nieces to take a look through the fun lots being offered and choose their Christmas presents from them so that I can try to win them.

Again, for the DIE FOR ME lot, you can click here (and, if you're asked for it, use the auction ID "bridgetkicks" and password "cancer"). There are five days left. I'll use them to get my wrapping paper ready and practice my signature!

Thank you all for joining me with your enthusiasm for this cause. It has truly truly touched me.

Win the Very First Signed ARC of DIE FOR ME

Just have a look at what the mail lady brought me today!

Yes, it is a box full of DIE FOR ME's ARCs (Advance Reading Copies). These are in the process of being sent by HarperCollins to booksellers and official reviewers. And later—closer to publication—some copies will be sent to book bloggers and non-professional reviewers who requested them from the publisher.

But, being the hopelessly impatient person I am, after doing a happy dance around my kitchen I wanted to give one away IMMEDIATELY! And I think I've found the right way to do it. It's a charity auction. For a very good cause.

The friends and family of young adult author, Bridget Zinn, are holding an online auction called "Bridget Kicks Cancer." They're raising money to help pay for her cancer treatment, and you can read about it here. Artists, authors, and friends of Bridget have donated items to the auction, and I am very honored to join them by offering the very first signed ARC of DIE FOR ME.

Not only do I promise not to send out any other signed copies until this very first copy is received by the winning bidder…but to make the offer even more tantalizing, I will dedicate it to whomever you specify, gift wrap it myself, and send it anywhere in the world IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!!! Postage (as well as pretty paper and ribbon) is on me!

The auction has already begun, and will end on December 4. So click here (and, if you're asked for it, use the auction ID "bridgetkicks" and password "cancer") to hop on over to the auction, and place your bids on DIE FOR ME's first signed ARC, as well as lots of other fun and exciting loot that's been donated.

Since only one person can win, and not everyone is capable of donating as generously as they wish to good causes like this, I say…do not despair. I will hold other contests down the road that will not cost a penny. But I really wanted to do something special with this very first signed ARC. So for those of you who can participate, click on over and place your bids.

Very best wishes to Bridget and kudos to her friends and family for such a creative fundraiser!

Again – if you go straight to my page, you need the auction ID "bridgetkicks" and password "cancer". If you go straight to the main auction page you won't need those!

It's the Little Things…

I recently wowed you with DIE FOR ME's fabulous cover. But about a month ago I was raving on Facebook about the amazing typography in my galley pass. As I mentioned, I have a huge crush on my book's capitol "Q"s, as seen here in all of its elegant, stretchy glory.

But I didn't give you an example of the awesome text created specifically for DIE FOR ME's cover, title page, and all of the chapter headings. Ray Shappell created each letter individually to fit in with the spooky-looking "water" theme that HC has planned to tie together my books' covers.

Example 1: check out the title page (and take a look at the two "E"s with different reflections):

Excuse me for a moment while I GEEK OUT!!! I know…they're just letters. But some really talented typographer spent hours creating them. May I give you another example to further prove my supreme geekness?

Two individually crafted "O"s. And not a one of the letters the same as in the title. I've never met Ray Shappell, but if I did I think I might just lunge in for a kiss. Because however psychotic this whole typography rant might sound to you, there is a reason for my enthusiasm.

I spent years selling paintings. And often, I would buy a beautiful hundred-plus-year-old painting that had been fitted with a nasty frame by the previous owner who wanted the painting to match their, say, 1970s living-room furniture—paying no regard to the composition itself.

I would pry the frame off, pay a visit to an antique frame dealer I knew in Brooklyn, and choose something that complimented the period and style of the piece. Something that wouldn't out-glam the painting itself, of course, but that would provide a type of back-light for the composition's concept and display the innate beauty of the work.

And that is why, when I see the care and creativity that HarperCollins (and the oh-so-kissable Ray Shappell) have put into framing my book—in a way that is not only sensitive to its content but formulated to literally spell out my story in the most flattering way possible—I get all hyper and teary and proud of this incredible team effort to bring you something beautiful.

Here's to geeking out over letters—and to all of the little things in life that sometimes add up to knock you off your feet.

DIE FOR ME Hops the Pond

I'm thrilled to tell you that my UK publisher will be *drumroll* … Little, Brown!

Specifically, the DIE FOR ME series will published by Atom, which is the YA imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, and which is known, amongst many other stellar things, for being the UK publisher of Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT series.

And upon that note, my new editor, Samantha Smith, happened to mention the following during the negotiations:

"…speaking of fond, I think Vincent is giving Edward a serious run for his money in the hearts of the Little, Brown ladies!"

That compliment alone is enough to keep me smiling for weeks.

Atom will release DIE FOR ME in the UK on the same day that HarperTeen publishes it in the U.S. (May 2011), for an international English release. I'm so honored!

A Writing Life: Finding your motivation (or…Robert Pattinson in a Speedo)

I was the worst procrastinator in school: always waiting until the last minute to cram for tests or write a paper. But I got things done because I wanted that A. After finishing school, I always worked for someone else, so procrastination wasn't an issue – my boss was looking over my shoulder, so of course I got things done on time. I was a high achiever due to my total psychological dependence on praise. Caramel is my favorite thing on earth…but even IT is superseded by someone patting me on the back and saying, "Wow, Amy! Amazing job!"

I've always written, but only started doing it on a regular basis around five years ago when I moved to France. I had a blog that I posted to EVERY DAY for three years, then every few days after that. And do you know what my motivation was? Reader comments. I'm a comment whore.

I wrote because people responded to my writing. And when people sent me heartfelt emails saying that something I wrote had touched them to the core or made them laugh or cry – I swear that was better than caramel. On a beach. Served on a platter by a scantily dressed cabana boy. Who just happens to be the spitting image of Robert Pattinson.

Um…where was I?

Oh yeah…can I write in a social vacuum? No. Do I write a journal that no one ever sees? No way. (Although I sorely wish I did.) So how have I motivated myself to write three entire full-length books without having hundreds of people patting me on the back every few minutes? How do I close myself into my little isolated office and pump out 83,000 words without a whole cheering squad of readers rah-rah-ing me on?

Um, I can't. I did once, with my first manuscript, which hasn't been published. It was hard to motivate myself, and took more than a year to write. I did leak excerpts to my blog readers, who were very enthusiastic and reassured me that it wasn't total crap. And once it was done, an agent snapped it up in no time, which was also extremely reassuring.

With my next attempt (DIE FOR ME), I couldn't procrastinate. I had three months of summer vacation before I had to return to teaching horribly uninterested university students a language they couldn't give a flip about. I was not cut out for teaching people old enough to sit on each other's laps and make out while I attempted to teach them prepositions. So this book was my ticket out of a job that gave me stomachaches every single morning. Let me tell you THAT was a good motivator.

But, knowing my Achilles heel, I knew I needed more. I needed constant feedback. When a friend offered to read my book in installments as I wrote it, I jumped at the chance. Long-suffering Claudia opened my emails every day and cheered me on as I went. I will never forget—about five chapters in—when she wrote me saying, "I REALLY think you're on to something here!" And that encouragement helped carry me through.

Around the same time, I began reading to my husband at lunch. (We both work from home and usually eat together.) Although he squirmed a bit during the kissing scenes, he bravely listened through the whole thing. With him, the moment I best remember was a scene near the end. I was reading to him from my computer as he drove the car and he was so shocked by something that one of my characters did that he almost drove off the road. Making my cool, unflappable husband react like that felt like a victory.

Not everyone can have a longsuffering friend like Claudia. Or a partner who has the time and energy to listen to rough drafts. And not everyone needs continual feedback to serve as motivation. Hopefully most of you are able to pat yourselves on the back and your motivation can come from within.

But for those of you who need an extra boost, I suggest finding your own formula. Try NaNoWriMo, or organize your own production-based contest with a few friends, and encourage each other as you write. Find short and long-term rewards. For each chapter written, take a bike ride or walk somewhere with particularly interesting things to see along the way (eye candy). For five chapters, go see a movie (brain candy). For ten, treat yourself: buy a new dress or hat or let yourself eat something you normally wouldn't dare. For me, that would be a box of salty French caramels (candy candy).

You don't need motivators to write? Great. I am in awe. You do? Find something your soul desires: approval, a dress, or caramels served by Robert Pattinson's twin brother wearing a Speedo. Find it, make it your motivation, and then work your way towards those magical two words: "The End".

IT'S HERE: The DIE FOR ME cover reveal!

Here it is!! The cover of DIE FOR ME, in all it's amazing, dark, spooky glory!

Yes, that's Pont Neuf behind Kate, and Pont des Arts just visible behind that. Is it allowed to have a crush on your book cover? Because I'm a bit head-over-heels.

And here is the text from the back:

which, I know is fuzzy, but it's really reflective so hard to photograph! And here's the inner flap copy:

Et voila! I am so excited, I can't even tell you. Okay, yes I can. I AM SO EXCITED!!! Are you?