Jennifer Niven's Blog, page 552

Becoming Clementine (and me) on the radio

Join me today (live!) at 3:37 p.m. PST (6:37 p.m. EST), as I talk writing, reading, inspiration, and Becoming Clementine.

The show is Starstyle– Be the Star You Are, hosted by Cynthia Brian, “The Oprah of the Airwaves.” You can catch it here.

Thanks for listening! (There’s more media to come, so stay tuned here for updates.)

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Read, download, and listen to Becoming Clementine

With Becoming Clementine’s release yesterday, I’ve been getting questions regarding whether it will be available in eBook and audio formats. The answer is– it seems to be everywhere!

For those of you who don’t want the traditional, old-fashioned regular-type book, you can buy the fantastic audio version (read by the fantastic Kathe Mazur). Find it at Blackstone Audio, and amazon for starters.

You can also download it from Apple, or upload it onto your Kindle or Nook.

Happy reading!

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Happy Birthday, Becoming Clementine!

Becoming Clementine is out today, and it’s a strange feeling. Truman Capote once said, “Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.” As horrific as that image is, I understand what he means. For months and months, I’ve researched and outlined and written and edited. I’ve lived and breathed and slept this book. And now it’s out there, beyond my reach, making its way around the world into the hands of strangers.

The first time I ever saw one of my books on a bookstore shelf– The Ice Master at Brentano’s in Century City, California– I wanted to scoop up every copy and race back home. As I was standing there, thinking this, a man walked over and picked up the book, read the inside flap, thumbed through the pages, and then set it down again. Suddenly, I stopped wanting to run away with the books. Instead I wanted to grab that man and drag him back over and make him buy it. How dare he put it down!

Five books later, the experience really doesn’t get any easier.

So: deep breath.

Welcome, little book.

Be safe.

Be well.

Be still my nerves.

Please order and like and spread the word!

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Interviews and reviews and articles, oh my!

Here are a few places to find Becoming Clementine (and me) on the web right now:

A Writer of History interview

So Much So Many So Few review and interview

Wilmington Star News review

Musings on Route 66 article

Romantic Times “Top Pick” review

And there will be more to come this week, including a live interview on Starstyle: Be the Star You Are, Thursday, September 27 at 3:00 pm (PT) on World Talk Radio.

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Book Crush — Read your way to Paris

In honor of Becoming Clementine’s upcoming release (next Tuesday, Sept. 25!), we are taking you to Paris this week and next.

These two books will help you get there. The first is At My French Table: Food, Family And Joie De Vivre in a Corner Of Normandy by Jane Webster, which tells the story (through text and pictures) of the author’s move to Normandy from Melbourne in 2005. Once in France, Webster and her four children settled into a crumbling chateau, where she set up a cookery school. A photographer captured Jane’s colorful journey from produce markets to antique fairs to fancy and elegant restaurants. Along the way, she introduces you to the vivid local characters, shares forty regional recipes, and unveils the chateau after its restoration. The book is so beautiful, you want to eat it, and Jane’s journey leaves you feeling rejuvenated, inspired, entertained, and wistful that it didn’t happen to you (yet feeling, in some way, you were there).

The second book is Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Inès de la Fressange. De la Fressange is an icon of French style and the former face of Chanel. Her insiders guide covers everything from beauty to fashion to home. She tells you how to dress like a Parisian, how to mix inexpensive (yet classic) basics with high-fashion accents, and how to accessorize. She also helps you bring Parisian chic into your home, and insert your own newly-Parisian style into any space. (In addition, she offers Paris addresses for where to find these basics and accents and accessories.) My very favorite thing about it is the illustrations, which she drew herself. If only Velva Jean had been able to use this little book as a resource while she was trying to become French.

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And the winner of the Paris giveaway is…

… Courtney Hughes, of Richmond, Indiana.

Courtney won a signed copy of Becoming Clementine and a bag of treasures directly from Paris (thanks to Lara, one of my wonderful assistants). When I told Courtney the news, she had this to say: “I have loved the character of Velva Jean since I first read Velva Jean Learns to Drive. I fell in love with her entire family and have enjoyed reading about these wonderful characters and the imprint that each of them has left on Velva Jean as she goes through life. I look forward to the continuation of Velva Jean’s story as I read Becoming Clementine.”

Congratulations, Courtney! For those of you who entered but didn’t win, the book will be out next Tuesday…!

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Rumi on my desk

Rumi was named for the Persian poet and mystic, famous for his poems of love, which is very fitting since Rumi the cat is the most loving creature I know. His purr runs all day and night– he doesn’t even turn it off at the vet. He’s been keeping me company at my desk since he was a kitten, and has seen me through every Velva Jean book. So with Becoming Clementine due to come out one week from today, here’s a little tribute to the sweetest literary kitty of all.

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Passport to Paris Giveaway!

Summer 1944. Paris. A secret mission. A dangerous passion. A spellbinding story you will never forget.

Becoming Clementine takes Velva Jean to World War II France, where she works with the Resistance as a spy and falls in love with a handsome French agent…

The book will be released September 25, but you can enter now for your chance to win an autographed advance copy and an assortment of treasures directly from Paris.

Okay, so you don’t actually need your passport for this one, but this giveaway will make you feel as if you’ve spent the day in Paris. My lovely assistant Lara has just returned from a French vacation with a bag of Parisian souvenirs. What better complement to Becoming Clementine? You can read about Paris while snacking on delicious Garni de Biscuits Pur Beurre (packaged in a retro collector’s tin), rest your drink on coasters featuring some of the more famous and picturesque landmarks, and enjoy the view from your trio of mini Eiffel Towers. You can use one of the vintage postcards as a bookmark and, last but not least, hang the Mona Lisa on your fridge.

To enter, simply follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, and enter your name and email address here. The winner will be announced Monday, Sept 17 at 5:00 pm PDT.

In the meantime, read an excerpt, watch the trailer, and pre-order your copy now!

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Cup of Tea With Your Book? (pt.2)

Although I have my fair share of mugs, I still dream to have more. Among all the mugs on my wish list, this has to be the one mug on the top of the list.

 

 

It not only brings back childhood memories, but I can insert some amazing cookies in the little compartment. I would probably pair it with one of my favorite green teas.

Tazo zen green tea is not only refreshing, but if you pour it on some fresh mint leaves you feel almost cleansed. You can get it at most supermarkets AND green tea is known to be very healthy for you.

The mug can be found at Etsy.com

Remember, if you have and cute mugs and favorite teas, tweet me @larayacamo.

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A family of readers

Congratulations to Lori Lambright, of Centerville, Indiana, who won a signed copy of Becoming Clementine and a gift card to the International Spy Museum Spy Store! Although I’ve never had the chance to meet Lori, the town she lives in happens to be just down the road from Richmond, Indiana, where I grew up.

Here’s what Lori had to say about reading: “We are a family of Readers! However, my daughter Emma said she had lost interest in reading so I told her that once you hit on an author you Really like then that will change! She began reading my daughter Kara’s copy of Velva Jean Learns to Drive and she couldn’t put it down! She raced through that and then onto Velva Jean Learns to Fly as I started the first book. We are Hooked! So fun to share this love of your writing with each other!”

Happy reading (and spying), Lori (and Kara and Emma, too)!

Another giveaway will be posted tomorrow, so check back here soon…

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