Eloisa James: Paris in Love!

by Mary Jo
 
Two months ago we were fortunate to have Eloisa James visit to discuss her latest historical romance, The Duke is Mine.  (Incidentally, her previous title, When Beauty Tamed the Beast, is a RITA finalist for historical romance, so congratulations, Eloisa!) 

Besides discussing your novel in January, Eloisa, we also touched on the subject of your memoir, Paris in Love, which has just been released.  The book sounded so fascinating that all the Wenches and many of our regulars wanted to know more! Here's an excerpt.  

I’m most of the way through the book, and it’s a marvelous mosaic of observations and feelings, amusing anecdotes and poignant insights, that together form a rich, in-depth picture of Eloisa’s year in Paris.  But don’t just take my word for it. <G>  Here’s a blurb from Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love:

"What a beautiful and delightful tasting menu of a book: the kids, the plump little dog, the Italian husband. Reading this memoir was like wandering through a Parisian patisserie in a dream. I absolutely loved it."

MJP: Eloisa, you seem to have the perfect, glamorous romance writer’s life.  You’re a bestselling novelist, a tenured professor of Shakespeare and creative writing, you have a handsome Italian husband, two great looking kids (one of each gender), and an adorable rescue dog.  So—why did you run away to Paris for a year?
 
EJ:  I’m laughing at my laptop screen! Mary Jo, you know perfectly well that a glamorous sounding life can be its opposite, and that’s certainly the case here.  Those kids, for instance? Teenagers.  Enough said.

To return to your specific question, our great adventure happened after my mother died of ovarian cancer; two weeks later I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  After I finished treatment for a (blessedly) early case, I was desperate for escape. We sold our house and cars, rented an apartment on the Internet, and took off.  We ran away.
 
MJP: I love the cover of the book, which sketches a tall, elegant woman with short bright hair striding confidently down a Parisian street.  In the background are a man and two children.  It seems to be a family portrait of sorts, though I notice that the chubby Chihuahua seems to be getting higher billing than the family. <G>
 
Oddly, what immediately came to mind is the fashion style of French women.  They have an impressive, put together elegance.  Even riding on the Metro, I would find myself studying average women with bags of vegetables and thinking how well dressed they looked.  Wonderful detailing.  Is that just me, or did you find that to be the case also?  If so, did you find yourself changing your own personal style?  Or didn’t it need to be changed?
 
EJ:  I spent hours and hours doing just that. A significant chunk of the book is taken up with figuring out how Frenchwomen dress; I even wrote an essay on how to achieve their flair.  The year did significantly change the way I dress, but not so much in what as how. The biggest lesson I learned had to do with tailoring: unless you are a perfect size, a tuck here or there will make any garment far more flattering.  In short: become friends with your local tailor!
 
MJP: Of course another thing France is justly known for is the food—I learned a lot about cooking by reading Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Following recipes step by step was really educational, and the results were pretty good, too.  Were you a foodie when you moved to Paris? Were you one when you came home? <G>  Did you experiment with new foods and cooking techniques while you were there?
 
EJ: I did play around with cooking in Paris. It was the first time in a long time that I had time to experiment, and I hugely enjoyed myself.  (I even put some recipes in the book.)  While my experiments involving French ingredients such as lavender mustard were signal failures, I ended up perfecting recipes that I already knew—mostly learned from my Italian mother-in-law. 

MJP: In your previous interview here, you talked about how you wanted to capture the special moments of this family year, so you tweeted and did Facebook posts about your experiences—in other words, a real time diary.  How much shaping, editing, and reflecting was involved in turning that material into a full length memoir?
 
EJ:  Oh, it was awful.  It took a solid two years, and I found it a far more difficult process than writing a novel, which actually makes sense:  I didn’t know how to write a memoir, and I wrote my first novel so long ago I can hardly remember.  Luckily, I had a wonderful and patient editor, Susan Kamil.
 
 MJP:  What are your favorite places that you visited in Paris or beyond? 
 
EJ:  May I turn this question on its head?  I fiercely believe that our happiest memories come from daily life rather than visits to extraordinary places.  My favorite memories of Paris stem from the fact that every day I would stop my daughter off at school on one side of Paris and walk home to the other side, crossing the Seine.  Paris has wonderful lemony light; watching it bounce off the water and reflect gilded statues and pale marble was even better than Versailles’s majesty.
 
MJP: If you were to run away another year—where would you go?  Paris again, or some other marvelous city? 
 
EJ:  I love Paris!  But I’m not sure that running away works the second time… I doubt there will be a Moscow in Love, for example.  It was a very special year, a healing year.
 
MJP: Any last words you’d like to share?
 
EJ: For those of you who are thinking, II love romance, not memoir , I just wanted to tell you that there is indeed a romance in Paris in Love!  And in fact, the end of the love story I tell here is about as romantic as anything Mary Jo or I ever imagined—plus it’s true.  I hope you love it!

 
MJP: Thanks so much for visiting us today, Eloisa!  I've been thoroughly enjoying Paris in Love, and I'm sure many of our readers here will also.  I was even tempted to find some lavender mustard and use it to turn a chicken purple!
 
Eloisa will be giving away a basket of French goodies and a copy of When Beauty Tamed the Beast to someone who comments between now and midnight Saturday.  So talk to us about the book, or your experiences and/or dreams of Paris....

Mary Jo

Comments

[Liz]

Would love to visit Paris but seemed to have hit every city but. Sigh. Still, in the future . . . .

[Eloisa James]

Hi everyone! I'm jumping from Boston to Minnesota today (on tour for Paris in Love -- if you're in MN, please come say hi on Tuesday evening)... I'm airplane-bound, but I'll drop in later and answer any questions you might have. So please, leave me a question!

[Virginia C]

I have recently really surprised myself with a desire to visit France. To enjoy Paris, the wine country, the art, the opera, the food and etc! How terrific it would be to make the journey with a charming companion who had the same interests. If he was fluent in French, tall, masculine and courtly, so much the better. If he was all those things, plus spoke French in a deep, sensual voice...je ne regrette rien (I regret nothing)!

Wonderful post! I very much look forward to reading "Paris in Love"!

[april]

I haven't read the book yet, but I've been curious ever since we got sneak peeks on Facebook of her time there!

I was lucky enough to go to France for a couple of weeks with my boyfriend's (now my husband) family. I had a marvelous time and would have loved to spend more time there or more time doing what I wanted to do which mostly included eating. I'd love to go with a knowledge of the language or even with someone who knew the language.

[Maureen]

Running away for a year sounds scary but exciting too. To have a whole family run away must have taken tremendous planning. I have never been to Paris and the people I know that have been there give very different descriptions. Some love it and others don't. I guess it is one of those places you have to experience yourself.

[Janga]

I've read Paris in Love several times already. It's the kind of book I know I will return to many times. It gave me pieces of a city I'll likely never visit. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it sent me back to read Auden again.

One of the things that impressed me as a writer was all the time references, the weaving together of memory, moment, and maybe. Were you conscious of this theme as you were writing, Eloisa, or did it just happen?

[Anne]

What a wonderful post. Having the opportunity to escape to Paris for a year is extraordinary and memorable. Thanks for this special introduction to your life and the experience.

[Diane]

Paris is to be savored. What a fascinating and special place to explore. Le Marais, and all the great areas. I have not as yet been fortunate to experience this but hope that I will soon. Your memoir sounds exceptional. Your post was captivating.

[catslady]

My husband was actually born in France (air force brat lol) and was there when he was 10 for a few years too. I got to see Paris after we had been married a few years but it was a tour and we only had 2 days and there was another couple with us (he new the husband from work) and they were a disaster so just today we were watching a show about Paris and he mentioned how I didn't get to go up the Eifel Tower (other couple) so I told him he should take me back some day lol. I'm sure I would enjoy your book!

[Minna]

I'd love to visit Paris some day.

[Diane Sallans]

After suffering thru French classes in school I wasn't particularly excited about visiting Paris, but it was part of a tour I was taking ... and I Loved it! I wish I could have spent more time there. I've always thought it would be wonderful to spend some months living in a new place like Eloisa did and really get to experience everyday life (plus all the historical & cultural places too). It's a nice thing to dream about ... (sigh).

[Cathy Schultz]

I've been attempting to learn French! I think I know why Mime is popular in France. I fear if I ever go there I'll have to pantomime along with the few phrases of French I've managed to acquire. I look forward to reading Eloisa's book with the hope it'll spur me on to be more diligent in learning French.

[Susan King]

Eloisa, welcome back to Word Wenches!

Oh I love Paris - I was there for just a week, years ago, yet I felt so at home there, and I haven't forgotten that sense. I love the way you describe its "lemony light."

If plane tickets to Paris suddenly spike, it just could be the result of Eloisa's book... and I can't wait to read it!

Susan

[LouisaCornell]

I visited Paris in the late 80's, but I was only there for a few days. Fortunately I was visiting a college friend who was born and raised in just outside the city. It really is a glorious city.

Eloisa's memories of Paris remind me a great deal of the way I feel about Salzburg. I studied and worked as an opera singer in Salzburg for over two years. I lived just across the border in a little German village and took the train into Salzburg every day. And it really is the day to day things that tug at your heartstrings. The little pastry shop I discovered in a side alley off Getreidegasse. Crossing from the new part of the city into the old. Eating lunch in the gardens of the Archibishop's Palace. Getting trouble for playing baseball in those same gardens. Watching the old men play chess on the life-sized chessboard in Mozart square. Eating roasted chestnuts from a little cart while the December snow falls all around me. Visiting Mozart's birthplace anytime I had a bad day in rehearsals or with my voice coach (think Marine drill sergeant crossed with Atilla the Hun)Just being in that house put so much in perspective for me. And the one day the guard let me through the ropes to put my hand on Mozart's piano is something I'll remember until the day I die.

[Margot]

I would love to visit Paris for a year. (Or anywhere, really, that is not Midwestern.) I went for a couple days once when I was ten with my grandmother, and had about zero appreciation for anything. (The fact that my grandmother is the worst foreign tourist ever did not help. I think we ate Asian food every day we were there, since my grandmother is a Chinese immigrant and not particularly comfortable with any other type of food.)

So now I sit and read books of other people's experiences of the world and imagine I am there with them.

[Anne Gracie]

Welcome to the wenches, Eloisa. I adored your tweets from Paris and ordered Paris in Love the moment I could. My copy is supposedly on its way. Can't wait to read it.

I first started writing when i was traveling and wrote a good chunk of my first-ever book in France, and it was a dream that one day I'd be able to live in places like France, Greece, Italy etc and write. Life got in the way, but now my situation's changed and I'm seriously thinking of running away, too.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Eloisa, how lovely that you can squeeze in some family time in Minnesota while on the book tour! Reading the book, I see that your rural upbringing in Minnesota bears a strong resemblance to my rural upbringing in Upstate New York. But at least we didn't have Norwegian handbags. *g*

[Mary Jo Putney]

From the comment, it's clear that Paris is A) a wonderful place to visit as a tourist, B) a splendid place to live, and C) a marvelous place to dream of. I've visited several times,but never spent more that a few days at a stretch.

My college roommate and I stayed for a week in a fourth floor walk up that cost us, IIRC, a dollar a night each. In the morning we'd down to a shop on the corner and have cafe au lait and croissants, then spend the day exploring. Bliss!

[Cara Elliott/Andrea Penrose]

My copy just arrived from B&N yesterday . . .the weekend chores are on hold. Thanks you. Eloisa, for for how all your writing make us, laugh, cry, reflect, and ultimately celebrate all the things that are truly important in life. You're an amazing inspiration!

[Malvina Yock]

I have never been to Paris but it's my sister's favourite city. One day... I loved your updates from Paris and am looking forward to reading the novel.

[Eloisa James]

HI everyone! Thank you so much for these lovely comments...

Janga, I was thinking about memory and the moment often during that year because (if this makes sense), I actually had time to think. Then when I was actually writing the book, I spent a lot of time trying to capture that train of thought. I suppose it's the same with any book: there are always omissions, and the omissions drive the book one direction or another. It was a fierce revision process.

And Mary Jo, count your lucky stars! I may never get over it.

hugs to all, Eloisa

[LilMissMolly]

Hey, there! I've been to Paris a few times over the past 20 years. I've always enjoyed it when I've been there. The food - even at the bars - is the best I've had anywhere else in the world. I'd love to read your book.

[Moonprincess111]

I am just so jealous, not of course about your Mother (I'm sorry for your loss), or about your own battle (glad you caught it early though), just the fact you had the BALLS to do something like that inspires me. I know once my hubby passes away (hey, he's a man, he's had 3 or is it 4, who can keep track anymore, heart attacts)will pass away much sooner than I will, I accept it. We enjoy the time we have now and don't dwell on the "what ifs". But he does know as soon as his ashes are scattered, I'm outta here! We talk about all the places I will go and how long I'll spend in each place. New Zealand is going to be my first stop. I have an online best friend (been friends for 12 years now! And we've NEVER met in person!) and I will go see her and the family. Since I'll already be Down Under, my next stop will be Australia. I've been in love with Australia since I was a little girl and first saw pictures of it in my Weekly Reader in 2nd grade. Until I get there in person I live vicaiously through Aussie tv and online friends.
Speaking of friends, did you know anyone in Paris before you went? And WHY Paris?

[Ruth]

Visiting Paris would be a dream come true. Perhaps on a second honeymoon. I am fluent in French so it would be a pleasure to visit and charming as well. Loved this great post and book is sweet.

[Sherrie Holmes]

Welcome back, Eloisa! You're beginning to feel like family around here. *g* I'm so sorry you lost your mother to cancer, and so happy to hear that you are yourself a cancer survivor. I'm a member of that sisterhood too, having survived surgery for endometrial cancer a few months ago, and now I'm cancer-free, thank the good Lord.

I can see why you needed to run away to Paris when you did. Kudos for having the intestinal fortitude to just do it! Now you've given us a beautiful book so that those of us who probably will never be able to visit Paris in the flesh will at least be able to do so vicariously through your book!

[margaret evans porter]

Eloisa, I finished your memoir last evening and enjoyed it most thoroughly. It was a pleasure tracing your adventures and observations, and re-living my own from various stays--either as a leisure visitor, a researching novelist, or shopping with girlfriends when accompanying my spouse on business.

Coincidentally I was just bemoaning to my spouse how greatly I miss the seamstress Saira who did alterations for me/us when we lived in Colorado. Here in NH, after 18 years, I still haven't found a satisfactory replacement. Excellent tailoring is indeed the hallmark of French style--Italian style also, as I'm sure you know.

Speaking of Italy, I was happy to have peeks at your Florentine life. I've got relatives who bolted to Cortona to raise goats...never returning to their "normal" life.

Thanks so much for a most enjoyable read, one I can recommend to armchair travel readers!

[Jessica]

Thanks for the post, the book sounds great! I would love to visit Paris. A whole year of healing sounds great. My sister passed from cancer and my family (all 8 of us a little large haha) went on a vacation for two weeks. It was great to bond and recoup. So glad you are doing well Eloisa love your books! Thanks for the interview!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Margot--how ironic to visit Paris, one of the great food capitals of the world, and only eat Asian food! I do you have the chance to visit now when you're able to appreciate food, architecture, and all the other delights.

[Quilt Lady]

I have never been to Paris but have always wondered about it. Haven't read a lot of books set in Paris and that is how I do my traveling. I do enjoy Eloisa's books so thinks for sharing with us today.

[Kathleen Henderson]

I wish I had the “guts” to run away for a year. I look forward to reading Paris in Love.

[Ursula Grey]

Great interview, ladies:-) I love Paris. Visiting Paris had a profound effect upon me...feel renewed each time I visit. I crave travel memoirs about my favorite city...I'm so pleased to discover yours! I'll certainly be picking up a copy. Wishing you the best always.

[Betty Hamilton]

This sounds like such a fun read. I am looking forward to it>

[Pageturner]

It does sound very special, your year in Paris - perhaps made more special because you knew it was finite? It's a beautiful city and the food is wonderful!

[Artemisia]

The lavender mustard would not turn your chicken purple! Lavender is a principle ingredient of Herbes de Provence! Excellent on pork and chicken.

[Robin D]

I would love to go to France someday! I've enjoyed all of your books I've read so far and look forward to reading The Duke is Mine and Paris in Love!

robindpdx(at)yahoo(dot)com

[Betty Hamilton]

I cannot imagine picking up my family and moving to Paris! WOW!! What a wonderful adventure for all involved. I am looking forward to reading your book. It sounds wonderful!

[Angieleigh @ Once Upon A Book]

What a fun interview to read! I am a huge fan of Ms. James and would love to sell everything and run away to Paris. My husband would fly the coop and go to London, but that's okay. My Mother in Law went to Paris a few years ago and said it's the most magical place to go. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book so that I can get lost in the magic that is Paris, France.

[Desere]

Paris has always sounded like the city of dreams to me, the romance just seems fit for over there, I have never been to Paris but I do hope to get the chance one day I would love to experience the real French flavor !

Thank you for a really incredible giveaway and a stunning interview and for the chance to win.

Desere

[Chris Redding]

Having just come back from Paris, this blog post is timely. I'm glad I went, but I am not a city person. Me, I'd escape to the south of France. There's a little village right on the Med called Cassis that has croissants so buttery when you bite into them the butter runs down your hand.
MMM

[Brandi Evans]

I've wanted to walk down the Champs Elysee since 9th French class. Seems like there would be something in the air...the smell of bread, perfume, and richness.I want that at least once.

[Marissa]

I got to Paris about 20 years ago. It was intended as a one or two night stop because I didn't think I'd like it. In about an hour of walking around, I fell in love with the city. I ended up spending a week there and have wonderful memories of the buildings, the parks, the food... Ahhhh... :-)

[catslady]

My husband was born in Paris (air force brat). We went on vacation there probably 35 yrs. ago but only had a few days and were with a tour. I would love to go back some day, just the two of us. Reading about it will be the next best thing. Looking forward to your book.

[marlon]

I have recently really surprised myself with a desire to visit France. To enjoy Paris, the wine country, the art, the opera, the food and etc!

[marlon]

Paris has wonderful lemony light; watching it bounce off the water and reflect gilded statues and pale marble was even better than Versailles’s majesty.