Remembering the Gifts of Paris: Shakespeare and Company

As deep cold hardens the Pocono earth, it’s hard to remember back as far as April. Spring seems like a dream I had a hundred years ago -- when I was Harry Potter’s age. But it’s only been a few months since I spent some wonderful weeks in Paris with friends I hadn’t seen in many years. My trip was planned around spending some time in a writing workshop at the great Shakespeare and Company Bookstore across from the Cathedral of Notre Dame. At the time, I felt depleted from all the work I’d done fixing up Pennsyl Pointe. I was afraid that I’d neglected my writing for too long and wondered if it was even worth it to finish my novel, The Truth about Pluto. But Paris is a destination known to open the eyes of many beleaguered artists. I decided I would go there and give my novel a “do or die” moment by sharing it with an unknown group of international readers/writers. Thumbs up, I continue. Thumbs down, I slink back to my established freelance business.

No choice could have buoyed me more. The city was beautiful. In every part of Paris lush gardens were waking to the gentle tap of April rain. At my friend’s house in Le Marais, I met a variety of artists and professors who provided encouragement as I tried to prepare myself for the writing workshop. One person in particular, Marylene Lerault, was very helpful. She is a gifted painter and visual artist who graciously agreed to help me taste French food and wine for some articles I was writing. Marylene has been living the French creative life for a long time. Click here to look at samples of Marylene's wonderful paintings. She is married to a musician whose talents are also well known throughout Paris. Marylene and her husband know that the secret to a satisfying creative career is that you must love the process –- audience response and market success are not within your control.

In the end, the Shakespeare workshop was wonderful. I met fascinating people from all over the world and my work got a very good reception. In fact, the participants helped me think about the core message of my novel in a completely different way. I returned to the states with Edith Piaf tunes in my head and an unquenchable thirst for Sauvignon Blanc. The work of editing continues even as the snow swirls outside my window.