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Leave a comment Posted on A Secret Garden in Paris, adult fiction, announcements, Book talk, Celebrations, New books, Publication day

Publication day for A Secret Garden in Paris!

It’s time to celebrate–today, A Secret Garden in Paris, my new novel for adults under the name of Sophie Beaumont, is officially released! I am so thrilled that it’s out in the world now, and hopefully will soon land in the hands of many, many readers. So many of you wonderful readers took my previous novel, The Paris Cooking School, to their hearts, and I hope you will also love A Secret Garden in Paris. I am delighted that already there have been some wonderful advance reviews of the book, you can read them here.

Writing this novel took me on an extraordinary journey, as I followed my characters Emma, Charlotte and Arielle through the winding paths of their lives in Paris, against a background of that glorious green and flowery world that’s such an integral part of the charm of the city. Over the years I’ve visited most of the places my characters went to, but I discovered quite a few more in the process of researching and writing the novel, as well as some fascinating facts and anecdotes about Paris gardens, a few of which found their way into the book. (By the way, I’ll soon be publishing a couple of pages on this blog, about the locations in the book and also on my favourite flowers–watch this space!)

I’d like to acknowledge the many people who have helped make this book such a lovely reality: many thanks to my wonderful agent, Margaret Connolly, for her encouragement, suggestions and support; to all the fantastic Ultimo Press team, for their dedicated, thoughtful and inspired commitment to making this book the very best it could be; and to Cheryl Orsini for the gorgeous peony and fabulous map. Special thanks to my husband David, gardener extraordinaire, for advice on plants and the restoration of overgrown gardens, and to my Paris-based sister Gabrielle and brother-in-law Bruno whose intimate knowledge of the city’s gardens helped to greatly expand my repertoire. And to all my beautiful family in Australia, France and the UK, I am so very grateful for your loving support and encouragement, as always.

And now I’m off to celebrate!

Leave a comment Posted on A Secret Garden in Paris, adult fiction, announcements, author talks, launches

Two lovely events coming up for A Secret Garden in Paris!

I’m really looking forward to two wonderful events that are going to be held in November, one in Armidale, one in Sydney, to celebrate the release of my new Sophie Beaumont book, A Secret Garden in Paris.

The first is the hometown launch, in Armidale, on Saturday November 9, at 2pm, and it’s going to be at the gorgeous Cafe Patisserie, where last year we had a fabulous launch for The Paris Cooking School. As with last year, our great independent bookshop, Reader’s Companion will be there to sell books, and there’ll be French wine, and other drinks, and little garden/spring inspired cakes created by Nathan at Cafe Patisserie, it’s going to be a lot of fun! Invitation is below the text of this post–all welcome!

The second will be held in Sydney, at Five Dock Library, on Thursday November 21, starting at 5.30 pm, and the fantastic Sydney independent bookshop, Better Read than Dead, will be there to sell book. There’ll be light refreshments, a talk from me about the book, and then book signing! All very welcome! The event is free, but you need to register here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/author-talk-sophie-beaumont-tickets-956990011887

Leave a comment Posted on announcements, chapter books, children's fiction, New books, Publication day

Publication day for Sabina and the Cats of Rome!

My latest book for young readers, the chapterbook Sabina and the Cats of Rome, illustrated by Laura Wood, is being published today by Christmas Press. It was such a fun book to write, with the seeds of it first planted by seeing a whole bunch of cats communing in central Rome, at the spot where Julius Caesar was assassinated, no less! And that seed lay dormant for a few years before turning into the adventure of a little girl in Ancient Rome, a haughty little cat, a couple of confused dogs, and a dastardly plot by the King of the Rats!

Read a great review of Sabina and the Cats of Rome here.

Leave a comment Posted on A Secret Garden in Paris, adult fiction, announcements, forthcoming books, Reviews

First advance reviews of A Secret Garden in Paris!

The first advance reviews of A Secret Garden in Paris are coming in on Goodreads, and they’re wonderful. I am so absolutely delighted!

Here’s some short extracts:

In A Secret Garden in Paris, Sophie Beaumont has shown gardens not only to be places of beauty and tranquility for all to enjoy but uses them as the setting for the characters to come to terms with problems and situations they are facing. Their involvement with gardens and flowers helps each of the women find peace and solutions to the challenges of life plus also making it an enjoyable book to read. (Vicki)

I loved learning about these women, where they had come from and what challenges they were dealing with in their lives.
It was also amazing to discover how their lives intertwined.
This truly is a story of love and loss, romance and revelations, and what better setting for it than a secret Paris garden. (Maree)

What an absolute joy to read. With Parisian grandmother Mattie as the central figure, surrounded by a collection of characters all dealing with sorrow while trying to move forward. I’m by no means an avid gardener, yet the descriptions of the beautiful gardens around Paris made it easy for me to feel like I was walking through them. With a healthy dose of romance, a few beautiful friendships and the strength of family this was a beautiful read that has left a huge smile on my face and joy in my heart. (Libby)

You can see the full reviews here.

Leave a comment Posted on announcements, chapter books, children's fiction, forthcoming books, trailers

Great little trailer for Sabina and the Cats of Rome!

Check out this fun little trailer for Sabina and the Cats of Rome!

The illustrations in the trailer are from the book, and created by the fabulous Laura Wood, but the photos are ones I took myself in Rome some years ago–including the photos of some Roman cats that were hanging around at the spot where Julius Caesar was assassinated (there was a wreath at the spot marking where it was). It was seeing those cats that first planted the seed of this story…
Leave a comment Posted on announcements, chapter books, children's fiction, forthcoming books, Reviews

First advance review for Sabina and the Cats of Rome!

The first advance review of Sabina and the Cats of Rome has just appeared, and it’s absolutely lovely! The review is by Brenton Cullen and has appeared in Books+Publishing this week. Here’s a short extract (full review is for B+P subscribers only):

Masson’s storytelling is engaging and accessible, offering simplicity for independent reading while maintaining a rich plot. Laura Wood’s black and white illustrations bring Sabina and Cleo to life, depicting seven scenes from the story...

It’s a great start for this fun little chapterbook, which is coming out with Christmas Press in October.

Leave a comment Posted on announcements, Book talk, Celebrations, Paris Cooking School, Publication day, Publishers, Readers

Publication day for the North American edition of The Paris Cooking School!

It’s the official publication day today, August 6, of the North American edition of The Paris Cooking School! It’s a lovely hardback production, published by Alcove Press, and distributed by Penguin Random House throughout the US and Canada. Here’s hoping it lands in the hands of many many readers who take it to their hearts!

Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, Book talk, international editions, novels, Paris Cooking School

Author copies of the North American edition of the Paris Cooking School!

Yesterday I got a lovely surprise in my mailbox: author copies of the gorgeous North American edition of The Paris Cooking School, published by Alcove Press!

It’s a beautiful hardback, with a great dustjacket sporting a new blurb, colour author pic and a couple of nice quotes on the back, as well as gilt writing on the internal spine.

So wonderful to hold it in my hands, especially ahead of the publication day next Tuesday, August 6, in the US and Canada!

Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, Book talk, forthcoming books, Interviews, Paris Cooking School

Ahead of the imminent release of The Paris Cooking School in the US and Canada…

The Paris Cooking School comes out on August 6–not long to wait!–in the US and Canada, published by Alcove Press, and in the lead up to that, and to whet your appetite, there’s a great ‘Take Five’ interview with me on Writer Unboxed, the fabulous, award-winning US-based international writing blog. Here’s a short extract:

Q1: What’s the premise of your new book?

SM: My book, The Paris Cooking School (written under the pen-name of Sophie Beaumont) is an adult contemporary novel set, you guessed it, in Paris 😊 It features three main characters, Kate Evans, Gabi Picabea and Sylvie Morel, who are all at crossroads in their lives. Gabi and Kate have both come for the month-long course at Sylvie’s Paris Cooking School, after major crises in their lives—in Kate’s case, a bitter marriage breakup, in Gabi’s case a crippling creative block. Meanwhile, Sylvie is facing a worrying online harassment campaign targeting her business, and trouble from her commitment-shy lover Claude. What the three women find during that extraordinary April in Paris will change the course of their lives—and bring new love, too. Set against a gorgeous background of Paris in spring, and studded with delicious references to French food, it’s a novel that Australian readers have already taken to their hearts, and which I hope North American readers will just as much! The book comes out in the US and Canada on August 6, published by lovely Alcove Press.

You can read all the interview here.

Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, Book talk, bookshops, Paris Cooking School

The Paris Cooking School (North American edition) on Barnes and Noble pre-order promotion!

To all my North American readers: I’m thrilled to announce that for one week only, from July 10 to July 17, The Paris Cooking School is included in Barnes and Noble’s fabulous Tale for the Ages–wait, no, that should be Sale for the Pages!! In this great pre-order promotion, you can get 25 percent off, including print, audiobook and ebook formats. The perfect opportunity to grab your own copy early! See pic below for details.

The Paris Cooking School comes out in the USA and Canada on August 6, published by lovely Alcove Press. Very exciting!