announcements

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

First advance review for the American edition of The Paris Cooking School!

Well, this is such a lovely surprise: the first advance review(on Instagram) of the North American edition of The Paris Cooking School! The book is out in the USA and Canada on August 6, published by Alcove Press (and distributed by Penguin Random House). Exciting!
If you’re in the US or Canada around that time, and you spot the novel in a bookshop, do let me know and post a pic 🙂
And for my North American friends, here’s a link to preorder if you’re interested: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/768597/the-paris-cooking-school-by-sophie-beaumont/

Leave a comment Posted on A Secret Garden in Paris, adult fiction, announcements, Cover reveals, forthcoming books, Ultimo Press

Cover reveal for A Secret Garden in Paris!

I am thrilled to reveal the gorgeous cover of A Secret Garden in Paris, my second novel under the name of Sophie Beaumont, which will be out in October with Ultimo Press. Isn’t it just absolutely beautiful!

Here’s the blurb:

Springtime in Paris … the perfect time to turn over a new leaf

In the heart of a city blooming with flowers, three women face life-changing challenges. Driven by grief over the sudden death of her mother Corinne, Sydneysider Emma Taylor has taken refuge with her Parisian grandmother, Mattie, in her house with its secret garden. Determined to unlock the mysteries of Corinne’s past, Emma’s only clue is an enigmatic photograph.

Celebrated garden designer Charlotte Marigny believed she had a happy marriage, until her husband Tom inexplicably started to withdraw from her. Needing time to think about the future, she has fled their home in London for her native Paris.

Meanwhile, widowed Parisian florist Arielle Lunel had finally managed to get her life together, after her husband’s death and the discovery of his crippling debts three years earlier changed everything for her and their young twins. Now, her world is again turned upside down when her controlling parents-in-law arrive with a disturbing proposal…

Drawn together by loss and the romantic gardens of Paris, the paths of the three women begin to intersect as they develop an unexpected friendship that will transform their lives.

From the author of The Paris Cooking School comes a captivating story of loss and love, romance and revelations – and the pleasures of a secret Paris garden.

You can pre-order the book here.

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

Announcing A Secret Garden in Paris!

I have had to keep this exciting news quiet for quite a while, so now I’m absolutely delighted to be officially able to share it with you!

Ultimo Press will be publishing A Secret Garden in Paris, my second novel under my pen-name of Sophie Beauumont, in November!

Here’s the official announcement from Ultimo Press:

Quelle surprise! ❤️🤍💙 It’s time to pack your bags for a new Parisian adventure!

⁠We are thrilled to be publishing A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont 🐿🌳It’s a captivating story of unexpected revelations, romantic discovery, hope—and the pleasures of a hidden green world in the heart of Paris. Ooh la la! 💐

⁠Sophie says, ‘Something that’s always struck me about Paris whenever I’ve been there: its many gardens, offering vistas to admire, havens to take refuge in, places to play in, moments to draw breath in. But not all of them are well-known or obvious, and you might come across a green oasis in a little backstreet square or down some narrow stone steps or hidden behind an unassuming door. And Paris loves flowers, decks itself in them, revels in them…So you see, how could I resist?’

⁠A Secret Garden in Paris will publish in November 2024.The deal was brokered by Margaret Connolly.

Writing about my characters against the joyful background of the gardens of Paris has been an absolute delight, and I hope everyone who loved The Paris Cooking School–and everyone still to discover it–will take this book to their hearts too!

Photo credit: Lorena Carrington
Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, author talks, Events

In conversation event about The Paris Cooking School

I’m so looking forward to talking about The Paris Cooking School at the lovely Makers’ Shed in Glen Innes on April 20–such a beautiful venue, and always such a warm welcome!

The event will my talk plus Q and A, morning tea with coffee and cake, and of course the opportunity to buy a signed copy of the book. Here’s a link to book tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/author-sophie-masson-in-conversation-april-20

Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, Book talk, Creative life, France, Interviews, Paris Cooking School

Bilingual interview on Matilda Marseillaise

I was interviewed recently for the fabulous bilingual blog, Matilda Marseillaise, and the interview has now been published, in both French and English (I spoke to Matilda in French and she translated back into English). Centering on The Paris Cooking School and its influences, it also focuses on my background and experiences, the creative process, and Paris itself. Here’s a short extract:

The book has three narratives, you might say, because the book tells the stories of the three main characters. Did you write them in the order we read them? Did you write separating the chapters of each character’s story?

No, I wrote it chronologically. So I knew I wanted to write one chapter from Gaby’s point of view and then one chapter from Sylvie’s point of view, and one chapter from Kate’s point of view.

And then, at the beginning, so in the first chapter, you’re introduced to the 3 characters, they’re in the same chapter, but then they each have a chapter until the end when they all come back together. I always write chronologically. I know there are writers who write a chapter here, a chapter there and then they put it all together. But I can’t.

I can’t because my experience is almost like watching a film and it has to unfold chronologically. I can’t simply make a flash here, a flash there and then put them together to make an image. I have to follow the story and so I say, OK, today I’m going to write the chapter from Gaby’s or Kate’s point of view and that’s it, that’s where it’s going to happen.

Often what I do is, I’ll go for a little 5-minute walk or something. It’s just to start the first paragraph of the chapter I’m going to write that day and then there it is, so Gaby does this, or Kate does that. I even talk to myself about everything. It’s a good thing there aren’t too many people passing by, otherwise they’d think I’d lost my mind!

You can read the whole interview here.

Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, Food, France, Paris, Paris Cooking School, recipes

New recipe and menu pages for The Paris Cooking School!

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve created two new pages on this site, which are associated with The Paris Cooking School. They feature recipes, food notes and menus mentioned and described in the book, so that readers can, if they wish, actually reproduce some of those things in their own kitchens! They are written as pages taken from Kate’s notebook, in Kate’s voice, but are real working recipes, tested and cooked in my own kitchen and illustrated with colour photos. And also illustrated with beautiful header images by my lovely friend, talented artist and photographer Lorena Carrington, who has brought the ‘look’ of Kate’s notebook to gorgeous life!

There are two pages: one features lots of recipes and food notes, the other is a simple menu with selected recipes from the main page so you can easily and quickly create a full Paris Cooking School-inspired meal. I hope you enjoy-and if you do cook any of these dishes, I’d love to hear your stories and see your photos, email to me at info@sophiemassonauthor.com

Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, Book talk, New books, Paris, Reviews

The Paris Cooking School is the Australian Women’s Weekly Great Read!

Absolutely brilliant news for The Paris Cooking School: it is the featured Great Read in the Australian Women’s Weekly latest (December) edition! That means a full page review in Australia’s most beloved and bestselling magazine–a real accolade! It’s an absolutely lovely review, too, here’s a short extract:

Learning to live and love again in the streets of Paris, city of romance, is not a new idea, but there is a freshness and vivacity to this cooking school novel that is utterly beguiling. Maybe it’s the mouth-watering and intricate food descriptions that send readers into a reverie, because be warned: You will be reaching for the frying pan, cracking eggs and slicing in decadent shards of butter and handfuls of fresh herbs in no time. Or maybe it is just the possibility of abandoned amour that follows our characters along every street…

Grab a copy of the magazine to read the rest!

Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, Book talk, Celebrations, Publication day, Uncategorized

Publication day for The Paris Cooking School!

Well, the big day has come for The Paris Cooking School, which is officially released by Ultimo Press today. This has been such a special, wonderful book to write, and an exciting new direction for me into full-length contemporary adult fiction. I am so happy that the novel is available in bookshops right across Australia now. And I very much hope that readers will enjoy going with Gabi, Kate and Sylvie, my main characters, on their journey to new purpose, new happiness–and new recipes!–in the heart of the most beautiful city in the world…

Huge thanks to the wonderful people who have helped make this book a gorgeous reality: my fantastic agent, Margaret Connolly who has been so encouragingly excited about this story from the start, my fabulous publisher Alex Craig, who believed in it straight away and provided such thoughtful and perceptive guidance, and to all the lovely team at Ultimo Press, for all your much-appreciated care in editing, design, publicity, and more. And a special thanks to Cheryl Orsini for the strawberry tart 🙂 It’s been a truly wonderful experience working with you all, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To my husband David, and my children and children-in-law, Pippa, Joe, Xavier, Maryam, Bevis and Jacquie, much love and thanks for understanding why this book was so very special for me, and for being so excited for me. And to all the rest of my beautiful family, in France, Australia and the UK, lots of love and thanks for your support and encouragement always. My birth family is from south west France so though I’ve known those regions well since childhood, we never went to Paris, and I first got to know it only in my early twenties. So, a special thank you to my Paris-based family members for the many engrossing hours over many years, helping us to really get to know the City of Light from the inside, knowledge which was enriched by a six month residency in the Nancy Keesing Studio in Paris, generously awarded to me by the Australia Council. And another special thank you goes to my sisters in law in Britain whose lovely little pet provided the inspiration for a very special character in The Paris Cooking School!

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some more about the book, including special features for readers, but right now, hurrah for publication day, and here’s to The Paris Cooking School!

PS: If you would like to read some reviews of The Paris Cooking School (there’s already quite a few advance reviews!), head over to my website, where you’ll find extracts of quite a few of them. And if you’d like to drop me a line about The Paris Cooking School, contact me here.

Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, Book talk, Celebrations, Fiction, France, New books, News

Events for the upcoming publication of The Paris Cooking School!

The Paris Cooking School, my new novel for adults, written under the pen-name of Sophie Beaumont, is being published by Ultimo Press on November 1, and to celebrate it, here are three wonderful events coming up, centred around the book!

First up, on Thursday October 26 at 8pm Australian Eastern Daylight Saving time, I’ll be talking about my book, and books generally, with the fantastic writer Suzanne Leal on her popular online Thursday Book Club. The Book Club is held weekly, but once a month Suzanne invites a guest author to talk about what they’ve been writing, and reading, and this month, that’s me! It’s free to listen in, from anywhere, you just need to go to Suzanne’s Book Club page here where you will find the Zoom link to join (just scroll down).

Next, there’s an in person event with a difference in Sydney, 6.30 pm on Wednesday November 8, at the Alliance Française’s NSW headquarters in Clarence St in the Sydney CBD. I’ll be the guest speaker at the November edition of the Alliance’s fabulous Philo Bistro event, which features discussions, in French, with French-language writers, artists, film-makers, musicians, and more, moderated by Sydney-based French novelist Olivier Vojetta. Join us for a fun evening of discussion around my book, French food, Paris, and much more–with the added bonus of a glass of delicious French wine! It’s $10 for Alliance members, $15 for non-members, and you need to book here.

And then, on Saturday November 11 at 2pm, there will be another in person event, in my hometown of Armidale, northern NSW. It’s going to be a launch with a difference too, as it will be held in the Cafe Patisserie, Armidale’s fabulous French-themed cafe which features the most divine and delectable cakes created on site–patisserie that would definitely not be out of place in Paris itself! Some of those creations will feature on the menu for the launch, our lovely local independent booksellers from Reader’s Companion will be on hand to sell the book (you can also pre-order) , and I’ll be on hand to talk and sign! It’s free to attend but it would be useful to RSVP–more details on how to do that soon, but for the moment, do save the date, if you live in the region or might be there at that time!