When I was in Sydney last week, I caught up with the wonderful Cheryl Orsini, my co-creator on The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef–she created the glorious visual world of the book. Cheryl brought along her original artwork for the book, and explained how she creates scenes in layers–it was absolutely fascinating and so stunning! I took heaps of photos–have a look at these.
An absolutely delicious, gorgeous parcel arrived for me yesterday: advance copies of The Fishmonger and the Pastry chef, my forthcoming picture book with the wonderful Cheryl Orsini, which is coming out with Little Hare (Hardie Grant Kids) in late November. I am so very happy with it, it is so very very beautiful! Elements of the story are freely inspired my family history in the beautiful seaside town of Biarritz, but it’s also very much its own thing, and the glorious visual world Cheryl has created is the most perfect place for my words to live in.
It’s also the most gorgeous production, as a physical object, with a textured cover, beautiful satin internal paper that really showcases the illustrations, and great design. Thank you so much to our lovely publisher Chren Byng, editor Johanna Gogos, and all the Hardie Grant Kids team for helping to make this book the most perfect it could be!
Absolutely delighted to reveal the totally gorgeous cover of my forthcoming Sophie Beaumont novel, In The Paris Fashion! The beautiful illustrations on the cover are by the wonderful Cheryl Orsini, while the elegant cover design is by Christabella Designs. The book, published by Ultimo Press, will be out on October 28. Can’t wait!
I am absolutely thrilled to reveal the gorgeous cover of my upcoming picture book with the fantastic Cheryl Orsini, The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef. This lovely picture book, set in ‘a beautiful seaside town full of beautiful places’, around a young boy called Lucas and two of his favourite people, his aunt Violette, a pastry chef, and his friend Cyprien, a fishmonger, is partly inspired by aspects of my family history in the beautiful seaside town of Biarritz…
It was such a joy to write this story and such a delight to see its visual world come to such charming, lively, delicious and endearing life in Cheryl’s gorgeous illustrations, and I can’t wait to see it come out into the world!
The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef will be published by Hardie Grant Kids in their Little Hare imprint in November.
I’ve just come back from a month overseas –in France, including Paris, the Pays Basque and Toulouse; in Vienna; and in Spain (in the Spanish Basque country). During that time, I did quite a bit of research for future books and collected photos for my forthcoming novel, In The Paris Fashion, too. As a teaser, here’s a few photos relating to settings, scenes or elements of In The Paris Fashion…
Tissus Reine, Montmartre, Paris
Dam Boutons, Montmartre, Paris
Site of Coco Chanel’s old headquarters, Biarritz
The Carmes Markets, Toulouse
Finally, a few to make you guess!
So excited to be sharing this announcement! My new adult novel, In The Paris Fashion, (written under the name of Sophie Beaumont), will be published by Ultimo Press in November!
Here’s the publisher’s announcement:
Ultimo Press are thrilled to be publishing In the Paris Fashion by Sophie Masson!
It’s a mystery that has passed into fashion legend: the perfect evening gown that was to be created by couture star Elisabeth Fontaine before her tragic death in 1930. Its design, a closely guarded secret, has never been found …
Just like Sophie’s previous novels, (The Paris Cooking School and A Secret Garden in Paris) In the Paris Fashion is utterly compelling, intriguing and romantic and this time it’s set against a background of timeless French fashion. J’adore!
Sophie says: ‘I wanted to tell a great story against the fascinating background of fashion, both contemporary and vintage, and to plunge the reader into a world of intrigue set around the enduring appeal of a legendary lost dress and what it means.’
Publisher, Brigid Mullane, says: ‘Say bonjour to your next escape: In the Paris Fashion is a heartwarming story of friendship, romance and stunning Parisian style – perfect for anyone who’s ever longed for a rendezvous in the City of Light.’
In the Paris Fashion will be published in November 2025 
This is a very special novel whose inspiration is very close to my heart (and my family history). More on that soon, but right now, it’s celebration time!
I was delighted this week to get my author copies of my new middle-grade novel, Bold Ben Hall, which comes out with Walker Books on March 1. Doesn’t it look fabulous! Can’t wait till it’s out in the hands of readers…
I am thrilled to announce that my middle-grade historical novel, Bold Ben Hall, will be published by Walker Books Australia in March 2025. It’s an action-packed story set in the Central West of NSW, in the days of the bushranger Ben Hall and I just loved writing it!
It will be the launch title for Walker’s new Our History series. Just look at the gorgeous cover!
Here’s something about the story:
It is October 1863 and the theatre company twelve-year old Lily Jordan’s parents are part of is on its way to Forbes for a run of Macbeth. But Lily’s French-born mother Adelaide has fallen ill and the family have had to stop in Canowindra–just as famous bushranger Ben Hall and his gang arrive. The gang hold everyone in town hostage– but instead of robbing people, they hold a strange, giant three day party, and Lily is enthralled. She writes a secret play ‘Bold Ben Hall’ and dreams of sending it to a famous theatre company in Sydney or Melbourne…
Meanwhile, in Forbes, fourteen year old stable boy Sam Turner greatly admires Sir Frederick Pottinger, Ben Hall’s nemesis. And he dreams of helping Sir Fred to catch Ben Hall…
When Lily and Sam meet, the two are soon at loggerheads about their heroes, determined to prove the other wrong…and to try any means to do so!
Closer to the publication date, I’ll post about the background research I did for the book–part of which took me to the fascinating historical towns of Canowindra, Forbes, Eugowra, Carcoar, Bathurst and the beautiful Central Western countryside, in an absolutely fantastic trip.
Exciting! The Paris Cooking School will be coming out in Germany next year, in May, published by Droemer Knaur . It’s got a new title–Zweite Chancen à la Carte (Second Chances à la Carte), with the subheading of Die kleine Kochschule in Paris (The little cooking school in Paris) and a new cover. And here that cover is, looking gorgeous!
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.
Feathers of the Firebird 