If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Bonjour! Last week I posted two photos of Entrevaux and promised more. Voilà!

Perched at the meeting point of two valleys in the mountains north of Nice , Entrevaux is one of those intriguing, ancient villages so easy to stumble upon in Europe.

The 2-hour train ride from Nice didn’t live up to our expectations. One could drive the 60 km in half the time, but when Entrevaux appeared before us we were glad to be there .

I hope you have a few minutes to take a meander through the narrow, twisting alleyways of this medieval village. Be intrigued by the tall, slender houses, many in disrepair, with precarious staircases, as well as  curious small squares, primitive fountains and a 16thC gem of a church.

Overlooking the Var river and protected by a 17C citadel sitting even higher above the village,   it guards a once highly strategic approach to the south. There’s even a drawbridge!

With a turbulent and rich two thousand-year-old history, Entrevaux was officially established in the 11thC. Its greatest glory appears to have occurred  in 1536 when the inhabitants bravely retook the town from capture by Charles Quint of Spain and Austria and returned it to the King of France.

There are many small communities throughout Europe, with colourful histories like this, that struggle to stay alive after so many centuries. Regional economy falters, infrastructure crumbles, young people leave.

My imagination is captured. How about yours?

The wind whipped through the cramped passageways this particular day, creating dramatic shifts in light and shadow. My camera shutter steamed. Stories begged to be told.

Meander as you please.

I would be embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to put this slideshow together. I just hope I remember for the next time!

Oh … and let me share some good news! The cover of The Bridge Club, A Novel was one of eight featured as good examples of effective cover art in this post: book covers from BookBub Unbound. The talented, clever, and always good-natured Carrie Spencer did all the hard work in putting that cover together. She also formatted the cover for The Promise of Provence. A toast to her!

I was notified the week before last that The Promise of Provence received a Finalist award in the 2013 USA Best Book Award.

Hearing from satisfied readers and receiving awards guarantees to inspire and motivate every author. If I end this post, I might even make a good bump with my word count in my next novel this evening.

I sent out my third newsletter this week and after I hit “publish” discovered a typo in the FIRST line! Ack! How does that happen? Actually I know how it happens. Writing too late into the night is how it happens! Never mind, but I do apologize. The correct spelling is “vieille” … sigh …

In spite of the odd typo, if you would like to join my newsletter mailing list there’s a link on this page and I would be happy to see your name added. That mailing list makes me smile every time I look at it since everyone is there because they contacted me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate hearing from you and value your interest and support. Merci mille fois!

Bon weekend tout le monde! What do you have planned?