October 14, 2014

Seven Letters from Paris by Samantha Verant - Giveaway and Guest Post


I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Seven Letters from Paris by Samantha Verant
ISBN: 978-1402297229
Trade Paperback

Synopsis: Twenty years, seven letters, and one long-lost love of a lifetime
At age 40, Samantha Vérant’s life is falling apart-she’s jobless, in debt, and feeling stuck… until she stumbles upon seven old love letters from Jean-Luc, the sexy Frenchman she’d met in Paris when she was 19. With a quick Google search, she finds him, and both are quick to realize that the passion they felt 20 years prior hasn’t faded with time and distance.
Samantha knows that jetting off to France to reconnect with a man that she only knew for one sun-drenched, passion-filled day is crazy-but it’s the kind of crazy she’s been waiting for her whole life. [provided by the publisher]

WATCH THIS GREAT BOOK TRAILER


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Samantha Vérant is a travel addict,
a self-professed oenophile,
and a determined, if occasionally unconventional, French chef.
Over the years, she’s visited many different countries,
lived in many places, and worked many jobs
— always on the search for the one thing that truly excited her.
Then, one day, she found everything she’s been looking for:
a passion for the written word and true love.
Writing not only enabled her to open her heart, it led her to southwestern France,
where she’s now married to a sexy French rocket scientist she met in 1989, but ignored for 20 years.

Visit her website. Follow her on FacebookTwitter , Pinterest
Buy the book:  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Indiebound  | Book Depositery  |  Powells  |  BAM



Be sure to check out France Book Tours (click here) to see all the stops on the tour. 


Guest Post by Samantha Verant

It would be a disaster if we stop this passion between us. And I am a man who cannot live without passion. It’s the nerve of my being, the best we can do. I felt it that evening at the restaurant– an unspoken connection. I had to communicate with you, or I’d be disappointed in myself if I didn’t know the outcome. So, for this passion, I’m going to try my best to save it. I really want to live something exceptional with you. “
~ LETTER ONE, Paris, July 28th, 1989
Five years ago, I was on the cusp of turning forty...and a woman on the verge of a potential breakdown. The recent victim of a company wide lay-off, I owed over twenty thousand dollars on three different Visas with no hopes to pay it off. Anger and resentment had taken its toll on what started out as a happy marriage. For eight years, I’d been sharing the guest bedroom with my black Labrador retriever, Ike. I didn’t have actual kids, save for my furry replacement child. More importantly, I’d fallen out of love with myself.
Instead of spinning my wheels on the corner of misery and despair all alone, I met up with my best friend of twenty-something years, Tracey. Over a bottle of pinot noir, our conversation changed from my imminent divorce to happier times, specifically our 1989 trip to Paris. Tracey pitched me an idea: we were going to create a love blog using the seven old love letters I’d received from Jean-Luc, the sexy French rocket scientist I’d met at a café when I was nineteen.
Intrigued (and looking for an ounce of hope), I pulled Jean-Luc’s letters out of their plastic storage container that very same night. By the time I reached the sixth letter, regret set in. I began questioning things like: why didn’t I have children? Did I really have issues with men because my biological father deserted my mother and me? If Jean-Luc was so special, why did I dump him at a train platform and never answer even one of his seven heartfelt letters? And, more importantly, why did I hang on to his letters?
A realization hit: I’d been so afraid of falling in love I’d never truly done it.
I knew, in order for me to move on and live out the happy life I desperately wanted, I needed to deal with these questions from my past — one regret/problem at a time, starting with the easiest one first. Thanks to Google, it was easy to find Jean-Luc and I got off to a quick start.

When I sent off my two-decade-delayed apology, I thought I was only looking for forgiveness. I wound up getting a lot more than that. One email led to another, and I was able to do something I hadn’t been able to do in the past: I opened up my heart— online. I also found the courage to change everything in my life.

SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS is the true “second chance” story of how I restarted my life and rebooted my heart. And I’m thrilled to share it with you. 

Giveaway

2 comments: