paris - Karen A. Chase

5 years. 4 Goodreads Giveaways.

February 22, 2016 By Karen A. Chase

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Bonjour 40

by Karen A. Chase

Giveaway ends March 04, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

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Mon dieu! How has it been 5 years since my BONJOUR 40 trip to Paris? Five years since I met Dorothée and Bandit. Sixty months since I wandered those streets delighting in the joy of getting lost… Since then, the book has reached thousands, resulting in some amazing new relationships, and some lovely comments from readers both complimentary and inspiring.

As a thanks, I’m running a Goodreads Giveaway now through March 4th. Sign up for a chance to win one of 4 copies of BONJOUR 40: A PARIS TRAVEL LOG. It’s a world-wide giveaway (so share far and wide). And to Worth, Greg, Brenda, Jackie, and all my sweet readers and supporters… You have inspired me, too. The pen is still in my hand, and travel still moves my feet. Hugs and merci to all of you have come along on this delightful journey.

“This reads with the same pleasing, conversational, witty, engaging lope of Bill Bryson and Paul Theroux.”

“I literally cried while I wandered, with you, through Shakespeare and Company and sat, just behind you at the Mad Hatter’s Party. It is without a doubt, and I’ve many years on you lass, one of the finest pieces of travel writing I’ve enjoyed.”

“For my 60th, 8 women and I rented a chateau in Provence… Met so many people who are now lifelong friends. The magic of travel is awesome. Keep writing you owe it to your soul……”

“You helped me through a very lonely Christmas Eve. I have the flu and pneuma and could not be at my family’s Christmas Eve dinner. I fixed a pot of tea and read your book Bonjour 40. I felt like I was on vacation with you. Thank you for getting me through a difficult holiday experience.”

Guest Blog: Susan Winkler

March 6, 2015 By Karen A. Chase

Today on Compositions, I welcome author and Paris-lover, Susan Winkler. Her new book, Portrait of a Woman in White, is set in WWII Paris. She joins us today to chat about how her love of Paris began with the movie Gigi.

. . . . . . . . . .

I fell in love with Paris when I was very young and saw the movie Gigi, at an outdoor drive-in with my parents and grandparents, in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. Portland, with our 3 black and white TV channels was all I knew, so Gigi’s Paris and the belle époque offered another window onto life that yearned to explore.

I was 18 when I first traveled to Paris, to spend a summer, and stayed for the next year and beyond studying literature, art, linguistics, and of course, life. Outside my small academic program, many of my friends were journalists and filmmakers who flocked to Paris from around the world. I wrote for an American newsletter and had a press pass to the Venice and Cannes film festivals. When I came back and began grad school in French literature at Stanford, I missed Paris terribly.

There is something about the abroad experience when you are young, and not traveling with mom and dad, that can feed the imagination forever. I was predisposed to love the city, it’s attention to visual detail, and its incomparable beauty. Plus, I love speaking the language and becoming someone else when I am there.

I was very fortunate, over 20 years ago, to be asked by a publisher to write a guidebook to Paris (The Paris Shopping Companion), allowing me to endlessly explore my favorite city. But no matter how many trips I make, I never get to the bottom of my must-do list. So much to see, eat, do!

In my new novel, PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN IN WHITE, I explore WWII France, lovers, and a Matisse painting looted by Nazis.

Words from Paris

January 16, 2015 By Karen A. Chase

In support of my dear Parisians, I repost this excerpt from my book Bonjour 40: A Paris Travel Log. I am so proud of the 1.6 million+ people in Paris (and the other millions across France and the world) who marched in solidarity for a better world. Hand-in-hand, in the largest demonstration in French history, they reminded me of what I felt visiting the Eiffel Tower a few years ago…

The view from the Wall of Peace, looking through the glass partitions that surround it. The glass is etched with signs of peace in forty-nine languages and eighteen alphabets.

Eiffel Tower } Day 10 ~ April 30

Tourists abound in Paris. And in no other place are they (we) more prolific than around the Eiffel Tower. It’s a national landmark, built in honor of the World’s Fair held here in 1889 commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. Websites, guidebooks, tours, and the museum near the top of the tower provide all of the facts and details surrounding it, but it is the feeling of the whole area that left a greater impression upon me.

Under the shadow of that sculpture and the trees, upon the green grass, I sat with families of various nationalities, generations, and genders playing and picnicking with their children. Couples napped together holding hands, making me miss Ted. Dogs romped and played. I helped take photos for strangers so they could be together in their photo (one of my favorite things to do on vacation), and a smiling couple helped take one of me. Some people sat quietly alone just taking it all in.

Approximately 7 million visitors come here each year, and it’s impossible to count how many countries could be represented at any given moment. At the foot of the tower is a newer monument built in 2000 called the Wall for Peace, which was inspired by the Wailing Wall. People can insert messages of peace into the chinks in the wall. After they do, many walk the distance to the tower, across the lawn of the Parc du Champs de Mars. If they stop, even for an instant, and simply look around them, they will see something remarkable.

They will see what I saw: Their wish has come true. For all walks of life are there together. Just being. At peace. Together.

Korbella Bonjour 40 Winner

February 11, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

A big warm hug and thank you to all of you who joined in and helped spread the word. We had so many fabulous new readers join in on our Korbella/Bonjour 40 giveaway.

Congratulations to Kathy Perdue! She’ll receive the gorgeous Korbella’s Charmes de Paris necklace with a retail value of $525, and an autographed copy of Bonjour 40, the special photography edition. (She was randomly selected using the Rafflecopter giveaway app., but I love knowing that a woman who devotes her time and her career to helping SPCA animals has a little good karma returned.)

We had many fabulous comments on the question of what the Eiffel Tower represents for you. Below are the favorites:

• History’s sense of its own beauty.
• Paris!
• Love of life. (I ran my first marathon and got engaged in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower)
• The best week of my life, spent with my best friend in Paris.
• Romance, History, Possibility
• Best trip ever!
• Parisian beauty
• Dreams
• It’s a uniquely recognizable symbol of Paris-can’t wait to see in person!
• The answer to a lifelong dream. I have wanted to visit Paris and the Champs Elysee since I was a child and began to learn the language. That desire is still with me.
• Paris! La Vie en Rose…
• Adventure, whimsy, dreams, confidence, self-expression, art, culture
• Icon, style, dreams, height, viewpoint, aspiration
• Heaven
• Our visit to Paris in 1994 with two of our very best friends!

Overwhelmingly, the most common response was “Romance!” I feel the same way, my dear readers and new friends. Sigh… oh how I do. Happy Valentine’s Day. May you all one day find romance in Paris as I did.

Constructing the Eiffel Tower

February 8, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

In honor of the last day of my Eiffel Tower necklace give away, I pay homage to this fabulous landmark, originally constructed for the 1889 Exposition in Paris. Despite the fact that all of its metal could be melted down to fit a 125-meter-square base less than 2.5 inches high, it took two years to build.

I’m especially thrilled that someone had the smarts, and we had the technology, to photograph the construction process. All these images come from Wikimedia Commons and are in the Public Domain. Click on an image to enlarge and scroll through the gallery. Enjoy!

A few more Eiffel facts:

~ Thomas Edison visited it in 1889.
~ Radio transmitters were fitted in WWI to jam German communications.
~ There used to be a pâtisserie on the second level.
~ Gustave Eiffel entertained in an apartment on the third level.
~ 72 names are engraved on the tower–all French notable people.
~ It’s painted every seven years with up to 60 tonnes of paint.
~ When it opened, the lifts weren’t operable.
~ It took visitors and hour by stairs to ascend the tower.
~ The original spiral stairs were removed in the 1980s.

Korbella is helping me give away an Eiffel Tower necklace made from that spiral staircase to one lucky reader. Korbella’s Charmes de Paris necklace has a retail value of $525. This sterling silver necklace is hand-finished, with a heart-shaped Swarovski CZ drop, a charm in the shape of Paris’ famous landmark. Enter before midnight tonight, February 8th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bonjour 40 Korbella Giveaway

February 1, 2013 By Karen A. Chase

Imagine it. You could wear an actual piece of the Eiffel Tower! Korbella is my First Friday artist–a darling company that has lovingly crafted pieces of old Eiffel Tower stairway into gorgeous silver and vermeil charms.

BONJOUR 40 KORBELLA GIVEAWAY
Beginning today and running through February 8th, next Friday, Korbella is helping me give away a necklace to one lucky reader. Korbella’s Charmes de Paris necklace has a retail value of $525. This sterling silver necklace is hand-finished, with a heart-shaped Swarovski CZ drop, a charm in the shape of Paris’ famous landmark, and an actual piece from the original Eiffel Tower! And you can wear it while reading a free, signed copy of Bonjour 40.

How Korbella Created The Pieces
The line of stunning jewelry came into being after its founder, Paul Michael Bedell, and his wife, Janel, and their nine-year-old daughter, Samantha, traveled to Paris in 2011 and were inspired. Soon after, Paul acquired a section of the original spiral staircase that had been removed back in the 1980s, when it was cut into twenty-four elements, auctioned off, and scattered across the globe. Then, they went on to design the collection. (See below for pictures of Paul on the stairs, and the Eiffel Tower pieces.)

As the company says, Korbella’s Eiffel Tower Forever collection “draws inspiration from the strong architectural cues of the Tower… a nod to the Tower’s Art Nouveau roots—and its world-renowned latticework.” And part of the design is a rustic artifact from the spiral staircase.

I’m thrilled to bring you a chance to wear your own little piece of Paris, with love to all my readers. Enter to win here and have a sweet and charming Valentine’s Day!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. Winner(s) will be contacted by email 72 hours after the giveaway ends. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send us an email!

Bonjour 40 – Le livre est arrivé!

December 14, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

Bonjour 40: A Paris Travel Log, the print version, is now available on Amazon!! Oh la la!

So many readers asked for it and it’s finally here. After the success of the eBook and receiving an eLit award, I went out to find an agent and a traditional publisher. But then I got to wondering what kind of book they would make. What would it look like? What would the design feel like compared to my trip? I’m a professional designer, and we like things just so. After some searching and a lot of encouragement, I eventually gave in… no, stepped up, and said, “Karen, you can do this.”

So I combed through the thousands of photos from the trip, and added in some new text. Then I went at it. Now it is 132 full-color pages, 8.5×8.5, with over 100 images. It feels more like a photo journal and a pictorial journey through Paris, but it still has my stories about a strange pillow and Bandit the dog.

If you loved the eBook, I hope the print version will be on your gift list–for yourself and others. Joyeux Noël.

For those who want to know how I produced the book, my process included:

~ InDesign for the page layout of the interior and cover.
~ Photoshop to crop, resize and color correct all 109 images.
~ Worked with April Michelle Davis to edit the copy in the new layout.
~ Opened an account through Createspace (Amazon’s print self-publishing).
~ Submitted a PDF of my files and they sent me a physical proof.
~ Based on the size and page numbers, Createspace helped me set pricing.
~ Approve it all, and wait 5-7 days for it to hit Amazon.

A few of the inside pages are below. To see more, you can “Look inside” on Amazon.

Bonjour 40 on Amazon

December 7, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

I’ve done it. You probably have, too. I’ve Google searched my own name to see what comes up. This week, I searched Amazon under Bonjour 40: A Paris Travel log. Typing in various words and phrases from the title, I wanted to see what other items might come up. I found a plethora of fun things from teapots to paintings. So, I gathered of few of them to share.

In just a few days, there will also be one more item. A print version of Bonjour 40! Readers who bought the e-book containing nearly 40 images, begged for more. Fans without e-readers begged for print. Those who love to armchair travel holding something tangible, asked when they could get their hands on it. So, here’s the gift I’ve personally designed to bring to all of you.

With over 100 photos, plus a few extra tid-bits, this new expanded version, is an 8.5×8.5, full-color, paperback walk through the streets, markets and delights of Paris. It still has all the content and stories of the original travel log, but now, so much more.

I’m reviewing the proofs now, so stay tuned for the big launch just in time for the holidays! In the meantime, you can click on the image above and find other ways to hold Paris in your hands (my favorite is the My Duckie Paris, black bathtub rubber duckie.)

Bonjour40Proof — My proofing copy of Bonjour 40. It’s 132 pages of over 100 full-color photos, journal entries and more! Coming soon to Amazon!

Bonjour Paris Maintenant (Now)

May 25, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

Amelie_Cafe — The restaurant in Montmarte where Amélie was filmed. I had dinner here.

Wouldn’t you love to dine in this Paris café right now? Yes, but… I understand. You have work, family and other commitments. I have them, too. So in place of encouraging you to make a trip as I did last year, instead I’ll share with you a few things Parisienne that are more affordable (both in time and money) to help transport us there maintenant (now).

Music:
• Pandora – I have a station called “Pink Martini Radio” (here’s a little video of one of my favorite Pink Martini songs)
• Soundtracks from French Kiss and Amélie
• Soundtrack from La Vie En Rose, about Édith Piaf

Language:
• For just a coupe hundred dollars you can learn French on your own with the Fluenz DVDs. The owner, Sonia Gil, also has a fun series of travel videos online, some of which are set in Paris.

Movies:
• French Kiss (see above under music)
• Midnight in Paris
• Amélie

Online:
• GirlsGuidetoParis.com
• BonjourParis.com
• LonelyPlanet.com

Words:
• A Moveable Feast – Hemingway’s last book about living in Paris in his 20s
• The Sweet Life in Paris – David Lebovitz’ book about food and the city
• Markets of Paris – a small, well-designed book filled with a list of all the best markets (food, antique, books & more) in Paris
• (Shamelessly) Bonjour 40, my own book. Now just 99¢.

Please share your favorite travel books, music, movies and more. Bon voyage!

Book Review: Book End Babes Confessions

May 7, 2012 By Karen A. Chase

I received an oh-so-lovely review of Bonjour 40 from a fun blog called Book End Babes. In “Confessions of a Closet Francophile,” Heather Dearly admits her unending desire for Paris, and chats about her armchair review of my 40th birthday adventures in the city.

Back in October, her fellow-blogger on BEB, Melena Lott, was kind enough to do a review and include an excerpt. They’ve done a new review and update because of the new eLit awards the book has captured, and well, because they love books and all things France.

So needless to say, Heather and Melena – merci beaucoup! I’m so glad you not only read Bonjour 40, but enjoyed a little stroll through the Paris streets right from your own living rooms!