We had national best-selling author Cara Black at our RBC meeting last night. She was super interesting. Here are a few things we learned:
1. It took Cara about 3.5 years to write book #1 in the Aimee Leduc series. The book we read, Murder on the Champ de Mars, is #15! And #16 will be coming out this summer.
2. She wasn't able to find an agent for her 1st book. So she sent it to a publisher, Soho Press, that actually asked for unagented authors. They bought it and are still her publisher today (she does have an agent now).
3. Cara got the idea for book #1, Murder on the Marais, from the German occupation of Paris during WWII.
4. Cara makes 1-2 trips to Paris a year for research. Tough gig, right?
5. Her books have been translated into 7 or 8 languages.
6. Cara has a companion to her series that you can download from Amazon for free. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Aimee-
We also had another great turnout last night. There were 18 of us there, including 5 first-timers. I think everybody enjoyed Cara and the background she gave us on her Aimee Leduc series.
Our next RBC meeting is Thursday, April 28. Vanessa Diffenbaugh will be coming to talk about The Language of Flowers and the foster care system. And, believe me, she knows a lot about that. Her story is an amazing one.
I read the first Aimee Leduc with our Mystery Book Club way back when. I'm surprised there hasn't been a TV series made by now!
ReplyDeleteWe asked her about that. There have been inquiries, but nothing has materialized so far.
DeleteThose research trips sound grueling. I can't wait to try her work.
ReplyDeleteI hear that. Although it's interesting because she said that her husband and son don't come with her anymore. There was one time where she walked around the same block 12 times to get a feel for a scene in her book. You can see why she goes solo now!
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