Come chat on Saturday March 6th with Cara at http://www.thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com
Home|Go to Soho Press|Book Reviews|About Cara Black|Resources |Cara's Paris Photo new!Aimee's Paris guidenew!Cara's Events Schedule|Paris Map|Interview
Come chat on Saturday March 6th with Cara at http://www.thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com
Cara's interview at Bookmarks Magazine Website
http://www.bookmarksmagazine.com/paris-intrigue-interview-cara-black/jessica-teisch
Bonjour Everyone,
Paris in January...imagine the cold, the disgruntled folk banished
from smoking in cafes- yes, as of Jan 1 France banned indoor public
smoking, but despite this I headed to Paris. I expected general
grumpiness, maybe a strike or two. Or three. The usual. I'd never
been there in January and what did I find? Brisk chill air, blue
skies, Musee Bourdelle a fantastic new museum near Montparnasse,
only one strike - the teachers and that was the day after I left,
a camaraderie among the smokers outside the cafes on the pavements
and... the SOLDES - the 50% sales...I loved it! Not that I envisioned
buying anything because even with 50 sometimes 75% off that Euro
still bit my budget. But the atmosphere was unique, a hum buzzed
in the air and after the holidays everyone was back in school,
at work and hardly a tourist.
My friend Sarah and I took a trip to Lille, only an hour north
on the TGV, and we were in a bustling city with Flemish architecture,
rose and butterscotch stone and the birthplace of Philippe Noiret,
my favorite actor. Whenever I sit down to write I see Philippe
Noiret's face. He was the inspiration for Commisaire Morbier,
Aimée's godfather. Sadly he passed away last year and his
obituary is on http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6178834.stm
But Lillie's several cities rolled into one; the medieval
section, the art nouveau quartier and a 19th century district.
And lively! In the 18th century stock exchange, a confection of
turrets and painted wood, it's filled with bookstalls of used
and rare books. The big highlight tin Lille was meeting my French
publisher, Samuel, who gave me a copy of Muertre dans le Sentier
- Murder in the Sentier - in FRENCH! Aimee's finally speaking
in the language of Moliere, he said, and plans to publish Murder
in the Marais next...cross fingers that it happens in 2009.
Back in Paris, I tried to avoid the SOLDES. My friend Alice, a
journalist with Le Monde Diplomatique http://mondediplo.com
(here's the English site) offered me a room and helped me explore
the 14th arrondissement, the area below Montparnasse with Parc
Montsouris and little villas - small cobbled streets with two
story buildings and once home to Anais Nin, George Braque, Henry
Miller and even Lenin and Trotsky. Everyday I passed a wonderful
shoe store around the corner from Alice's apartment on my way
to the Metro...a great pair of boots beckoned from the window.
But firm in my resolve, I shuttered my eyes and kept going. One
night, courtesy of Gilles, an old friend I joined a group in the
the old quarries under Hopital Cochin. This group is part of a
historical society who work to restore and maintain the 17th century
tunnels, the chanels leading to the reservoir under Parc Montsouris
and l'Observatoire and parts of the old quarry. Imagine being
under tons of earth, the city above and in humid limestone vaulted
tunnels with only candles to guide us. The evening ended with
a feast on a carved stone table; candleabras, pate, crusty bread
and lots of red wine and a member spouting poetry.
This visit I finally connected with Julien, the Metro man, as
everyone calls him. He works for the RATP system, began exploring
the Metro when he was eight years old and best of all he has the
KEY. The KEY that unlocks the doors to the abandoned and unused
Metro stations. Fantastic...to say the least. He took us down
to the abandoned station under the Porte Saint Martin, dark, moldy,
grafittied and full of 1930's advertisements. Then we explored
the switching station under the Parc Monceau (in the 17th arrondissement)
and used during WWII as a bomb shelter for the Metro administration.
There's a whole loop line and tracks parked with Metro trains
from the 30's and 40's the old wooden Sprague cars. Kind of like
the train graveyard. My mind whirred...a great place for a murder.
You'd never know from above if you're standing in Parc Monceau
that a whole station and abandoned offices exist below.
Places to go in Paris:
A tip if you're in the 10th arrondissement near Canal Saint Martin;
try La Patache on 60, Rue Lancry it's an old cafe charbon that's
a great place for a drink. Original turn of the century decor,
the old charcoal stove heater and tres hip these days. Or visit
Marielle Leteneur who repairs violins and stringed instruments
in the courtyard of 25 rue d'Hauteville and see her shop...amazing
www.lutheriedhauteville.com. She provided a wealth of information
when I was researching the quartier for Murder in the Rue de Paradis
and I can't thank her enough. For la Gallete de Rois, the Epiphany
cake sold in January go to ANY local boulangerie and sink your
teeth into the flaky golden crust, savor the butter and almond
filling and forget about the calories...just don't think about
them.
Tomorrow, January 28th is La Soiree Officiel, the launch party
for Murder in the Rue de Paradis at my local independent mystery
store. I'll discuss Paris and the 10th arrondissement where the
story takes place - a fascinating little known quartier with the
Canal Saint Martin, the Gare du Nord and warrens of passages with
names like Passage du Desir. I hope wherever you are that you
join me at one of the independent bookstores (all events and talks
are at events on www.carablack.com.) On my book tour (nationwide)I'm
doing events at independent bookstore exclusively because frankly
mes amies, the independents need our help and support. In this
age of the internet (and you know what I mean) our indie bookstores
are struggling, sadly many are closing and as far as I'm concerned,
we NEED them. Real bricks and mortar stores where one can spend
an hour browsing, talking to the bookseller, getting recomendations
and finding new authors. I hope, like me, you always find a new
book, a new series, or a new author from your bookseller. It's
their metier, after all.
Hope to see you, whether in Paris or at a bookstore and fasten
your seatbelts for Aimee's next investigation, Murder in the Rue
de Paradis...it's quite a ride. Publisher's Weekly calls it "Riveting."
The Library Journal gave it a starred review and my interview
with them on how I got the idea and my research is at http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6495192.html
Meanwhile it's almost springtime in Paris and time for crime,
Cara
PS I did break down, used plastic and bought the boots!
Cara interviews Leonard Pitt author of Paris
Disparu
read Cara .Paris. Blog
