New York, 1871 – Flore, a country girl and Martial, the son of a viscount, secretly leave France and head for California to start a new life and set up a vineyard. As they steam across the continent in a dreamlike first-class carriage, Flore strives to adjust to Martial’s elegant world. Will she be an asset to him or a source of scorn? They have only gone as far as Chicago, when their plans collapse. Someone has betrayed them. Furious at his son’s elopement, Martial’s father cuts off his income. No stranger to hardship, Flore keeps them afloat as far as Nevada, however, the harsh American frontier proves a challenge too far for Martial. He finds refuge in Icaria, a utopian settlement where everything is free, but dissension is rife, even in Paradise.
When all the money has gone, will love be enough to see them through?
Bordeaux 1870 – Life is hard on the moor.
If Flore, a shepherd’s daughter, is not married by autumn, she must go into service and lose everything she holds dear.
Back from the French army, the dashing Ricar has set her heart and body on fire. Will he propose to her before it is too late?
Martial, the viscount’s son, adores Flore from afar, aware that she can never be his. When a betrayal and a forest fire put Flore’s life in danger, Martial seizes his chance, grabs Flore’s hand and takes her to safety in Paris, hoping they might start afresh. But war looms…
Will it bring them together or tear them apart?
An emotionally charged novel that intertwines the lives of Marceau, a talented drummer, with the struggles of Mari-jo and Mackenzie in Haiti.
Guadeloupe – When Marceau disappears at the eve of a big contract, the band send Jessie, his girl-friend to the French island of Guadeloupe to unravel the truth behind his disappearance, but the man Jessie pursues is nothing like the Marceau she once knew in Oxford. Who is Marceau really and what is he hiding?
Haiti – After a terrible earthquake, Mari-Jo and Mackenzie are desperate to escape Haiti and the spell that prevents them from starting a family. Their flight takes them along dangerous routes across the Caribbean Sea.
Born Under the Wrong Sun paints a vivid portrait of the battles, triumphs, and the enduring hope that drive them forward.
Immerse yourself in the vibrant landscapes of the Caribbean and prepare to be swept away on an extraordinary journey filled with mystery, love, love and the resilience of the human spirit. This is a novel that will linger in your heart long after you have turned the last page.
Read the book? Let me know what you think!
The Bear and the Basque: A quirky mystery with an extra shot of French cuisine.
Lose yourself in the majestic Pyrenees with chef Chloe as she untangles the secrets of her grandfather’s past.
When her grandfather died, Chloe promised she would take his ashes back to France, but as soon as she reaches his native village, things begin to go wrong. There is even an attempt to poison her. Undaunted, she inveigles herself into the community and pairs up with Xavier to uncover the truth about her family.
Read the book? Let me know what you think!
Michèle Callard grew up in France and swapped her Parisian flat for a cottage in rural Bedfordshire that she shares with her Irish husband and son. She has published three novels to date, each set in a different part of France.
France is a patchwork of regions bursting with local colour, flavours and history that you will soon be invited to discover by hopping onto her characters’ coat tails.
….and get a short story and a ‘hamper’ with a traditional French cake recipe and songs linked to my novels!
GERMAN ANTI-NAZI RESISTANCE FIGHTERS TOOK REFUGE IN THE CÉVENNES IN 1943, after Germany took over the free Zone. In the land of shist, chalk, chestnuts
The Larzac, a sparsely populated plateau in the department of Aveyron, came under public scrutiny in 1971 when the French army threatened to extend its
In 1764, a young shepherdess was killed and maimed by a wolf which went on to attack 300 people and kill a hundred. The Ferocious
In the Basque Country, Chloe realises that she does not miss Bletchley at all. ‘’I sat on a bench just below the church. Eyes closed,
I was half-way through writing The Bear and the Basque when we flew to the Basque Country for a research visit. We happened upon the
Paris 1905. My grandmother’s parents owned a grocery store near the Porte Saint Martin in the 10th arrondissement. She is the girl in the middle. The