FRENCH KISS by Gloria L. Goldsmith – guest post from the author plus a giveaway

FRENCH KISS

by Gloria J. Goldsmith

GENRE:  Contemporary Romance

BLURB:

I was DONE! I ditched graduation, dumped my repressed college boyfriend, and dropped my sexual insecurities for a wild ride with Destiny. Unpredictable Fate beckoned with a European adventure!

In a chance encounter, I met Jean Louis. From the instant we met, the dashing young Frenchman soothed my bruised heart, rejuvenated my spirit, and convinced me that leaving my old life was no mistake. Together, we set out to explore southern France.

Jean Louis was torn from my life almost as quickly as he had entered it, yet leaving the haunting memory of his caress permeating my every thought. Driven by love and passion, I journeyed to find my lover, even if it meant scouring all the hidden corners of France.

Would I ever reunite with the man I believe to be my one true soulmate? Would I ever hear him say he feels the same for me as I do him? What twist of Fate will it take for me to find him?

Buy it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09F7T1ZWG/

Guest Post

Why publish a book with so much French for readers who speak and read English?

I am sure someone will ask that question to themselves or others. There is a reason. I am taking the reader on a journey with me to other countries where English is not spoken by the majority of people. More than that, all street signs, posters, billboards, radio, tv programs, news, advertisements of all kinds is not in English.

Culture shock was a genuine emotional jolt for me. I am taking the reader along with me on a fabulous but sometimes incomprehensible journey. If you are like me, I had some knowledge of French, but rudimentary words. Words like ‘money, hello, thank you, pardon me, my name is… what time is it, cold, hot, right, left,’ and I knew the words for numbers up to twenty.

The details for street directions you cannot understand. Conversations about politics, the weather, your family, philosophical thought, what happened at work, or a joke you heard, you will not understand or be able to share. If you are traveling alone, you become isolated. Uncertain of what is being said around you, it is only natural to become wary and vigilant about your safety.

          I used actual French sentences so that the reader has an experience as close as possible to my own. It was often so frustrating to know what was being said but not have the words to express what I knew to be true.

Eventually, I did become more confident in speaking French. Even though I suspect I spoke like a child would, using the wrong tense or not conjugating a verb with the correct pronoun. But being an American, I charged ahead, confident that my meaning must be clear even if I used the wrong forms. I think they were. In Chapter 12, you’ll find I did manage to satirize a Lyon bus driver.

The majority of French is in two chapters. And there are translations for every sentence. The only words not translated are when single words are spoken. Things like Bonjour, Merci, and Oui.

Go to Europe. Discover other cultures, be open to learning, find new ways of living. You will be better for it, and maybe along the way, find your heart’s desire.  ~ Gloria

Excerpt

They said he was “very mean.” He threw people off the bus all the time. Some tried to speak what they could in English, to tell me this bus driver was evil. He would call the police!

I smiled and said with American confidence, “Pas d’aujourd’hui.” Not today.

The bus driver came back and again threatened to call the cops.

I said, “Ahh, M. chauffeur de bus, le flic, il viendra ici, il me dit, ‘Avez-vous un billet?’”

Ahh. Mr. Bus Driver, the cop, he’ll come here, he’ll say to me, ‘Do you have a ticket?’ I pretended to talk to an imaginary cop standing beside the bus driver.

“Et moi, moi je dis… And me, me I say…” I used my theater training to perfection. I put a finger in my cheek to make a pretend dimple and spoke in a honeyed, childlike voice in French.

“Oh, Monsieur Flic, bien sûr, j’ai un billet, avec la date et l’heure d’aujourd’hui, les mêmes que toutes les autres ici.”  Oh. Mr. Cop of course, I have a ticket, with today’s date and hour, the same as all the others here. I leaned forward, acting as if I were whispering to the pretend cop. “Il est un peu malade, tsk, tsk.” He is a little sick, tsk, tsk. I twirled my index finger in a small circle, signaling the French gesture of “mental.”

All the bus riders burst out laughing at my sugar-coated, sweet face and voice to the imaginary cop. The red-faced bus driver threw his hands up and went to his seat. His arms across his chest, he stuck out his bottom lip in a Gallic pout and refused to move the bus for nearly ten minutes before finally giving up and moving off.

As each of the riders got off the exit by me, they patted my arm, smiled, and said things like, “Oh, you Americans, you are so amusing. Very good, very good!”

There were still about ten passengers when they got to my stop. I waved at the bus driver and shouted, “À demain!” Until tomorrow. He threw up his hand in a friendly salute before he remembered who I was, then flung his hand forward and scowled.

I laughed and shouted at him, “J’aime la France!” I love France!

In his big mirror at the front, I saw his eyebrows raise, and he lifted his head at me in agreement and gave a tiny smile.

Victory is sweet!

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

As a Special Education teacher, I became fascinated by the English language. I still marvel at how it changes and expands over time. My most pleasurable teaching moments were showing children how a wondrous story can take their imaginations to other times, places, even other worlds. When the pandemic began, I started my first foray into publishing⸺ a nonfiction book, The Sensible Parent’s Little Homeschooler Handbook.

My secret pleasure-writing has always been focused on romance. French Kiss is a Contemporary Romance based on a fictionalized version of experiences during eighteen months of living and working abroad before the formation of the European Union.

Next year, my first Historical Regency Romance That Wylde Woman will be published.  It has allowed me to indulge my curiosity and enthusiasm for history by incorporating in the storyline a historical geologic event which affected weather and farming and even how England’s war with Napoleon impacted clothing styles.

Website:   https://gloriajgoldsmith.com/
Blog:   https://gloriajgoldsmith.blogspot.com/
Sign up for the newsletter here: https://forms.gle/zVTgoHGeBnwF6s3v7
Fan Page:   https://www.facebook.com/GloriaJGoldsmith/
Amazon Author Page: 
https://www.amazon.com/Gloria-J-Goldsmith/e/B08B1V9YQJ?ref_=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000
Bookbub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/gloria-j-goldsmith
Instagram:   gloriajeangoldsmith
Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20404062.Gloria_Jean_Goldsmith
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GloriaJ24K
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5GqUsmGc3JFpebkYV02izD

ebook: https://www.facebook.com/GloriaJGoldsmith/

Website: https://gloriajgoldsmith.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gloriajeangoldsmith/

Email: gjgoldsmithauthor@gmail.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway