Dear Reader,
Our Guest Author today is Roberta Samuels, she writes:
Dear Gentle Reader, It's my pleasure to tell you a little about myself. I earned degrees in French and Art History from Northwestern University and the University of Paris at the Sorbonne.
My latest book, Missing: A Modern Art Masterpiece in a French Village, an art mystery novella. The starting point for my books is based on my experiences living in an 18th century farmhouse and then in a medieval townhouse in a picturesque French village. The books are based on actual people and events around which I weave a fictional story. I research my topics and draw upon my former work as a French teacher, translator, tour escort and art gallery owner. I speak French fluently. I live in New York City and Montpezat de Quercy, France, with my partner.
Missing: A Modern Art Masterpiece in a French Village, recounts an American couple's search for a famous abstract artwork made by renowned modern artist, Sonia Delaunay. Delaunay was purportedly commissioned to create an artwork for the medieval church in the charming French village where the couple spend each summer. However, no such cultural attraction, which would bring needed tourism income to the village, is to be found there. Barbara and Sam set off to find it.
I would be delighted to learn about you, so please email me at [email protected]. Red Penguin Books will send a free copy of Missing: A Modern Art Masterpiece in a French Village, to three correspondents with my compliments.
The Charm Bracelet
My charm bracelet is a relic from another time, the 14 karat gold equivalent of the dodo.The first charm I received when I was eight years old is my favorite. It is a miniature gold replica of the Empire State Building.The Empire State Building charm has an ingenious secret built into its golden base. If I squint through a little round periscope window, I can spy a very large magnified image of the Statue of Liberty. Two, two iconic New York landmarks in one little charm!
Each year on my birthday, as I was theoretically growing more and more charming, I would be gifted with another bauble. Some of them were chosen to commemorate our family trips to Florida. One of them is in the shape of the state of Florida. Next to the Florida state charm is a seahorse charm with a diamond eye.
Some of the charms on my bracelet were chosen because of my interests or talents. One of them is in the shape of a graceful woman diving into the water. It was selected because I have always been a good swimmer.
There is also a charm of a ballerina dancing, holding a little pearl, the hem of her full skirt set with rubies. I was never a good dancer but I took lessons and I tried.
My charm bracelet was almost obsolete from the year it was completed in 1967. In the upheaval of the Age of Aquarius, a simply made peace sign suspended on a leather cord was much more desirable than a showy charm bracelet.
Although most fashion trends recycle after 50 years or so, charm bracelets have never had another day in the sun and I think I know why.
A charm bracelet symbolizes an archaic ideal. The out-of-date ideal of a charming, inoffensive, ineffective female has metamorphosed into the ideal of a strong, capable and independent woman who can do anything. The new ideal woman's embellishments are sleek and minimalist, pared down, the antithesis of a complicated, dangly adornment.
Come to think of it though,Taylor Swift might wear a charm bracelet. She manages to embody the new ideal woman and the older ‘feminine' values at the same time which might be part of her enormous success.
Even if I don't wear it, my beautiful bracelet is an indispensable keepsake. I'd never part with such a well-meaning expression of my parents' love and concern for me.
-- Roberta Samuels
I would be delighted to learn about you, so please email me at [email protected]. Red Penguin Books will send a free copy of Missing: A Modern Art Masterpiece in a French Village, to three correspondents with my compliments.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
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