By the time you read this, I’ll be touching down in Paris, one of my favorite cities. I’m headed to Livre Paris, the Paris book fair, to help out at the Dreamspinner Press table with Ariel Tachna and Nikki Bennett. I’ll be sharing an apartment with the fabulous Kim Fielding, and my hubby, Bob, will be tagging along (he’s on spring break from his work as a professor at Duke University).

Some of you may know that I lived in France when I was a teenager and that experience inspired the Blue Notes Series and, specifically, Blue Notes, which is loosely based on my own experience as a young musician. The main character, Jason Greene, finds himself and his future when he runs away from his life in the U.S. to Paris, where he meets the love of his life, violinist Jules Bardon.

Walking the Paris streets nearly ten years ago, I think I was also looking for my future. And although my life didn’t change as drastically as Jason’s does in the book, Paris sparked a creative flame inside of me that continues to burn today. I had already written two novels when I made that Paris trip, but I hadn’t had the courage to face my own mixed feelings about giving up my music. Through Jason’s story, I was able to come to terms with the pain of that loss and move forward with my life.

In writing Blue Notes, I also learned that by tapping into my own emotional experiences I could create stories with more depth. Those stories were and still are more difficult to write, and they often take a lot out of me, but the end result is that I feel stronger and more empowered in my own life.  It’s a little like Jason finding himself through his love of Jules and of music. On the other side of grief and struggle is happiness.

This time as I head to Paris, I’ll be bringing along my laptop and working on a new project. At the Water’s Edge isn’t a story about musicians, but it is a story like the Blue Notes Series that has its roots in difficult emotional challenges and the reality of life. Like every love story, it has fantastical romantic elements I hope will make readers’ hearts soar, but it’s grounded in issues most of us can relate to, including loss, acceptance, and the joys and heartache of family and home. It takes place, not surprisingly, at the coast, in a small town where the fishing industry is waning and the insular community is being forced to adapt to a new world beyond the shores.

While my project isn’t another story that explores Paris or even Europe, I know that the beauty of the city will help inspire my writing. There’s nothing like sitting in a little café with your laptop, watching the world go by and drawing creative energy from the city and the people who inhabit it. Sure, I’ll be doing some sightseeing, plenty of shopping and eating too, but mostly I’m hoping this trip will help fire up my creative soul, just as that trip years ago did for me.

Happy March and happy spring to all! – Shira