Summer Newsletter

It’s the middle of the summer, I’m starting holidays, and before I close my laptop for ten glorious days and turn to the tower of novels I’ve been neglecting, I wanted to write a quick, very overdue update! I’ve spent much of the summer up at the cottage, working on novels 5 and 6 (check out this lovely feature from Cottage Life for a look at my summer desk) and while it’s still too early to share details, know that there has been progress... tartan-clad, bagpipe-playing progress.

I’m also thrilled to let you know that I’ll be returning to France in 2027 with Classical Pursuits, and want you to join me – details below about our ten-day tour inspired by The Paris Deception!

La grande retour 

Great news – I’m going back to France, and you can come with me! The lovely people at Classical Pursuits are running our incredible tour, Art and Resistance in WWII Paris and Champagne, in 2027: a ten-day exploration of the art, architecture, and stories of the occupation, as seen through The Paris Deception and Irene Némirovsky's Suite Française. This tour is a truly unforgettable experience, and I can’t wait to experience Paris and Champagne with a new group of readers. I wrote about the 2025 tour on my blog, which you can check out to get a sense of what we’ll get up to!

A love letter to stationary

I’ve always been a fountain pen fanatic, and I tend to switch up my pens based on my mood and the task at hand (fussy, fussy, I know…) As I’ve been in heavy editing mode, I’ve turned to my trusty Kaweko Classic Sport in a jaunty-but-possibly-discontinued shade of orange, which I’ve filled with a red ink (natch) from Caran d’Ache. For longer handwritten edits, I’ve got my Diplomat Esteem filled with magnetic blue from J Herbin – I find the medium nib is just right for weightier thoughts (and there is something delightful about carrying a tin of cartridges around in your bag… no? Just me?). Current notebook: Mnemosyne B5 Wiro. The creaminess of the paper makes writing an absolute dream.

Vintage recipe research gone wrong...

When I’m not writing, you’ll find me in the kitchen! I adore cooking (as does my sister, who owns and operates her own amazing bakery in Waterloo, Ontario) and to me, the summer is a perfect excuse for dinner parties. One of my current works-in-progress includes a 1950s-era cocktail party planned by an enthusiastic but not entirely proficient hostess, and I've had fun diving into old cookbooks as part of my research, looking into a time where everything that could be coated in aspic was coated in aspic. A particularly baffling recipe I came across was Perfection Salad, courtesy of McCall's Cook Book ... Do you have any especially memorable vintage recipes kicking around your recipe box? If so, please send them my way! 

Long Weekend TBR Pile

• Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke

• The Opposite of Loneliness, Marina Keegan

• The Survivors Guild, Gabriella Saab

• Lady X, Molly Fader

• The Other Bennet Sister, Janice Hadlow

• The Correspondent, Virginia Evans

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