Hello all,
My husband and I--both American--have been living in Provence for a decade. We fell for France on our delayed honeymoon in the 'early 90s and two decades later made Provence home--all because of birds. (Hint: the Camargue is an hour away!) My first book, Passion for Provence: 22 Keys to La Belle Vie tells the tale of how we met, married (in the Washington, D.C. area), and immediately set off for Germany, for work. During the years in Heidelberg, we spent many a vacation in the south of France before deciding to settle here.
Now I've written a second book, The Birdwatcher’s Wife. It’s about the big year my husband and I had in France in 2019. Actually, he’s the passionate birder and finding 200 species in France in one year was his idea. The eat-preen-love lifestyle of birds didn’t fascinate me, but the off the beaten path adventure did. Despite my trepidation, off we went. From our home in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, we criss-crossed the country from the Med to the English Channel, the Pyrenees to the Alps. Challenges were many, but we’re still married!
The March edition of the UK-publication French Property News ran a three-page article on our life in France and how it inspired two books. That publicity and other similar press is all wonderful, but what would be genuinely satisfying would be to have some RSPB folks review the book. Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance for any ideas you care to share.
Kind regards, Gayle Smith Padgett
PS Before I noticed this chat room, I posted a similar message to one related to books--my apologies for any overlap!
For advice about Birding, Identification,field guides, binoculars, scopes, tripods, etc - put 'Birding Tips' into the search box
Hi GSP :) I'm intrigued enough to think about buying the book- You don't say if it is an all out travelling year or multiple excursions in all directions :) I'm not sure 200spp in a year in France is that much of a mountain to climb (?) I've visited France birding on 3 family holidays totalling 3 weeks and found 151 species there myself. On the other hand I drink more wine and eat more cheese now ! S