News & Blog by Isabelle Merlin
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I fill my journal and my notes and my computer files with new scenes and ideas and inspiration every day and enrich my novel with the glorious profusion of things that I'm living in every day, and the culture of words all around me. Because the French just love words, particularly witty—or poetic—words. It's not only that this is a city of innumerable bookshops, a city where...
You hear a lot about French style. Well, it's true! There's something just naturally stylish about this place. It's not try-hard, it's just easy and natural; even when people are dressed casually, they somehow carry it off with dash and flair. My characters are always really impressed by that—as I am, actually! It's not just about fashion, either; it's just the way...
All my characters love good food—not surprisingly, as I do! And Paris is the kingdom of the best food ever. There's umpteen restaurants and little cafes and street stands selling hot crepes or waffles or roast chestnuts in the winter. As the weather gets warmer, the icecream stands open up, selling the most gorgeous fruit sorbets and creamy ices. Then there's the bakers and...
There's this great verb in French, 'flaner', which is quite hard to translate—but basically it means to stroll around, taking in the sights, taking your time—and that's exactly what I love doing the most in this city. Every day, I 'flane' for ages, taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of this gorgeous city that is at both so elegant and so sensual. I walk...
Each of my books is inspired by a different French setting. In Three Wishes it was south-west France; in Pop Princess, it was Paris, in Cupid's Arrow the green, mysteriously Celtic region of Avallon in Burgundy, eastern France; in Bright Angel, the Pyrenean mountain town of St Bertrand de Comminges, which is so beautiful that it almost breaks your heart. And now back in Paris again,...
