Do you remember awhile back I reviewed Isabelle Laflèche's J'Adore New York? Well, since then I've had the opportunity to pose some questions to the first-time author who was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer. If you get a chance you should really check it out. Isabelle has also offered to gift two lucky winners with a copy of their very own--the seventh of our giveaways celebrating 400 followers!
You once lived in New York and had a career similar to J’Adore New York’s protagonist, Catherine, how much of you can we find in the book’s main character?There is some of me in Catherine. I love fashion, I consider myself to be ambitious and have a pretty good sense of humour.
Reading the acknowledgements of your book it seems like you had a similar experience to one Catherine has in the book – a chance meeting with a psychic who encourages you to go after your dreams. Did you decide to pursue writing immediately after your encounter with the psychic in the street?Not immediately. I did have a chance meeting with a psychic on the streets of Manhattan who told me that I was missing my calling as a writer and that I should be writing rather than practicing law. It took me a good eight months of soul searching to take her advice seriously. I always had artistic inclinations but never pursued them because of my career. I then decided to move back to Montreal and sign up for creative writing classes at a local university to find out whether there was any merit to what she had told me. Receiving positive feedback from my classmates gave me the confidence to start writing a novel.
Was writing always something you wanted to do, one of your passions? Looking back now, I remember that I loved writing stories as a child. I would write fairy tales and read them to my grandmother. I put this aside for a long while after pursuing other interests, but I’m thrilled to be back doing what I love.
Perfumes and scents seem to have a pivotal role in the book. How important do you think fragrance is to a woman and which do you favour?Coco Chanel once said that a woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future. I wouldn’t go that far but I think that wearing perfume is another way to express your creativity and your sense of self. I wore J’Adore by Dior for a while but am now wearing Idylle by Guerlain.
What can we expect next from Isabelle Lafleche?I spent a week in Paris this summer doing research for my next novel. I have started working on my second book, which will be the sequel to the first.
A Few of Isabelle’s Favourite Things…
Flower – Pink peony
Shop – J. Crew, Kate Spade and Anthropologie
Fashion Designer –John Galliano at Dior
Artist –IZAK, fashion illustrator
Author – Candace Bushnell and Edith Wharton
Style Icon – Coco Chanel, Diane Kruger and Jenna Lyons
Day Bag – Muse bag by Yves Saint-Laurent (found it on e-Bay for a quarter of the price, what a great score!!)
Night Shoe – Manolo Blahnik
Indulgence – Manicure + Pedicure
Vacation Destination – Barbados, Cape Cod and hopefully one day soon, Capri!
So thanks to Isabelle's generosity you now have the chance to
win one of two copies of
J'Adore New York! Cool, right?
To Enter
Just
check out Isabelle's book and
leave a comment below letting me know why you'd like to win.
Extra Entries
1.
Tweet about this giveaway. To make it easy tweet this:
Just entered to win a copy of Isabelle Laflèche's J'Adore New York @SogniESorrisi http://tinyurl.com/3xu2yaw @pinklemonade08
2. Follow me on
Twitter. If you already do, thanks! Just let me know.
3. Follow Isabelle on
Twitter.
4. Follow Isabelle's
blog.
Giveaway open until September 17, 2010.
Winner will be chosen using random.org.
Good Luck and Happy Weekend!
