This painting of a small beach in St. Tropez in the South of France by Madeleine Breton in 1970 is the cover of my book No Sex in St. Tropez, a memoir. While in the midst of a morning meeting of writers in Francoise Bartram’s living room, I looked up on the wall and fixed my eyes on the familiar scene.
“That’s St. Tropez,” I said to the small group of five. “More than that, it’s the way St. Tropez was when I lived there in 1974, but it’s not like that now. Where did you get that painting, Frances? I’ve been searching the web for a scene of St. Tropez in the period of my story. Everything I see is of St. Tropez the way it looks now. Boats and cars and fashion are different. Even the steeple on the church is different, currently painted yellow and red… very touristy.”
“My mother painted it,” Frances replied. “She painted a lot of French scenes and I always loved this one. I didn’t know it was St. Tropez. I don’t know if she had ever been to St. Tropez. When I was a little girl in France, my mother painted a lot. After she died her work was divided among my brothers and sisters. I chose this one.”
“I’m looking for something like it to use on the cover of my book,” I said.
A few days later Frances asked me if I would like to use it for my book. I was ecstatic. It’s perfect. Then in April, Frances gave me the painting. Now in its frame, it has a place of honor at the entrance to my office.
No Sex in St. Tropez is everything I hoped it would be. Available in the beautiful paper back cover designed by Mark and Brenda Layman using the fabulous painting by Madeleine Breton, it was independently published in July 2011. The most fun for me since publication has been the marketing. It’s available several places mentioned on this blog as well as on Select-Authors.com, Amazon, Kindle, Nook, Hayley’s Gallery in New Albany, Ohio, The Book Loft in German Village and from me directly. Call me, text me, email and tell me you want it and I’ll send you a signed copy for $20 which includes shipping costs. Or, I’ll meet you for coffee and sell it to you. Or, schedule me to come to your book group to talk about NSIST, the people in it, the writing, the publishing and my secrets.