Author Archives: rosadmin

Reviews

Winner Best in Show first place award from Columbus Recreation and Parks Arts Festival 2012. book_award_2012 Judge Number 29, Writer’s Digest 20th Annual Self-Published Book Awards, 2012: “Her character interaction was great and character revelation was, too. She described the settings well and I could see them in my mind’s eye as I read. She was courageous and adventurous and her writing was fine. She has a magnetic personality and attracts people wherever she goes. I enjoyed reading about her Jewishness: she informed people right off that she was a Jew, but not in a confrontational way. She shows that you can go explore your world, as long as you set standards and use caution. I think she’d be a fun person to know as a friend.”

Amazon review: “It was a wonderful way to re-live traveling through Europe. This was quite an experience for Rosalie. I found the book easy to read and it kept my attention the whole time.” Lillian Acker.

Amazon review: “This is a tour de force you shouldn’t miss, a story of one woman’s journey from the USA to Europe and back during the 1970s that was an odyssey of courage and personal discovery. It is an entertaining and well-written memoir that I highly recommend.” Linda Lee Greene.

Amazon review: “A joyful reading experience. I felt as if I stepped into Rosalie’s shoes and relived the 1970s. The book tickled all your emotions as a woman and left you nodding your head up and down…yes,yes,yes!! Way to go Rosalie! Barabara Smiljanich.

Amazon review: “As I was turning the pages, a ravishing feeling engulfed me; I was becoming part of the story traveling alongside Rosalie and experience Europe. The characters were now alive and I could hear the different accents resonating through the paper. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to follow up the journey of a fun and witty writer.” G.W. Ashby

Amazon review: “No Sex in St. Tropez is a great book for women who want to leave everything behind and concentrate on finding themselves. There isn’t a woman out there who can’t relate to this at some point in her life. Rosalie can make the reader visualize France to the point of wanting to eat olives and have a glass of wine after every chapter. Great fun and quick reading.” Barbara Wasserstrom.

Amazon review: “Get this book! It’s a sweet trip into the adventures, longings, joys, travels and relationships of a young woman in 70’s America, England, France and Spain. Rosalie Linver Ungar weaves a yarn that crosses generations and constraints that faced all women then and continues to both advance and hamper all women today. A fabulous read…find three hours and read the whole book. You’ll be delighted and entranced by Rosalie’s history, her terrific end-of-chapter comic comments, and her skill in transporting you from wherever you are.” Docj.

Amazon review: “Loved it. Ordered four copies for my adult children. Well written, well produced. Thank you, Amazon, for selecting this title.” Bob Harris

Amazon review: “I love Rosalie’s passion for life and the gutsy adventure she took to fulfill that passion even against all odds. What a great opportunity to experience her European journey right along with her as she gracefully shares her story. Excellent read! I couldn’t put it down.” Rachel L. Breeden

Amazon review: “Every man should read this book if they want to understand a free spirited woman. They would be a better man for it!” David C. Price

Amazon review: “This is a wonderful tale told in a whimsical voice. For anyone who lived in the seventies, or even for those too young to remember, this is a great read. It is also good for reading on a trip or on the beach.” Business Guy

Amazon review: “This was the worse book I have read in a long time. The author is totally into herself with all the men that love her or think she is so hot. Wow, we should all have people fall for us wherever we go. Get this book off the shelfs.” Sammy

Amazon review: “A riveting travelogue that had me sharing (in my imagination) and cheering Rosalie Linver Ungar’s gutsy jaunts to various European locales. Ah, to be thirty-something and have the courage to indulge your wanderlust! Rosalie’s ingenuity and intrepid attitude serve her well especially during her stay in St. Tropez.” Carmen Ambrosio

Amazon review: “Most people take their European jaunt when they’re around twenty years old. Rosalie Ungar took an extended European adventure at thirty-six, leaving two teenage sons behind in the United States with her ex-husband. It was a gutsy decision for a woman in 1974, which developed into a far richer experience than it would had she been younger. She might have even had sex in St. Tropez; instead she was an au pair who felt guilt and angst over leaving her children, while tending to the needs of a very naughty little French boy. Rosalie also got to know and understand the French in a deeper way than college kids on the bum. She carefully recorded her experiences in a journal, which fermented for many years before becoming a memoir. Yet Rosalie’s recollections and attention to detail and description sound as if her experience happened yesterday rather than in the mid-seventies. No Sex in St. Tropez offers a rewarding read with its earthy feminist take on a Europe that seems immediate in vibrant details, but also digs up past treasures that no one will ever experience again.” David Del Bourgo “ddelbourgo”.

Amazon review: “This is a well written quick reading account of a woman’s time spent in France, England, Spain and Italy during the mid-1970’s. I would classify it as a “paperback chick-flick”. The take away for the reader is realizing the courage, determination, and independence that the author exhibits in accomplishing this journey. In today’s world this feat is not particularly remarkable but 35 years ago it was a cutting edge expedition. JAJ

Amazon review: “This was a very interesting account of her Europe trip. Her nanny experience was interesting as she needed to know French and learned the language as she went along. Not a book for children to read, but truly enjoyed her story.” Edith A. Geber

Recent Reviews

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It’s been a year and a half since No Sex in St. Tropez has been self-published, a satisfying experience. Since that time, this website has had 13,000 hits and well over 1000 copies of No Sex in St. Tropez have been sold.

Here are a few recent reviews of No Sex in St. Tropez. This first one is from Writer’s Digest evaluating my entry to their 20th annual self-published book awards.

“I thought her character interaction was great and character revelation was, too. She described the settings well and I could see them in my mind’s eye as I read. She was courageous and adventurous and her writing was fine. She has a magnetic personality and attracts people wherever she goes. I enjoyed reading about her Jewishness: she informed people right off that she was a Jew, but not in a confrontational way. She shows that you can go explore your world, as long as you set standards and use caution. I think she’d be a fun person to know as a friend.”

This next one is in French. You can get the English translation here.

“Voici , en 2013 , le compte formidable d’une jeune femme américaine pas du tout assujettie aux contraintes usuelles , et qui quitte son continent pour aller voir ailleurs , en dehors de toute image télé , mais Sur le terrain ! Une belle promenade dans les dédales de Saint-Tropez , jusqu’à Paris , mêlée à des rencontres nombreuses , pour cette belle aventuriére hors pair ! De plus , chacun et chacune , peuvent se reconnaître dans cette soif de rencontres et cette belle faculté qu’a Rosalie Roungar , de donner une place , une valeur , un prix , à chacun et chacune , et à tous les petits détails de la vie ! Cette aventure vécue sur le mode simple d’un quotidien , nous donne envie d’aller voir aux USA …. Bravo Rosalie Roungar . Bel ouvrage , à lire sans modération . “

The final one was written and posted here on January 9, 2013, by author and artist Linda Lee Greene

Watch for a travel video from Ed’s and my trip to St. Tropez and Paris in October 2012. You will be able to meet all of the characters from No Sex in St. Tropez as they are today.

Mad Men and Me

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The highly rated TV drama Mad Men on AMC has spotlighted the subject matter of men and women in the 1960s business world and taken it to task. In the first season I watched only one episode. It was painful. I had lived that life in the advertising world where a token woman worked harder than the men for far less pay and still had to serve coffee while listening to degrading remarks about sexuality, femininity, defined skills and forbidden opportunities. Women in mundane jobs had to take orders and ask permission from men who were less qualified than they. Funny thing, many of us didn’t mind the remarks. We were flattered when a man paid attention to us. Was that a lack of self-esteem on our parts or didn’t we know any better? We knew that good looks got us in the door, and we used them.While I was writing No Sex in St. Tropez I decided to soften some of my feelings about the way women thought and were treated in a man’s world. The parts about being a single mother and how I got to be a single parent were part of a back story I chose not to reveal. It was hard enough to explain my position on motherhood of two teenage boys who wanted to live with their father.

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Yes, You Can … Choose a Book by Its Cover

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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.”

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The Book Cover Painting

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rosalie_and_francoise_250 This photo was taken during the Ohio Writers Guild meeting on Wednesday, April 4, 2012, at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. Rosalie Ungar holds the painting from St. Tropez which is the cover of her book No Sex in St. Tropez.

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The painting was in the home of Francoise Bartram. Francoise’s mother, Madeleine Breton, who lived in Paris at the time, painted this St. Tropez scene in the early 1970s, the time period Rosalie Ungar’s memoir takes place. This photo marks Francoise giving Rosalie the painting to keep and cherish as her own. Thank you Francoise.

Buy your copy of No Sex in St. Tropez by clicking the “Buy!” button above. No Sex in St. Tropez is available in paperback and for Kindle, Nook and iPad.

Not your mother’s woman’s book

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Since publication July 2011, readers are talking about No Sex in St. Tropez in book groups and buying it for Nook & Kindle from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

The easiest way to buy my book is to click here and then click the green button for the paperback or ebook version that you want. You can also use the BUY! menu button toward the top of this page.

I’ve received over 100 orders from people who prefer not purchasing online using a credit card. To them I suggest try this: Buy an Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card at a local supermarket or wherever gift cards are sold. Then click here and click the appropriate green buy button on the page that appears. Follow the prompts for buying the book, then when payment is requested, see an option for “gift card”; type in the gift card number instead of credit card information. If the purchase does not use up the full amount of the gift card, the remaining amount will be available for future purchases.

Of course you can always contact me via the Contact Author page or email, and I will send you a signed copy of No Sex in St. Tropez for $20 which includes tax and shipping.

I have a very cool 2 minute musical video of St. Tropez taken by a special someone featured in the book. Click here to see the video!

Joan writes: “When I first took a look at this lovely book, so evocative of France and travel in the 1970s, I thought it was just a new take on Eat Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. How surprised I was to discover a piece of writing so far removed from the typical coming-of-age travelogue. No Sex in St. Tropez chronicles enduring relationship mis-cues, and the wonder of exploration and delight that immersion in a different culture brings. Bravo to Ungar for bringing this book to us.”

An interesting take from a man, Hugh writes: “This is a book by a woman, and is primarily, whether or not intentionally, for women. But, I like it. Men can learn a thing or two from Ungar about how a woman understands us, avoids us or trusts us, the cost to her if we betray her, and how she will recoup. In Ungar’s tale she is on her own in a situation of her own making, with only her mixture of smarts, innocence, tenuous self-confidence, a bit of what-the-hell chutzpah, and a tendency to ask forgiveness, not permission. No Sex in St. Tropez carries the subtle gratification of friendships and self-knowledge that last a lifetime. May be a lesson there for us men.”

Use the Contact Author page to let me know what you think of No Sex in St. Tropez. I’d love to hear from you.

St. Tropez Video

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St. Tropez Video

No Sex in St. Topez is centered in the world’s most exciting and quaint resort village on the French Riviera. Take a look at this 2 minute St. Tropez video produced and directed by Geraldine D in September 2011. Turn up your volume and click here!

When Memoirs Are Challenged

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When Memoirs Are Challenged

This blog first appeared at Select Authors and is republished here with permision.

Memoir writers run the risk of being challenged. Unlike authors of fiction, who can cloak their characters in the anonymity of imagination, memoir writers write about real places, real events, and real people. Unless those people and everyone connected with them are no longer around, there is often disagreement about what really happened. Even when there is undeniable evidence of who said what to whom, people may dispute the memoir’s account.

Read the whole blog here.

Belva Plain

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Belva Plain – It’s in the Details

The talented and prolific writer Belva Plain was my cousin. Her first book, “Evergreen,” was written when she was in her sixties. She went on to write more than twenty best sellers. Sadly, this beautiful woman recently passed away at age ninety-five.

I recall an incident cousin Belva described about writing and making it personal. She said to watch a piece of paper fall to the floor in the middle of a crowded room. Observe how people treat it, walk around it, kick it or step on it, notice it or don’t notice it, pick it up, look at it or ignore it, crumble it, put it in a pocket or stick it in a trash receptacle. Details. Details. Details.

Honorably I shared Belva Plain’s last name until I married. Her husband, Irving, was my cousin so I couldn’t inherit her writing genes. Some people in her famous first novel could have been my ancestors too. Was it all fiction? What makes great fiction? Is it the ability to bring people and places to life with carefully chosen descriptions that include the tiniest details? What do you think? Share your ideas.

Wanna be a writer?

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Wanna be a writer?

Wanna be a writer? Then write. Read. Read about writing. Our writer’s group meets every Wednesday. We read our stuff. We tell each other what we like and don’t like. Some of us make changes, some don’t. The best book for writers, I found, is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. She sympathizes with our problems: writer’s block, bad first drafts, hangovers, loneliness and even dirty laundry waiting to be washed. She also tells you how to be the best you can be.

What prevents you from writing?
What keeps you writing?