“Bonjour, Happiness!” and the creator of The Writers Toolbox. She has appeared in The New York Times Modern Love
column, the Missouri Review, Story and many other places. Jamie is a
also an inspirational speaker, a total Francophile and an unabashed
romantic.
Jamie’s
literary awards include the The Massachusetts Council on the Arts Grant
in Fiction, The Goldwyn Award in Screenwriting, The New York State
Council on the Arts Grant, First Prize in the Writers Digest Fiction
Competition (twice), a Connecticut Commission on the Arts Grant and
artist residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, the Virginia Center for
the Creative Arts, the Ragdale Foundation, the Djerassi Foundation,
The Dorland Mountain Artist Colony, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation and
VCCA International Fellowships in Germany and most recently, Auvillar,
France.
Jamie is married to William Thompson, a climate change scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. She lives on Cape Cod.
Jamie
offers keynote talks, lectures and workshops on “The Secrets to Joie de
Vivre: How to love yourself for who you are right now.” She is an
empowering and inspirational speaker and has helped thousands of women
(and not a few men) find their joy.
____________________________
Nowwww.... for a few questions...
Where
are you from?
I
grew up in Stamford, Connecticut in a big, old Dutch Colonial house.
Tell
us your latest news.
Well,
of course there's the release of "Bonjour, Happiness! Secrets to Finding
your Joie de Vivre."
And
now, I'm returning to France to research "Bonjour, Beautiful".
I don't see this as a beauty book, per se--you know, something with
makeup suggestions--but rather I envision this as a book where French women
reveal their secrets to inner beauty and a sense of confidence.
When and why did you begin writing?
I've
always written. Even as a little girl I wrote plays for my Barbie dolls.
I wrote letters and love notes and then a lot of poetry during the
teenage years. I think Joni Mitchell had a big influence on me. I
began writing stories in my early twenties and my very first novel, "Over
the Hill at Fourteen" was published when I was just 24. For me,
writing is a way of making sense of the world.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When
I was 22, I sold my first poem to a literary magazine for five dollars.
My boyfriend and I bought a pizza with it and I said, "look!
My writing is putting bread on the table!" Okay, maybe not
bread, but pizza!
What inspired you to write your first book?
Well,
in terms of French books--my French-American grandmother was definitely my
inspiration. She was so regal, so elegant and very, very beautiful.
Do you have a specific writing style?
I
try to write in a conversational manner. I believe in being accessible.
My first priority is clear communication, so I try not to let the
pretty prose upstage the main ideas.
How
did you come up with the title?
"Bonjour, Happiness!" really came to me in a
flash. I love Francoise Sagan's novel, "Bonjour, Tristesse" and
my book title is a little play on that.
Is there a message in your book that you want readers
to grasp?
Oh, yes! Absolutely--happiness is within your
reach. If we embrace the French style of simple pleasures, slowing down,
walking and enjoying more with less--well then it's possible to live a happy,
well-balanced life full of joie de vivre!
How much of the book is realistic?
All of it! I believe with a little ingenuity and
that old-fashioned American can-do spirit we can begin to live a more gracious,
elegant and ultimately satisfying life. It's simply a matter of living in
the present and enjoying what is before us, rather than chasing after some
elusive dream. Consider getting your coffee in a real china cup and
sitting a while in your local cafe (rather than getting that latte in a
cardboard to-go cup and zipping off in your car.) Get to know your neighbors.
Grow a garden. Walk more. Buy less. Wear beautiful
lingerie everyday for yourself and sense of confidence (not to impress anyone).
Read! Learn new things. Challenge yourself. All these
things are very French and easy to do.
Are
experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Both
"Bonjour, Happiness!" and "French Women Don't Sleep Alone"
are based on my travels throughout France, interviewing hundreds of French
women and men. The French were kind enough to share their thoughts and
opinions and ideas, and to open their doors to me, so yes, all of this is
completely authentic.
Are
experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
All
of the events in both books are true and real and completely authentic.
What
books have most influenced your life?
Oooh,
books by Jane Austen! And in particular, "Pride and Prejudice."
But I also love reading vintage Emily Post and travel books.
"Catcher in the Rye" also changed my life as did Joan Didion's
"The White Album."
If
you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
For
"French Women Don't Sleep Alone" and "Bonjour, Happiness!"
I must say that all the Francophile writers that came before me are my mentors.
I adore Mireille Guilano ("French Women Don't Get Fat") Debra
Olivier "What French Women Know About Love"), Anne Barone ("Chic
and Slim"), Vicki Archer ("French Essence") Elizabeth Bard
("Lunch in Paris") and many others, as well as the fabulous French
bloggers, such as Carol Gillot's "Parisian Breakfasts" and you,
Fifi!!! Bien sur!!!
What book are you reading now?
Right
now I'm reading two books--Elaine Sciolino's "La Seduction: How the French
Play the Game of Life" and "Stuff Parisians Like: Discovering the
Quoi in the Je Ne Sais Quoi" by Olivier Magny. (Very funny!)
Are
there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I
adore Karen Karbo's new style books. She's not a new author, but her book
"The Gospel According to Coco Chanel" is so delicious! And I
hear she's coming out with another one on Georgia O'Keefe. She's a real
inspiration!
What
are your current projects?
Along
with writing "Bonjour, Beautiful" I've started a novel. Very
exciting for me, because fiction is my first love. Name one entity that
you feel supported you outside of family members.
Oh,
I can't name just one! I would have to say Grub Street Writers in Boston
and The Writers Bloc in L.A. as well as the New York State Council on the Arts
and the Massachusetts Cultural Council http://artsake.massculturalcouncil.org/blog/artsake/index.php/2011/03/14/jamie-cat-callan-writing-joie-de-vivre/
They just gave me a very generous artist fellowship and that's made all
the difference in the world!
Do
you see writing as a career?
Absolutely!
I've been writing all my life. It's my passion, my love, my solace
and yes, my career!
Do
you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Yes,
I believe it was from watching my mother rehearse shows for community theater
in Stamford, Connecticut. I would sit in the back of the auditorium and
just soak up the atmosphere. The stories were mesmerizing and it was such
an amazing thing as a child to watch my mother and all these ordinarily serious
grownups acting like children playing pretend games.
If
you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest
book?
"Bonjour,
Happiness!" was truly a labor of love for me and I put a lot of my own
feelings and memories into it. Most readers loved that, but a few didn't,
so I think perhaps I will be a little less revealing in my next book.
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Oh,
not yet! It's still "cooking."
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in
your writing?
No,
I love it all. Even the struggle is part of the journey and I embrace
every moment. I truly believe that writing brings order to chaos.
And I'm so honored that I am able to do this in my life and meet so many
wonderful readers, as well as other writers.
Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Oh
yes, I have to travel to France and then all around France-- the cities and the
villages-- and I have to buy lingerie and ask French women all sorts of
personal questions and then I must sit in cafes and people-watch and drink wine
and--oh dear! It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it! ;)
Who designed the covers?
My
publisher Citadel/Kensington is in charge of choosing the covers. I have
been very lucky. Both "French Women Don't Sleep Alone" and
"Bonjour, Happiness!" were illustrated by Anne K. Higgins and
designed by Kristine Mills-Noble. The covers are so pretty, so adorable
and so French! Readers often tell me that it was the covers that really
drew them to the books. So, merci Anne and Kristine!
What was the hardest part of writing the books?
Hmmm.
I think the hardest part was stopping. I just wanted to write and
write and write until the book was a thousand pages! Luckily, I have an
editor and a deadline to keep me focused.
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what
was it?
I
learned to slow down and enjoy what is right in front of me. You know, in
America, we have "the pursuit of happiness" but the French have no
such expression. For the French, happiness is right is in the ordinary
world. It's in the face of a child as she ties her shoe, it's in your
husband's twinkling eyes from across the dinner table, it's in the garden, and
it's the smell of a ripe tomato or even in the beauty of an aging and faded
piece of silk fabric. It's all around you, so their no pursuit, simple a
sense of awareness. This is the nature of joie de vivre.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Write
from your heart. Don't worry about whether it's ever going to sell.
Write what you know and what you don't know--but would like to know.
Take risks. Be willing to fail. Enjoy the road. You'll
find there are bumpy parts, but ah, the good parts are spectacular and the view
from the end is something mesmerizing!
Do you have something specific that you want to say to
your readers?
Yes,
thank you. Merci beaucoup. I am so grateful to all of you who have
embraced my books. I could not do this without you. I love you all!
____________________________
Merci Merci for a lovely interview and donating TWO copies of YOUR book
Bonjour, Happiness !
Simply leave a comment.HERE or on Facebook... and Tell a Friend about Reading is Fashionable!!!
Deadline to enter is August 26, 2011 @ NOON California time...
Winner will be announced on GIVEAWAY page...
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Bonne Chance - Good Luck!
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Bonne Chance - Good Luck!
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