France Frederic's Blog

Nice to see you again!

This post is going to be "très très court" (very very short) because it is "très très tard" (very very late). Part of me wants to actually write this entire message in French and include a link to Google Translate at the bottom of the paragraph. Although it would be "très très drôle" (very very funny), I don't think everyone will appreciate my brand of humor.

Ok, back to why I am writing you. I simply wanted to say "Thank you" to everyone who's supported "Annabelle" on her first adventure. Some of you have posted lovely comments on Goodreads, Facebook, Amazon, B&N, etc. I just can't thank you enough for your lovely comments and ask that you keep them coming. As a result of your support, I've decided to start working on books 2 and 3 of the series where I take "Annabelle" on a much tougher adventure that will hopefully produce greater rewards.

I thank you again for reading and loving "Annabelle". I love you all and am grateful for your support.

Sincerely,

France


P.S. You can also follow me on Facebook where I try to post French themed and kid friendly material http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ann...

Enfin (At last), today is the last day of my book's giveaway. I truly regret that I do not have more copies to give out. So far, 577 Goodreads users have applied to win one of three copies of "My First French Lesson, Learning the Alphabet with Annabelle". Since only 3 out of 577 will win, I guess I should expect the remaining 574 to buy a copy of the book, right? It's not expensive, and it's available in ebook and paperback.

If you win this giveaway, Yeeaahhh! You Rock! If not, I hope that you will go out and pick up a copy. And after you do, I would love to read your thoughts on it in the review section.

P.S. You can also follow me on Facebook where I try to post French themed and kid friendly material http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Annabe...

As I find myself trying to accomplish many seemingly impossible to reach goals, I want to believe that my "Foi"(Faith) will get me there. Lucky for me, my "Foi" has always been independent of my physical being. If it knew what my body was thinking, it would probably try to talk me out of doing anything. Most days, my body wakes up moaning and tells me that I am either too tired or too busy. In sharp contrast, my "Foi" always wakes up rested and with a "Can Do" attitude. "Let's get things done" it would say, "Wake up and live your dreams!". I for the life of me, could not understand how my "Foi" could always be so cheerful and optimistic.
- "How can you possibly know that what I am doing is going to pay off?" I'd ask my "Foi".
- "I just know..." it would answer, before reminding me to be patient.
- "Ok, I trust you", I found myself saying before diving back into my work.
Days, weeks, and months would go by with "Foi" and I having the same conversation. And every day, "Foi" answered with the same assuredness.

Alors, je continue à travailler avec confiance, parce que j'ai la Foi que tout ira bien.

P.S. I want to thank James for becoming a fan of this blog and for his well wishes.

You can also follow me on Facebook where I try to post French themed and kid friendly material http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Annabe...

"Je suis fatiguée", has been my unconscious mantra these past few months. I mostly say it under my breath, unaware that I've said it out loud unless my mom calls me out on it. "You're tired?" she'd say in her thick French accent, "then go to sleep!" before going on a rant about how my lack of sleep was affecting my looks, my weight, my health and pretty much anything wrong with me. Of course, I'd play it off and deny I'd ever said those words, but deep down I knew that my lack of sleep had caused my body to start expressing itself out loud. It called out for help everytime I slipped out of my conscious mind, knowing that since I wasn't listening, someone else would. My body was tag teaming me, and the fact that it would pull this stunt, made me want to push it even more.

Yes, I was really tired. Between work (day job), The Annabelle Book Series and the non-profit project I was working on, I didn't have much time for sleep. Both my mother and body were right. Though I've repeatedly promised them both that I would sleep more, I've yet to make good on my word. Yes, "Je suis fatigué" mais, "Je suis heureuse".

P.S. You can also follow me on Facebook where I try to post French themed and kid friendly material http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Annabe...

This blog is titled "Voilà!" because I could not think of another word more fitting for my first blog post on goodreads. "Voilà!" is a call to attention, and though it suggests a sudden apparition, trust me when I tell you that there's nothing sudden about my arrival. My coming here is the culmination of years and hours of work spent putting together the seemingly simple picture book you see before you.

So...Voilà! Thank you for reading my 1st post and I look forward to many more.

P.S. You can also follow me on Facebook where I try to post French themed and kid friendly material http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ann...