La Canicule
For those of you who don't know, I live in France with my husband. Growing up in the Southern United States, you be accustomed to hot, humid summers. I've been to Florida and Louisianna, even San Antonio, Texas. I thought I knew heat. No. No, I did not.
Reader, for the past few weeks, I have been experiencing the hellscape of two French heatwaves, lovingly called "La Canicule." Now, literally translated it is "excessive heat." However, this fails to capture what the experience of it is like.
In numbers, the high for the past three days has been in excess of 43°C (109.4). I say "excess" because the humidity levels make it feel even more oppressive. Now, context. Death Valley is just 2° higher. Death Valley is not Bordeaux, France, where I live.
Now, I'm not here to argue about the science of climate change. What I am going to say is France lost 18 people yesterday (22 June 2026), two of which were children. Our most vulnerable are dying. Our children, our elderly, our unhoused kindred. From heat. We are cooking ourselves to death, literally. And this tragedy is experienced even more deeply in the hotter places of the world. Anyways, I digress. It's hot. Really hot. So I haven't been as active as I need to be.
My WIP, "The Grotto," is with Beta Readers! This is a crucial step to help calibrate the work before it's released for copy-editing. Then, it will be uploaded for release. I'm also, if you've subscribed to my TikTok and other socials, announced work is happening on my second novel for 2026, "Savannah Legal."
Unlike the historical literary fiction of "The Grotto," Savannah is a RomCom featuring a young Joshua Pierson and his life-chaning encounter with his hero, Robert Humphreys. I'm really joyful about this book. I laugh writing it and reading it back to myself. It's a hoot! More information will be forthcoming as I move more toward the editing process of that work.
Also, I'm in the process of securing access to more channels for distributing my works. Currently, I'm "locked" into the Amazon universe, which is fine, especially since they're one of--if not the only major player in Book Publishing. However, if the coming months, I should be able to publish to Kobo, Hoopla, Libby, etc. Stay tuned.
If you haven't already, join my Writer's Circle and get exclusive access to news and events that I only share with insiders. Also, you get free chapters of my debut novel, "Love is Blind," and three chapters of "The Grotto," all for free.
As always, I appreciate your time and attention. Stay safe and healthy, especially as the summer heat begins to oppress us in the Northern Hemisphere. For my readers in the Southern Hemisphere, I hope you're staying warm during winter! :-) (I wish I was in winter right now!)
Respectfully,
Johnathen
Reader, for the past few weeks, I have been experiencing the hellscape of two French heatwaves, lovingly called "La Canicule." Now, literally translated it is "excessive heat." However, this fails to capture what the experience of it is like.
In numbers, the high for the past three days has been in excess of 43°C (109.4). I say "excess" because the humidity levels make it feel even more oppressive. Now, context. Death Valley is just 2° higher. Death Valley is not Bordeaux, France, where I live.
Now, I'm not here to argue about the science of climate change. What I am going to say is France lost 18 people yesterday (22 June 2026), two of which were children. Our most vulnerable are dying. Our children, our elderly, our unhoused kindred. From heat. We are cooking ourselves to death, literally. And this tragedy is experienced even more deeply in the hotter places of the world. Anyways, I digress. It's hot. Really hot. So I haven't been as active as I need to be.
My WIP, "The Grotto," is with Beta Readers! This is a crucial step to help calibrate the work before it's released for copy-editing. Then, it will be uploaded for release. I'm also, if you've subscribed to my TikTok and other socials, announced work is happening on my second novel for 2026, "Savannah Legal."
Unlike the historical literary fiction of "The Grotto," Savannah is a RomCom featuring a young Joshua Pierson and his life-chaning encounter with his hero, Robert Humphreys. I'm really joyful about this book. I laugh writing it and reading it back to myself. It's a hoot! More information will be forthcoming as I move more toward the editing process of that work.
Also, I'm in the process of securing access to more channels for distributing my works. Currently, I'm "locked" into the Amazon universe, which is fine, especially since they're one of--if not the only major player in Book Publishing. However, if the coming months, I should be able to publish to Kobo, Hoopla, Libby, etc. Stay tuned.
If you haven't already, join my Writer's Circle and get exclusive access to news and events that I only share with insiders. Also, you get free chapters of my debut novel, "Love is Blind," and three chapters of "The Grotto," all for free.
As always, I appreciate your time and attention. Stay safe and healthy, especially as the summer heat begins to oppress us in the Northern Hemisphere. For my readers in the Southern Hemisphere, I hope you're staying warm during winter! :-) (I wish I was in winter right now!)
Respectfully,
Johnathen
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