All the Clouds

by Michael Barnes Selvin

All the Clouds is set in and around Perpignan in southern France during World War II. This is the story of Paul, a singer, and Gabrielle, a dancer, who meet and fall in love while rehearsing for a musical production. Their love affair blossoms as the occupation becomes increasingly more draconian and dangerous. As a direct result of the occupation, Gabrielle discovers a family secret that changes their lives and the lives of their families. They both become deeply involved in the Résistance movement. Based on real accounts of life during this time, the novel tells a gripping, yet unsentimental, story, evoking daily life during the occupation: popular music, the local art scene, and the difficulties of daily survival. The young couple becomes deeply caught in the treacherous whirlpool of resistance against the Vichy government and the German occupants. This exciting and startling novel will be of special interest to those who are familiar with French Catalonia or who are curious about life during the occupation of France. The real events during World War ll that provided the foundation of the novel were retold over many years to the author in casual discussions and emotional interviews of close friends and acquaintances living in Banyuls-sur-Mer and Perpignan in the Roussillon region of France. The author and his wife have had a second home in this region for over two decades. They have come to love the region and the strength of the locals. Many of the people providing their testimonies are no longer with us, but the novel pays homage to their heartfelt sacrifices and achievements. Many of these people rarely talked of this difficult period some seventy years before and to do so was often quite emotionally draining. They never once claimed to be heroes, yet their sacrifices during the occupation contributed to the eventual Allied victory. and marked their lives indelibly.Michael Barnes Selvin has written two previous novels. The Telemachia: A History by Antimenes of Argos, which won an Independent Publishing award, was published in 2008. It tells the story of Telemachus, son of Ulysses, after his return to Ithica, as told by Homer in one of the greatest stories ever told, The Odyssey. The second novel was The Heaven Walker: The Story of the Master of Cabestany was published in 2013. This novel recounts the life of the greatest sculptor of the 12th century, a remarkable period of growth in European civilization. Both novels continue to be well received. Michael Barnes Selvin has advanced degrees in creative writing and business. He worked for many years in marketing financial services for an international engineering firm before starting his writing career. Today, he and his wife spend their time between homes in Berkeley and France.

529 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2019

About the author

After a successful career as a vice president and principal in marketing and finance for a financial services subsidiary of an international engineering firm, Michael Barnes Selvin began writing historical fiction.

His first novel, published in 2008, The Telemachia: A History by Antimenes of Argos told the story of Telemachus, son of Odysseus, after the family's departure from Ithaca. This novel was recognized by Independent Publisher in their award ceremony.

Having a home on the Mediterranean coast in south-west France for over 20 years and comfortable in French, he was introduced to the artwork of the Master of Cabestany by close friends. He and his wife became impassioned with the work of the Master, visiting all the major sites of his sculptures in Spain and France. The resulting novel was Heaven Walker: The Story of the Master of Cabestany.

His third novel, All the Clouds, recently completed, is set during World War II in the south of France. This exciting novel is based on the true story by a man caught in the resistance helping people escape from the occupied zone and ultimately arrested by the Gestapo. He was ultimately sent to Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Talking with him and others who experienced the occupation in the region of French Catalonia extended over many years. The accounts of this terrible period formed the basis of the novel. Many of those who provided these difficult and painful testimonials have departed, but the novel is testimony to their ingenuity, courage, and deprivations.

The author has graduate degrees in English and business. He and his wife live in Berkeley, California and have had a home on the French Mediterranean in the village of Banyuls-sur-Mer for the past twenty-five years.