Happy Holidays!

It's been a while . . .

Hi!

It’s been eight months since my last newsletter, and it’s only three weeks before 2025 is history! So, with those realizations in mind, I thought now would be a good time to give you a quick update and give me a chance to try out my new newsletter platform—Substack.

(If you’re new to this publication, you’ll find examples of my more typical content in previous issues stored in the Substack archives.)

Oh, and please let me know if you encounter any hiccups with this delivery system. Thanks.

In my spring newsletter, I mentioned that Roger and I would be heading to France soon, where I would be working on the sequel to my novel, The Art of Traveling Strangers.

The sequel is slowly coming along (so not much news to report on that front), but I’m pleased to announce that The Art of Traveling Strangers is now being prepared for release as an audiobook. I’m currently reviewing narration auditions and hope to have a narrator soon. After that, the recording will begin, and we should have a finished product by February. I’m quite excited about this new development and will definitely keep you posted.

I’m also excited about a New York Times Bestseller that was chosen as the 2025 Book of the Year by Barnes & Noble—Mona’s Eyes. The popularity of this book thrills me because it has so many similarities to mine. In Mona’s Eyes, a loving grandfather takes his granddaughter to the art museums of Paris to see fifty-two famous artworks before she loses her sight forever. The book focuses on the masterpieces and the lessons they impart, just like The Art of Traveling Strangers does. It’s amazingly gratifying to learn that so many people are so interested in art history, and I hope a few of them will find my book interesting too.

Along with the progress on my novels, I’m proud to report that the online magazine The Collector recently published my article on Toulouse, France. It’s the fourth of my submissions that they’ve accepted. The others are: 6 Fascinating Facts about Niki de Saint Phalle, Exploring Anselm Kiefer’s Playground, and 3 Hidden Gems in Occitanie, France. Feel free to take a peek at any of these essays.

Besides writing and working on my audiobook, I’ve also been traveling in Europe . . . a lot, and I thought you might be interested in a short review of what Roger and I experienced along the way this past year.

We always start at our little French house in Fontcouverte, but we also love exploring different places, both in France and in other countries. Below is a quick overview of where we went, what we saw, and what intrigued us.

In the spring, we went to Paris to see an eye-popping retrospective of David Hockney’s work and a rare exhibition of Suzanne Valadon’s powerful paintings. What a dynamic duo!

We also went to Cabrerets, a village in southwestern France, to see the prehistoric cave paintings at Pech-Merle. Wandering through that ancient cavern (one of the few still open to the public) felt like being in a dreamworld translated into stone.

Our final French adventure was to Aix-en-Provence to walk in the footsteps of Cezanne. The town was celebrating its favorite son with a major exhibition at the Musée Granet, where Cezanne had offered to gift his works at the end of his life. The museum’s curator at the time, Henri Pontier, rejected the gift, saying: “As long as I live, no Cézanne will ever enter this museum.” Oops! It wasn’t until 1984, eighty years later, that the museum acquired its first Cezanne.

Perusing the 130 works on display, I was drawn to his still lifes most of all. It has always amazed me how he managed to make such small, insignificant objects appear so monumental.

Besides France, we went to Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic. These trips all involved home exchanges. We got to stay in other people’s houses in exchange for them staying at our place in California. We’ve done this several times now and love it.

Our first stop was Bilbao, Spain. There we were seduced by the sculptural complexities of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum and the unique flavors of Basque pintxos (like the ones pictured below in the Michelin-starred Nerua restaurant at the museum).

Rome was our next city. At the Chiostro del Bramante, we experienced a most extraordinary art exhibition called Flowers: Art from the Renaissance to Artificial Intelligence (continuing through February 2026). The entire building, including the staircase, was filled with artworks and installations featuring all things floral.

Our final stop was the enchanting city of Prague with its fantastical architecture, ranging from sky-piercing Gothic (seen in the spires of the Church of St Mary before Týn) to another delightful Gehry creation (the Dancing house or, as Gehry called it, Ginger and Fred).

All in all, 2025 was a fun, productive year for us, filled with stimulating adventures and warm memories.

I certainly hope this past year conjures fond memories for you, too, and I wish you a magical holiday season.

Until next time! ~Zoe