August Newsletter 2026
Dear Readers, Friends,
I am writing this from a very scorched-earth Olive Farm. I have never seen it so dry here; the plants so sad and desiccated. No rain for months. I am sure, wherever you are, you will have been reading about the fires here in France. Fortunately for us, thank heavens, the closest outbreak to us was about fifty kilometres away. Of course, with a raging, out of control blaze and some wind, that distance would not take long to travel but we have, so far, been kept safe. Michel, while I was in hospital (more on that in a moment), saw the beginnings of a fire across the valley in more or less the same place where the man and one of his dogs died last year. Michel called the fire brigade immediately and they were at the spot in less than five minutes; all risks were alleviated and all flames quenched within minutes.
Even so, we are on our highest guard. No barbecues as is a summer pleasure. A small price to pay for a gesture towards our safety.
Our guests for this high season have been and gone. We are on our own now till mid-September. I have just come out of hospital after a hip replacement operation which kept me there five days. Since last week I am visiting a rehabilitation clinic every afternoon. The – an excellent team – put me through the exercise drill. Three hours a day. It is challenging, and I will be on crutches for four to five weeks. I am not allowed to swim until the stitches are out and they have started healing. I stare at the pool longingly. It is 32C on a daily basis here. I keep in the shade, reading mostly or doing very little on my next novel – I can hardly describe it as work in progress though I suppose it is. I am excited about it but the brain is a bit like Swiss cheese!
Days before I went into hospital the Dutch edition of One Summer in Provence was published in Holland by A W Bruna. It is available online and in all good Dutch bookshops if you prefer to read in Dutch.
My UK publishers Corvus, Atlantic are discussing covers for The Girl from Marseille which can be preordered now. There should be something to show soon. It is always exciting when others start to put their image ideas to my words.
If you want to preorder The Girl from Marseille, which is a HUGE help to all authors, either put in the request at your local bookshop who can feed it into the system or online via Amazon or, if abroad, Waterstones UK and Blackwell’s UK both ship internationally for free. I would be very grateful if you decide to preorder. It gets the publishers excited and keen to put spend and energy behind the marketing campaign.
For those who prefer to listen to the novel on audio, I will be in the UK in the autumn and will be recording the novel for marvellous Howes who will publish next spring at the same time as the paperback and ebook are published.
So, life at the Olive Farm during a time of recuperation and mind bending heat … I have been reading, reading, including a re-visit to a masterpiece, modern classic, The Grapes of Wrath. I haven’t read it since my twenties and had forgotten how brilliant it is and, almost ninety years on, still so relevant.
During these last three weeks of hospital and the start of reeducation, as the French call rehab, I have read four novels by Ann Patchett. For some reason I had never ventured inside her stories before but, boy, am I making up for it now. I started with Whistler, her latest, and fell in love with the relationships, her words, her compassion. I have since read Bel Canto, which I think goes on to my list of all-time favourite novels, followed it by The Dutch House and two days ago closed the last page on Tom Lake. She is marvellous!
My first night in hospital, feeling anxious and very afraid about the operation due to take place the following day, I wanted a short story that gently transported me to a kind and vibrant enviroment. Last year in early winter I was invited to the Dulverton Lit Festival in Devon to talk on a panel with Veronica Henry, who I had never met, and my friend Kate Lord Brown. We had a ball the three of us together. That evening after dinner, Veronica, known to her pals as Ronnie, raced off to Bristol airport to catch a plane to Venice. She was researching a short story commissioned by Amazon: A Honeymoon in Venice. Guess what! It was published as I was setting off for the hospital two weeks ago, so I dowloaded it and alone in my hospital room (small white cell) Ronnie transported me to Venice. I fell asleep lulled to calm by images of cathedrals, gondolas and honeymoon breakfasts.
Kate Lord Brown also has a new novel out, which is on my bedside, waiting, The Silver Thread. Like all Kate’s novels, it looks lush and romantic. I can’t wait to dive in.
Everything grinds to a halt here in August, and this year with such intense heat, little is being achieved. However, we have been installing some splendid arches to train the grapevines, keep them off the ground and less accessible to the mighty pigeons and doves who steal all the fruits. I am thrilled. I have been intending to put these in for several years but no time etc … Here is a pic of work in progress.
I have to hurry now to get to the daily exercises but before I do, I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who have written, sent messages of love and even flowers. I cannot say how much I appreciate your care. MERCI.
Also, lastly a very special MERCI to Michel who is waiting on me hand and foot while I am unable to drive or even carry a plate as well as clinging to a crutch.
Reading, stories and my husband’s loyal love and all your expressions of friendship have held me high during these last weeks.
A swift PS: to those of you who read France Today and have enjoyed my articles, just to let you know that I won’t be writing for them anymore. I have done almost twenty years and that seems sufficient. I have two or three other mags who would like me to do something with them, so watch this space.
Enjoy the rest of summer (or winter if you are across the world). I would encourage you to join me in a frenetic rain dance but the crutches will hinder me. Here’s to rain and cooler weather. Let us all give thought and care for the planet.
Thank you for being here, reading this. I hope to meet you somewhere at an event before too long. In the meantime, please stay in touch.
Love and Peace on Earth
Carol
xx
