Carol Pouliot--Paris Full Circle

DEBORAH CROMBIE: It is always a treat to host Carol Pouliot with a new entry in her delightful Blackwell and Watson series. These are history/mystery/time travel so there is something for everyone, and I can't wait to see what adventures Carol has dreamed up for 21st century journalist Olivia Watson and Depression-era cop Steven Blackwell--this time in Paris! Here's Carol with the scoop on MURDER AT THE MOULIN ROUGE!

PARIS FULL CIRCLE

 

Thanks so much for hosting me today on Jungle Reds, Debs. I’m thrilled to be here with everyone.

I’ve had a lifelong love affair with France and all things French. The moment my eighth-grade French teacher uttered the word “Bonjour,” my life changed forever. While my friends dreamed about their future husbands and the children they hoped to have, I dreamed of getting a passport, packing my suitcase, and heading to Paris. The day I received my first passport in the mail, I felt like a doorway to the world had opened up. Endless possibilities fanned out in front of me.

 

My first trip overseas—1973, MA just completed—took me to Marseille for a job teaching English. Before I could begin, I had a week of orientation on the French education system in Paris. I sold my VW bug for a $200 round-trip ticket on Icelandic Air to Luxembourg and from there took a train to Paris. I remember the moment I stepped off the train. I felt every molecule in my body settle into place. This was where I belonged!

Naturally, I wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Louvre, but number one on my list was Montmartre, the artists’ quarter. I met up with a college friend, who was happy to show me around. She took me to all the top attractions, including the Quartier Latin, where I fell in love all over again. This small Left Bank neighborhood is home to the Sorbonne University and sits above the Catacombs, where thousands of bodies lie buried deep beneath the city. The area is a maze of twisting, turning alleyways and narrow connecting streets. I had couscous in the cellar of a tiny Middle Eastern restaurant. Later in the week, I attended a champagne and caviar reception at the American Embassy. Lots of exciting firsts!

 

(View from the roof of Notre Dame)

 

At the end of the week, I packed my belongings, bought a train ticket to Marseille, and prepared to leave—without having seen Montmartre. Somehow, my friend had never fit it into her plan. (Why didn’t I just go by myself??) I was crushed. The one area where I’d wanted to spend time and I never even got close. Little did I know I would return to Paris countless times during my life, and even live there for a short time. And never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would become a published author and write a book that takes place in that city.

 (Le Lapin Agile, Montmartre)

In Murder at the Moulin Rouge, Detective Steven Blackwell and his partner-in-crime Olivia Watson travel to Paris in 1895. They stay in Montmartre, question suspects in landmarks that still stand, and get to know the artists who lived and worked there—Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, Sisley, and others. It was wonderful spending time there again, even if it was mostly in my mind as I wrote. And, to celebrate finishing my final draft, I returned to Paris...closing the circle fifty years later.

(Le Moulin Rouge, Montmartre)

Reds and Readers,  

If you’re a traveler, what’s your favorite city or town? If you’re an armchair traveler, what do you love about your hometown?

DEBS: Carol, your description of how you felt at your first sight of Paris reminds me so much of how I felt the first time I stepped off a plane in England. We have kindred journeys!

Now, here's more about MURDER AT THE MOULIN ROUGE:

Paris, 1895. When a cancan dancer at the Moulin Rouge falls to her death from the top of one of Montmartre’s highest staircases, the police dismiss it as an accident. But, Madeleine was one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s favorite models, and the artist is certain she was murdered. Enter Depression-era detective Steven Blackwell and 21^st-century journalist Olivia Watson who travel back in time to Paris to hunt down the killer. Before long, they learn that a second dancer—a ballerina and favorite model of painter Edgar Degas—has died. Two dancers dead in two weeks. Two artists grieving. Is the killer targeting young dancers, or, does this case involve the enigmatic Paris art world? 

From the moment Steven and Olivia arrive, Steven is out of his element. The small-town cop has no idea what techniques the French police use in 1895. Worse, he has no official status to investigate murder in one of the world’s largest cities. The sleuths soon discover disturbing secrets at the Paris Ballet. And when Olivia insists on going undercover to visit a suspect’s house alone, Steven fears he’s made the biggest mistake of his life.

 

Travel back in time with Steven and Olivia, as they enter the back-stabbing world of dance in one of the world’s greatest cities. Murder at the Moulin Rouge is their most daring and dangerous case to date.

 

DEBS: And here's more about Carol:

A former language teacher and business owner, Carol Pouliot writes the acclaimed Blackwell and Watson Time-Travel Mysteries, traditional police procedurals with a seemingly impossible relationship between Depression-era cop Steven Blackwell and 21^st-century journalist Olivia Watson. With their fast pace and unexpected twists and turns, the books have earned praise from readers and mystery authors alike. Carol is the former President and Program Chair of her Sisters in Crime chapter, Co-Chair of Murderous March, an online mystery conference, and a founding member of Sleuths and Sidekicks. When not writing, Carol can be found packing her suitcase and reaching for her passport for her next travel adventure. Sign up for Carol’s newsletter and learn more at http://www.carolpouliot.com 

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DEBS: P.S. Carol says that there is a temporary problem with the Buy link for print books on Amazon, but the book can be found at the links below:

Amazon

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