Last night I went to a lovely book event at the FoxTale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, Georgia to see authors Heather Webb and Hazel Gaynor and all my friends at Foxtale. This was the first time I met Hazel in person and I have met Heather before at a book conference two years ago. It was a pleasure to see them and to hear more about their story they co-wrote and what their process was. It was fascinating and I want to share it with you all but I do not want to give spoilers since they are in the middle of a book tour. I will say that they talked about the art of letter writing and what it meant to people back in the day and that really shed light on how important letter writing is and how it has become a lost art. Another topic they shared with us is how fast the postal service was during the time the story takes place which is much different today. Heather and Hazel gave me many things to reflect on and a deeper appreciation for the art of storytelling. If you have yet to read their stories, I highly recommend you do!

Stephanie M Hopkins

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New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor has joined with Heather Webb to create this unforgettably romantic novel of the Great War.

August 1914. England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris.

But as history tells us, it all happened so differently…

Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how? —and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Through their letters, Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene?

Christmas 1968. With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished packet of letters in hand—determined to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one final letter is waiting for him…

About Hazel Gaynor

Hazel Gaynor is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A MEMORY OF VIOLETS and THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. Her third novel THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY was an Irish Times and Globe & Mail Canada bestseller, and was shortlisted for the 2016 BGE Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year.

Hazel is a contributing author to WWI anthology FALL OF POPPIES: Stories of Love and the Great War. She was selected by US Library Journal as one of ‘Ten Big Breakout Authors’ for 2015 and was a WHSmith Fresh Talent selection in spring 2015. Her work has been translated into several languages.

Hazel’s 2017 releases are THE COTTINGLEY SECRET (August, William Morrow/HarperCollins) and LAST CHRISTMAS IN PARIS (October, William Morrow/HarperCollins).

She is represented by Michelle Brower of Aevitas Creative Management, New York. For more information, visit Hazel’s website where you can also sign up for her regular newsletter.

About Heather Webb:

When Josephine Bonaparte appeared to Heather in a dream, she switched gears from fun-loving high school teacher to author & history nerd, all for the love of books.

To date, her historical novels have sold in ten countries, received national starred reviews, and been featured in print media including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Cosmo, Elle, and more. RODIN’S LOVER was chosen as a Goodread’s Pick in 2015.

Her nove;, LAST CHRISTMAS IN PARIS, is an epistolary love story set during WWI which she co-wrote with NYT bestseller Hazel Gaynor. It releases Oct 3, 2017.

When not writing, Heather flexes her foodie skills, geeks out on pop culture and history, or looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world, (especially her beloved France). She loves to chitchat on Twitter with new reader friends or writers (@msheatherwebb) or via her Facebook page. Stop on by!

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FoxTale Book Shoppe

FoxTale Book Shoppe Facebook Page

FoxTale Website

FoxTale is located at:

105 E Main St Ste 138

Woodstock, Georgia 30188