OUR ITINERARY

One Exquisite Night in Paris! Fantasy! Enchantment! Luxury!

Trip-or-Treat?

I defy anyone to suggest anything more wonderfully romantic than One Exquisite Night in Paris! I’m in a state of perfect anticipation, looking forward to the elation I will feel presenting Eff with one exquisite night in Paris—an anniversary night away. Our enchanting fantasy will start in New York as a surprise. I will have done all the preparation and packing, suggesting we go for a night on the town, using taxicabs to easily get around and avoid the necessity of assigning a “designated driver.” As the taxi heads toward the airport, I will find the first appropriate moment to disclose in most romantic terms—by presenting her a hand-calligraphed invitation, on watermarked card with matching envelope, reading, “Forget the moon: Dinner in Paris!”—that our night on the town will unfold as one exceptionally special night, and a dream, in Paris, France.

Accompanying the handwritten invitation will be a copy of the itinerary, defining each carefully chosen element, which perfectly culminates in our one unforgettable night. To start us off properly en route to the airport, it may be a good idea to have a half bottle of champagne, two paper cups, and some tissues at the ready. Of course, I will delay discussing what items I’ve packed since there will be no turning back.

My simple wish was to craft a day packed with a whirlwind of activity, bounding breathlessly from one enthralling occasion to another, leading to a magical evening of superbly delicate dining and a memorable midnight fantasy moment; after a night of exhaustingly seductive revelry, we’ll run ahead of the rising sun into the passionate arms of warm, all-embracing love—an all-consuming excursion, where fantasy and obsession are the only prevailing sentiments.

Coming from New York, you naturally strain under the six-hour time difference, with Paris being ahead. The plane ride, though seven hours, isn’t seven restful sleeping hours. Whether in first-class or coach, if you take the Air France 7:15 p.m. flight and go to sleep immediately, you might get five full hours of restful sleep. Still, that’s more than enough to sustain you through the next day’s romantic marathon. I’ve done it several times, where once I get to Paris in the morning, I don’t go to bed till sometime the next day. Once awake, the following days are normal. That is the only real cure for le de’calage horaire (jet lag)—stay awake. Be reminded that this one exquisite night in Paris represents the highpoint of romance and adventure. Lovers should lust to wring every drop of passionate excess from one day and night in the most wonderful city on earth designed purposefully for just such a night. There is plenty of time to sleep when returning home with a dream and a memory to last a lifetime.

Air France is always our first choice when going to Paris. Perhaps a small dose of Francophilia settles in even while at JFK. You get into the Air France plane, and—voila!—you’re already somewhere in French territory.   The 7:15 p.m. flight gets there at 8:35 a.m. And I don’t know how they do it, but even when we leave a little late, we still manage to get there on time. Maybe they just drive like mad.

Arrive in Paris, 8:35 a.m.

Arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport to be met by our luxury sedan, a Mercedes S500 (driver with hostess): “Welcome to Paris!” I imagine we’ll float our way through the suburbs, crossing the city in early-morning traffic, and glide to the Plaza Athénée on Avenue Montaigne for a short stop to drop off our bags. Normally, unless you can arrange an exception, check-in isn’t until three in the afternoon; however, they will find some accommodation if you need to freshen up and change, probably at the luxurious hotel spa. A tight espresso and croissant croustillant at Chez Francis, a picture-perfect brasserie with outside seating, around the corner on the Place de l’Alma, facing the Eiffel Tower, would be as much as we’d need to freshen up and brace against the dawning day. The circle around the Place de l’Alma is always a hive of activity as tourists make their way to the Eiffel Tower while fashionably dressed Parisians focus on getting to their next appointments. Sitting with legs crossed at a sidewalk café directly facing the Eiffel Tower while sipping an espresso is the picture-perfect-postcard way to start the day in Paris.

About the Author:

Andre Phillip-Hautecoeur defines himself as, “…not a writer really.” He simply had an urge to write something about Paris.

It’s the city exactly at the intersection of romance, history, fantasy and enchantment; everyone faces Paris in some form of a dream. He came to know and love Paris hanging onto the hem of his wife’s skirt. She’s Parisian, she’s everything French without constraint; she makes understanding all of Parisness a pleasure. An understanding which made him want to write.

Together they make home between New York and Paris. Shuttling back and forth continues to be the ultimate dream.

His latest book is the contemporary romance, One Exquisite Paris Night.

Visit his blog at www.ExquisiteNightinParis.blogspot.com.

Connect & Socialize with Andre

TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

About the Book:

What’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever done?

Take a moment, close both eyes, summon your most exaggerated fantasy, and multiply by 1000.

Feel the extraordinary moment for a minute…then multiply it all by 1000 again.

That’s this story. It’s your story too.

If you were ever a little girl, or even a little boy with a romantic soul, you would have known very early on, that someday love would require you to do wonderfully ridiculous things.

And so, I’m going to explain to you, why the most intriguing thing you will ever want to do, is get on a plane and fly to an exotic dinner, at some elegant trois-étoiles across the ocean in Paris.

Purchase your copy at Amazon

Discuss this book in our PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads by clicking HERE.

***All images and text provided by Pump Up Your Book***

Story and Setting

In writing the “Run with the Wolves” saga I initially had a concept for a story about a number of different people who suffered from afflictions that were not of their choosing  – and how differently those various people chose to deal with what fate had cruelly bestowed upon them. I had in mind a ‘Vampire-like’ character; a ‘Pack’ of both wolves and wolf-like humans who suffered from a lunar-sickness; and finally, a group of people who were rejected by society due to physical abnormalities or forced into hiding due to religious persecution. 

To make these characters come to life, it quickly became apparent to me that the setting was going to be every bit as important as the story itself. 

I did a lot of research – and a lot of soul searching too, I suppose. The more I learned, the more I was drawn to the life and times of the 15th century in Medieval Europe, and in particular, to the year 1461. This was century of great discovery and learning. It was also a time of terrible repression and great cruelty. 

The 15th century saw the birth of great minds like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Copernicus. The famous explorers Bartolomeu Dias, Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, and Vasco da Gamo opened up the world to new trade routes and lands not previously known to Europe. It was a century that saw the Johannes Gutenberg printed bible and the founding of universities in places such as Barcelona.

The 15th century saw the birth of Joan of Arc in 1412, saw her lead the French forces against the English in 1428, and watched as she was burned at the stake in1431. It saw the execution of the Czech religious reformer Jan Hus. It was the time of the War of the Roses, the Plagues that swept across Europe, the on-going conflict between the three pillars of society – the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths. It was a century that saw the expulsion of Jews from Portugal and Spain – and of course, the ‘Inquisition’ under Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand.

And, it was the century that saw the advent of firearms and the change that development brought to warfare. If all that wasn’t enough, it was the time of Vlad the Impaler – the man said to have been the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s story ‘Dracula’. What better setting for my fantasy epic to take place in than this time period!

I hope you will check out my trilogy ‘Run with the Wolves’. Pick up a copy of Volume One ‘The Pack’ and see for yourself how history and fiction can be mixed to deliver a spell-binding tale that will keep you riveted and entertained.

Please visit my website www.tctombs.com for retail sites, full reviews, storyboards, and special events.

All the best

T c Tombs

ABOUT T C TOMBS

T C TOMBS earned degrees from Trent University and Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. Like many Canadians, he loves hockey and golf, and he has a passion for medieval history, folk lore, literature, film, and music. Terry and his wife, Sandra, live in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada, where they have raised five daughters.

It is the fifteenth century, and three kingdoms are caught up in the dire conflicts of their time. As the possibility of a peaceful resolution provides hope that a decade-long war will finally end, no one realizes that dark forces are waiting to invoke chaos as a full moon rises.

On a farm nestled beneath the Euralene Mountains along the western border of Medinia, young Willie works for the Smythes as a serf. One moonlit evening when the Smythes are gone to a neighbouring village, Willie hears the terrified cries of animals in the pastures. When he goes to investigate, he discovers that this wolf pack attack is like no other. Badly injured during the raid, he survives—but now he is afflicted by the full-moon madness that will soon transform him into one of the wolf creatures he dreads. With his life seemingly warped forever, Willie must face the prospect of a lifelong descent into horror.

In a time of witchcraft, superstitious folk lore, and fearsome creatures roaming the night, Willie struggles with an uncertain destiny and must seek help from the one man he holds most responsible for the dark fate that awaits him during the next full moon cycle.

***All images and wording provided by Pump Up Your Book***