It was great! Because many people made it so. First, Eileen Lynch and all the staff at Dutton's, who organized the event at such a difficult time for them and the store.

And Marie-Ho Halty, of the French Consulate, Patrick Caraco, of the Union des Francais a l'Etranger, Amelia of BonjourLA.com, who all helped spread the word. Philippe Lemaitre, who distributed flyers all over Los Angeles. Pam Sheppard, who scoured Southern California to find enough copies for all the attendees, and stayed up late the night before to print beautiful book plates on her computer. Reba and Ali, who arrived with much needed extra wine and other refreshments AND thought of bringing a corkscrew.

Also my thanks go to all the other friends who were there to support me: Sophia, Christiane, Jeanne, Albert, Mimi, Riz, Marie-Helene, Viviane, Mike, Yves, Christine, Jerome, Nelly, who gets credit for this picture. And the ones who were unable to attend: Isabelle, pregnant with twins (I am so happy for you, Isabelle!) Genevieve and Brigitte, from France. And last but not least, my Mom and son, both also in France. I know their thoughts were with me, just as mine were with them.

And I also wish to thank all of the online friends who sent their best wishes: Eva, Elena, Kelly, Daphne, Julie, Jennifer, Cinderella, Julianne, Susan, Cheryl, and the Debs. Please forgive me if I forgot anyone.

So how did it go? First I greeted the guests in the courtyard outside the bookstore, by a table set with all the goodies. Yes, it was a beautiful, balmy Southern California evening. The presence of my friends, aided by a cup of champagne or two, chased away the butterflies whose wings had been fluttering in my stomach.

Some time later, Eileen reminded us that it was time to go inside and start the reading. My heart skipped a beat when I saw my own Mistress of the Revolution on the shelves and tables of an actual bookstore. So that's what it really means to be a published author...

I sat behind my table and began reading. Did I mention that I had worked all day at my law office and hadn't had time to prepare anything? No matter. Now I felt perfectly confident. I paused after reading the two pages of my prologue and asked if anyone had questions. And many did! So I spoke of my research, my characters, historical or fictional, why small details are so important, why I had decided to rely mostly on memoirs of eyewitnesses of the Revolution,  my experience finding a publisher... Before I knew it, Eileen remarked that it was time for me to begin signing the copies of my book.

Then the store closed, Eileen told me she felt that Mistress of the Revolution would go on to become a great success, and I shared a celebratory dinner with those of my friends who could stay on.

Again, my heartfelt thanks to all.