French Lessons (25 page)

Acknowledgments

The writing process may be solitary, but the process of turning a manuscript into a published book takes a lot of help from my friends.

I’d like to thank my very smart readers: Neal Rothman, Lalita Tademy, Rosemary Graham, Elizabeth Stark, Amanda Eyre Ward, Allison Lynn, Meg Waite Clayton, Vicky Mlyniec, and Cornelia Read.

I owe a great deal to my remarkable agent, Sally Wofford-Girand.

I feel very lucky to have the talented Jennifer Smith as my editor. Gina Centrello, Libby McGuire, and Jane von Mehren, publishers extraordinaire, head up the Ballantine dream team. Sanyu Dillon was one of the first champions of
French Lessons
at Random House, and I greatly appreciate her unflagging support. A tip of the chapeau to Cindy Murray, my publicist, and to Kim Hovey and Leigh Marchant, who deserve a
coupe de champagne
and many, many thanks for their support and hard work.
Bisous
to all of you. The publishing process has never been so much fun.

Ilsa Brink designed my website—Ilsa, you’re brilliant.

I am part of a wonderful women writers’ community in the San Francisco Bay area: WOMBA (Word of Mouth–Bay Area). Thank you, Wombistas, for all your support along the way.

My fabulous students always inspire me. I’ll share champagne with all of you.

Thank you, Daniela De Luca, my very dear friend, for the use of your fabulous apartment in Paris.

I have spent blissful writing weeks at Ledig House, Ragdale, Ucross, and Atlantic Center for the Arts—I am so grateful for what those residencies have given me.

Thanks to my friend Gary Lee Kraut, travel consultant and founder of
FranceRevisited.com
, who checked the manuscript for any mistakes in French or in my portrayal of Paris.

As always, my undying love and gratitude to Neal.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

E
LLEN
S
USSMAN
is the author of the novel
On a Night Like This
, which was a
San Francisco Chronicle
bestseller and was translated into six languages. She is the editor of two anthologies,
Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave
, a
New York Times
Editors’ Choice and a
San Francisco Chronicle
bestseller, and
Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex
. She has published numerous essays and short stories. Ellen teaches creative writing both in private classes and through Stanford Continuing Studies. Ellen lived in Paris for five years and now lives with her husband in Northern California.

www.EllenSussman.com
.