Hi, I’m back to recording again, on the music I’ve been telling you about for about a year and a half. I was asked to work with a group of French composers, and write lyrics in both French and English. Sometimes I write the lyrics first, and they match the music to it. And sometimes I write lyrics for compositions that they come up with. It has been an exciting collaboration so far, which I’ve been able to do in breaks in my writing, when I was in France. All of the composers are French, and very talented. They are musicians as well as composers, and we have worked with three very talented singers so far, a man, and two women. And we are finally getting down to the wire here, with results that you will be able to listen to on the Internet, and download, to check them out, in May. I will give you the information, when we are a little further along. We hope to have 10 of our songs available on the Internet, 4 in French, and 6 in English. And we are doing the final recordings now. It has been a very exciting project since we started it. And writing lyrics for songs has opened up whole new horizons for me, and has taught me a lot about the music world. » read more »
Archive for 2013
Paris Fashion Week, Part 2
Posted on March 11, 2013
The second part of Paris Fashion Week was even busier for me than the first, racing between fashion shows, and joining up with my daughters whenever possible, and visiting two of the showrooms where buyers place orders. The week seemed to gain momentum as it sped along, with hordes of editors, journalists and buyers flying in, parties every night, and some beautiful runway shows to see. I enjoyed them all. The whole event ends today as I write this, and all I heard for the past two days was how exhausted everyone was. Going to fashion shows all day, racing from one location to another, placing orders or writing articles, and partying at night until the wee hours is fun, but tiring and ‘hard-work’. I was just an observer, not working, so I can’t complain, but after more than a week of going to shows and events, I’m tired too, my ears feel like they’re about to fall off from wearing tight earrings, and my feet are aching from trotting everywhere in high heels. I was ecstatic to put on jeans and flats after the last show. » read more »
Filed Under Fashion, Paris | 2 Comments
Paris Fashion Week, Part 1
Posted on March 4, 2013
Hi Everyone,
It’s that crazy time of year again, which happens twice a year (In Sept/Oct and Feb/March): Ready to Wear Fashion Week, which is a misnomer right there, since it’s really Fashion Month, not Fashion Week, and is actually one week in each of four cities: New York, London, Milan, Paris. And store buyers and fashion editors and journalists race through a week of intense fashion shows in each city, then fly onto the next one, and by the end of 4 weeks, everyone looks frazzled and is exhausted. It is an intense event in the fashion world. The clothes being shown each season are for 6 months later (so what I am seeing on the runways now will be sold in stores in September for the fall and winter. » read more »
Filed Under Family, Fashion, Paris | 7 Comments
Running Around
Posted on February 27, 2013
Hi Everyone,
Busy days for me, I’ve been in 2 countries and 3 cities in the past 5 days, flying between the cities where I live or visit, seeing my kids, and working. I am working on books in various phases, editing, re-writing, some fresh writing, and working on outlines. It’s still winter time, and this is when I do a LOT of writing. But I take time out to travel to see my children too!!
And speaking of wintertime—-no sign of Spring anywhere that I live. It has been bitter cold in Northern California, freezing cold in Paris, and snowing, and snowing and also freezing in New York. With some sleet thrown in for good measure. It has been bitter cold everywhere I’ve been. I am definitely ready for Spring and some warm weather. I’m tired of wearing layers of clothes and being cold wherever I go. Come on, Spring!!!
I’ve had some lovely time with my children, fun dinners with my youngest son, some good time with my youngest daughter (although she’s very busy), and some great time with my three next oldest daughters, some of it one-on-one, which is always very precious to me. Two of my girls and I are going to spend 10 days together. I can’t wait!!!! The greatest joy in my life is always my children, and then my work. And I am currently enjoying both!!!
Today I had a special thrill going to see a friend’s new baby. Without a tiny baby in your life, you forget how little they are, how sweet when they’re brand new, and how fascinating to watch. He was a week old when I saw him, as he looked around, listening to the sounds around him, looking peaceful in my arms. It’s a sweet feeling, and his parents were thrilled and in awe of him. It was nice to share a moment with them.
I have nothing new and exciting to report at the moment, but will have more to tell you next week. I just wanted to check in and say hi, and tell you that I’m thinking of you, as I fly from one city to another, and in between hunker down at my desk to work. Talk to you next week.
Love, Danielle
Filed Under Kids, Travel, Writing | 3 Comments
Gone Fishing
Posted on February 25, 2013
Hi Everyone,
I’m traveling and writing so I will return to the blog next week.
Have a great week!
Love, Danielle
Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Winter Daze
Posted on February 18, 2013
Hi Everyone,
As I’ve mentioned to you before, winter is heavy writing time for me. I work on outlines for new books, write a new book, and read research for books I’m working on for the future, and do a LOT of editing, as always. As I write this, I am waiting for a manuscript to arrive, with comments from my editor, which I was going to work on today, and it’s stuck in a blizzard somewhere in the East. (Which gives me a day off today, which is rare for me this time of year!!!) It’s a good time of year to write, it’s cold everywhere I live, the weather is usually lousy, snowy, rainy, cold, and I’m happy staying indoors to work, with the occasional break, having dinner with one of my kids, in whichever city I’m in. We celebrated my youngest son’s birthday last week, which was fun, and I’m enjoying spending time with whichever one is available and willing to share a meal with me, and the rest of the time I work. » read more »
Filed Under Fashion, Kids, Writing | 14 Comments
V-Day
Posted on February 12, 2013
Hi Everyone,
Oh dear, here it comes again….another one of those MAJOR days (though not as major as some) that requires some thought about how to deal with it, and is something of a personal challenge. On Thanksgiving, we get to worry about who to spend it with, or will we be alone, or do you gather lonely friends around the table, and make it a holiday about friendship, if one has no family close at hand. And then there is Christmas so full of cheer and joy and hope for some, and lonely for others, and will it live up to our expectations….New Year’s eve and who to spend it with, if there is no special someone in your life (or several special someones—that can be dicey too!!). And then there is Valentine’s Day, » read more »
Filed Under Holidays, Relationships | 6 Comments
Posted on February 4, 2013
Hi Everyone,
Although I write on a 1946 typewriter (that I bought years ago for $20.00 in a junk shop, and dearly love), I am nonetheless somewhat involved in the Internet, with this blog to you, a Facebook page, AND now I am going to be on Pinterest. We have put together some very fun storyboards with pictures of Paris, where I live some of the time, San Francisco, where I also live, and New York where I spend time visiting some of my children. There are pictures that I like of things I’ve seen, or done, or places I’ve been, or things I just plain love (like sexy shoes!!). It combines my interests, the things I like to do, the places I like to be, everything from a snowy night in Paris, and the Eiffel Tower all lit up, to a sunrise in San Francisco, and jewelry I wish I owned, to my love of hearts, dogs, and kids, decorating, art, and books of course!! There is even a Pinterest board with the covers of many of my books on it (in case you’ve missed some) with a link so that you can purchase the ones you want. Pinterest is such a fun concept, and I really hope you enjoy looking at it, as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. Follow me on Pinterest and leave me a note on this pin to tell me what you’d like to see.
Love, Danielle
Filed Under Uncategorized | 6 Comments
Winter Fashion Shows / January in Paris
Posted on January 28, 2013
Hi Everyone,
It’s that time of year again, the depths of winter in Paris, gray and snowy. And as I write this, it has snowed for the past 3 days, and although snow is a nuisance in any city, it is beautiful here, and I love it. And it has been VERY cold!!!
As I’ve written to you before in previous years, in January, there are the Haute Couture fashion shows. In years past, Haute Couture was a VERY big deal, the shows lasted for a week, there were many “Haute Couture” houses, and there were four or five shows a day to show the creations of the various houses. It was a flurry of fun activity running from one show to the next, with movie stars and presidential wives present, well known women on the best dressed list, and a glittering crowd with invitations to see the show. (Even now, you can only go by invitation). What distinguishes Haute Couture from other kinds of fashion is that every single item is handmade. EVERY stitch » read more »
Filed Under Fashion, Paris | 6 Comments
Obsession
Posted on January 21, 2013
Hi Everyone,
I don’t usually have a lot of spare time to watch TV, because I’m always working. And evenings and night time are the best time for me to work, without interruptions, although I write during the daytime too. But my strong suit is not relaxation—I’m much better at working. I’m one of those awful people who, the moment I sit down for 5 minutes, think of all the things I should be doing, and always feel I should be working. With four or five books in progress at once, I can always think of work I need to do. And when I run out of work (editing, writing, making notes on a new outline, or doing a re-write), I then immediately get antsy and start » read more »
Filed Under Uncategorized | 14 Comments