Lafond–La Rochelle
April 1, 1944
Dear Mom,
Yesterday there was beautiful sunshine and today, for April Fish, we have grey weather and fine rain. Tomorrow night Gaston will take the train, and after tomorrow noon he will go see you for sure. It seems to me you come back at noon or 12:30.READ MORE
I’ve met with enough book clubs to anticipate the questions readers have about Marcel’s Letters: A Font and the Search for One Man’s Fate. One question that has come up time and time again is, “what’s the name of your new dog?”
A woman at a book club in Stillwater has been the only one to ask the harder question: “why didn’t you tell us his name?” The book included so much detail, she explained, the absence of his name seemed unusual. She didn’t believe it was an oversight. When I learned the woman was a judge, her question made more sense. She may often ponder motives behind people’s actions.
So, I thought it was time to tell you why I didn’t include Watson’s name in the book.READ MORE
March 9, 1944
Dear all,
It wasn’t until last Sunday, March 5, that I received your letter of January 29. It had been censored!READ MORE
February 16, 1944
My very dear ones,
Today I am sending the third stamp of the series of which I sent the first two on my letter on the 14th and in the same mail I sent two small packages containing your birthday gift. READ MORE
I will confess I don’t know the in’s and out’s of book sales/distribution. But I learned that as of January 1, the distribution of Skyhorse Publishing’s catalog, including Marcel’s Letters, changed from Perseus to Simon & Schuster and inventory was transferred to Simon & Schuster’s warehouse.
It isn’t clear how this change was communicated to booksellers, and I’ve heard rumblings there is a perception the book is unavailable. If you are a bookseller and are experiencing issues finding the book, please let me know!
Between attending twenty book clubs, giving two dozen public and private presentations on the font and French forced labor, reuniting with my Kindergarten teacher (she’s wearing a black turtleneck in the photo collage below), being on live television and radio, driving more than 2,500 miles to meet readers, participating in a book festival and an author fashion show (who me?!), hearing from a reader who knew Marcel, having the book come out in softcover, and returning to Paris to spend a day with Marcel’s family, 2018 has been a whirlwind of a year.READ MORE
Friday, December 24, 1943
Hi, RAT,
Where the hell have you been? Do you realize that I haven’t heard from you in over two months? You son-of-a gun, just wait till this damned war is over! I’ll fix you! Just wait!READ MORE
Lyon, December 23, 1943
My little Etta,
I hope that this card will give you the most sincere wishes that I am sending, hoping that the new year will be good for you, and that both of you will enjoy good health and that the bad moments that we are all going through will soon be ended.READ MORE
December 21, 1943
My beloved little darling,
I was happy this evening to read your letter of December 6, learning that you received your money order and yes, my darling, so far I have had a good amount on pay day but believe me, your words of thanks touched me also this evening. READ MORE
Friday, December 17, 1943
Dear Maggie,
There is still very little to write about and we’re all getting a little bit tired of this riding but guess we’ll make out all right. I won’t be able to mail this for some time yet but am writing anyway. Will send you a number of letters in one envelope as I did the last letter I sent. I’m going to try to send a wire soon so stand by. READ MORE
W A R N I N G : B O O K S P O I L E R S A H E A D
Last year at the Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI) conference in Montreal (watch my talk here), I learned ATypI’s 2018 conference would be held in Antwerp, Belgium. After realizing Antwerp was an easy two-hour train ride from Paris, I realized I had found the perfect excuse to return to the City of Lights.
