French Coast: A Novel

Not too much mental effort need be spent on this novella. The heroine, Serena, has the perfect parents, perfect job, and perfect fiancé. She lives in San Francisco, works for Vogue, and is always turned out in designer duds. Her father is a former diplomat and her fiancé has political aspirations to one day be the mayor of San Francisco. Her fiancé is being mentored by Serena’s father, so they are a close-knit, fairy tale group. Serena’s opportunity to travel to Cannes and write the life story of a famous Vogue editor is too good to pass up and ends up postponing Serena’s nuptials and throwing a monkey wrench into her perfect and perfectly planned life. She also translates a famous writer’s novel into English and substantially improves it. Is the writer her true romance or another illusion? In a sub plot, her parents’ perfect marriage may be another illusion. Europe and European contacts force Serena to see her life for what it is and fairy tales for what they are not.