Boy are you going to love this episode. It’s a bit of an adventure for me, because I have not one, not two, but three wonderful guests joining me on the show.

Today, I’m speaking with Anne Trager, founder of Le French Book, and two members of her team: Amy Richards and Sally Pane. Together, these three ladies have adapted the Winemaker Detective Series, authored in France originally by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen, and have brought these wonderful books to the United States.

As we discuss the ins and outs of translating and adapting books to an American audience, you’ll get an inside look at all the nuances and details that go into bringing the Winemaker Detective Series to a new readership.

In this episode Anne, Amy, Sally, and I discuss:

• What Le French Book is, and what inspired Anne to start this company. We also discuss the collaboration process of these three women.
• The Winemaker Series, and why it is such a perfect choice for Le French Book.
• How one small shift in the adaptation has led to some interesting and fun changes in the series translation.
• The translation process and how this team adapts this series to an American audience.
• How you can preserve the voice of the authors, even when translating a text from one language to another.

Plus, the #1 tip for writers from each of these talented ladies.

Resources and Awesome Goodies!

I first met Le French Book founder, Anne Trager in 2015, at ThrillerFest in New York. Right away I knew she and I shared a passion for great books, and getting those books in the hands of readers. When I later read this short manifesto on the Le French Book website, it only further confirmed that Anne and I are of the same mind.

What we believe:

•  Entertainment is key.
•  A book is a book is a book, whatever the format. It’s the story that counts.
•  Readers want to read, so they should have easy access to our books.
•  Publishing is changing and all ways of getting books to readers are worth exploring.
•  Reaching out and engaging with readers is where it’s at.

Learn more at www.lefrenchbook.com, or follow Le French Book on Facebook and Twitter. You can also download a free copy of the first in the series Treachery in Bordeaux.

Winemaker Series

An immersion in French countryside and gourmet attitude with two amateur sleuths gumshoeing around French wine country.  The Winemaker Detective series delves into the underworld of a global luxury industry, where there’s money, deceit, death, crime, inheritance, jealousy—all the ingredients needed to distill a fine detective series! That and a decent dose of Epicurean enjoyment of fine food and beverage. It follows master winemaker Benjamin Cooker and his sidekick Virgile Lanssien in their adventures solving mysteries in vineyards throughout France and beyond. Each book is a homage to wine and winemakers.

Download Your Free Starter Library!

Click this link or the image below and sign up with your email address to get your free starter library with the first three books in the series.

Craving More Great books?

There are tons more delicious books in the series. Check out some of these more recent books mentioned in the podcast episode.

Tainted Tokay     |     Red-Handed in Romanée-Conti     |     Backstabbing in Beaujolais

As with many books and materials recommended at DIY MFA, links to Amazon are affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase through these links, DIY MFA gets a small commission at no cost to you. In other words, you get great books to read and can help support DIY MFA all in one click. High five!

This series—written by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen—has also been made into a television series in France, Blood of the Vine (affiliate link). The series is a huge success in France, Belgium and Switzerland, attracting an audience of over 4 million.

Anne Trager loves France so much she has lived there since 1985 and just can’t seem to leave. What keeps her there is a uniquely French mix of pleasure seeking and creativity. Well, that and the wine.

In 2011, she woke up one morning and said, “I just can’t stand it anymore. There are way too many good books being written in France not reaching a broader audience.” That’s when she founded Le French Book to translate some of those books into English.

The company’s motto is “If we love it, we translate it,” and Anne loves crime fiction, mysteries and detective novels.

Amy Richards is the translation editor at Le French Book and she loves a good story, whether it’s reading it, telling it or helping someone else write it. She has spent the better part of her career as a writer and editor at both small-town and major metropolitan newspapers. Her award-winning work has ranged from capturing the economic decline of Rust-Belt communities on Lake Erie to distilling the essence of food stories in well-turned headlines.

Her entrée to manuscript editing was a chance encounter in a thrift store. She overheard a first-time author talking about his novel. “Do you need an editor?” she asked. “Why yes, I do,” he answered. Since helping him polish his first two novels, she has edited more than two dozen English-first and translated works for independent authors and Le French Book.

Sally Pane studied French at SUNY and the Sorbonne before receiving her Masters Degree in French Literature from the University of Colorado. Her career includes more than twenty years of translating and teaching French and Italian at  University of Colorado Boulder. She also served as the interpreter for the government cabinet of Rwanda and translated for Dian Fossey’s Digit Fund.

Sally has translated a number of titles in the Winemaker Detective series. In addition to her passion for French, she studied Italian at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Rome and Siena. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband.

Link to Episode 121

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 121: The Art & Craft of Translation – Interview with Le French Book appeared first on DIY MFA.

Le French Book is a company that translates French mysteries and thrillers for the American audience. These books have been wildly popular in Europe and now they are available here in the United States, thanks to Le French Book and its founder, Anne Trager. I don’t know about you, but after speaking with these fascinating authors, I can’t wait to check out these books!

Listen to the episode below.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Using true events and history as inspiration for fiction.
• Researching and choosing what to write about and what to leave out.
• The difference between American mystery and French noir.
• A day in the life of a French author.

Plus: Eric and David share their #1 tips for writers.

Resources:

Le French Book’s mission is to bring new voices in mystery to English readers by translating books from French to English. The company’s founder—American translator and editor Anne Trager—loves France so much she has lived there for over a quarter of a century, and just can’t seem to leave.

It’s not the baguettes that keep her there (she’s sans gluten), but a uniquely French mix of pleasure seeking and creativity. Well, that and the wine. After over a quarter of a century of experience in the translation business and nearly as much in publishing, she decided it was time for her to focus on the books she loves to read and bring them to a broader audience.

Learn more about Le French Book at lefrenchbook.com.

Eric Giacometti, studied biochemistry and genetics in Toulouse, France, before going into journalism. Then, at the height of his career as an investigative reporter, Eric Giacometti was contaminated by the thriller virus. His life took on another dimension: journalist by day, writer by night. That is when he and his childhood friend Jacques Ravenne created the Freemason police inspector Antoine Marcas.

“Writing escapist fiction was a perfect antidote to the depressing stories of scandals and corruption I faced every day. Having one foot in reality and the other in fiction is incredible, but it’s key not to mix the two.”

In 2013, he left his full-time reporting job with a French daily newspaper to work freelance and write. He teaches journalism and writing.

Eric’s latest book: Shadow Ritual

Follow him on Facebook and Twitter, or visit his website for more information.

David Khara has always been a writer. After studying law, he stepped into journalism working for Agence France Press, and then became creative director for several advertising companies. He loves new technologies and started his own company at the age of twenty-four, becoming an online business pioneer for French industries. He served as a consultant for big-name companies such as Toyota, Clearchannel and Veolia for nearly twenty years, until he decided to change the course of his life and turn to writing fiction.

In 2010, he published The Bleiberg Project, which became an immediate success and has sold more than 100,000 copies in France alone. He now dedicates his life to writing, and has published three books, which have reached the bestseller lists. David Khara is also an accomplished athlete in fencing and rubgy, and he even played football as a linebacker. He acknowledges that his culture is a much American as it is French, since he spent a lot of time in West Virginia and Manhattan, and is an avid fan of writers such as Dennis Lehane.

David’s series: The Bleiberg Project, The Shiro Project, and The Morgenstern Project

Follow him on Facebook and Twitter, or visit his website for more information.

Link to Episode 53

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome.

The post Episode 53: Bringing French Thrillers to America – Le French Book Interview appeared first on DIY MFA.