Guest Blogger: Laura Florand

A Peek into the World of THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH

Four books into the Amour et Chocolat series (THE CHOCOLATE THIEF, THE CHOCOLATE KISS, THE CHOCOLATE ROSE, and now THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH), you would think I would get tired of chocolate, but I guess I’m  one of those people who is always ready to take another bite. For one thing, every time I go behind the scenes to make sure I’ve got the details right for one book, I encounter such fascinating stories and people and settings that they end up inspiring another book.

In the case of THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH, I was researching with one of the top chocolatiers in the world, Jacques Genin, in a final effort to make sure I had the details of THE CHOCOLATE THIEF right before it went to press. (To be honest, I will go behind-the-scenes with a dozen chocolatiers to make sure one book is right if I have to! Or even hundreds! I am selfless in my pursuit of good chocola—ahem, that is, in pursuit of accuracy in my work. People have no idea of the things I’ve had to eat and the lengths I’ve had to go to, to write these books.)

As soon as I got a proper look at Jacques Genin’s kitchens and salon de chocolat, I knew I had found the setting for Sylvain Marquis’s obstreperous rival Dominique Richard, and that he was going to have to have his own story.

JacquesGenin kitchen

Jacques Genin salon

Now, of course, THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH is fiction and in no way meant to exactly represent any one setting. But as with Paris itself or the Maison des Sorcières in THE CHOCOLATE KISS, often I encounter real settings that are so beautiful or inspiring that they just work their way into characters in my mind, helping to form who those characters are, until both characters and their setting have to have a story.

I love it when readers write to me that they have gone on a pilgrimage through Paris to find places mentioned in the books.

THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH has a particular focus on the area around République and the Canal Saint-Martin, an area of Paris that is a sentimental favorite of mine, and if readers go to visit it, I highly recommend a stop at Jacques Genin’s (133, rue de Turenne 75003 Paris). You won’t find Dominique Richard there unless you take THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH with you. But I can promise you won’t be disappointed in the chocolates! And you can have fun paging through the book and seeing how many elements of the setting have worked their way into its pages.

Here are a few photos to help you get started. Have you been to Paris yourself? What places there have inspired you? What places would you like to see if or next time you go?

Jacques Genin Rosebud Wall

Jacques Genin Chocolates

Check out Laura’s series HERE