PHOTO: Linda Kovic-Skow, award-winning author and creator of French Illusions, sharing her story of courage, inspiration, and youthful discovery.
Exploring Youthful Ambition, French Dreams, And The Art Of Memoir
Linda Kovic-Skow discusses her award-winning memoir series, French Illusions, her au pair experience in France, her writing journey, and advice for aspiring authors, offering readers insight and inspiration.
Linda Kovic-Skow is the quintessential storyteller who takes readers on a journey not only across borders but deep into the human experience of transformation, growth, and the bittersweet nuances of youthful ambition. An award-winning author, Linda has captivated audiences with her extraordinary memoir series, French Illusions. Her two books, French Illusions: My Story as an American Au Pair and French Illusions: From Tours to Paris, offer an intimate glimpse into her remarkable adventure in France, drawn directly from her own diaries from 1979 and 1980.
With pages that resonate with honesty, humour, and heartfelt emotion, Linda brings the Loire Valley to life, recounting her early twenties with a deft mix of self-awareness and creative flair. From confidently navigating her deception about speaking French to grappling with the cultural and language challenges of her au pair role, Linda’s journey is as relatable as it is inspiring. Her vivid storytelling, impeccable attention to historical detail, and authentic portrayal of her personal struggles elevate her memoirs into a genre-defining work.
We at Reader’s House Magazine are thrilled to feature our conversation with Linda, where she reflects on her writing process, the challenges of weaving together personal narratives, and the rewarding experience of revisiting her younger self through her memoirs. With wise words for aspiring authors and a contagious enthusiasm for exploring life’s possibilities, Linda reminds us that it’s never too late to follow our dreams—or to write about them.
Join us as we delve into the world of French Illusions and the captivating mind of Linda Kovic-Skow, a literary adventurer whose work is sure to leave you inspired to embrace life’s beautiful unpredictability.
Linda Kovic-Skow captivates readers with her vivid storytelling, emotional depth, and ability to bring her personal experiences to life.
What inspired you to chronicle your experiences as an au pair in France in your memoir French Illusions?
In 2007, after my husband and I dropped our youngest daughter off at college, I went through a sort of mid-life crisis. I missed being a mom and I wondered how I would fill the void. This prompted me to review what I like to call my “mid-life list.” This is like a “bucket list,” with an important twist. The idea was to refocus myself and figure out the things I wanted to do with my life in my fifties – while I could still do them.
One of the entries on my list was to write a book. I decided to hunt down my diary from my au pair adventure in France and compose my memoir. It took me three years and countless hours to write the first book, French Illusions, My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley, but now I can scratch another item off my mid-life list.
“I decided to hunt down my diary from my au pair adventure in France and compose my memoir.” – Linda Kovic-Skow
How did you navigate the challenges of pretending to speak French while working in the Loire Valley?
Ha! Once I arrived in France, there was no more pretending. I had to face the consequences of my actions and deal with the language barrier. This was especially difficult with the children, because they spoke only French.
Could you share insights into your writing process for transforming diary entries into a compelling narrative?
I must admit writing my memoir was a lot more complex than I initially imagined it would be. Using my diary as a guide, I wrote down the events in chronological order and then expanded on them, using a narrative nonfiction style also known as creative nonfiction. This technique concentrates on the storytelling, employing methods often used when writing fiction, such as character building, story arcs and filling in white space with dialog whenever possible.
Hard-to-find data from 1979 on the Loire Valley, the Loire River and the town of Tours also became a challenge. Internet searches produced most of the information and travel books supplied the rest. From the beginning, difficult questions emerged, such as how to deal with the French sprinkled throughout the book, and whether to italicize my thoughts. Oh, and I really struggled with how much detail to include in my own love scenes. I wrote and then rewrote these scenes until I could read them without squirming in my seat.
What motivated you to continue sharing your journey in French Illusions: From Tours to Paris?
After I published my first memoir, French Illusions, My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley, I received numerous requests for a second book detailing the rest of my stay in France. I knew it would be a very different tale, grittier and more personal than my first book, but I felt compelled to finish the story.
What advice would you offer aspiring authors looking to write memoirs based on personal experiences?
One of the most difficult aspects of writing a memoir revolves around disclosing sensitive information about the characters in your story. This was especially true regarding my host au pair family in France. Acquiring permission from them was totally out of the question. I realized early on that I would have to change the names of people and places in my stories to protect identities. I researched common French names and conferred with my editor to find ones that would fit my characters.
I’ve often wondered how the “Dubois” family would feel if any of them picked up a copy of my memoir. When I first decided to write my book, I searched the internet using their real names and found nothing. Another search using the name of their chateau produced zero results, so with trepidation I progressed with my project. Several years later, when I published my memoir, I revisited the subject. I had changed the names of everyone I met in France and followed my diary religiously, but as I gained success, I worried about the reaction of the family. My name was on the cover, after all. I investigated my options and signed up for a Multimedia Liability Policy. Overkill? Perhaps, but this insurance policy helped me sleep at night.
What advice would you give to authors who are just starting out?
Hire a professional editor. I mean it. You can’t edit your own book. You won’t see the mistakes because you are too close to the writing. It will cost you a few hundred dollars for a line editor, more if you need some in-depth editing, but it’s the best money you will ever spend. I cringe every time I read a negative review on a book where the main complaint is editing. You want readers to judge you on the content of your story.
Who is the target audience for your memoir?
Set in the beautiful Loire Valley, my French Illusions series reminds older readers what it feels like to be young, adventurous and filled with dreams. Younger readers relate to the difficult decisions women make as they transition into adulthood. My hope is that both groups come away from my book realizing it’s not too late to create your own memories. Go out and explore the world. Life’s for living, after all.
