‘A very special evening’ for local novelist Fiona Schneider

An author from our region is celebrating the successful launch of her debut UK novel, The Paris Affair.

Fiona Schneider, from Peterborough, was thrilled with how well the special evening went at Waterstones in Peterborough on Friday July 12.

“It’s been a dream come true to have had such an amazing book launch for The Paris Affair,” she said.

Fiona Schneider with her book, The Paris Affair, at the July 12 Waterstones launch event.

placeholder image — Fiona Schneider with her book, The Paris Affair, at the July 12 Waterstones launch event.

“Thank you to all the staff at Waterstones for making it possible.”

More than 50 people attended the launch, and Fiona made sure she was on hand to sign purchased copies and speak with book fans.

“I’ve been able to chat with readers and say thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way.”

By the end of the evening, there was only one book left - a very clear indication of a successful launch.

“It’s been a dream come true to have had such an amazing book launch," said Fiona Schneider.

“It’s been a very special evening,” Fiona commented.

Kathryn, bookshop manager at Waterstones was equally thrilled with how well the event went:

“It was a wonderful evening with a fantastic turnout and some great sales of Fiona’s book,” she said.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Fiona and her publishers.”

Described as a ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society meets Lucinda Riley’, The Paris Affair is a dual-timeline novel set between 1940s Paris and Germany in 2002.

The mysterious tale follows Julia, a young pianist who discovers an old book of recipes, which she uses to recapture her old music mentor Christoph’s fading memories of the war - and the woman he loved and lost.

Intriguingly, each recipe revives a recollection from the past and brings Christoph and Julia closer to the truth of what happened when Sylvie disappeared all those years ago.

Wife and mother Fiona said she was inspired to write The Paris Affair after stumbling upon an old recipe book in the attic of her husband’s childhood home.

“I was fascinated by the link between taste and memory,” she explained, “[and] I wanted to write a story about long-lost love.”The Paris Affair, published by Penguin, is available to purchase now.