Win This Lovely French Country Diary

A couple weeks ago I borrowed a copy of Pierre Deux's French Country, written 27 years ago by my old pal Linda Dannenberg. I needed a break from work...and a few hours on the couch with this gorgeous book was the perfect way to spend it. French Country is one of those timeless coffee-table books filled with captivating interiors that make you want to pull apart your house and redecorate immediately. It has beautifully researched chapters and sidebars on Provencale history, culture, fabrics, furniture, pottery, gardens and people, to name just a few. I decided then and there that I had to buy a copy for myself...and I planned to go to Amazon as soon as I got up off the couch. But the phone rang and I got distracted and the book--and the plan--were forgotten. And then, in one of those divine convergences of good luck and perfect timing that never seem to happen to me (I always pay full retail the week before the sale is announced), a friend gave me some old books because she's moving away. And lo and behold, there in the bag, was a copy of French Country. Score!

So why am I telling you all this? The book made me wonder what Linda had been up to, so I dropped her a note to check in. Turns out, Linda followed French Country with not one but five successful titles: New French Country, French Country Kitchens, Paris Bistro Cooking and Perfect Vinaigrettes. In between the last two, she collaborated with legendary chef Alain Ducasse on Ducasse: Flavors of France.

Clearly this is not a woman who lies down on the couch to read in the middle of the work day!

But wait, there's more. During all this fancy book writing, Linda has also been producing the hardcover French Country Diary, a week-at a-glance engagement calendar filled with evocative photos and vignettes of France. This is the 24th annual edition and apparently they've sold zillions. (Seriously, how did I miss all this?)

Stay with me here because we're almost at the part where you get free stuff.

So Linda tells me about the new calendar, produced by her company Arts & Style Publishing, and I'm thinking "My readers would love that!"  So I asked if she'd be willing to give one away on my blog and she responded: "Mais oui! Not one but three!"  

How nice is that?

The French Country Diary 2012, with a linen-textured, floral book cover, lies snug within a blue Provençal-patterned slipcase. Each of the 52 week-at-a-glance spreads, featuring photographs by Guy Bouchet, offers an intimate snapshot of the French countryside: gardens, private homes, gastronomy, villages, inspiring landscapes and so forth. Among the memorable spots in this year’s Diary is breakfast at a beautiful inn near Les Baux de Provence,  a postcard-perfect village in Burgundy called Semur-en-Auxois and a peek at an extraordinary Paris apartment furnished exclusively in 18th-century antiques (pictured).  Each spread features vintage French typography and a dates page adorned with a strip of Provençal fabric from Olivades. The Diary includes generous space for jotting daily notes and decorative address pages. It has 128-pages and it retails for $21.99,

To win one of the three copies that Linda is giving away, just leave a comment (by clicking "comments") right below this post. And be sure to leave your email address in the body of your message so we can reach you. To keep things simple for Linda, this giveaway is open only to readers with addresses in the U.S. and Canada. Or, feel free to enter to give the Diary as a gift to a U.S. or Canada-based friend.

If you'd like to buy the diary, a great gift for anyone who loves France, you can do that here.  It's also in bookstores and on Amazon. Meanwhile, if you don't have the book French Country or Linda's more-recent New French Country, treat yourself to a copy if you can find one online--you'll love it. Or, order a signed copy of New French Country ($40 retail) directly from Linda at the special "friends and family" price of $15. To do that--or contact her about anything else--email her at: artsandstylepublishing@gmail.com.  Meanwhile, good luck in our giveaway!