Böcker av Roberta Samuels

Barbara, an American divorcée, moves to France in 2003 on an adventure of self-discovery. She buys an 18th century farmhouse in need of renovation in a tiny French hamlet. While settling in and visiting the attractions of the area, she meets and mingles with a mix of charming characters in her new community. On the lookout for a man to share her life, she explores the romantic possibilities of her new home. As she says, "I am willing to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince." In between chipping away at the farmhouse improvements and building a new life for herself, Barbara reviews and reevaluates some of her preconceptions. There are flashbacks to the late '60's when she was a foreign exchange student in Paris and to her work as a tour guide in the late 2000's shepherding groups around the lesser-known and famous sights of France.The book reveals many engaging tidbits about French life and history as it recounts the story of Barbara's self-actualization and her discovery of the ideal mate.

This book is the first installment of the "Vanished! Mystery Series", featuring American couple, Barbara and Sam, in their French village. A mysterious, nail-studded African statuette disappears from a local art exhibition at the same time that a young Senegalese migrant sets out on his hazardous journey to Europe through Al Qaeda infested Mali and Niger. Can Barbara and Sam help him to gain legal residency in France and also aid the beleaguered Ogoni tribe to benefit from a rich oil deposit discovered on their territory in the Niger River Delta?Based on factual events and historical data, "Vanished! A Valuable African Statue Stolen in Southwest France" takes the reader on a hair-raising odyssey from West Africa to Europe AND a delightful holiday in France. These two very different trajectories are connected by a N'Kisi Kongo figure endowed with magical powers of divination by its people.Along the way, the author touches with insight and feeling on hot button issues such as illegal migration, terrorist activity and corruption in present day West Africa.

This book is the first installment of the "Vanished! Mystery Series", featuring American couple, Barbara and Sam, in their French village. A mysterious, nail-studded African statuette disappears from a local art exhibition at the same time that a young Senegalese migrant sets out on his hazardous journey to Europe through Al Qaeda infested Mali and Niger. Can Barbara and Sam help him to gain legal residency in France and also aid the beleaguered Ogoni tribe to benefit from a rich oil deposit discovered on their territory in the Niger River Delta?Based on factual events and historical data, "Vanished! A Valuable African Statue Stolen in Southwest France" takes the reader on a hair-raising odyssey from West Africa to Europe AND a delightful holiday in France. These two very different trajectories are connected by a N'Kisi Kongo figure endowed with magical powers of divination by its people.Along the way, the author touches with insight and feeling on hot button issues such as illegal migration, terrorist activity and corruption in present day West Africa.